A4 • Friday, October 22, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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Gearhart seeks post offi ce independence
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
C
onfusion between addresses in Sea-
side and Gearhart is driving an
attempt to bring a new ZIP code to
Gearhart. Gearhart residents hope to per-
suade the U.S. Postal Service to issue a new
ZIP code to the city in order to prevent deliv-
ery mix-ups and delays.
“If I’m ordering online and I give my
ZIP code and I say Gearhart, and they,
on the other end of the line they say ‘No,
it’s Seaside,’ and you have to explain the
whole thing,” councilor Reita Fackerell
said.
Gearhart postal clerk Karynn Kozij
described the current situation as “massive
confusion.”
“Companies send out text messages
saying their packages are being held at
97138,” Kozij said. “A lot of my customers
who are new to the area, not knowing that
I have their package here at Gearhart, go to
Seaside by mistake.”
Not only homeowners, but businesses
that rely on property addresses could ben-
efi t from the change, including real estate
agents and fi rst responders.
Councilor Brent Warren, a proponent
of the change, said numbered streets and
lettered streets — in Gearhart, they are
streets, in Seaside, they are avenues — are
especially troublesome.
“It creates delays in the mail,” War-
ren said. “And obviously, when things
are misdirected, they have to be fi xed and
researched. so that’s problematic.”
Gearhart will present a resolution to
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and regional
postal offi cials seeking a new ZIP code and
independent Gearhart post offi ce.
Gearhart became a contract station
of Seaside in 1961, when the post offi ce
department struggled with outdated equip-
ment, crowded facilities, underpaid work-
ers, and an ineff ective management struc-
ture. The decision saved the post offi ce
about $1,700 a year.
The Gearhart Post Offi ce moved in 1995
from a space in the Pacifi c Way Cafe to
Seaside Signal
Gearhart Post Offi ce.
its location at 546 Pacifi c Way. In 2003,
the city attempted to address the ZIP code
issue with a request to a coordinator for the
regional district.
Many coastal communities with popu-
lations considerably smaller than Gearhart
have been assigned their own unique ZIP
codes, staff wrote in the draft resolution
presented to the City Council at the Octo-
ber meeting.
“The city of Gearhart requests the
United States Postal Service to assign ZIP
code 97139 or another unique ZIP code to
our city,” they wrote.
It is possible to request a ZIP code
boundary review by writing to the district
manager for the region, Bonamici’s district
representative, Ali Mayeda, wrote Warren.
“The boundary review process requires any
municipality and community group seeking
a ZIP code change to submit the request in
writing to the manager of the district, with
any rationale and justifi cation. This request
can only be made once every 10 years.”
Mayeda asked the city to prepare and
send a request to the congresswoman’s
offi ce. The district manager must provide
a determination within 60 days, and the
postal service conducts a formal survey of
customers who would be aff ected.
If a simple majority of respondents sup-
port the change, the postal service usually
grants an approval, she said.
“I can’t see the downside to this, so I
would ask that we adopt the resolution and
get going on it,” Warren said.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Gearhart author featured in
Le Guin tribute anthology
Author Jason Arias has a short story
included in “Dispatches from Anarres:
Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin,”
edited by Susan DeFreitas. The release
date is Nov. 16, from Forest Avenue Press.
Arias is a Gearhart resident.
Named for the anarchist utopia in
Ursula K. Le Guin’s
classic “The Dispos-
sessed,
Dispatches
from Anarres” embod-
ies the anarchic spirit
of Portland, Le Guin’s
hometown,
while
paying tribute to her
enduring vision.
Arias’
new-
est short story “Joy-
Jason Arias
Be’s Last Dance” will
be included in For-
est Avenue Press’ newest anthology “Dis-
patches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to
Ursula K. Le Guin.”
Arias’ debut short story collection,
“Momentary Illumination of Objects In
Motion,” was published in 2018 by Black
Bomb Books. His stories and essays have
appeared in The Nashville Review, Ore-
gon Humanities Magazine, Harpur Palate,
Lidia Yuknavitch’s TED Book: The Mis-
fi t’s Manifesto, as well as multiple maga-
zines and anthologies. For links to more of
his wor visit jasonariasauthor.com.
Arias will be part of the panel at the
Portland Book Festival, Nov. 13, alongside
fellow contributing authors Rene Denfeld,
Juhea Kim, Jessie Kwak and moderator
Arwen Spicer.
“Dispatches from Anarres” will be
The fi rst Gearhart post offi ce, in an undated photo,
believed to have been located on Third Street.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
available at independent bookstores across
the country on Nov. 16.
Deep gratitude to the Gearhart
Volunteer Fire Department
‘Backyard birds’
I would like to express my deep gratitude
for the Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department.
