A4 • Friday, September 11, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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Swimming with sharks on the Oregon Coast
SEASIDE
AQUARIUM
WENDI
AGALZOFF
Did you know 17 shark
species reside in Oregon’s
coastal waters?
From the legendary great
white to the large bask-
ing shark and the innocu-
ous spiny dogfi sh, Oregon’s
sharks are part of the com-
plex ocean food web. During
summer months, Oregonians
may notice juvenile sharks
stranded on the beach. The
salmon shark species is one
of the most common species
to wash ashore.
Named for their diet pref-
erence of eating salmon, the
quick-swimming
salmon
shark can become stranded
throughout the year, but are
most commonly found during
summer months. Salmon
sharks give live birth to two
to four pups off the southern
Oregon Coast in the spring
and the juveniles follow
ocean currents and prey.
While this species is able
to thermoregulate (control
their body temperature
up to 15 degrees Celsius
above surrounding water
temperature) and navi-
gate vertically through-
out the water column,
some juveniles end up out-
side their ideal temperature
range and are unable to thrive.
With an average length
of 7 feet and weighing 300
pounds, mature salmon
sharks are quick enough to
catch salmon, birds, squid
and herring.
With grey bodies and
white bellies salmon sharks
are often mistaken for the
great white, but major differ-
ences in size, diet and teeth
patterns set the salmon sharks
apart. Salmon shark teeth are
notably pointed and smooth
while white shark teeth are
triangular and serrated.
While the salmon shark
may look fi erce, there has
never been a reported inci-
dent of a salmon shark attack
on a human.
If you have a question
about a stranded shark or
other stranded marine life, be
sure to contact local experts
at the Seaside Aquarium
503-738-6211.
GONE FISHING
With an average length
of 7 feet and weighing
300 pounds, mature
salmon sharks are quick
enough to catch salmon,
birds, squid and herring.
Tiff any Boothe/Seaside Aquarium
Reported as a baby great white, this salmon shark washed ashore on Seaside’s beach on Dec. 13, 2012.
In troubled times, good neighbor policy is best
TUNNEL ECHOES
LIANNE THOMPSON
I went to the Sleepy Monk Cof-
fee shop today. Waiting in our
socially distanced line to place my
order, I read a sticker from the city
of Cannon Beach Public Works:
“Take care of each other. Take care
of the place.” Right concepts, in
right priority, I think.
Do you call yourself a local? Do
you live here full time, part time,
or do you visit? Do you rent out
your house or live in it yourself?
If you fi t any of these categories,
it’s probably because you love the
place, the people, or both. On the
North Coast, the wild and beautiful
upper left edge of the U.S., we love
the place, but sometimes it’s more
challenging to love the people.
We have lots and lots of peo-
ple. We’re called upon to share
our place with the world. There
are freedoms in the U.S., and one
of them is freedom to travel. So
they come here, those lots and lots
of people, to enjoy a sense of wild
beauty and greater freedom from
stresses and strains at home, com-
ing to the ocean and the forest.
The beauty of the place calls
for appreciation; it also calls for
respect. Sneaker waves and rip
tides can drown you, if you don’t
respect their power. Forests can
burn, turning you and your stuff
into ashes. Decaying trees can fall
on you and crush you like a bug.
Cars bring freedom of movement,
but mistakes or heedlessness can
hurt or kill you.
As my dad used to say, “The
laws of physics still apply.” The
laws of human relationships still
apply, too. We’re called to be good
neighbors, on both a permanent
and transient basis. How do we do
that?
I understand that people want
to escape into play when work or
life is too hard or too much. But
when they want to park in the lane
of traffi c on U.S. Highway 101
because there’s no legal or safe
parking place? When they want
to pitch a tent on a vacant lot in
our neighborhood because there’s
no motel or hotel or legal camp-
site left? When they party loud and
long and large?
When they build campfi res
during the burn ban, because they
don’t know or don’t care that we
have a burn ban to protect lives and
property during fi re season? When
they don’t know or care what “fi re
season” means at the wildland-ur-
ban interface?
How do we be good neighbors
and encourage everyone else to be
a good neighbor, too?
Big breath. Perhaps consider
concepts like “scope of authority”
and “chain of command.” “Scope
of authority” defi nes who gets to
control what actions of others.
“Chain of command” means who’s
accountable to whom for what
results.
Those are 25 cent words to say
who gets to be the boss of whom
and for what.
Maybe you’re a regular visi-
tor, a second home owner, or even
a full-time local, so you think you
know what you’re doing and don’t
want to be bossed by somebody
or anybody else. Maybe you think
you know what the rules are, and
you want others to behave accord-
ing to your rules.
Confl icts can arise. We can look
for who has the scope of authority
and for the chain of command that
will preserve our lives and property
by limiting someone’s freedom to
do what they want. But how do we
be good neighbors in all of this?
Being good neighbors means
negotiating boundaries and activi-
ties with compassion and forgive-
ness. Nobody’s perfect all the time,
and nobody’s wrong all the time.
No angels, and no demons. We’re
just all humans, wanting to be seen
and heard and loved.
Marjorie MacQueen, maven at
Cannon Beach Library, pointed me
at a book by John Burdett, “Bang-
kok Haunts.” In it, he said, “When
you tear away the last veil, you
know with certainty that love is the
foundation of human conscious-
ness, that there really is nothing
else. It’s our constant betrayal of it
that makes us crazy.”
If we can’t behave to honor the
safety and well-being of the peo-
ple and the place, we destroy the
place and deny the essential posi-
tive human connection we all want
and need. That’s when we start
looking for laws and punishment,
looking for whose scope of author-
ity and chain of command can stop
those who threaten us and the place
we love. Alternatively, we can fi nd
reasons to love one another, no
matter what.
