A4 • Friday, December 25, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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For Rivera, dreams destroyed in an instant
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
Gabriel Rivera, 20, was found dead
in north Portland in the early morning of
Dec. 2 of gunshot wounds. Rivera was the
48th homicide victim in Portland this year.
His family wants to make sure he is
more than just another unsolved homicide.
“Even though Gabe died as a young
man, he will always be a child in my eyes,”
his cousin Nourah AlJaber said.
Rivera lived in Seaside in his teens
and attended Seaside High School where
he made many friends, his grandmother,
Rochelle Paputsis, said.
Rivera moved to Portland in mid-Octo-
ber with his fi ancee, Ashlee Ruppert, to be
closer to their families.
“We thought coming home would be
good for him,” Paputsis said. “He was
coming home to his family. We didn’t
expect this at all.”
Rivera worked 10-hour shifts as a fork-
lift driver as well as doing deliveries for
Door Dash.
“He had dreams and plans, and set to
work on building a good life and future,”
his grandmother said. “He wanted babies.
He said, ‘I don’t want just one baby, I want
lots of babies.’”
Rivera left the Pier Park area on foot in
the early morning hours of Dec. 2 and was
discovered near North Columbia Boule-
vard and Bank Street, not more than a mile
from his last known location.
“My daughter called me a little bit ear-
lier and asked if Gabe had made it,” Paput-
sis said. “I said no.”
The fi rst report of the homicide came at
7 a.m. on local TV news.
Offi cers found a man’s body while con-
Family of Gabriel Rivera
Gabriel Rivera, a former Seaside resident who was a victim of an unsolved homicide on Dec. 2 in Portland.
ducting a welfare check not far from Pap-
utsis’ home.
The family spent hours of uncertainty
before confi rming Rivera’s identity at the
city morgue.
Rivera lived with a family friend in Sea-
side as a teenager while attending school .
He enrolled in December 2014 and trans-
ferred in 2016.
He liked to mountain bike, skateboard
and had a love of animals and nature.
“Seaside provided the comfort of a
small and safe community,” Paputsis said.
Rivera was supposed to visit his father
in Mexico for the Christmas holiday, Pap-
utsis said.
His father was “really excited, and he
(Rivera) was really excited about going
there,” she said. “Then this happened,
so his father requested that we send his
body to Mexico where he would be bur-
ied nearby.”
Family members started a fundraiser on
GoFundMe to help with the cost of send-
ing the body to Mexico and burial costs,
including embalming, transportation to the
city morgue, the service and casket.
Since Rivera was born in the United
States, the funeral director sent a petition
to the Mexican Embassy seeking repatri-
ation for the burial. The family is await-
ing response.
As a “Plan B,” Paputsis said, a family
friend donated a plot locally in case he is
unable to be buried in Mexico.
The funeral, which was private, was
held Dec. 19.
The Portland Police Bureau’s last update
on the Rivera case was posted Dec. 3.
“We have nothing further to release at
this time,” a spokesman said.
The family still seeks answers for the
motive and suspect.
“We just don’t know,” Paputsis said.
“We have no idea. He was alone. It was
dark. He was a target, that’s what I’m
thinking. I’ve seen so many shootings
here.”
Guadalupe fur seal pup found abandoned on the beach
SEASIDE
AQUARIUM
WENDI
AGALZOFF
Seaside Aquarium got at call at
9 a.m. last Saturday morning about
an abandoned seal pup stranded
along the shore in Cannon Beach.
The pup ended up being a Gua-
dalupe fur seal, a threatened spe-
cies of pinniped with an estimated
population of only 34,000. The
seal was thin, dehydrated and a bit
out of its normal range.
After
coordinating
with
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and SR3, a rehab
facility in Des Moines, Washing-
ton, Seaside Aquarium staff suc-
cessfully recovered and helped
bring the seal to treatment.
Guadalupe fur seals are a rare
sight to see on the Oregon Coast.
The species is native to the Pacifi c
coastal waters of northern Mexico
and southern California.
However, young fur seals
can travel long distances follow-
ing warm off-shore currents and
become cold-shocked by northern
ocean temperatures along Oregon
and Washington coastlines.
Endemic to Guadalupe Island
off the west coast of Mexico’s
Baja Peninsula, the threatened spe-
cies of Guadalupe fur seal (Arcto-
cephalus townsendi) has an esti-
mated population of only 34,000
individuals. Throughout the 1800s
the species was hunted to near
extinction for their thick layer of
fi ne fur. Since the 1950s the spe-
cies has been protected by United
States and Mexico law and is pro-
tected under the Endangered Spe-
cies Act and Marine Mammal Pro-
tection Act.
Guadalupe fur seals are consid-
ered a species of sea-lion, charac-
terized by their long front fl ippers
and ear fl aps. The “eared seal” is
not social while at sea and typi-
cally does not migrate or travel
far from the breeding waters of
Guadalupe Island. However,
during seasonal changes, young
pups follow warmer currents and
can become stranded in the cold
waters off the Oregon Coast.
Unlike our local pinnipeds
(sea lions and seals) the fur seal
lacks a layer of blubber to regu-
late body temperature in colder
waters. Once sluggish and cold,
these warm-water pinnipeds are
known to become tangled in rope
and debris.
