Friday, April 30, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Ballots mailed for school board, regular district elections
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Ballots will arrive this
week for local elections,
including the races for
Seaside School District
board of directors. Brian
Taylor, Brian Owen, A.J.
Wahl and Michelle Wun-
derlich are running unop-
posed in Cannon Beach,
Seaside, Gearhart and
at-large positions.
Wahl, a Gearhart resi-
dent, is candidate for Zone
3 Position 1 seat, vacant
after Lori Lum Toyooka
announced she would not
seek a second term. Wahl
Brian Taylor
Brian Owen
is an attorney and media-
tor for Wahl LLC.
Taylor, the board vice
president, has represented
Cannon Beach’s Zone 2
Position 2 seat since 2013.
He is co-owner of Bruce’s
Candy Kitchen in Cannon
A.J. Wahl
Beach.
Owen, a Seaside res-
ident and chief execu-
tive officer for the Seaside
Chamber of Commerce, is
seeking the Zone 6 Posi-
tion 2 seat. Owen was
named to the board after
Michelle Wunderlich
Hugh Stelson announced
his retirement in October.
Wunderlich, owner of
the Seaside Coffee House,
represents the at-large
Zone 7 Position 1 board
seat. She won election to
the board in 2017.
Board president Mark
Truax, who represents
Zone 4 Position 2 in Gear-
hart, and board members
Sondra Gomez and Shan-
non Swedenborg will be
up for reelection in 2023.
Swedenborg
represents
Cannon Beach’s Zone 1
Position 1 and and Gomez
Seaside’s Zone 5 Position
1.
Park and Recreation
District
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District Board
of Directors race has five
competitive races for
board positions.
Board president Katha-
rine Parker who represents
Position 5, is challenged
by Stephen Morrison.
Su Coddington, who
represents Position 1, has
lived in Seaside for 24
years.
She is challenged by Al
Hernandez, also on the bal-
lot for the Position 1 seat.
Bodner faces retired
John Huismann for Posi-
tion 2.
Board vice president
and secretary Michael Hin-
ton, who holds Position 3,
faces Patrick Duhachek.
Position 4 candidate
Erika Marshall Hamer is
running against Jackie
Evans.
Guidelines: Full-contact indoor sports are allowed this spring
Continued from Page A1
impact year-end assess-
ments for students in third
through eighth grades and
11th grade.
Last year, the Smarter
Balanced statewide assess-
ment was waived because
of COVID. The state
Department of Education
requested another waiver
for this school year, but it
was denied.
This year the department
plans to shorten the tests
to 60 to 80 minutes and
reduce the number of tests
students need to take. Third
through fi fth grade stu-
dents will take one assess-
ment instead of two, and
students in seventh, eighth
and 11th grade will take
two assessments instead of
three.
Opt-out and parent-re-
quested exemption pro-
cesses still apply, and par-
ents may also choose
to have their elementa-
ry-aged students take both
assessments.
The Clatsop County
COVID Vaccine Task Force
is holding biweekly listen-
ing sessions for the public
in response to an increas-
ing number of questions
regarding vaccinations for
teenaged students. The fi rst
listening sessions were held
April 21 and 22, with more
to be planned in the coming
weeks. The sessions, which
take place virtually via
Facebook and Instagram,
provide an opportunity for
School budget: Revenue stream looks positive
Continued from Page A1
ful outlook, she said,
with strong revenue col-
lections, positive market
assets and asset market
continuing to gain value
and corporate income tax
holding steady. These are
all positive indicators for
the district’s local reve-
nue stream.
“There has also been
unprecedented amount of
federal stimulus pushed
out into the economy,
which has also really
helped and stimulated
spending,” Hill said.
The budget committee
will meet again on May
18 to approve the bud-
get. A public hearing is
scheduled for June 15, at
which time the new fis-
cal year budget could be
adopted by the board.
public health profession-
als to answer questions and
gather feedback from par-
ents, Penrod said.