We can be good neighbors.
Let’s do that.
Lianne Thompson is Clatsop
County Commissioner for District
5.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Boothe-Schmidt is
wrong candidate
To all public work-
ers: Carefully consider
your vote this coming
November.
Vote for candidates who
will protect local busi-
nesses, and therefore the
tax revenues that fund your
paychecks and retirement.
While many public
wWorkers think it a fore-
gone conclusion that it is
in their best interest to vote
for public union-backed
candidates, the 2020 eco-
nomic landscape makes for
an historical game changer.
The way to insure that
your paychecks don’t
bounce is to vote for some-
one who will uncondition-
ally support, aggressively
protect and pro-actively
nurture our local economic
recovery.
This describes biparti-
san state House District 32
candidate Tillamook Mayor
Suzanne Weber, a retired
public school teacher and
business owner.
There comes a point in
homeostatic systems where
danger to the system lies
when the x-y axis begins to
cross.
If tax revenues go down,
public sector paychecks go
away.
Hand-picked by Port-
land, the 11th hour, hail
Mary fi ll-in House Dis-
trict 32 candidate Deb-
bie Boothe-Schmidt is the
wrong candidate for this
election.
She has no experience.
Portland donors dictate
her agenda, and will force
policies that penalize our
local businesses.
Her Portland donors will
insist that taxes be raised
to the point that our busi-
nesses, already reeling, will
continue to shutter their
doors.
Coupled with Kate
Brown’s discrimination
against rural areas regard-
ing the inequitable distribu-
tion of public moneys, and
suddenly you have a perfect
storm.
That giant sucking sound
resulting in empty coffers.
Suddenly, that giant
sucking sound will have
killed the goose that lays
the golden egg.
A vote for Boothe-
Schmidt is a lose-lose for
everyone.
Cynthia Malkowski
Seaside
Time is running
out for 2020 census
As the 2020 census
draws to a close, I urge
each one of you reading this
to respond before it’s too
late. This is the fi nal month
to be counted and to help
guarantee Clatsop County
receives funding for essen-
tial services that will shape
the future of our commu-
nity for the next 10 years.
Whether you live alone,
with family, or others, I’m
asking you to do your part
and count everyone who
lives in your home if you
haven’t already. And while
you’re at it, remind other
family, friends, and neigh-
bors to be counted, too.
Text them. Call them. Share
a note on your social media.
While many people
know the census is what
determines how many rep-
resentatives each state gets
in Congress, it is also used
by lawmakers in Washing-
ton and Salem, Oregon to
allocate funds for programs
and services that impact
Clatsop County – includ-
ing the roads we drive on,
the schools our children
attend, and the hospitals and
healthcare clinics we visit
when we are sick. An under-
count in Clatsop County
could mean our community
loses out on important fed-
eral funds that will leave us
behind as others progress
into the future.
The deadline to respond
is Sept. 30. But don’t wait
— you can respond now
online at 2020census.gov,
by phone at 844-330-2020
for English or 844-468-2020
For Spanish, or by mail if
you received a paper ques-
tionnaire. You can respond
in English, Spanish, and 11
other languages online or by
phone.
If you don’t respond on
your own, you will be vis-
ited by a locally hired cen-
sus taker to make sure you
are counted. If a census
taker comes to your home,
please cooperate. They
have been trained on CDC
and local health guidelines,
will maintain at least a six-
foot distance, and will be
wearing masks and carry-
ing other personal protective
equipment to keep every-
one safe.
A census taker may also
call you at home, so please
answer the call.
The census asks only 10
questions about you and
who lives in your home with
you and will only take a few
minutes to complete. And
remember: Your answers are
confi dential and can never
be shared with federal or
local law enforcement agen-
cies. Census takers will have
a valid ID badge with their
photograph, a U.S. Depart-
ment of Commerce water-
mark, and an expiration
date. They may also carry
Census Bureau bags and
equipment with the Cen-
sus Bureau logo. They will
never ask for Social Secu-
rity numbers, banking info,
citizenship status, or polit-
ical affi liation. If you still
have questions about their
identity, you can contact
the Los Angeles Regional
Census Center at 213-314-
6500 to speak with a Census
Bureau representative.
The 2020 Census is so
important. If we want our
voices to be heard at the
local and federal level, we
all need to do our civic duty
and respond. If we want to
continue receiving support
for critical programs such
as Medicare and Medic-
aid, school lunches and edu-
cation programs like Head
Start, historic preservation
and wildlife conservation
grants, bridges, bike paths,
and other infrastructure, we
should respond.
Time is running out. If
you haven’t already, you
are about to miss this once
in a decade chance to shape
our future and better our
community for the next 10
years.
Monica Steele
Assistant County Manager
Clatsop County
6 p.m., www.seaside.k12.
or.us/meetings.
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16
THURSDAY, SEPT. 17
Seaside Tourism Advisory
Committee, 3 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
Prom Centennial Planning
Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Contact local agencies for
latest meeting information
and attendance guidelines.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 10
Convention Center Com-
mission, 5 p.m., Seaside
Civic and Convention Cen-
ter, 415 First Ave.
Seaside City Council,
7 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Gearhart Planning Com-
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall,
698 Pacific Way.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 15
MONDAY, SEPT. 14
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District Board
of Directors, 5:15 p.m.,
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Darren Gooch
Joshua Heineman
Rain Jordan
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
1225 Avenue A.
Seaside Planning Com-
mission, 6 p.m., work
session, City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Seaside School District,
Seaside Signal
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