A4 • Friday, October 1, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
SignalViewpoints
‘They’re taking people’s dignity away from them’
community.
Q: Do you divide the people on the
street that you can help and the ones that
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
you can’t?
R.J. MARX
A: It’s not a division. You can help
everybody to ascend.
Q: You just give them the services that
they need in each particular instance is
fter a city crackdown on Necanicum what you’re saying.
Drive near 12th Avenue earlier this
A: I sharpen the tools they already have.
year, residents in Seaside say that
I dust off the stuff that they already know,
people living in RVs have moved across the but has just been piled upon with peo-
street to Goodman Park.
ple’s opinions and perspectives of what the
The park’s popularity as a place to shel-
homeless community is. I’m not the only
ter grew after overnight street parking pro-
one out here with intelligence. I’m not the
hibitions and increased ticketing. Many
only one out here with the business license
nearby residents are incensed. They say the or the capability to come and speak to you
camp is illegal and endangers the area’s
or reach out to you.
health, safety and property values.
Q: I fi rst met you at one of the city’s
Residents of the park say it is their right. homeless forums at the Seaside Civic and
The Signal spoke with D.C. Clouds, who Convention Center.
lives in the lot and stepped forward to dis-
A: That was a joke. This is the result
cuss her experience as a homeless person.
of that. This is the result of draggin’ feet
We met at the Seaside Lodge and Interna-
... This is the result of “we’ll get to it next
tional Hostel on North Holladay Drive.
time.” So where do we go? What’s the
Q: How did you step up to become a
other option here? Oh, there isn’t one. It’s
voice of the streets?
survive as you can. A lot of people think
A: I’m not trying to be, you know, “that
that if somebody yells at us that we can just
guy,” but I just got tired of us not having
pack up our lives and move away. If you
somebody to represent us from the level of
have a normal setting, yeah, that’s normal.
the streets. So I said enough, I’ll do it. The
But when your life is in this, you got to
lack of representation from our level is fear. think about the money for the gas, fi nding
Fear for our safety, fear for,
somebody with the jumper
you know, where we might
box if you don’t have one.
exist. This overwhelm-
All these little things are
‘WE ARE A
ing fear between the com-
time-consuming.
COMMUNITY
munity themselves and the
Q: When did you get
police. There’s so many dif-
here?
WITH OR
ferent levels that you have
A: I landed back in town
to be watching out for that it
on June 27. I arrived in town
WITHOUT
makes it just overwhelming.
with three outfi ts in my book
THE WALLS,
For somebody like myself,
bag, and a hope and a prayer
who does not have any
that I can keep doing what I
WITH OR
addictions. I’m getting shov-
do. I slept on Seaside Muse-
eled in places that are fi lled
WITHOUT THE um’s property. And to the
with addicts. And it just
I came down to this
DOORKNOBS.’ point
becomes this state of misery.
lot. I then obtained a car. So
They’re taking people’s dig-
now I’m living in a car and
D.C. Clouds
nity away from them.
then went from there onto
Q: Where are you
that trailer.
from?
Q: How did you end up
A: Originally Maryland.
in the lot on 11th Street?
Q: How old are you?
A: The community kept calling us ugly
A: 36.
and undignifi ed and how horrible critters
Q: What do you do?
we have to be to be parked along the lovely
A: I’m a groundskeeper here (Seaside
Necanicum like that, because we’re block-
hostel). I’ve worked with the street com-
ing their million dollar river view, right?
munity. I’ve got a job I don’t get paid for I
Not worried about the pollution in the trash
mean, I work my tail off .
that comes from the crabbing community
Q: Do you hear success stories from
and the tourist community here but the few
others?
folks that are just simply trying to be in a
A: Sir, I used to be a drug dealer and
safe existence. They’re worried about the
now I volunteer in your community. I am
prettiness of it. I was the fi rst person living
the success story. Yeah. Straight out with
in that gravel lot. I parked in that gravel lot
it. We take care of ourselves out here, we
with my book bag, my car and my trailer.
really do. We are a street community. We
I said, “You’re not going to shuffl e me any
are a community with or without the walls,
longer.” I am done with you shuffl ing me. I
with or without the doorknobs. We are a
am done with losing jobs, vehicles oppor-
A
R.J. Marx
Sharon Johnson, of Love on the Streets, and D.C. Clouds. They seek greater options for the homeless.
tunities, because every time I turn around,
I can’t just go simply to work. I have to
worry about you orange sticker-ing in my
car or one of your city workers deciding to
tell me that they’re gonna remove the vehi-
cle themselves, because they don’t like it.
I’m not here for what you like, I’m here
to be a productive member of your soci-
ety. And in the same sense being refused to
allow to do that simple thing. There was no
government offi cials really trying to help
just wanting to talk a lot. This wasn’t CCA
(Clatsop Community Action), CBH (Clat-
sop Behavioral Healthcare) or the home-
less liaison people. I said, I’m not moving
no more.
Q: You met with Police Chief Dave
Ham about use of this lot?
A: I went across the chief’s mind with
the whole idea, to stop ticketing us on
Necanicum. “If you want this to look pret-
tier, meet me in the middle. You stop the
tickets, I’ll make it look prettier.” He
stopped the tickets. It looks prettier. We’re
a clean camp. We have people that have
addictions, we have people who have dis-
abilities. We have people that know where
they’re wanting to go. We have people that
don’t know what the hell they’re going. But
in the day, we co-exist. There are very min-
imal police calls to that lot. We’re trying to
take away that stereotypical: “Oh, you must
have done something horrible in life to be
outside.”
Q: Do you have a message for the
community at large?
