The daily Astorian., November 18, 2015, Image 1

143rd YEAR, No. 101
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015
ONE DOLLAR
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
The old White Star Cannery boiler as seen at night in April.
PAST PERFECT
White Star Cannery boiler, pilings and ballast rocks get historic protection
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
O
ne of the last remnants of Astoria’s
heyday as a cannery town will get
historic protection.
The old White Star Cannery boiler, an
iconic, rusty scrap that rises out of the Co-
lumbia River west of Second Street, was des-
ignated a local landmark Tuesday night by
the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission.
The historic designation also covers wood
pilings that were used to prop up cannery
buildings and ballast rock that would help
steady wooden ships.
Rosemary Johnson, a special projects
planner for the city, described the waterfront
scene off Second Street as among the few
places along the river that evoke Astoria’s
cannery past and have not been destroyed by
¿ re, storms or demolition.
The White Star Cannery, which became
part of the Van Camp Seafood label famous
for making tuna the “Chicken of the Sea,”
burned down in 1973, leaving the exposed
boiler as a lone symbol of a bygone era.
The red, ramshackle Uppertown Net Loft
over the river at 31st Street, the Bumble Bee
remnants at Pier 39, and a net loft in Alder-
brook are among the city’s other remaining
cannery icons.
“We’ve had multiple requests over the
years, so people see it as important,” John-
‘We’ve had multiple
requests over the
years, so people
see it as important,
but without the
designation you
could lose every bit
of it.’
Rosemary Johnson
a special projects planner for the city
speaking of the old White Star Cannery boiler,
wood pilings and ballast rock
son said of the old White Star Cannery boiler,
wood pilings and ballast rock, “but without
the designation you could lose every bit of
it.”
The historic designation, combined with
the land-use restrictions in the Bridge Vista
phase of the city’s Riverfront Vision Plan,
preserves both the old boiler and the expan-
sive views of the river and the Astoria Bridge.
New development is essentially limited to
docks and piers no higher than the riverbank
and would have to take the historic nature of
the old boiler, pile ¿ eld and ballast rock into
consideration, obstacles that would discour-
age most projects. The Historic Landmarks
Commission, which applied for the historic
designation, would also have to approve the
projects, adding another layer of protection.
After some convincing by Johnson, the
Oregon Department of State Lands, which
owns the property, agreed to the historic des-
ignation. Jill Stokeld, who owns The Ship Inn
off Second Street and leases the property to
protect views for her ¿ sh and chips restau-
rant, endorsed the idea. The Columbia House
Homeowners Association, which represents
waterfront condominium owners off Second
Street, also supported preservation.
The city hopes to eventually have an in-
terpretive sign that explains the history of the
site.
Ironically, Astoria, which wants to pre-
serve a working waterfront and protect cul-
tural and architectural history, now has de-
velopment restrictions off Second Street that
would prohibit another cannery to rise where
the White Star Cannery burned down.
Jack Osterberg, who serves on the His-
toric Landmarks Commission, said he is not
necessarily in favor of preserving every set
of pilings or leftover ballast rock along the
waterfront as historic.
The old boiler and other remnants have
unique character and important elements, he
said, that are “worthy of historic designation
and protection.”
By KATHERINE LACAZE
EO Media Group
SEASIDE — Doug Dougherty
is retiring as the superintendent for
Seaside School District 10 at the
end of the 2015-16 school year af-
ter serving in the district 35 years,
19 of those as superintendent.
Dougherty announced
son why I have chosen
his retirement during the
to serve my entire pro-
district’s board of direc-
fessional career in Sea-
tors meeting Tuesday,
side School District.”
thanking board members
The board accepted
for their “ongoing trust
his retirement and vot-
and support.”
ed to create a temporary
“We have shared a
committee to set a pro-
vision of seeking to do
cess for seeking Dough-
what was in the best in-
erty’s replacement, who
terest of our students,” Doug Dougherty will start in July 2016.
