OUR 115th Year
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
September 2, 2022
$1.00
HOOD TO COAST: ‘WE’RE
EXHAUSTED BUT WE HAD
A WONDERFUL TIME’
Photos by R.J. Marx
Crowds enjoy perfect weather in Seaside for Hood to Coast 2022.
Blue skies, mild temps for 40th annual event
TOP FINISHERS
Running relay winners are
1. The Goodland; time, 17:32:55.1
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
2. Bowerman Track Club; time, 17:35:39.2
3 Performance Running EKINs; time,
19:26:36.0
ho is more appropriate to volun-
teer at Hood to Coast than former
Seaside High School track coach
Neil Branson?
Branson goes back 40 years with Hood to
Coast, when its destination was Pacifi c City.
He remembers years when Seaside High
School sent athletes from cross-country and
soccer teams to the event — “just a hodge-
podge of kids ,” he said.
Branson started at the high school in 1979,
continued teaching until 2010 and stopped
coaching in the 2016-17 school year.
He continues as meet co-director for
the cross-country three-course challenge at
Camp Rilea.
The distance of 197 miles from Mount
Hood to Seaside makes this run diff erent
from others, Branson said.
“It’s the camaraderie of the teams getting
together with people. They’re so happy to be
done and they’ve had fun.”
W
See Hood to Coast, Page A8
Top Finishers: Portland to Coast Walk-
ing Relay
1. Loud and Proud; time, 23:48:02.9
2. Antiques Roadshow; time, 24:13:08.7
3. Reshod Between A Walk and A Hard
Pace; time, 24:41:14.5.
ABOVE: Muu-Muu Crew members cross the fi nish line. RIGHT: Former Seaside High School
track coach Neil Branson volunteering at the beer garden.
County delivers
two parcels to
city for housing,
social services
Four candidates for
council in Gearhart
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Gearhart’s two city coun-
cil races will be competitive
this November, as four can-
didates met fi ling require-
ments this week.
Gearhart City Coun-
cilor Brent Warren will
seek to retain the seat in the
November election. Warren
announced his decision to
run for Gearhart City Coun-
cil Position 3.
Warren worked for Bank
of America, Key Bank and
Banner Bank, serving as a
vice president of commu-
nity development in Port-
land for 33 years before his
move to Gearhart.
“I was appointed to the
City Council by Mayor Pau-
lina Cockrum almost two
years ago,” Warren said in
announcing his candidacy.
See Gearhart, Page A3
Last minute fl urry
brings competitive
City Council races
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
A fl urry of candidates
greeted the Aug. 30 fi ling
deadline in Seaside. All three
council races are compet-
itive; only mayoral candi-
date Steve Wright is running
unopposed.
Marcus Runkle will seek
the City Council seat for
Wards 3 and 4, he announced
this week. Runkle, who is
self-employed at Runkle
Consulting LLC, served as
See Seaside, Page A3
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
holly, English ivy and Hima-
layan blackberry — from var-
ious sections along the 1.4-mile
Ridge Path. They threaten nat-
ural vegetation and lower the
quality of coastal pollinator
habitat.
After the removal is com-
plete, the project will progress
to a second phase: laying down
new soil and putting in resil-
ient plants, including lupines,
Clatsop County issued a quitclaim
deed to two surplus county properties to
the city of Seaside. The purpose of the
deed is development of aff ordable hous-
ing and social services, Monica Steele,
the assistant county manager, said at a
meeting of the Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners on Aug. 25.
The large portion of land adjacent to
the former Seaside High School is to be
developed into residential housing in the
future, Jon Rahl, Seaside’s assistant city
manager, wrote the county in seeking the
transfer. Allowing the city to take pos-
session of the county’s two surplus lots
for the future development of aff ordable
housing units fi ts with the residential
character of the surrounding properties.
The two properties are part of 15 par-
cels specifi ed by Clatsop County for
transfer to local cities, special districts,
local service nonprofi ts and nonprofi t
housing developers.
Although the properties are zoned for
industrial usage, their proximity to the
medium-density residential zone makes it
a candidate for a potential zone change,
allowing for development of 10 dwell-
ing units per acre. “At 1.85 acres, there
See Ridge Path, Page A6
See Land parcels, Page A3
Volunteers remove invasive plants from the Gearhart Ridge Path
on Aug. 16 as part of a project to lay down new pollinator habitat
that is being spearheaded by the Necanicum Watershed Council.
Work parties help
improve Ridge Path
Volunteers make diff erence on iconic trail
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
The Gearhart Ridge Path
is getting an ecological make-
over, thanks to the leadership
of the Necanicum Watershed
Council and the eff orts of ded-
icated community volunteers.
Since late spring, the coun-
cil has hosted regular work par-
ties to remove invasive plant
species — such as English