OUR 114th Year
April 9, 2021 $1.00
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
Hood to Coast
could be back
in August
Last year’s event
a casualty of the
pandemic
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
The Hood to Coast
Relay is back on track.
The “mother of all
relays,” which was can-
celed last summer because
of the coronavirus pan-
demic, could take place
Aug. 27 and Aug. 28, with
12-member teams running
199 miles from the top of
Mount Hood to the beach
in Seaside.
“We’ve been planning
on operating our 2021 relay
events since the beginning
of the year,” Hood to Coast
Chief Operating Offi cer
Dan Floyd said. “We feel
strongly that we can safely
operate the 2021 events.”
The relay team lottery
has fi lled its limit, with
1,050 Hood to Coast run-
ning teams and 400 Portland
to Coast Walk teams. A new
event, the 130-mile Portland
to Coast Challenge Relay,
leaving from the Tilikum
Crossing Bridge in Port-
land, is open to 70 teams.
Still, the race series
needs approval from all 35
governing bodies along the
route, Floyd said. “There-
fore, our neighbors and the
communities that host the
event will have to permit
the event fi rst,” he said.
See Hood to Coast, Page A6
City of Gearhart
High Point site preparation and mitigation add an additional $3.1 million and would be a similar cost at other locations considered.
Resiliency station costs
laid out in Gearhart
Project could exceed $13M
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
C
ity staff in Gearhart laid out the
most complete look at a pro-
posed resiliency station at High
Point.
A new survey will be conducted
to determine if voters are willing to
get behind what could be a more than
$13 million project on North Marion
Avenue.
“Ultimately it is up to Gearhart vot-
ers,” City Administrator Chad Sweet
told the City Council during a work-
shop last Tuesday.
Along with cost, there are a number
of complications with the High Point
site, City Attorney Peter Watts said.
The Palisades Homeowners Associa-
tion, which owns a right of way to the
property, opposes the project and has
indicated that they will litigate.
Rezoning, an urban growth bound-
ary, annexation and other legal issues
could complicate the process.
“That isn’t to say it isn’t going to
be the location, but it is a complicated
path to get there,” Watts said.
Gearhart’s fi re station, constructed
in 1958, is considered at risk for fl ood-
ing or collapse during an earthquake
and tsunami.
In 2018, after considering nine
locations, a fi re station committee rec-
ommended three concepts and loca-
tions to help guide the decision-mak-
ing process. More than 50% supported
the High Point site, with an elevation
between 62 feet and 65 feet, as their
Professor questions
High Point option
Doubts raised on
resiliency station
By R.J. MARX
Seaside SIgnal
Where’s the best place to put
a resiliency station and fi rehouse?
University professor Stew-
art Schultz, a former Gear-
hart resident and author of “The
Northwest Coast: A Natural
History,” wants the city to reex-
amine the plan to put the station
on North Marion Avenue near the
Palisades.
“The High Point site is not in
the running as a good assembly
area, let alone the best or the ideal,”
Schultz said in a four-part, 50-min-
ute YouTube video series. “Why
would you settle on a location
that’s wide open to a big hit from a
high-energy western wave?”
See High Point, Page A6
Screenshot from Stewart Schultz’s video. Red mark indicates the High
Point location.
See Station, Page A6
Katherine Lacaze
1-year-old Kensley picks up candy-fi lled eggs at
the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District’s
annual egg hunt on April 3.
Egg hunt returns
to Broadway Field
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
Broadway Field was transformed into a gar-
den of colorful eggs last Saturday as the Sun-
set Empire Park and Recreation District brought
back its beloved springtime tradition, the com-
munity Easter egg hunt.
“It was so great to be able to have all the kids
here,” said Melissa Ousley, manager of market-
ing and special events for the park district. “Nor-
mally, it’s one of our most popular events.”
The free community egg hunt took place in
the morning, with roughly 400 people in atten-
dance. Children up to age 6 were invited onto the
fi eld in waves of 250 or less to collect thousands
of scattered eggs fi lled with candy. The intention
was to limit the number of people on the fi eld
at one time and comply with social distancing
guidelines because of the coronavirus pandemic,
Ousley said.
A few of the eggs contained prize tickets
that made the winning child eligible for an Eas-
ter basket featuring treats from Bruce’s Candy
Kitchen or one of several plush rabbits donated
by Rascals. As children checked in, they were
also given a token to use for a ride on the car-
ousel, courtesy of Susan Deshon and the Carou-
sel Mall.
See Easter, Page A5
Seaside fi re marshal takes new role
Dugan named as
state deputy for
the region
Seaside Signal
Seaside
and Fire
Dugan is
chapter in
career.
Fire Div. Chief
Marshal Chris
starting a new
his fi refi ghting
“It gives me great excite-
ment to announce that I
have been off ered the posi-
tion of Offi ce of State Fire
Marshal, Deputy State Fire
Marshal District No. 1,”
Dugan said last week.
That district covers Clat-
sop, Tillamook, and Colum-
bia counties.
There are 15 deputy
state fi re marshals and
two supervisors located
throughout the state.
A volunteer with Sea-
side since 1989 and a pro-
fessional fi refi ghter since
2000, Dugan’s last day was
last Friday. He started his
new job on Monday, based
out of the state police offi ce
in Warrenton.
“I’m not moving, in
fact I’m still going to be
part of the Seaside Fire
Department as a volun-
teer,” Dugan said. “I’m still
going to be part of the com-
munity, still a part of the
department as long as they
can use me.”
The deputy state fi re
marshal investigates fi res,
especially in fi re dis-
tricts
without
trained
investigators.
“I could be going any-
where from Netarts in Til-
lamook County to over
in Columbia County, and
investigate fi res as needed.”
The deputy state fi re
marshal inspects businesses
normally not inspected
by the local fi re marshal,
including anything that
would be licensed by the
state. “A little more techni-
cal, not your everyday gas-
oline stations, to restaurants
to motels,” Dugan said.
Seaside Fire Department
Seaside Fire Div. Chief Chris Dugan takes on a new role with
the offi ce of the state fi re marshal.