HIGH SCHOOL GOES
ON THE SALES BLOCK
In mid-July, the Seaside School District’s real estate
representative Norris & Stevens posted sales listings
for two of three school district properties on the mar-
ket, Broadway Middle School and Gearhart Elementary
School, at $3.6 million and $1.9 million respectively.
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SEE PAGE A8
Norris & Stevens
OUR 112th Year
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
August 9, 2019 $1.00
FREE LUNCH FOR KIDS!
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
Future site of the Columbia Memorial
Hospital care center in the Seaside Outlet
Mall.
Work begins as
CMH readies
clinic in Seaside
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Work is underway at the Outlet Mall
in Seaside on a new Columbia Memo-
rial Hospital primary care and urgent care
clinic, located at the former sites of Dress
Barn and Toys R Us.
According to the hospital’s marketing
and communications coordinator Feli-
cia Struve, the hospital board of trustees
voted to go forward with the expansion
plans at the end of 2018 due to an ongo-
ing need in the region of primary care
services.
Hospital CEO Erik Thorsen said in a
statement that the last community health
needs assessment showed a need to do
more to meet the demand for primary
care services in our growing area. With
clients in Seaside, Cannon Beach and
further south, it “just makes sense to the
board to build a clinic in Seaside.”
The large signs hanging at the
entrances of Broadway Middle School
that promote free summer meals include
the broad proclamation, “Please join
us!” That message of enthusiastic wel-
come is amplifi ed inside the cafeteria,
where the Seaside School District’s head
cook Jessica Smith not only hands out
lunch to children 1 to 18 fi ve days per
week but also dishes out friendly small
talk and an approachable smile.
“We want to feed everyone we can,”
Smith said, as she busied herself Mon-
day serving corn dogs, French fries, fruit
and vegetables to more than 50 young
people during the lunch period.
The school district is one of multi-
ple entities in Clatsop County that spon-
sors a site where children and adults
with life challenges can get lunch for
free through the state’s Summer Food
Service program. The Astoria, Warren-
ton-Hammond, and Jewell school dis-
tricts sponsor another 11 sites, and the
state of Oregon has more than 875 sites
altogether.
To highlight the availability of free
summer lunches, the state celebrated
Summer Meals Week in mid-July.
Although more than 300,000 children
are eligible for free or reduced lunch
during the school, less than 15% partic-
ipate in the summer program, according
to the Oregon Department of Education.
“When school is out during summer,
some students may not get the nutri-
tion or learning opportunities they need,
causing a ‘summer gap’ that is diffi cult
to make up once school starts again in
Seaside School District head cook Jessica Smith serves lunch Monday from 11:30 to
12:15 at Broadway Middle School, the district’s Summer Meals Program site. Through
Aug. 23, children 18 and younger and adults with life challenges can receive free lunch
Mondays through Fridays.
the fall,” the Department of Education’s
Summer Meals Outreach Coordinator
Jessica Visinksy said. “Boosting stu-
dents over the summer helps us foster
equity and excellence for every learner
year-round.”
‘Numbers have been strong’
Seaside used to have two site loca-
tions, including one at The Heights
Elementary School. Since the cam-
pus is under construction, however, the
program has been consolidated at the
middle school.
“Part of our challenge has been when
there are other locations, we don’t get
the traffi c,” said Tamra Taylor, the
Director of Dining Services for Chart-
wells who services the Seaside and War-
renton-Hammond school district. “With
The Heights having construction going
on and everything, it’s just been Broad-
way for the past two years, and our num-
bers have been strong.”
See Lunch, Page A6
See Clinic, Page A6
Volleyball weekend to bring more than 3,000 players to Seaside
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
“See you in court.”
That’s what thousands
of visitors and players
will be saying this week-
end as Seaside beach vol-
leyball hits the sand.
There are 67 divisions,
184 teams and a little
more than 3,000 players,
Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Brian
Owen said Wednesday.
“The logistics of this is
incredible. Yesterday I
was on four conference
calls trying to keep every-
body afl oat. It’s really
exciting to see this hap-
pen. Over the last cou-
ple of years, we’ve made
the player experience so
much better and we’ve
freed the players up so
they can interact with
local businesses.”
Local businesses have
reported rise of 20% each
year, he said, since the
inception of a smartphone
app that delivers courtside
information in real time.
Owen said he loved
“the energy, the fans — I
love seeing the kids. They
See Volleyball, Page A6
Seaside Beach Volleyball