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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2020)
OUR 113th Year SEASIDESIGNAL.COM Stelson to leave school board October 30, 2020 $1.00 Fall Fun Fest! By KATHERINE LACAZE Seaside Signal After serving on the Sea- side School Board for nearly two terms, Hugh Stelson resigned Oct. 21 to accom- modate his increasing out- of-state travel and pass the seat to another, more acces- sible community member. “When I ran for my sec- ond term, I really didn’t know I would be leaving the community on a regular basis,” Stelson said. In retirement, he added, he’s been spending several months at a time in Arizona. “If we could fi nd someone whose eyes and ears are in the community, that would be preferable.” Stelson started his board position more than seven years ago. A couple of the district’s major accom- plishments during that time include getting the new cam- Hugh Stelson pus built on Spruce Drive and hiring Susan Penrod to serve as assistant superin- tendent for the 2019-2020 school year and take over as superintendent this school year. Stelson described hir- ing a superintendent as “the most important thing a school board can do.” “I think we made a good choice,” he added. This year has presented an unprecedented challenge See Stelson, Page A5 ‘Rules of decorum’ approved as board addresses policies By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Three minutes to speak, once during a meeting. Speakers shall use civil and courteous language. Insults, profanity or vulgar language are not allowed. Comments, questions or jeering from the audience are not allowed. These are among the new guidelines for those speak- ing during public comment periods at meetings of the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District. Last Tuesday, the board of directors approved the public rules of decorum, along with a community commitment improving the board’s self-governance and to provide transparency in board policies and practices. The public comment rules were developed after a series of board work ses- sions designed to consider public and staff complaints and to analyze how feed- back is delivered. At a work session ear- lier this month, board mem- bers said while the district welcomed public com- ment, there had been some “serious issues” involv- ing personal attacks, threats directed the members of the board, park district staff or members of the public. The public comment rules of decorum are See Policies, Page A3 Photos by Katherine Lacaze/For Seaside Signal During Fall Fun Fest on Oct. 24, participants young and old took part in the cake walk, one of the long-standing traditions of the event. By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal Sunset Empire Park and Recreation Dis- trict’s Fall Fun Fest looked a little differ- ent this year. Instead of taking place at the Bob Chisholm Community Center, it was held Sat- urday at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center, which gave families “the space to have some fun safely,” according to Direc- tor of Marketing Pro- motions and Special Events Melissa Ousley. Face masks were mixed in among cos- tume masks and each person had their tem- perature taken before being admitted to the event. Booth attendants used gloves and grab- bers shaped like skel- eton arms to distribute candy and prizes from a distance. These various pre- cautions enabled the recreation district to still offer one of its most beloved annual traditions despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a very special event,” Ousley said, recalling how she used to attend with her chil- dren who are now in their teens. “We’ve got some very nice feed- Entrance was staggered throughout the afternoon during the Fall Fun Fest to make sure the Seaside Civic and Convention Center’s 100-person capacity wasn’t breached and to allow for better social distancing. back, folks saying they were happy to have a seasonal event.” This year’s festi- val included many of the staples, including a cake walk and carni- val games run by staff members and a few volunteers from Sea- side High School’s Key Club. Addition- ally, the Seaside Pub- lic Library and Wild- life Center of the North Coast had booths for handing out books and informational coloring pages about spooky sea creatures, in addition to candy. “I have a lot of pas- sion for both those groups,” Ousley said. See Fest, Page A5 Children dressed up and took part in a variety of carnival-style games during Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District’s Fall Fun Fest on Oct. 24. Pacifi c Ridge librarian receives state honor By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal R.J. Marx John Huismann, at lectern, and Patrick Duhachek, both object to the purchase of Broadway Middle School by the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District. Pushback as critics oppose middle school purchase By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal A small but vocal group of residents came to the Bob Chisholm Community Cen- ter last Tuesday to show opposition to a purchase of Broadway Middle School. Speakers reacted to the Sunset Empire Park and Rec- reation District’s purchase of the property, vacant after the school district moved the campus to a new location on Spruce Drive outside the tsu- nami inundation zone. Board members approved the pro- cess after a previous board had rejected a potential pur- chase in June. “Why are people just now receiving information on the survey for their opinions if the purchase is already in the works?” Lindsey Morri- son, a former member of the See Pushback, Page A3 More than 12,000 books and library materials made the move from Gearhart Ele- mentary School to the new Pacifi c Ridge Elementary School on Spruce Drive, part of the district’s efforts to relocate students to a campus outside of the tsunami inun- dation zone. Librarian Laura Stewart guided the library’s effort, and this month, she won a state award for her work, earning the Oregon Asso- ciation of School Librar- ies award, Library Parapro- fessional of the Year 2020 award. As full-time librarians in the state are cut from city and school payrolls, parapro- fessionals like Stewart are asked to step up into posi- tions left vacant. “I was surprised and very honored to receive this rec- ognition in a year that has been fi lled with challenges every day, in every facet of our lives,” Stewart said. “It was a bright surprise to receive this news.” Stewart and her husband, Jay Stewart, owned a potter gift shop, House of the Potter Inc., in Cannon Beach, for 34 years. Her husband died in 2011. She closed the store in 2013, deciding it was time to make changes in her life. Stewart considered leav- ing the North Coast to live closer to her children, but in October 2013 a posi- tion opened up at Seaside Heights Elementary as a Title 1 aide. “My plan was to sell my house and decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” Stewart said. “But Chapter FE, PEO Astoria See Librarian, Page A5 Pacifi c Ridge Elementary School librarian Laura Stewart.