A: I’ll be damned if I watch other peo-
ple from the street community be bullied by
your ignorance. Is it your own personal fear
of how close you are to becoming homeless
yourself that makes you act so negative?
Not one person on the Necanicum is ask-
ing for a free ride. Before you go making
assumptions about what exactly is happen-
ing please come talk to me, please. A little
bit about this camp — it’s proof the street
community wants to help themselves. That
lot is an example of how multiple lifestyles
and lifestyle choices can live together and
coexist. I am asking for safety and basic
human rights. Where is our humanity? And
don’t dare say anything about importing
homeless people. Those folks on that lot is
y’alls locals.
Q: How do you bridge the gap
between the campers and the neighbors?
A: By doing what we’re doing right
here.
NEWS NOTES
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Northwest Piano
Trio concert in
Cannon Beach
Northwest Piano Trio returns
to Cannon Beach to perform
a free, all-classical concert,
3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 10, at Can-
non Beach Community Church,
132 E. Washington St. in Cannon
Beach.
The concert, “A Family
Aff air” features music of siblings,
Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny
Mendelssohn. There’ll also be a
little Beethoven in the mix. While
most people are familiar with the
music of Felix, the NW Piano
Trio is excited to feature Fan-
ny’s music, too! The Northwest
Piano Trio includes Esther Shim
on violin, Hannah Hillebrand on
cello, and Susan McDaniel play-
ing the 7-foot Steinway grand
piano at Cannon Beach Commu-
nity Church.
The Northwest Piano Trio,
founded in 2014, is based in Port-
land, Oregon. Concert attenders
are asked to wear masks. The
concert is free and open to the
public.
Seaside AAUW
Maureen Casterline and Carol Brenneman, co-presidents of
Seaside AAUW Scholarship Foundation, receive checks from
Alisa Dunlap, regional manager of Pacifi c Power Foundation.
Scholarship donation
Maureen Casterline and Carol Brenneman, co-presi-
dents of Seaside AAUW Scholarship Foundation, received
checks from Alisa Dunlap, regional manager of Pacifi c
Power Foundation for $2,000 for fi rst generation women
attending college and $4,000 for women returning to school
after an absence of at least fi ve years.
This contribution is the largest donation our local Sea-
side AAUW Scholarship Foundation has ever received and
will enable them to provide even more scholarships and
larger awards to local women and girls.
Applications for returning students after an absence are
being taken now; application forms at seaside-or.aauw.net
or call 503-717-2353.
Preparedness event at
convention center
Adults and teenagers are
invited to join geologist Tom
Horning for “Preparing for Tsu-
namis: How Soon and How
Big?” on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in the
Seaside Civic and Convention
Center’s Riverside Room.
Horning talks about the geol-
ogy of the Cascadia Subduction
Zone, earthquakes and tsunamis
and how our community can be
better “tsunami-prepared.” This
free event is hosted by the Sea-
side Community Emergency
Response Team.
Horning has a master’s
degree in geology from Oregon
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Shannon Arlint
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
State University. After a varied
career as an exploration geol-
ogist, he returned to Seaside in
1994 and became a natural haz-
ards and geotechnical consultant
doing business as Horning Geo-
sciences. A Seaside native, he
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Joshua Heineman
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff TerHar
experienced the 1964 tsunami
as a 10-year-old and is now
active in trying to save lives in
the tsunami zones in and around
Seaside.
There will be maps and mate-
rials to take home as well as an
example of an easy-to-assemble
grab-and-go bag. Additionally,
the STARS Amateur Ham Radio
Club will be on hand to display
ham radio capabilities. CERT
believes it is important to know
the risks, learn what to expect
and develop an emergency action
strategy to plan ahead for disas-
ters. The public is encouraged
to come and join the discussion
and new CERT members are
always welcome. A Q&A will
follow the presentation. Distanc-
ing and masking guidelines will
be observed.
This event is intended for ages
15 and up. The Seaside Civic and
Convention center is located at
415 First Ave.
Contact local agencies for latest meeting
information and attendance guidelines.
TUESDAY, OCT. 5
Seaside Community Center Commission,
10 a.m., 1225 Avenue A.
Seaside Library Board of Directors, 4:30 p.m.,
1131 Broadway St.
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 6
Seaside Improvement Commission, 6 p.m.,
989 Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., cityofgearhart.
com.
THURSDAY, OCT. 7
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m.,
989 Broadway.
MONDAY, OCT. 11
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., cityofseaside.us.
TUESDAY, OCT. 12
Gearhart City Council, special meeting, con-
tractor hours, 6 p.m., cityofgearhart.com.
THURSDAY, OCT. 14
Seaside Civic and Convention Center Com-
mission, 5 p.m., 415 First Ave.
Les Schwab, FFA
team up for food drive
Since 2013 Les Schwab Tire
Centers of Oregon has partnered
with Oregon FFA in a Drive
Away Hunger Initiative to help
raise as much food and aware-
ness as possible. The initiative
will take place the entire month
of October.Drop non-perishable
food donations at any Oregon
Les Schwab Tire Center, Wilco,
or Grange Co-op store through
Oct. 31.
The Oregon FFA is part of the
National FFA Organization, for-
merly known as the Future Farm-
ers of America.
TUESDAY, OCT. 19
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work
session, 989 Broadway.
Seaside School District, 6 p.m., seaside.k12.
or.us/meetings.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 20
Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee,
3 p.m., 989 Broadway.
MONDAY, OCT. 25
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., cityofseaside.us.
TUESDAY, OCT. 26
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District,
5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center.
TUESDAY, NOV. 2
Seaside Community Center Commission,
10 a.m., 1225 Avenue A.
Seaside Signal
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