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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2022)
OUR 115th Year March 11, 2022 SEASIDESIGNAL.COM $1.00 New city manager could come with a high price tag By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Erik Jensen of Jensen Strate- gies met with members of the Sea- side City Council last Wednesday to present their profile for the next city manager. The role could come with a high price tag and candi- dates may be hard to come by. “We have been experiencing a significant uptick in the last year or two to the city manager’s job,” Jensen said. “That is due in large part because there’s a lot of move- ment with the city manager jobs. They’re moving around quite a bit. And we’re also experiencing the end of the pandemic. People are ready to move around, so it’s a very competitive market.” Earlier this month, members of the public weighed in via an online survey and a public information session. Mark Winstanley, named city manager in 2001, will retire in June. Qualities in the recruiter’s pro- file were the “perfect candidate,” Jensen said. “You will not find the perfect candidate. However, what we’re striving for is the candidate that’s going to check the most of those boxes. And get the closest to those attributes. Attributes include strong com- munication skills, strong work- ing relationships and public safety knowledge, Jensen Strategy’s associate Amelia Wallace said. They should have experi- ence fostering an environment that maintains and enhances See Salary, Page A6 Flory to step into interim planning director role Katherine Lacaze Jeff Corliss (center), who has been the woods/construction teacher at Seaside High School for nearly 30 years, is preparing to retire at the end of the school year. The school is looking for a new instructor to take over the program. Seaside seeks industrial arts teacher Teaching position demands job experience By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal Seaside High School is on the hunt for a new teacher to lead the industrial arts pro- gram after longtime instructor Jeff Corliss retires at the end of the school year. Because industrial arts — which includes both woods and construction classes — is a career and technical education program, the school has latitude in hiring someone with industry experience in lieu of having followed the traditional teacher education path, principal Jeff Roberts said. That means applicants don’t need to have a teaching degree or be fully licensed to start. The school has options to hire an individual who can bring industry knowl- edge and real-world experience to the stu- dents, such as a current or former con- tractor, construction worker or carpenter. The school’s program also encompasses a computer-aided design and drafting lab, laser cutters, computer numerical control machines and other modern technology. Students respond well when a teacher can take real-world examples and present them in their instruction in a way that’s rel- evant, Roberts said. Industry experts can explain to students why they need to know what they’re learn- ing and when it might be used in the future, he added. Katherine Lacaze See Industrial arts, Page A5 Seaside High School is searching for a new teacher to run woods/construction program after Jeff Corliss retires at the end of this school year. By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Jeff Flory, Seaside’s code enforcement officer, will serve as acting planning director. The position became open after Kevin Cupples retired on Feb. 15. Cup- ples was a Seaside employee since 1998. Assistant City Manager Jon Rahl made the announcement at last Tuesday’s Planning Commis- sion meeting. The city has received one inter- nal applicant for the planning direc- tor position, Rahl said, although the search outside Jeff Flory the city “has been slow, to be quite frank.” He said he plans Zoom inter- views with applicants. In the meantime Flory will take the role. “We decided to name Jeff Flory as the acting planning director for the time being,” Rahl said. “That’s effective immediately today, as we continue to work through and evaluate this process.” Flory joined the community development department in 2020 after spending more than 12 years with the Beaverton Police Depart- ment and three years with both the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office and Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort where his work focused on patrol, enforcement, safety, See Planner, Page A6 Seaside School District to drop mask mandates By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal The Seaside School District will lift its mask mandate on Monday. After Susan Penrod, super- intendent of the district, recom- mended that the district make masks optional, the board of direc- tors joined her in unanimously supporting the lifting of the indoor mask requirement at a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon. SURVEYS March surveys showed an increase in those seeking to remove the mandate, among parents, students and staff alike. “We have thoroughly engaged with our school community,” Pen- rod said. “As superintendent, I am recommending the Seaside School District become optional begin- ning on Monday, March 14, which is our first day back after the mask mandate is issued.” Beginning Friday, Oregon will end COVID-19 contact tracing and quarantine for schools. New procedures for schools are outlined in an updated resil- iency framework released last week by the Oregon Department of Education. With the recent announcement handing decision-making author- ity over masks to local school leaders, the state’s guidance pro- vides information on new quar- antine, contact tracing and test- ing protocols for schools. The new guidance is set to be in effect through the end of the school year. The education department and Oregon Health Authority have made various updates to virus pre- cautions for schools throughout the pandemic. In early February, the state announced it would lift the mask requirement at schools on March 31 to give school districts time to See Masks, Page A6 Top Shelf opens in Gearhart, and it carries ‘Belushi’ By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Gearhart’s second retail canna- bis dispensary Top Shelf Canna- bis, celebrated a soft opening this month and plans an official debut March 17. While new to the North Coast, Top Shelf Cannabis has retail dis- pensaries in McMinnville, Salem and Brookings. The company has a unique place in cannabis history: Top Shelf Cannabis in Belling- ham, Washington, conducted the first legal recreational cannabis transaction in the United States on July 8, 2014, with special guests Snoop Dogg and Tommy Chong. The new store, on U.S. High- way 101 north of Pacific Way, will feature the couch that Snoop Dogg sat on that day, co-owner Stefan Mihailak said. Mihailak, originally from West Virginia, served eight years in the military, earning the rank of ser- geant while serving tours in Iraq and western Africa. On his return to the United States, where as a rehab tech working with veterans, he expe- rienced the positive benefits of cannabis. Mihaliak relocated to Southern R.J. Marx See Top Shelf, Page A6 Stefan Mihaliak is co-owner of Top Shelf Cannabis in Gearhart.