Updates can be found on
the Clatsop County Public
Health Department Face-
book page and website.
The Oregon School
Activities
Association
changed their metrics
to allow for full-contact
indoor sports. According to
Roberts, that means there
will be seasons for the
high school’s basketball
and wrestling teams this
spring. He implored the
community to follow spec-
tator guidelines, such as
mask-wearing, “in order
for these opportunities to
continue to present for our
students.”
Band director Dahlgren
to put down baton after
nearly two decades
The school board accepted
the resignation of Terry Dahl-
gren, who has served as band
director for Seaside middle
and high schools for nearly
two decades.
“Our
district
was
extremely fortunate to have
him for as long as we have,”
board president Mark Truax
said.
Principal Jeff Roberts
agreed, adding that rebuild-
ing the program would
“probably be a much eas-
ier task” than to fi nd some-
one who can fi ll Dahlgren’s
shoes.
“I don’t know that you
try to replace somebody
like that,” Roberts said.
“You empower somebody
and hope for the best, but it
is a signifi cant loss to this
community.”
The board reviewed new
job descriptions for several
key positions in the district,
including business manager,
food service supervisor, and
summer school coordinator.
Justine Hill, who’s been
the district’s business man-
ager for several years, is leav-
ing to serve as city treasurer
and water clerk for Gearhart.
The district also may
receive funds for a summer
learning program, giving rise
to the need for a new summer
school coordinator, Superin-
tendent Susan Penrod said.
that work to protect and restore
wildlife habitats will be dearly
missed. His advocacy for the
rights of area hunters and fi sh-
ermen was tireless.
Walt co-founded the North
Coast Chapter of Ducks Unlim-
ited in the 1980s, was a found-
ing member of Rainland Fly-
casters Club and, in retirement,
was the major driving force in
the continuance of ODFW’s
essential Salmonberry River
winter steelhead spawning
surveys.
Walt had the wisdom and
foresight to continue the col-
lection of this data, which was
intrinsic in preserving the future
health and spawning habitat of
one of the last truly wild steel-
head runs in a free-fl owing river
on the Northern Oregon Coast.
Other organizations that
he tirelessly donated his time,
energy and resources to include
the Native Fish Society, Necan-
icum Watershed Council, Ore-
gon Trout, American Fisheries
Society and Trout Unlimited.
Walt’s immense circle of
friends speaks to the value he
placed on relationships. Rarely
did he miss a Kelso High
School reunion. He treasured
new friendships just as much
as those that were steadfast and
decades long. He never failed to
ask his kids about those dearest
to them, as well.
Those closest to him will
miss his crab cocktails, oys-
ters on the half shell, and his
smoked duck and salmon
hors d’oeurvres. Those lucky
enough will also remember sip-
ping a bourbon with him now
and again.
Walt is survived and missed
by his wife, Sharon; his three
children, Lance Weber, Lisa
(Paddy) Ryan and Tammy
(Dan) Elwess; seven grandchil-
dren, Sharon (Richard) Bracey,
Bradley Weber, Jane, Mag-
gie and Patrick Ryan, Mere-
dith (Samuel) Marksberry and
Shane Elwess; great-grand-
daughters, Kendra and Kay-
lynn; brother John (Bev)
Weber; and many much-loved
cousins, nieces, nephews,
in-laws and friends.
In his memory, please take
a long hike in the wilderness
and thank him for his contribu-
tions toward saving it for future
generations.
If you would like to honor
him, please feel free to do so
by making a contribution in his
name to the North Coast Chap-
ter of Ducks Unlimited using
this link: bit.ly/NCDucks. The
money collected will go toward
DU youth programs.
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
OBITUARY
Walter G. “Spike” Weber Jr.
Chinook, Washington
July 2, 1939 — April 7, 2021
Walter G. “Spike”
Weber Jr. passed
from this world
peacefully at home
on April 7, at the age
of 81. His wife, three
children, brother and
close friends were
honored to be by his
side, surrounding him with love
the last week of his life.