On Oct. 8, my wife and I experienced one
of the most traumatic nights of our lives. After
a relaxing evening with an early season fi re in
our fi replace and while lying in bed, we heard
what we thought was the magnet on the dog
door popping back and forth. I have tried to
sleep though Maggie’s antics before. She is a
very mischievous terrier. After several min-
utes of negotiation with my wife, Lisa takes
the high road and decides to stop Maggie from
making noise with the dog door. However,
when Lisa turns on the bedroom light, both
our dogs are quietly sleeping on their beds.
Well, there must be a raccoon trying to get
in the house so I jump out of bed, but really
Maggie should be on this fi rst. Just at this
moment Lisa screams the house is on fi re. At
the time, I’m still not so sure she’s right. That
popping noise does sound like a large bon-
fi re but, there is no indication of any smoke in
the house. I run outside and see a small fl ame
around the base of the chimney on the front of
the house.
After putting the dogs in my truck, I imme-
diately get the garden house full blast at the
fl ames. Lisa calls 911. It was 11:04 p.m. Only
seconds after calling 911, fl ames jump 25 feet
into the air from the very back of the house,
just above our upstairs bedroom. Our fi re
chief, Josh Como, was on scene in only eight
minutes, and the engine was just behind. I
know that the incredibly quick response time
of our Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department
and the quick assistance of the other local vol-
unteer fi re departments not only saved most
of our house but our neighbors house as well.
The fi re was very close to their cedar roof and
embers were everywhere. This was an intense
fi re.
I never imagined that as I watched our
house burning the volunteers inside were not
Sou’Wester Garden Club meets
Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to noon
at the Bob Chisholm Center, 1225 Ave-
nue A in Seaside. The program, “Backyard
Birds,” is presented by Barb Linnette.
SMART Reading teams up
with local Realtors
Children’s literacy nonprofi t SMART
Reading has received a $2,500 grant from
the Windermere Foundation to continue
providing critical reading support to chil-
dren in Clatsop and Columbia counties.
Windermere Coast offi ces are a member of
the Clatsop Association of Realtors.
For three decades, SMART Reading has
paired community volunteers with pre-k
through third-grade students for in-person,
one-on-one reading sessions. The orga-
nization also provides students with new
books to keep.
Given the ongoing health precautions
due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SMART
Reading has focused on continuing to
get books to students —distributing over
2,364 books to students during the 2020-
21 school year — and has new virtual mod-
els for providing reading support for its
students.
SMART Reading serves 200 students at
Pacifi c Ridge, Warrenton, Astor and Clats-
kanie elementary schools. Each student
will pick out 14 new books to keep and
share with their family.
only fi ghting the fi re, they were also trying to
save as many of our personal items as possi-
ble. Think about this. There is a volunteer fi re-
fi ghter in the house taking pictures off the wall
as other battle the fl ames.
At one point, a fi refi ghter came over and
asked if there was anything of particular senti-
mental value he could try and recover.
My fi rst thought was this guy looks a lot
like our city manager. Lisa, obviously dis-
traught, tells the fi refi ghter that her late
father’s pictures are in the room below where
the fi re started.
I am thinking those are gone with most of
our other belongings. When I saw that fi re-
fi ghter come out of the house with Lisa’s
father’s memorabilia, that was an impact-
ful moment for me. That was the moment I
knew things had turned in the positive direc-
tion. That fi refi ghter is our city manager Chad
Sweet.
As I refl ect on this particular moment, I
recognize that Chad and Josh’s actions are
qualities that represent the true kind of lead-
ership we have in our city leaders. Not only
can they manage a quickly developing cri-
sis, but they also recognize the necessary
moment to comfort those in need. We are truly
lucky to live in a community with this kind of
leadership.
To the men and women of our local vol-
unteer fi re departments. I am so impressed by
you. You are an incredible asset to this com-
munity. We must ensure that the volunteer
Gearhart Fire Department has the resources
to continue to serve our community. I have
watched the fi rehouse debate from the side-
line in silent support for too long. A new fi re
station is overdue. Some things are just worth
paying for. You may not know it until you are
standing outside your home in the middle of
the night holding a garden hose against an
inferno and hoping anyone will come to help
you as quickly as possible.
Dave and Lisa Koller
Gearhart
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Contact local agencies for
latest meeting information
and attendance guidelines.
MONDAY, OCT. 25
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
cityofseaside.us.
TUESDAY, OCT. 26
Pam Ackley of Windermere presents a check to Jeanne Moha for the SMART Reading program.
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Shannon Arlint
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Joshua Heineman
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff TerHar
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, 5:15 p.m.,
Bob Chisholm Community
Center.
TUESDAY, NOV. 2
mission, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside Community Center
Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
cityofgearhart.com.
Seaside Library Board of
Directors, 4:30 p.m., 1131
Broadway St.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3
Seaside Improvement Com-
THURSDAY, NOV. 4
Seaside Parks Advisory Com-
mittee, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
MONDAY, NOV. 8
Seaside City Council,
workshop on homelessness,
6 p.m.; regular meeting, 7 p.m.,
cityofseaside.us.
Seaside Signal
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