OUR 114th Year
August 13, 2021 $1.00
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
Hospital
feels impact
of virus
resurgence
Increase in local cases
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases tied
to the delta variant on the North Coast,
more people are getting tested and Provi-
dence Seaside Hospital is “really busy,” a
trend among hospitals everywhere, accord-
ing to emergency
room nurse Mary
Romanaggi.
MORE
“We’re feeling it
INSIDE
across Oregon and
Nurse recalls
across the country,”
early days
she said. “I think part
of city’s
of it is that folks had
hospital • A4
put off care for the
past 18 months.”
This
increased
demand is straining the testing capacity
at local hospitals, clinics and the Clatsop
County Public Health Department, accord-
ing the county’s Vaccine Task Force.
To stem the tide, Gov. Kate Brown
issued a mask mandate for all public spaces
beginning on Friday.
When a coronavirus test is requested,
Providence Seaside patients are sent to the
R.J. Marx
Something they didn’t do 100 years ago — Seaside Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Owen takes a selfie.
Welcoming the Promenade’s next century
See Hospital, Page A4
Partying like it’s 1921
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Survey shows
support for
Gearhart
firehouse plan
S
aturday’s centennial Prom cele-
bration was just like 1921 — with
some minor changes.
“There are things they had in
1921 we don’t: bathing beauty, pag-
eants and braids,” state Sen. Betsy
Johnson said at Saturday’s 100th
See Prom, Page A3
City looks at site off
Highlands Lane
MORE INSIDE
Jeff TerHar
Message from U.S. Rep. Bonamici • A3
Royal Rosarian Prime Minister Korrie Hoeckendorf and state Sen. Betsy Johnson.
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
The majority of residents who partici-
pated in a city survey agree with the city’s
plan to build a new firehouse near High-
lands Lane and U.S. Highway 101.
The city has identified the site on the
Cottages at Gearhart dune to relocate the
aging firehouse on Pacific Way that is
vulnerable to an earthquake and tsunami.
Of the 554 responses to the survey,
about 65% said they agree with the city.
About 60% said they would support
the necessary bond financing in a Novem-
ber election to pay for a new firehouse.
Among the 309 voters who partici-
pated in the survey, 51% supported both
the Highlands Lane site and the bond,
a narrow margin that indicates vot-
ers are more skeptical than others in the
community.
See Survey, Page A3
Limit to weekend construction
draws backlash in Gearhart
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Builder Jon Shelton speaks against a
proposed ordinance to limit work hours in
Gearhart. “If for some reason we miss a day,
if you weren’t able to work on the weekends,
there’s no, there’s no makeup for that.”
Gearhart Residents want a day off from
noise and construction. But contractors,
builders and landscapers say seven days a
week are needed to complete their jobs in a
boom economy amid a labor shortage.
“Our neighborhood has been subject to
ongoing construction for the past two years,”
wrote Sheila Nolan, a resident. “Commercial
construction is permitted 10 hours a day, every
day. I am urging you to vote to limit commer-
cial construction to Monday through Friday.”
The city presented two options to curb
construction noise, considering work pro-
hibitions on Saturdays or on Saturdays and
Sundays. Ultimately, the City Council voted
by a 3-2 margin last Wednesday to direct
staff to prepare an ordinance prohibiting
work on Sundays.
If passed, the police will have primary
enforcement responsibility, and may fine
violators up to $500. Each occurrence or
violation may be punished separately.
See Limit, Page A3
Beach Soap and Candle opens second store
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
Katherine Lacaze
Erin Fenison opened Beach Soap
and Candle on North Holladay
Drive in downtown Seaside in July.
Walk into Beach Soap and Can-
dle on Holladay Drive and you
might feel like you have entered a
confectioner’s shop.
Across the bright, spacious
room, display bins, tables and
shelves are brimming with delica-
cies that delight both the nose and
the eyes, from lusciously marbled
soaps and truffle-like bath bombs
to rich body butters, lotions and
other lavish self-care items.
Each product in the shop, which
opened in July, is hand-crafted
with care and quality ingredients
by owner Erin Fenison and her
team. That’s part of her core busi-
ness philosophy.
“If you’re going to make some-
thing for people it should be
wholesome, it should add to their
environment and their health, and
it should be fun to use,” she said.
Building the business
Seaside is the second location
for Fenison, who established her
first storefront in Cannon Beach in
2017. However, her story begins a
couple of years earlier, when she
noticed her skin was irritated, and
she went about discovering why.
Upon researching the ingredients
used in commercial self-care prod-
ucts and the standards they’re held
to, she realized, “I was putting a
Katherine Lacaze
See Store, Page A5
Wild rose handmade soap.