Thankfully the local Marine
Mammal Stranding Network is
actively working with Guadalupe
fur seal experts to help recover
wayward fur seals that are found
on our coastline.
Since 1995 Seaside Aquar-
ium has spearheaded the South-
ern Washington Northern Oregon
Marine Mammal Stranding Net-
work, a collaboration of experts
and volunteers to respond to
stranded sea mammals along the
southern Washington and northern
Oregon Coast. Through this pro-
gram, locally stranded Guadalupe
fur seals are able to be recovered
and transported to a rehabilitation
center in southern California.
According to the Marine Mam-
mal Center, release back to the
wild is the ultimate goal for every
animal.
To be released, animals must
pass fi nal examinations, proving
Tiff any Boothe
Once stable the Guadalupe fur seal will be transferred to a rehab facility in
California and if all goes well eventually released.
they are able to successfully for-
age for fi sh.
All animals receive a fl ipper
tag; some that are released may
receive satellite or radio tags so
their progress can be tracked.
As for the fur seal found in Can-
non Beach last week, after a brief
nap at the Seaside Aquarium, the
seal was given fl uids and trans-
ferred. Once stable, the seal will be
transferred to a rehabilitation facil-
ity in California, and if all goes
well, eventually released.
For more information about
the Marine Mammal Stranding
Network please call the Seaside
Aquarium 503-738-6211.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Where’s the
business plan?
Serving on a govern-
ment board is very diffi cult.
The knowledge required
is immense plus the time
to research and analyze all
sides of an issue. The role
may also lead to sleepless
nights trying to decide what
is best for all.
I asked each of you sev-
eral months ago to stop and
research the proposal to
purchase Broadway Mid-
dle School thoroughly and
get the public (taxpayers)
involved but it appears you
are proceeding ahead with-
out doing this.
Where is Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation Dis-
trict’s business plan for
the property and district,
the strategic plan (being
worked on now), and is this
something your bosses (tax-
payers) want? Maybe they
do or would after they have
all the facts.
Over the past few
months, more informa-
tion has been uncovered.
It seems many discussions
have been held behind
closed doors and we, tax-
payers, would appreci-
ate having the information.
Ideas have been fl oated that
maybe your employees hav-
en’t thought of, i.e., asking
the school district to split
the property. Private indi-
viduals, who wish to use
the gyms for their private
fi nancial gain, could pur-
chase them. The school and
SEPRD could rent the space
as needed and the prop-
erty would be back on the
tax rolls. Also, removal by
a private developer of the
old school and new con-
struction for commer-
cial use, could be another
opportunity.
Please listen and talk to
us. We all wish what is best
for our community so let’s
work together.
Margene Ridout
Former SEPRD board
member
Vacation rentals hurt
our quality of life
In response to a letter to
the editor from members
of the Seaside Vacation
Rental Association.
In their letter one state-
ment was “More specifi -
cally, we were never suc-
cessful in getting data from
you supporting the primary
concerns you all expressed
of signifi cant negative citi-
zen complaints.”
I do not live in Sea-
side, I live in Gearhart and
believe me, neighbors here
do not like vacation rentals.
Vacation rental own-
ers may contribute fi nan-
cially to the city or county,
but you are not the only
source of revenue. So are
permanent homeowners.
Permanent homeowners
who live here full time are
a lot more invested in their
community than temporary
vacation home renters and
owners that live elsewhere.
Vacation renters do not
care, they may not ever
stay here again. I person-
ally have three vacation
rentals directly behind my
home and they are a con-
stant nightmare.
Every night we must
endure bright outdoor fl ood
lights shining at our house.
Why do vacation home
owners think they must
install bright lights on the
outside of their houses?
Do they not understand
that surrounding neigh-
bors must put up with those
bright lights that renters
never bother to turn off?
We are unable to sit out
and enjoy our back patio
in the evening because
of the lights, and that is
only a small part of what
we endure. There is loud
music, parties out on the
vacation rental decks that
face us and even fi reworks
being shot off. These are
not little sparklers but com-
mercial type fi reworks.
And not just on the Fourth
of July, but anytime a
renter happens to bring
them.
There is no way these
vacation homeowners are
present to address these
problems and the renters
know that so they don’t
care. They are only here for
their own enjoyment and
it’s not their neighborhood.
And I can assure the
Seaside Vacation Rental
Association my neigh-
bors don’t like your rental
houses either, but we feel
like we are powerless and
our only option is to sell
our home and move.
Sharon Robinson
Gearhart
Sunset Empire Park and Rec-
reation District Board of Direc-
tors, 5:15 p.m., 1225 Avenue A.
Seaside School District, 6 p.m.,
www.seaside.k12.or.us/meet-
ings.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Contact local agencies for latest
meeting information and atten-
dance guidelines.
MONDAY, Dec. 28
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, 5 p.m.,
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
special meeting, sunsetem-
pire.com.
Gearhart City Council, 6 p.m.,
work session, 670 Pacifi c Way.
TUESDAY, Dec. 29
TUESDAY, Jan. 19
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Darren Gooch
Joshua Heineman
Rain Jordan
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
Seaside Signal
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