OUR 112th Year
September 20, 2019
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
$1.00
School
district tells
kids ‘it’s
not too late’
For some, it pays to stay
By KATHERINE LACAZE
Seaside Signal
Anyone who has been out and about
in Seaside during the past few weeks
likely has noticed the white yard signs
bearing positive declarations about self-
worth and self-love,
such as “Don’t Give
Up,” “It’s Not Too
Late” and “You
Matter.”
The
Seaside
School District pur-
chased the signs
through a grant from
Vice Principal
the Northwest Edu-
Jason Boyd
cation Service Dis-
trict and started put-
ting them up in late August as part of a
campaign to both increase attendance
and create a positive environment.
“As a community, if we just have con-
stant reminders that every person mat-
ters, I just can’t see where that’s a neg-
ative thing,” vice principal Jason Boyd
said.
One of the goals in the district’s fi ve-
year strategic plan is that by June 2024,
all students K-12 will develop social and
emotional skills to be positive commu-
nity members. There are three perfor-
mance indicators for that goal, includ-
ing “all students will attend 95% of
school days,” the indicator which Boyd
Construction support for the new
building includes brace frames and
footings six feet below the fl oor.
Clock ticking as school construction moves into
HIGH GEAR
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
C
rews worked busily on the
Seaside High School and
Middle School campus con-
struction site on Tuesday,
Sept. 10, as members of the
school construction citizen oversight
committee toured the property and sur-
vey progress. The campus is scheduled
for a September 2020 opening.
With the 2019-20 school year under-
way, offi cials said the roads and parking
areas were “remarkably quiet,” as crews
worked both on the high school and
middle school campus up the hill and
the Seaside Heights addition and reno-
vations, including a new gym building.
After repaving of The Heights’ drive-
way complete, even a new traffi c fl ow
didn’t faze drivers.
“I got here at 2:35 and I got a parking
spot,” Seaside School District Superin-
tendent Sheila Roley said.
The campus will bring students
from three schools located in the tsu-
nami inundation zone to the new loca-
tion on 89 acres just southeast of Sea-
side Heights Elementary School.
Two wings, connected by a corridor
that will house a cafeteria, library and
administrative offi ces, will house mid-
dle and high school students.
Project manager Jim Henry presented
August milestones, including the park-
ing lot completion, a reservoir pre-con-
struction meeting, and interior color
selection for the elementary school.
In September, crews hope to com-
plete roofi ng at the middle and high
school before rains set in. The district
will fi nalize an early work agreement
with the city to allow reservoir work to
begin, starting on the pump house and a
new water line from the corner of Alder
and Spruce up to the pump station.
Construction offi cials submitted two
permits for interior work at The Heights
and the foundation package for the new
Heights gymnasium. Interior work is
scheduled to begin this winter, after
completion of The Heights gym.
See Schools, Page A7
Drug takeback
program takes
effect this month
Project manager Jim Henry and Seaside School District Board of Directors President
Mark Truax tour the campus.
R.J. Marx photos
Duct work at the middle school.
Longtime Seaside mail carrier retires
By EVE MARX
For Seaside Signal
Friday, Aug. 30 was mail
carrier Mitch Gramson’s last
day at work. He retired from
the Seaside Post Offi ce after
31 years of service.
“He’s delivered mail to
every mailbox in Seaside and
Gearhart,” Tony Simms, the
Postmaster said.
“Mitch knows everybody.
He has an incredible memory
for every person and every
delivery.”
“My plan is to rock, roll,
and have a ball,” Gramson
said last Thursday, his next
to last day of work. He had
just come off delivering his
route, which at present is
along Wahanna and “up the
hill.” He averages about 1500
deliveries a day and works
about an hour and a half on
foot. He believes in the sanc-
tity of the U.S. Mail.
There is only one day in
his 31-year career when the
mail didn’t get delivered.
“That was on Dec. 2,
2007,” Gramson said. “There
was a huge storm. We all
showed up to work but they
couldn’t get a delivery truck
out from Portland.”
See Retiring, Page A6
Eve Marx
Mail carrier Mitch Gramson says
adieu to the post offi ce after 31
years of service.
By EVE MARX
For Seaside Signal
Let’s say you, or a family member, or
even a beloved pet has been taking medi-
cation, but now you’re fi nished.
What’s the right thing to do with the
unused drugs?
You already know they shouldn’t be
fl ushed down the drain or toilet where
they enter the water supply, nor should
they be thrown into the trash where they
will fi nd their way into landfi lls, ulti-
mately contaminating the soil and harm-
ing wildlife. The worst-case scenario of
leftover drugs is they fall into the hands
of humans who misuse them, abuse them,
or who, by taking them, could even die.
Oregon recently became the sixth
state to sign into law the requirement
drug manufacturers pay for and run state-
wide drug take-back programs.
The law, signed by Governor Kate
Brown and championed by Representa-
tive Sheri Schouten, ensures every com-
munity in Oregon have free, convenient,
access to safe drug disposal. The law
goes into effect this month and programs
must be operational by July 1, 2021.
Seaside Providence Hospital has been
taking back unused and partially used
medication for three years.
Which puts them far ahead of the state
mandate.
“Our retail pharmacy at Providence
Seaside Hospital began a drug take back
program in 2016,” said Mike Antrim,
Senior Communication Manager with
Providence. “This is a service Provi-
dence has provided to the community
free of charge. Anyone can come in and
dispose of unwanted medications. The
police station is the other Seaside loca-
tion for drug take back. Using drug take-
back sites reduces drug waste in our riv-
ers and landfi lls. It also allows people to
dispose of unwanted medication to help
with the rising opioid epidemic.”
Julie Owens, pharmacy manager
at Seaside Providence Hospital, over-
sees the packing up and mailing of the
40-pound packages of unwanted drugs
that are sent via UPS to Trilogy Med-
waste, a full service regulated waste man-
agement company located in in Gastonia,
North Carolina. Since 2016 she’s sent 11
See Drugs, Page A7