NORTH COAST
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2015
3A
Smoking ban approved in county parks
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
Starting next month, smoking
and tobacco use will be banned in
county parks.
The Clatsop County Board
of Commissioners unanimously
agreed Wednesday to add parks to
the county’s existing no tobacco
policy, created in 2011 and enforced
outside county department build-
ings.
The Board of Commissioners
opened a public hearing on the issue
at its April 22 meeting and kept the
hearing open to its meeting Wednes-
day. No public testimony was given
Wednesday.
Steven Blakesley, Clatsop Coun-
ty health promotion specialist , ex-
plained to the Board of Commis-
sioners the ban is meant for public
health reasons and for the comfort
of all park visitors.
Blakesley said the new policy
includes bans on marijuana and
electronic cigarette use, which have
been approved statewide in recent
years since the policy was created .
“A lot has changed since then,”
he said.
The ban also includes chew-
ing tobacco, which creates public
health concerns and maintenance
issues for county staff, according to
the county’s parks department.
At at Recreational Lands Plan-
ning Advisory Committee meeting
last fall, Blakesley presented infor-
mation about the policy. Supports of
the ban, he said, point to environ-
mental concerns and health reasons
such as decreasing exposure to sec-
ondhand smoke, encouraging more
smokers to quit and discouraging
children to start smoking.
In addition, supporters cite a
safety concern about smoking ma-
terials causing sparks that lead to
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Parks impacted by the proposed
policy include Big Creek, Carnah-
an, Cullaby Lake, LeeWooden/Fish
Hawk Falls, Klootchy Creek, North
Fork Nehalem, Sigfridson, John
Day and Westport boat ramp.
The Clatsop County Recre-
ational Lands Planning Advisory
Committee recommended the ban
in November. Although the rec-
ommendation passed, some on
the committee expressed concerns
about people’s personal rights, how
the policy would be enforced and
the need for such a policy since
parks are outdoors.
Board of Commissioners Chair-
man Scott Lee believes the county
is leading the way across the state
by approving the ban. Lee said he
can understand concerns with bans
on beaches, since beaches are often
considered public highways and
people can smoke in their vehicles.
Parks are different, he said.
On a personal note, Lee said,
he has seen family members
struggle with tobacco use. He
sees the county’s ban as a way
of supporting families and future
generations.
“There is not a family not
touched by these issues,” Lee said.
In other business:
• The Board of Commissioners
amended to the county’s labor coun-
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lard, Smith, Jernstedt and Wilson for
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$30,000 annually. Due to schedule
contract negotiations and four un-
foreseen personal issues, which have
been resolved, the county said, an ad-
ditional $149,000 was needed to pay
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largest additional cost was $113,000
for a labor dispute in the Sheriff’s
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Seniors labor for community, and a diploma
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Brianna Crews helped
build a ramp at the home of
a veteran who lost his legs
to bomb shrapnel and sur-
gery.
Tucker Johnson or-
ganized a campus blood
drive. Michael Peden paint-
ed props for a traffic safety
event for kindergartners.
While the Astoria High
School seniors each had
their own reasons for
choosing the community
service projects, they were
also meeting a graduation
requirement.
Senior projects can help
students understand the
value of civic engagement
and how to manage work
and meet deadlines.
Jennifer Newton, a se-
nior transitions and lead-
ership teacher at Astoria
High School, said some
students spend multiple
weeks immersed in the
projects, from building
houses in Mexico and Tan-
zania to camping in the
North Cascades to learn
about the effects of climate
change.
“Some that I thought
were hard was working
with hospice patients,”
Newton said. “I think that
took bravery and courage.
There were also kids that
volunteering was brand
new. I want to honor that,
too.”
Seniors have to explain
their projects in eight- to
10-minute
presentations
before panels of adult vol-
unteers.
Crews, who said her proj-
ect was to help local veter-
ans like her brother, Scott,
went before a panel stacked
with community leaders.
Paul Mitchell, the spokes-
man for Columbia Memori-
al Hospital, sat next to Lo-
ran Matthews, the director
of the Astoria Midsummer
Scandinavian Festival. Ni-
cole Williams, the CEO of
the Clatsop Care Center,
sat next to Joanne Nelson,
Crews’ former sixth-grade
teacher.
Crews’ project, which
included painting two
rooms at Clatsop Care
Center, was one of about
120 senior projects this
year.
Other projects included:
• Cathryn Roe organized
a staff vs. student volley-
ball tournament as part of
a Substance and Alcohol
Free Environment (SAFE)
Night, along with a re-
search paper on alcoholism.
• Josh Cuifici helped
www.dailyastorian.com
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
For her senior project, Astoria High School student Cathryn Roe organized a Sub-
stance and Alcohol Free Environment (SAFE) Night, including a staff vs. student
volleyball tournament.
Jennifer Newton, a senior
transitions and leader-
ship teacher at Astoria
High School, organized
the senior project pre-
sentations of upward of
120 students this year.
EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
build wooden railings
and straighten a wood-
en walkway along a trail
at Lewis and Clark Na-
tional Historical Park and
worked on metal railings
at the Salt Works in Sea-
side, while writing his
research paper on the fed-
eral endangered species
list.
• Adrianna Long helped
coordinate an art show
and wrote a research pa-
per about the effects of
art.
Seniors often work with
parks and other public agen-
cies on community service,
Newton said, and some
projects continue each year.
Newton said she keeps
a list of “instant senior
projects: just add seniors.”
Contact Newton at jnew-
ton@astoria.k12.or.us for
more information.
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