OUR 114th Year
July 9, 2021
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
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Seaside
considers
wastewater
investment
New system could help
city turn profit from sludge
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
fireworks show, which would have tied up
traffic after the show.
Seaside Fire and Rescue responded to 21
calls Sunday night, Fire Chief Joey Daniels
said. There were two fireworks injuries and
10 fires.
“One deck on fire that was on the sec-
ond story of a hotel that our firefighter extin-
guished quickly could have been really bad,”
Daniels said.
A new, $3.1 million press and drying
system for Seaside’s wastewater treatment
plant could increase capacity and lower
costs.
The proposal was presented by Dale
McDowell, the city’s public works direc-
tor, and Tony Biamont, the treatment plant
operator, at last Monday’s City Council
meeting.
Public works is seeking a better solu-
tion for the treatment plant as the drying
and processing plant has seen better days,
McDowell said.
The proposal he and Biamont presented
could also provide U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency Class A biosolid
product suitable for agriculture purposes,
which the city could turn a profit from.
Class A designates dewatered and
heated sewage sludge that meets the fed-
eral agency’s guidelines for land applica-
tion with no restrictions.
“This stuff is super absorbent of water,”
Biamont said. “It pulls the water out of the
ground. It’s far better than we could have
ever imagined.”
The city’s wastewater drying system
faces frequent downtime, McDowell said.
“The used dryer has worked great for a
few years. But we’re spending more time
working on it, repairing it,” he said. “Parts
are no longer available and staff are strug-
gling to keep it clean. Now it’s time to
look beyond this dryer.”
The city’s Fenton Fenix dryer, pur-
chased in 2012 when it was already 10
years old, could be sold for $50,000 to
$60,000, because it’s very sought after,
McDowell added. The dryer may have
some parts that are of value to someone
that has the same unit.
The system processes 365,000 gallons
a week. The proposed Centrisys system
does that in three days, Biamont said.
According to product specifications,
the unit works using centrifugal force to
push heavier particles through the liquid
collected on the inner wall of the bowl.
The high-speed rotation of the bowl sepa-
rates the solid and liquid materials to cre-
ate biosolids.
Low-temperature drying reduces
potential injuries and fire hazards,
McDowell said. Parts are readily avail-
able from the company, based in Keno-
sha, Wisconsin.
The $3.1 million cost includes the
dryer and centrifuge, Biamont said, with
an additional $300,000 to $400,000 for
construction.
After processing, the sludge can be
sold for agricultural purposes. Seaside’s
biosolids are so rich in nutrients that it
would not require watering or nitrogen
pellets to produce higher yields.
While the city doesn’t charge for bio-
solids now, the sewer plant has the poten-
tial to create a revenue stream, Biamont
said, with customers throughout the
See Fourth, Page A2
See Wastewater, Page A6
R.J. Marx photos
Crowds lined the streets on the Fourth for the return of the annual parade.
Gearhart residents celebrate
Independence Day parade return
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
“What would the Fourth of July be
without the traditional parade of kids
and bikes, led by the siren-sounding
Gerhart Volunteer Fire Department
engine?”
So wrote historian Bill Berg, author
of “Gearhart Remembered,” who died
in May at the age of 82. Berg is gone,
but the parade lives on. The annual
event, which began as a Kid’s Day
Parade on July 4, 1980, returned as the
state reopens after more than a year of
restrictions because of the coronavi-
rus pandemic.
Parade watchers filled the streets
early, staking out the best location to
view the show, running as in years past
on North Marion south to Pacific Way
before turning east to the firehouse.
Just after 11 a.m., the engine gave
the signal. Mayor Paulina Cockrum
waved from the lead engine. The Tiki
Bar, hokey-pokey dancers, and Bob
McEwan and his donkey, “Pancho,”
posed for a thousand pictures. Kids
jostled for taffies and Tootsie Pops,
sometimes fighting off their parents.
Final destination: the firehouse,
where families lined up for hot dogs
courtesy of Gearhart firefighters.
LEFT: The Tiki Bar is back. RIGHT: Accompanied by family, Logan found many admirers as she rode
in style in the parade.
Paraders do the hokey-pokey.
A quieter Fourth of July in Seaside
Police confiscate illegal fireworks
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Seaside police reported a “relatively
uneventful” July Fourth compared to years
past when fireworks drew thousands to the
beach.
Seaside canceled its fireworks show ear-
lier this year because of the pandemic.
The beach was active with lots of people
and with that came many illegal fireworks,
Police Chief Dave Ham said.
“Additionally, there were illegal fire-
works
being
displayed
throughout
the city,” Ham said. “Officers confiscated ille-
gal fireworks when they came upon them.”
Police received 52 calls for service,
including 19 fireworks complaints and three
theft reports.
Traffic congestion at the end of the night
was light, presumably due to no sanctioned
Take aim and throw the hatchet
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Got a yen to throw a hatchet?
You can do about anything in Sea-
side, and now Scout Northwest Trad-
ing Co. offers the opportunity to try
your target skills in their axe-cage.
Located in the Seaside Outlets, that’s
only one of their many features.
“We went from being an out-
door store with kayaks and paddle
boards and BMX bikes and fishing
poles to a Northwest lifestyle store,
which is what we have now, Lin-
coln City and here,” manager Pam
Holmes said.
The business is family-owned,
with all of the clothes printed in
store. “We make the decals, button
patches, posters, stickers, the hats,
we do the engraving on the glasses
and stuff,” she said. “Ninety percent
is made by family and friends.”
Scout carries products from
Green State Wearables, Black Salt
Co., Harney and Sons, and Pioneer
Joe Coffee Co. Need a beard elixir?
Try Mad Jax.
The Seaside location recreates
the look and feel of Scout’s Lincoln
City location, featuring T-shirts,
stickers, home goods, artwork —
and axe-throwing.
“They put an axe-throwing cage
there and they now have people pur-
posely visiting Lincoln City just so
they can do axe throwing,” Seaside
Outlets’ manager Kendra Lounsbury
said. “Five bucks gets you three
throws, $10 gets you 10 throws.”
Scout Northwest Trading Co. is a
member and compliant with all reg-
ulations of the World Axe Throwing
League. Because of limitations in
size in the Seaside location, hatch-
ets, which are smaller than axes, are
the projectile of choice.
Anyone wearing a close-toed shoe
who have signed a waiver can get a
few throws at the target. Young peo-
ple under 18 may participate as long
as they are accompanied by an adult.
After you throw, consider a “Tap
That Axe” T-shirt or “Kiss My Axe”
sticker.
R.J. Marx
Pam Holmes, of Scout Northwest Trading Co., gives Russ Vandenberg,
general manager of the Seaside Civic and Convention Center, instructions
on how to throw a hatchet.