Born in Yakima, Washing-
ton to Phyllis Jane and Wal-
ter G. Weber Sr. on July 2,
1939, Walt was raised in Kelso,
Washington with his younger
brother, John.
Many stories have been
shared about the two Weber
boys exploring the rivers,
sloughs and fi elds of Cowlitz
County. Those early childhood
days fostered Walt’s deep devo-
tion to the outdoors.
Despite a birth injury to his
hip that was undetected until
walking age, and thanks to his
devoted mother Phyllis — who
went as far as “camping out”
in the lobby of Seattle’s Ortho-
pedic Children’s Hospital until
only the best surgeon would see
him— Walt overcame many
surgeries and physical chal-
lenges to become a great athlete
and avid outdoorsman.
After graduating from
Kelso High School in 1957,
Walt attended the University of
Washington, graduating with
an accounting degree in 1961.
It was at his gradua-
tion party at the UW
where Walt met his
“Sheri,” his future
wife.
Sharon
Marie
Wells immediately
caught Walt’s very
discerning eye. He
bravely walked up to her, intro-
duced himself and politely
off ered her his beer. Sharon
smiled at him, then politely
asked him to get her a cold one.
They married one year later.
Employed as a certifi ed
public accountant at Peat, Mar-
wick & Mitchell in Portland
in the early 1960s, Walt soon
decided a desk job was not for
him. With support from his lov-
ing wife, they moved to Cor-
vallis so Walt could attend Ore-
gon State University, where he
achieved an additional degree
in marine biology.
As they started their fam-
ily, Walt began his dream job
as a North Coast Fish and
Game Biologist for the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wild-
life. The Webers then moved to
Seaside, into a house steps from
the ocean.
Walt immersed himself in
his work, family and commu-
nity. Ever the entertainer, he
led his family on great outdoor
adventures: salmon fi shing,
clam digging, crabbing, vaca-
tioning at the family’s Hood
Fre
e
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tes
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Canal cabin, father/son hunting
trips, water-skiing excursions
(wow, he was a patient teacher)
and camping and road trips to
interesting places.
A proud father, he was a big
supporter of the Seaside Kids
program, and coached his son’s
Little League teams. He rarely,
if ever, missed his kids’ extra-
curricular activities.
When Sheri began her run-
ning career in the late 1970s,
Walt supportively rode his bike
alongside her in his “Sheri’s
Coach” sweatshirt, and he often
brought wildfl owers to her
from the forests he worked in.
In his community, Walt was
the go-to guy when an aban-
doned seal pup, motherless
fawn or other at-risk creature
was discovered.
A generous teacher, he
always had resources at the
ready for anyone interested in
learning about the wildlife hab-
itats of the world. In fact, his
kids recall him regularly read-
ing the National Geographic to
them as their bedtime story!
The Seaside School Dis-
trict honored Walt for his con-
tributions to educational pro-
grams, which helped students
better understand the Ore-
gon coast’s local resources and
management.
As an early advocate of
recycling, he taught his family
the diff erence one person could
make, however small, by doing
their part.
As a lifelong learner, Walt
had a plethora of interests out-
side of hunting and fi shing. His
endeavors included scuba div-
ing, water/snow skiing, Toast-
masters, fl y-tying, master gar-
dening, wine making, water
color painting, cooking, wild-
life art and excursions to Alaska
and Eastern Oregon for fi shing
and hunting with his son and
good friends.
Once the children were
grown, Walt left his post on
the Oregon coast in 1988. He
and Sheri relocated to the high
desert of Bend, where he took
on a dual position with the
Deschutes National Forest in
partnership with ODFW.
As a satisfying coda to his
career, he was promoted to
district fi sh and game biolo-
gist, Northern Coast Region,
which brought Walt and Sheri
back to the beautiful coast, set-
tling in the quaint town of Chi-
nook, Washington, on the Long
Beach Peninsula. He retired in
1997.
Walt’s passionate commit-
ment to and leadership in count-
less Northwest organizations
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