Dougherty wrote in a
The committee —
letter announcing his decision. which includes Chairman Steve
“Your collaborative and caring Phillips and board members Pat-
leadership has been a major rea- rick No¿ eld and Hugh Stelson
Commission agrees
to settle with one
¿ red employee
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
role,
The Port of Astoria is negotiating a sep-
aration agreement with Mike Weston, the
former interim director and current director
of business development and operations who
is the target of a lawsuit
by ¿ red Port employees
who allege abuse of au-
thority and whistleblow-
er retaliation.
Weston
primarily
handles
management
of the Astoria Regional
Airport . Jim Knight, the
Port’s executive director,
said Weston would leave
Mike Weston
by the end of the month.
Contacted this morning,
Weston declined to comment.
“It might be a while until we get some
stability at the airport, with Mike Weston’s
imminent departure,” Knight said during an
afternoon goal-setting workshop for the Port
on Tuesday.
Weston, a former Clatsop County planner,
joined the Port in 2010 as a property manager
and ascended to director of business develop-
ment and operations in 2012. When former
Executive Director Hank Bynaker resigned
in September 2013, Weston took over as in-
terim executive director, while covering mul-
tiple other positions.
Former Port Finance Manager Colleen
Browne and former Facilities Manager Tam-
mi Herman ¿ led suit against the Port and
Weston in February, claiming Weston abused
his authority as director and retaliated against
them for whistleblowing on his improprieties.
Knight ¿ red both shortly after he took over as
the new executive director, and Weston re-
verted to his current position.
See DOUGHERTY, Page 4A
See PORT, Page 4A
Seaside schools leader to retire
Dougherty to take
one more run at
relocation bond
Port to part
ways with
Weston
— will consider contracting with
an agency to assist and creating a
committee to help with the inter-
view process, Phillips said.
Dougherty accepted a request
from the board to serve part-time
as superintendent-emeritus upon
his retirement to help transition
the new superintendent during the
2016-17 school year.
Safe zone
Dougherty’s
primary
Knappa juniors need boost in math learning
Only 5 percent
are ready for
college or career
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Last year, only about 5 per-
cent of Knappa High School’s
juniors who took the state’s
new Smarter Balanced as-
sessment scored on track to
be career- or college-ready in
math. Fewer than 60 percent
of juniors took the math as-
sessment.
Since at least 2007, Knap-
pa Superintendent Terrence
Smyth said, he has
years as principal
noticed the district
of
Springwater
lagging behind the
Trail High School
state and demo-
in Gresham, where
graphically similar
he said a culture
schools. The biggest
shift and a change
gap comes in high
of educational pol-
school math .
icies produced sig-
“It’s my conten-
ni¿ cant,
lasting
tion that we have
improvements
in
many bright, capa- Terrence Smyth student
perfor-
ble students here,
mance.
so there’s something else at
Part of the reason he was
play,” Smyth said Monday hired was because of board
at the school board meeting, interest in pro¿ ciency-based
pointing to issues with both grading, which he helped im-
learning and teaching.
plement at Springwater and
Smyth, who was hired which Knappa has started
as superintendent of Knap- adopting in earnest. The term
pa this summer, spent eight refers to instruction, assess-
ment, grading and academic
reporting based on students
demonstrating they have
learned the knowledge and
skills expected as they prog-
ress through their education,
rather than on letter grades.
Math needs
Math instructor Catherine
Thompson said Knappa High
School students took the ACT
Compass college placement
test at Clatsop Community
College last week. On aver-
age, she said, they placed at
the Algebra 1 level, below
the Algebra 2 level needed to
meet college standards, mean-
ing the students would need
remedial courses if they tried
to enter college.
The goal for Knappa, she
said, is to eliminate the need for
remediation and to get students
ready for college or a career.
Since last year, the district
has implemented more person-
alized learning for students,
Thompson said. It has integrat-
ed multiple areas of math into
single classes based on the nat-
ural progression of learning,
and has linked the classes with
the Willamette Promise, which
provides dual college credits to
students who pass a pro¿ cien-
cy-based college exam.
See KNAPPA, Page 4A