OUR 115th Year
April 22, 2022
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
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Voters in
Gearhart
to decide
on new
firehouse
A $14.5 million bond
measure on the May ballot
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Voters in the May election could
finally settle the question of whether the
city should build a new firehouse.
Measure 4-213 would authorize $14.5
million in bond financing for a fire and
police station on 2 acres off Highlands
Lane along U.S. Highway 101. The new
station would replace the aging firehouse
on Pacific Way.
The city must receive approval from
the state Department of Land Conserva-
tion and Development to bring the land
into the city’s urban growth boundary. As
part of a land transfer with the city, devel-
opers of The Cottages at Gearhart LLC
would transfer two lots for a firehouse
and park and benefit from the rezoning
of a planned residential subdivision at a
higher density.
Photos by Katherine Lacaze
Jase and Owen Litehiser open Easter eggs with Kelly and Justin Smith at the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District’s annual
Community Egg Hunt.
At egg hunt, Browning
is the ‘bunny bouncer’
Easter Egg Hunt and Treasure Dive
See Bond, Page A3
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
Residents
seek to save
estuary
outlook
s children eagerly lined up around
the designated area for their age
group at Broadway Park during the
annual Community Egg Hunt on
Saturday, Amanda Browning escorted
the life-sized Easter Bunny from loca-
tion to location, giving countdowns,
facilitating photo ops and ensuring
smooth transitions.
Browning has multiple roles at Sun-
set Empire Park and Recreation District,
which hosts the Community Egg Hunt
and aquatic Treasure Dive each year.
She’s a youth leader, head lifeguard and
A
City meets with owners
of former high school
swim instructor.
“I’m not sure what I’m considered
when I’m the bunny bouncer,” she
jokes. “It might fall under recreational
leader.”
Under her watchful eye, hundreds
of children from 0 to 10 set about col-
lecting approximately 800 colorful eggs
filled with candy and spread across the
park during Saturday’s event, which
was sponsored by Providence Seaside
Hospital and Runkle Consulting Group.
This year’s egg hunt brought out
about 1,500 people — a significant
jump over last year’s attendance of
300 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In
See Egg hunt, Page A8
‘ALL OF THE KIDS CAN HEAR MY COUNTDOWN.’
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Amanda Browning escorts the Easter
Bunny during the annual Community
Egg Hunt.
A well-visited Seaside estuary
outlook is being eyed for housing
development.
Acting on a proposal by Public Works
Director Dale McDowell, the city pro-
posed street vacations on North Holla-
day Dr. to consolidate two separate city-
owned 40-foot streets and provide a path
to retain at least a portion of the prop-
erty for public access. If adopted, the
city would lose spaces, but would still
have a public parking area with a view.
At last Monday’s City Council meet-
ing, residents suggested that setting aside
a portion of the estuary parking lot was
not enough.
See Estuary, Page A6
Councilor, restaurateur Posalski wears many hats
Northern lights,
Seaside pastrami
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
World traveler, city coun-
cilor, restaurateur and pas-
trami maven. David Posalski is
known by many hats.
Tsunami Sandwich opened
in 2010, he said at a morning
meeting of the Seaside Cham-
ber of Commerce. He had little
money after moving on from a
health care services career in
Beaverton.
“We opened this shop on
samples,” he said. “That’s how
we constructed this place.”
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Police continue to inves-
tigate a two-night spree that
damaged or looted down-
town buildings, including a
church and a nonprofit char-
ity for pets.
The Spay and Neuter
Thrift Shop at 600 Broad-
way was one of five loca-
tions hit in a 24-hour period
from the early morning
hours of Wednesday, March
30, to late in the same day,
Detective Sgt. Josh Gregory
said Monday.
An intruder broke the
plexiglass at the center back
See Break-ins, Page A2
The sandwich shop’s signa-
ture item is the Tsunami Pas-
trami, a mountain of pastrami
shipped from New Jersey, from
the same purveyor that sup-
plied New York’s famed Carn-
egie Deli.
The success of the shop
led to additional restaurants,
including the Uptown Cafe in
Warrenton, the Crabby Oyster
and Beach Day Coffee.
Posalski, who has served on
the City Council since 2020,
switched hats to share infor-
mation about emergency sup-
ply prep kits. A basic emer-
gency food bucket, priced at
$30, holds enough food for
a family of four to eat for up
See Posalski, Page A6
Providence Seaside Hospital to close pharmacy
Police following
the trail in 24-hour
local crime spree
Thrift Shop,
church among
properties looted
Amanda Browning,
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District
Seaside Signal
Seaside Police
Police say this man may be a
transient in the area. If anyone
knows who this man is or has
information pertaining to the
recent burglaries in late March,
contact Detective Sgt. Josh
Gregory at 971-326-0025, email
at jgregory@cityofseaside. us or
call Seaside Police Department
at 503-738-6311.
Providence Seaside Hos-
pital will close its retail phar-
macy on April 25.
The announcement came
after seven years at the
location.
“The decision to close
did not come lightly and
we have greatly appreciated
serving the retail pharmacy
needs of the community over
the years,” hospital spokes-
person Mike Antrim said.
“Given ongoing and increas-
ing regulatory requirements,
and balancing the needs of
the hospital and clinics, we
feel this is the right decision.”
Providence Seaside was
the only hospital still oper-
ating its own retail phar-
macy, he said. Several other
Providence Oregon hos-
pitals have pharmacies on
their campuses, but they are
owned and operated by Cre-
dena Health, a division of
Providence.
The hospital’s core focus
is to provide inpatient and
outpatient services for the
community, Antrim said.
The retail pharmacy func-
tion can best be served by
existing pharmacies in the
community.
The capital investment,
coupled with the low volume
of prescriptions and local
alternatives offered at other
retail pharmacies, does not
support the need to keep this
service on the campus.
The former pharmacy
space is being assessed for
future use.
The pharmacy is partner-
ing with Rite Aid to accept
prescription files or fill pre-
scription needs for current
pharmacy owners. The last
date the retail pharmacy will
be filling prescriptions is
Monday, April 25. After April
25, all prescriptions will be
transferred to Rite Aid.
Despite the closing at the
hospital pharmacy, no jobs
will be lost, Antrim said.
“Zero. We are working to
find positions within our
ministry to retain affected
caregivers.”