The daily Astorian., August 19, 2015, Image 10

10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015
Camp: About half the kids in the camp haven’t been to preschool
Continued from Page 1A
dropping off daughter Kassan-
dra from the kindergarten camp.
New to school
Cries of “Bye, Kassandra” ema-
The grant for the camp fo-
nate from the yellow bus as her
cuses on students from Emerald
daughter hops off and runs to her
mother’s arms.
Heights, a low-income housing
³7KH ¿UVW WLPH LV GLIIHUHQW
complex east of Astoria where
because you’re always scared
many of the district’s poverty
about whether they’ll do good
stricken and English Language
in school,” Alcantar said about
Learner (ELL) students live.
sending her 9-year-old son off to
About half the kids in the camp
kindergarten several years ago.
have never been to preschool,
Now the process is easier,
and many are from families
she said, as she has experience
ZKHUH(QJOLVKLVQ¶WWKH¿UVWODQ-
with the district, and her daugh-
guage.
ter has gone through Head Start
Helping Brownlow are An-
preschool.
nette and Tayla Macareno, moth-
Part of the kindergarten camp
er- and daughter-in-laws and
both teaching assistants with the
is helping parents get ready for
school, Brownlow said. While
district. Annette has long served
ELL students don’t seem to have
as a translator for the district and
D SUREOHP ¿WWLQJ LQ $QQHWWH
its ELL families. On Tuesday
Macareno said, they do face a
during story time, she translat-
disadvantage getting help with
ed into Spanish the passages
homework from parents who
Brownlow just read in English.
might not grasp English enough.
“I don’t think it’s a need for
Alcantar said she struggles
the students,” Annette said of her
with English but helps her chil-
translating services. “It’s the par-
dren where she can, adding her
ents that need the translating.”
husband picks up where she can’t
For some kids, the big chal-
help. Her daughter was a transla-
lenge is in being away from their
SDUHQWV IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH RQ DQ
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
tor in Head Start, Alcantar said,
Astoria School District counselor Meche Brownlow quizzes incoming kindergartner Jaden Solano on his name, per- and her children are often helping
extended basis.
On Monday, 5-year-old Jayla sonal information and which children’s fables he knows. See more photos online at www.dailyastorian.com
her understand English.
$FRVWD/RSH]VDWQH[WWRKHUWZLQ
Brownlow said the hope is to
,Yadira, crying and asking for her sessment, and Brownlow took one foot, pretending to jump rope that show kids who can’t perform and ends at the bus stop, Brown- expand the kindergarten camp,
mother.
each student aside, asking their DQGWRXFKLQJ¿QJHUWRQRVH
those tasks might not be ready for low said, and she wants to make which runs for two weeks, to
“I’m not crying today,” Jayla names and the children’s fables
multiple classrooms worth of
“We’re asking these kinder- the rigors of education.
sure children are being safe.
kindergartners. She also hopes
said Tuesday, more comfortable they had read, subtlely assessing gartners to read and do a lot of
Brownlow’s days with the
School-ready
to catch back up with students
on her second day of school, but their reading and writing skills. work at a table, and sometimes kindergartners continue beyond
Arleny Alcantar waits along several weeks into school to see
still attached at the hip to her sister. At one point Tuesday, students their bodies aren’t ready for it,” the classroom, up to Emerald
Monday was the day of as- were hopping up and down on Brownlow said, citing studies Heights. The school day starts 1LPLW]'ULYHIRUWKHVFKRROEXV whether the camp helped.
Weed: ‘We’re going to get rid of tansy by shading it out’
“We’re not trying to pre-
tend that tansy’s good,” Reich
present a danger to livestock VDLG³,W¶VGH¿QLWHO\DQLQYDVLYH
if ingested. During the 1960s plant.”
and ’70s, the agriculture in-
“In the long run, we’re going
dustry sustained heavy losses to get rid of tansy by shading it
due to livestock deaths and out,” she added. “It’s not being
tansy ragwort contamination of ignored.”
hay and pastures, according to an
In 2013, the berm between
Oregon Department of Agricul- the Necanicum River and the
ture and Oregon State University Circle Creek property south of
Extension Service article.
