OUR 114th Year August 6, 2021 $1.00 SEASIDESIGNAL.COM AIR SHOWS, ‘QUEEN OF SONG’ STARRED IN PROM’S DEBUT Seaside Museum & Historical Society/Bruce Andrews Restoration Dignitaries and citizens gather at the Turnaround in Seaside for the dedication in August 1921. City celebrates centennial on Saturday with parade By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal ‘A turning point in the civic and cultural history of the state of Oregon,” is how a proclama- tion celebrating the opening of the Seaside Prom read in 1921. One hundred years later, the city will again celebrate the Prom with a parade and celebration on Satur- day as part of a yearlong celebra- tion of the North Coast icon’s mon- umental birthday. The city issued and unani- mously endorsed a proclamation celebrating the Prom in July. Sea- side Public Library’s exhibit “The ‘SEASIDERS WANT THE TRAVELERS TO COME AND IN RETURN WILL ENDEAVOR TO ENTERTAIN ALL WHILE HERE.’ Seaside Signal, Aug. 11, 1921 Prom in Pictures,” is on display and will head to the Seaside Museum & Historical Society in late August. The parade kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. near City Hall, the his- toric location of Seaside’s train sta- tion, and then proceeds west down Broadway to the Turnaround. The public is invited to gather on the beach facing the Turnaround, which will serve as a stage for the ceremony. The Royal Rosar- ians, Portland’s offi cial ambassa- dors of goodwill, were present at the 1921 dedication and will return to Seaside to join the parade. The group’s prime minister will plant a rose at the corner of Broadway and R.J. Marx See Prom, Page A4 Plaque honoring the builders of the Prom. Task force formed on homelessness As masks return, safety remains top priority at Seaside schools By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal At a listening session in July, city coun- cilors vowed action on homelessness. At last week’s City Council meeting, they took the fi rst steps, with the announce- ment of a homelessness task force to be led by City Councilor Steve Wright and a homelessness think tank overseen by City Councilor Tita Montero. Wright anticipated meeting with the task force once a month, “with a lot of study and hard work involved.” “One of the things I talked about towards the end, is we’ve gathered the informa- tion,” Montero said. “Now we need to start formulating what we can do and a way to do that is through possibly brainstorming. “I’m calling mine a think tank, so that we can pull together a variety of ideas and strategies coming from things that we’ve learned and looking at how can we do things, what can we do and how can we fund them.” Wright’s Seaside Task Force for Devel- opment of Housing Opportunities comes with the appointment of eight members, including property manager Erin Barker and homeless advocates Rick Bowers and Nelle Moff att, who created the nonprofi t Friends a solution,” said Skyler Archibald, the park district’s executive director. “The staff of the district advise the board to continue pur- suing a more balanced relationship with the other parties in this agreement while keep- ing the fi eld open for community use.” With a Title IX decision from the Offi ce for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education this month, an additional ele- ment is thrown to the mix. The agree- ment between the Seaside School District Oregon will require students and staff at K-12 schools to mask up when school starts in September. Amid concerns about the spread of the delta variant, Gov. Kate Brown last week directed the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education to create a rule to require masks to be worn indoors at schools for the 2021-22 school year. While the nuts and bolts surrounding trans- portation schedules, contact tracing and other COVID-19 precautions are still being ham- mered out by the Seaside School District’s leadership team, Superintendent Susan Pen- rod said they are looking forward to having students back full time and in-person for the 2021-22 school year. From a full academic schedule to club activities and athletics programs, “we’re plan- ning to move forward,” Penrod said. It’s the detailed operational blueprint for the school year that is currently under review by the leadership team, which consists of Pen- rod, buildings administrators and a few other district staff members, including new assistant principal of instruction Sarah Shields. “It’s a complex situation, and there is a lot to take into account,” Penrod said. In this process, the team is looking to the Oregon Department of Education’s Ready Schools, Safe Learners resiliency framework. See Field, Page A3 See Schools, Page A5 See Homelessness, Page A3 Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian The view from home plate of the softball diamond at Broadway Field. Park district wants fresh look at Broadway Field agreement Field of dreams, but who will bear cost? By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal The city owns the land. The Seaside School District uses the fi elds. The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District main- tains them. The park district’s board believes it is time to take a look at park expenses and forecasts and putting a new deal in place with an intergovernmental agreement from 2012 for Broadway Field. “While the timing of this has certainly taken longer than ideal, it will stay on the forefront of our minds as we work toward MORE INSIDE With grant funds, districts partner for summer child care • A3