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CAC to discuss range of issues at May 10 quarterly meeting................................. 2
Inaugural Spring Festival delights fun-seekers
History: remembering Dunes Dance Hall............................................. 9
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Calendar of Events highlights range of coming attractions...................10-11
Vol. 19, No. 471 • May 2, 2025
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A Century of Service Nesko Women’s Club to fete first 100 years at May 3 celebration
School Board candidates discuss need for transparency, safety, better test scores By TIM HIRSCH of the Sun Candidates vying for open positions on the Nestucca Valley School District Board of Directors shared their points of views on a range of issues at an April 11 political forum held at the Hebo fire hall of Nestucca Rural Fire Protection District. Appearing at the forum were: Troy Trute, Sherry Hartford, Irene Barajas (Position 1); Seth Belsey, Kayla Cole (Position 2); Greg Woods (Position 4, unopposed), Jason Hagan, Marty Wisehart, (Position 5). Barajas and Wisehart are the lone current members, but Wisehart is running for Position 5 rather the Position 4, where he currently sits. Amongst the issues the candidates addressed when asked what their primary
focus would be if elected was board transparency. “I think transparency is one thing the board needs to work on for sure,” Trute said. “Especially with the community having so many issues, I feel that would be a good start.” And Barajas agreed transparency remains a big issue. “I’ve actively advocated for my transparency and communication between the board,” she said. “I know that’s a real sticking point. I’ve also worked with communicating with other board members to try to improve on our communications in board meetings because we want everyone to feel welcome. We want everyone to feel heard. Whether or not we agree it doesn’t matter. If you don’t agree with us and you’re aware of a situation that we
might not know about, we want to hear those things. We can’t fix those things if you don’t come to the board. I really believe that we can restore the faith in the administration (and) in the school district with better communication and transparency.” Cole also pointed to transparency as a problem. “I think (we need better) transparency with the parents,” she said. “Parents should be able to go in and walk their kids to class without being harassed.” Hagan, too, voiced concern with communication. “We can do a lot if we can improve our communication and focus on fixing the communication breakdown,” he said. “The community, the parents — we need to get them to come together. (Some
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Discover weekend brunch at the beach! Stop by and try delectable brunch offerings such as chicken and waffles, vegan avocado toast, Dungeness crab eggs benedict, and more. Available Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30am - 2pm at our Pacific City, Cannon Beach, and Siletz Bay locations.
people have) been afraid (of recourse) for a long time. We can fix everything (with good) transparency. We need good communication so we can fix all that.” The candidates also pointed toward quality of education and safety as top concerns. “I think we should encourage our good teachers, which we have lots of and discourage our bad teachers/ administration,” Trute said. “That should be the generic answer of everyone on board, really.” “I’m here mainly for the students and the staff,” offered Hartford. “What needs to happen is we need to do a curriculum overhaul. I believe in merit-based pay for teachers, extra support staff for teachers, see CANDIDATES, page 4