Seaside came down as part of
It’s a visible species, and the a multiagency effort to restore
conservancy wants the public to D KLVWRULF DFUH ÀRRG SODLQ
know that they’re not ignoring DQGSUHYHQWZDWHUIURPÀRRGLQJ
the weed. They’ve got a long- U.S. Highway 101.
term management strategy they
The North Coast Land Con-
hope will overthrow the hold servancy partnered with Clatsop
WDQV\UDJZRUWKDVRQWKHLUÀRRG County and the Oregon Depart-
plain by restoring the native ment of Transportation in the
habitat.
project.
Now, what had once been
Disturbed habitats
pastureland of non-native grass-
Tansy ragwort favors dis- es is undergoing a transforma-
turbed habitats where weakness- tive process.
HVLQWKHQDWLYHÀRUDFRPPXQLW\
The conservancy is working
allow it to take hold.
to restore the habitat to a healthy
Continued from Page 1A
ÀRRG SODLQ IRUHVW LQFOXGLQJ
Sitka spruce swamp. They’ve
seeded the ground with native
grasses and shrubs. The last two
winters, they’ve planted more
than 20,000 trees and shrubs.
Mowing forever
Mowing the pasture would
endanger the plants they’ve
worked so hard to cultivate and
lock them into a management
plan that relies on regular mow-
ing to keep the weeds under
control.
“We’d be committing to
mowing it forever,” Reich said.
Instead, they’re following
recommendations from the Ex-
tension Service, relying on tansy
ragwort’s insect antagonists: the
FLQQDEDUPRWKUDJZRUWÀHDEHH-
WOHDQGVHHGKHDGÀ\
These insect biocontrols
keep the tansy ragwort in check,
but eliminating the tansy knocks
out the biocontrol, too, leaving it
a step behind the plant the next
year.
The landscape is already
changing. The conservancy
placed leashed pilings across
WKHÀRRGSODLQWRFUHDWHFKDQJHV
in elevation across the largely
ÀDWSODLQ6RPHWLPHVOHVVWKDQ
a foot can make a difference
between being underwater or
above it, Reich said. The plain
can be several feet underwater
GXULQJÀRRGLQJDQGWKHSLOLQJV
will change the way the water
moves, allowing microhabitats
to form.
“This excites me,” Reich
McKinley Smith/The Daily Astorian
said, remarking on the height of
the alder saplings. “They’re go- North Coast Land Conservancy Stewardship Director Me-
ing to come in and make good lissa Reich stands beside a clump of invasive tansy rag-
wort on the Circle Creek property in Seaside.
habitat for the other species.”
:LW[LTILY
Inn: Port is on an emergency timeline
Continued from Page 1A
Hunsinger accused Port
staff of not being transpar-
ent about the purpose of pre-
sentations made to the Port
Commission July 28, which
the Port advertised as being
for proposals on the River-
walk Inn. He said Orr, one of
three presenters that day, did
not get a fair shot to present
on his short- and long-term
vision for the former Red
Lion Inn. He asked that Orr
get another chance to present
Monday, and that the Port,
which he said has gathered
several suitors for the hotel,
look at a new proposal it just
received and perhaps make
an open request for proposals
to see what people will do for
the hotel.
“At the last meeting, there
was consensus to enter into
negotiations with Hollander
(Hospitality) as fast as pos-
sible to take over this hotel,”
said Jim Knight, the Port’s
executive director, visibly
frustrated at Hunsinger’s ac-
cusations of secrecy and his
attempts to open the River-
walk Inn to other potential
suitors in the eleventh hour.
