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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2019)
OUR 112th Year SEASIDESIGNAL.COM November 1, 2019 $1.00 Three Seaside fi refi ghters join California wildfi re battle By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT Celeste Kenneally and Keith Chandler of the Seaside Downtown Development Association before the drop. The 900-pound pumpkin is raised. The big pumpkin is dropped. BELOW Aftermath of the pumpkin drop. Photos by Jeff Ter Har Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… SPLAT! 900-pound pumpkin drops in Seaside By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal S eventy-three feet, four inches. For those who turned out to the “Big Pumpkin Drop” Sunday in Seaside, that’s how far a more than 900-pound pumpkin will fall from 40 feet. This year’s drop attracted a crowd to Seaside’s public park- ing lot by the convention center, eager to see how much damage a pumpkin dropped from a great height can make. Motivated by Boomer Bar- bosa of 94.9 The Bridge and Celeste Kenneally of the Seaside Downtown Development Associ- ation, “The Big Pumpkin Drop” returned to Seaside Sunday for the fi rst time since 2009. “I think it’s a really fun event for Seaside,” Kenneally said. “Come visit Seaside, watch the big pumpkin get dropped. Plus, it’s a great fi nale for Halloween Happenin’s.” The drop was part of a week- end of events presented by local businesses and the downtown association. “The weather was perfect,” she said. “Everyone seemed really happy, the activi- ties went really well and Trunk or Treat was a huge success for the fi rst year. Everything’s been run- ning really smoothly.” This was Barbosa’s sec- ond pumpkin drop, having pre- sided over one in Orangevale, California. “We’re doing the big pump- kin drop for charity and for the violence of it,” Barbosa said. “I have been involved with pumpkin drops before, but they have been gutted pumpkins.” The difference then, he said, was the pumpkin was hollowed out. “This pumpkin is full of all of its goo and all of its seeds. It will be a lot messier for sure. I’m not sure how that will play out.” Hundreds of onlookers stood by as the pumpkin was slowly raised in the air and the count- down began. Ten ... nine ... eight ... seven ... six ... fi ve ... four ... three ... two ... one. SPLAT. Half the pot went to the War- renton High School cheerleaders club, the fi rst time they’ve had a cheerleaders club. The other half went to the winners, Emily and Ricky Fish of Seaside. The family was only four inches off the mark, guessing a distance of 73 feet for the piece of pumpkin that landed the farthest from the center. Keith Chandler, general manager of Seaside Aquarium, measures the distance of pumpkin pieces. The 94.9 FM mascot displays a pumpkin piece after the drop. National First Responders Day on Oct. 28 recognizes the heroic men and women who make it their business to take immedi- ate action when disaster strikes. At Monday’s City Council meeting, councilor Steve Wright called it an appro- priate time “to think of our police and fi re, particularly our fi re department and the hor- rifi c problems they’re having with the wind blowing like that and things going up almost immediately.” Three of those fi refi ghters are from Sea- side Fire Department, Joey Daniels told City Council Monday night, Division Chief Chris Dugan, Jenson Segui and Max Savage. Along with a department brush truck, the fi refi ghters joined the Columbia County Strike Team No. 4 to fi ght the Kincade Fire, Chief Joey Daniels told the council. As of Monday, according to Cal Fire, the fi re covered almost 80,000 acres of vege- tation and had been active for fi ve days in Sonoma County. More than 180,000 resi- dents have been evacuated from their homes. See Wildfi res, Page A6 Pool shutdown underway through Nov. 25 By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal “It’s pretty crazy to be in the midst of this again,” Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Director Skyler Archibald said Tues- day, Oct. 22, at the meeting of the district’s board of directors. “It feels like deja vu.” On Sunday, Oct. 20, the district closed the pool for fi ve weeks, the third repair shut- down at the Sunset Pool at 1140 Broadway since 2014. “They began the demo work yesterday,” Archibald said, with workmen chipping away at old plaster and reconfi guring the pool to meet Clatsop County Health Depart- ment code to avoid spillover from the learn- ers’ pool into the main pool. During a bathing load, water overfl ows the gutter system and can spill over to the drains for the main pool, Archibald said in announcing the closure. If the drains were to clog, the potential for cross-contamination of the two bodies of water is increased. Project work is estimated at about $90,000. In 2017, the pool closed for two months for maintenance repairs, including plaster of the main lap pool, replacing the metal-halide lighting with energy-effi cient fi xtures and reconfi guration of the men’s locker room. A fi lter system was installed in the main pool, building leaks repaired and a new boiler added. Archibald said Tuesday he hopes this shutdown proceeds more smoothly than the previous one. “We had a lot of projects we over-ambi- tiously undertook at that time,” he said. “We See Pool, Page A6 Gearhart Indoor Dog Park: A place for dogs to play By EVE MARX For Seaside Signal C liff Brockmann and Kristyne Ranney were not really plan- ning to open an indoor dog park, although they recog- nized the need. They have a big dog and he needs lots of exercise and the beach isn’t always an option, especially in the rain or you’re weary of washing down the dog after every beach visit. Last year the couple, who reside in Seaside, began looking for a place. They found what they consider to be an excellent location in the North Coast Plaza in Gearhart. “At least for now, with us just starting, it seems a good fi t,” Brockmann said. What you’ll fi nd when you visit Gearhart Indoor Dog Park is a large and airy dog-centric space. There are two clearly designated play areas, one for large dogs, another for petites. There are agility course type of toys and the fl ooring is pretty great. “It’s specially designed for dog agility courses, it’s ¾″ thick and water resistant,” Brockmann said. “It’s easy to care for and keep clean.” See Dog Park, Page A6 Canines cavort at Gearhart’s indoor dog park.