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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 2015)
NORTH COAST THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015 3A Astoria superintendent takes medical leave By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian The Astoria School Dis- trict Board of Directors on Wednesday unanimously ap- proYed an inde¿nite leaYe of absence for Superintendent Craig Hoppes, who was not at the meeting. They also ap- proved Hoppes’ recommen- dation to make Curriculum Director Melissa Linder the interim superintendent in the short term. “Last week, Craig put in a request at the advice of his physician to take inde¿nite medical leave,” School Board Chairman Martin Dursse said. “I’ve talked to Craig a couple times. He’s not comfortable sharing the exact reason for that request.” Dursse said that in the next couple of days, he’d talk to Hoppes and see whether he wants to disclose his situation. Board member Shawn Helligso supported the mo- tion but asked what the “short term” means. “To me, the short term is until at least next month,” Dursse said, adding that along with Hoppes, he’s been talking to the Oregon School Boards Association and the Northwest Regional Educa- tion Service District to ¿gure out what sort of support they can provide, if the district needs to seek a longer-term interim superintendent. Linder said district admin- istrators met Monday, adding that if she didn’t have their support, the decision wouldn’t have been as easy to ¿ll Hop- pes’ shoes. Linder was hired last year as the curriculum director. Craig Hoppes Melissa Linder Electronic devices reproducing and/or displaying information and data.” “If the district imple- ments a curriculum that uses technology, students may be allowed to use their own personal electronic devices to access the curriculum,” reads the ¿rst policy. “Stu- The Astoria School Board passed two policies regarding the use of personal electronic devices by students and facul- ty. The policies de¿ne devices as capable of “electronically communicating, sending, re- ceiving, storing, recording, dents who are allowed to use their own devices to access the curriculum will be grant- ed access to any application or electronic materials when they are available to students who do not use their own devices, or provided free of charge to students who do not use their own devices for curriculum.” The policy also created an appeal process if a student isn’t allowed to use their de- vice, and releases the district from liability for any damage to personal devices. The second of the two pol- icies governs staff use, includ- ing keeping devices silenced during work; not taking pic- tures or video of district fa- cilities, staff, students, volun- teers or parents without prior authorization; discouraging communication between staff and students on nonschool-re- lated matters; and prohibit- ing such communication at school. “Staff actions on social media websites, public web- sites and blogs, while on or off duty, which disrupt the school environment, are sub- ject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal,” the second policy reads. In other news: • Dursse proclaimed May 4 to 8 Teacher Appreciation Week. • The Astoria High School Pizazz Dance Team, which recently swept the Oregon School Activities Association’s state dance/ drill team competition in the 4A/3A/2A/1A Small division, received more than $6,500 in cash gifts from local business- es and individuals. Warrenton City Commission approves agreement on dam removal Would enhance ¿sh passage, preserve access ney, said the agreement with CREST and the Skipanon Water Control District is not a land use decision, so the notice requirements did not apply. Land use issues related to the dam removal will first be addressed by the Planning Commission, and could be appealed to the City Commission. City staff instructed com- missioners not to consid- er the bridge or other land use details before voting on the agreement Wednes- day night, even though the bridge had been the crux of the debate for the past month. The vote was 4-0 to ap- prove the agreement. Mayor Mark Kujala recused him- self because he and his fam- ily own property near the river and the dam. City Manager Kurt Fritsch, asked afterward about the convoluted pro- cess, said commissioners wanted to give proper- ty owners the freedom to speak. “We erred on the side of hearing more public com- ment,” he said. By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — The Warrenton City Commission voted Wednesday night to again approve an agreement to remove the aging Eighth Street Dam, a decision com- plicated by the width of a single-lane bridge over the Skipanon River that would replace a gravel road on the dam. The agreement between the city, the Columbia Riv- er Estuary Study Taskforce and the Skipanon Water Control District to demolish the dam could improve fish passage and water quality. The city would also main- tain emergency access over the river through a 54-foot bridge. The $1.2 million project would be financed by the Bonneville Power Adminis- tration to help restore salm- on habitat. The city had initially approved the agreement with CREST last year. But a routine vote to amend the agreement to formally add the Skipanon Water Con- trol District, which owns the 52-year-old dam, was delayed twice over the past month after nearby property owners complained that the bridge was too narrow and could disrupt business and limit future development. Matt Van Ess, a habitat restoration coordinator for CREST, told the City Com- mission at a special meet- ing on the issue Wednesday night that adjustable guard- rails could be installed on the bridge to expand the width of the travel lane to 16 feet, up from 14 feet. ALEX PAJUNAS — The Daily Astorian The Eighth Street Dam on the Skipanon River in Warrenton was built for flood control. Property owners who have been discussing the bridge with CREST support the revision, but remain dis- appointed with the process and might raise other objec- tions when the Warrenton Planning Commission re- views the land use details of the project tonight. City commissioners had chosen to extend the debate on the agreement so proper- ty owners could be heard. But the delay has compli- cated the deal and ruffled the partnership with the Ski- panon Water Control Dis- trict, which signed off on the agreement in February. John Nygaard, a Port- land attorney whose family owns Warrenton Fiber, has questioned whether the city provided adequate notice to property owners as required for land use matters un- der the city’s development code. A private engineering W A NTED firm working with CREST found that removing the dam would likely not wors- en flood conditions up- stream. The Oregon Water Resources Department has also described the dam as a significant hazard that may no longer be capable of flood control. But in a letter to the City Commission Tuesday, Nygaard argued that the removal of the dam would I A R I S N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 E R E T I R I N G MARCH N JOI ! US Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber B arbie is retiring B B “unequivocally affect real property landowners in this flood plain.” Two weeks ago, Stephen Fulton, who works on land development and wetland mitigation for Warrenton Fiber and serves as a com- missioner for the Port of Astoria, had recommended that the dam removal proj- ect go through a more thor- ough U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review and that 6 3- M P Ba rb ie Jen kin s ha s b een a n o p ticia n fo r the p a s t 20 yea rs here in As to ria . S he s ta rted her ca reer w ith Dr. K u m p u la in 1994, co n tin u ed o n a s it b eca m e No rth Co a s t Vis io n Cen ter, a n d s in ce 2011 ha s b een vita l in help in g Co a s ta l E ye Ca re b eco m e the thrivin g clin ic it is to d a y! As the p ra ctice cha n ged ha n d s s evera l tim es o ver the yea rs Ba rb ie ha s rem a in ed the co n s ta n t fo rce. S he ha s b een d ed ica ted to her p a tien ts fo r a ll this tim e w ith her co m p a s s io n a te w a ys a n d s tea d fa s t s ervice. Barbie will be greatly missed. the city learn how much salmon recovery is antici- pated. Hal Snow, the city attor- The April edition available at a newsstand near you al ssjourn erbusine e 4 /coastriv • Issu k.com faceboo lume 10 com • o al. 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