Knight was referencing
a closed executive session
July 28, directly after three
suitors for the Riverwalk Inn
presented at a special session
about their plans. Hollander
had indicated a willingness
to pay Smithart’s debts and
enter into a short-term opera-
tions agreement. Knight said
Hunsinger was part of the
consensus on Hollander, who
is now creating a short-term
plan, which should be done
within the week.
Knight said there are now
seven suitors for the hotel,
and potentially tens of other
companies who could do a
good job. But the Port is on
an emergency timeline, he
said, and a request
for proposals could
quickly expand the
list of suitors and
would take at least
a month.
“All the while,
the Riverwalk Inn
is being managed
by a person who
has stolen from the
Port,” he said.
Replace Smithart
Jim
Knight
The Port has been trying
for months to replace or evict
operator Hospitality Masters
and its owner Brad Smithart,
who the Port says has fallen
behind upward of $400,000
on rent, revenue-sharing and
lodging taxes to the agency
and the city of Astoria. The
Port and Smithart were head-
ed to court. But shortly before
a trial, the Port’s lawyer can-
celed the court date, announc-
ing Smithart and the Port had
reached an agreement and
would be entering a stipulated
judgment of eviction. Smi-
thart is still in the hotel.
Knight recommended the
Port move forward on the
short-term operation agree-
ment with Hollander. The
Port’s attorney said the agree-
ment will be done within the
week, and Knight said it will
come before the Port Com-
mission for approval or rejec-
tion.
Hunsinger recommended
limiting Hollander’s short-
term agreement to 90 days,
which Knight warned could
scare off Hollander altogether.
Conversations got testy
multiple times. As Knight
tried to add comments to the
Port Commission’s discus-
sion on the hotel, Hunsing-
er told him he was not part
of the deliberations. At one
point, Knight asked Hunsing-
er if he had ever received
legal assistance from Orr,
which Hunsinger
denied.
Hunsinger was
questioned about
his
relationship
with Orr, who he
said he has known
most of his life but
has only talked
to once about the
hotel, outside the
commission meet-
ing.
Vying for the
Riverwalk
Three suitors for the ho-
tel had pitched their vision
during the July special ses-
sion.
Ganesh Sonpatki, a Port-
land budget hotel operator,
¿UVW DSSURDFKHG WKH 3RUW LQ
October with a pitch to oper-
ate the hotel and pay off Smi-
thart’s debts. The Port Com-
mission voted to transfer him
the lease in June, but the deal
ZDV QHYHU ¿QDOL]HG DQG WKH
Port terminated Smithart’s
lease. Sonpatki maintains he
has had an enforceable con-
tract with Smithart that dates
to last year.
Orr, an Astoria native and
president of Signature Sea-
foods in Seattle, presented
with Chester Trabucco, the
former developer of the Ho-
tel Elliott and owner of Nos.
1 and 10 Sixth St., the wa-
terfront business block that
burned down several years
ago. They offered to pay off
Smithart’s debts, invest $2
million in the hotel and help
redevelop the property into a
marina village.
Hollander, whose com-
SDQ\ RSHUDWHV &URZQH 3OD]D
hotels in Portland and Seattle
and a Courtyard by Marriott
in Tacoma, Wash., said he
could invest $1.5 million to
$6 million in the Riverwalk
Inn property and bring a Mar-
riott hotel to Astoria.
^^^YHJL[V[OLIHYJVT
>OV! You (walker or runner)
>OH[! 5K walk/run or 10K run, followed by a bonfire on
the beach
>OLU! 5:30 p.m., Sept. 12, 2015
>OLYL! Peter Iredale Shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park,
Warrenton, Oregon
/V^! Register online at www.RaceToTheBar.com.
*VZ[! $40 before Aug. 30, includes a shirt. $45 on Aug.
30 or later, shirt not guaranteed.
/LSW[VWYV]PKLOVZWPJLJHYLMVY[OVZLPUULLK
([FKDQJH6WUHHW$VWRULD2UHJRQ÷
ZZZFROXPELDPHPRULDORUJ÷$7SHUL[YLL+LZPNUH[LK ė +RVSLWDO