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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2016)
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, MAY 9, 2016 143RD YEAR, NO. 218 ONE DOLLAR An invitation to dance ‘Giselle’ gives kids a glimpse into the fi ne arts Paige Wilkey and Alexander Negron, starring as Giselle and Duke Albrecht of Silesia, kindle their romance with a dance during a Friday performance of “Giselle” by the Astoria School of Ballet at the Liberty Theater. More photos online at DailyAstorian.com Edward Stratton The Daily Astorian By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian C assie Wilson sat in the front row of the Liberty Theater Friday, her twin 6-year- old daughters, Lexey and Evie, clutch- ing her arms and enthralled in the scene unfolding on stage . Before a packed house of elementary school- ers, the peasant girl Giselle falls in love with Duke Albrecht of Silesia, disguised as the peas- ant Loys, before falling on stage to a mysterious heart ailment. Friday was the fi rst trip to the ballet for Wil- son’s children, dredging up memories of her fi rst experience at the theater. “‘ The Nutcracker’ at age 6, then we went every year” she said. “My grandma would come and pick me and my sister up. We did that until I was 12. “Probably without knowing it, she started a girls family tradition.” First curtain call Every year since 2008, the Astoria School of Ballet presents shows to local schools at the Lib- erty Theater to introduce kids to the performing arts and provide young dancers a chance to per- form in front of large audiences. Margaret Wall, who moved to the North Coast in 2004 and founded the school , sees the performances as an investment in arts education. “Schools are struggling to keep arts educa- tion,” she said. “And I think that the more you can expose children at a young age to something like ballet, a highbrow art, the more likely they are to become patrons later on in life, and art lovers.” Carol Shepherd, the interim director of the Liberty Theater, said the three showings of “Giselle” Thursday and Friday brought in nearly 1,000 students on 20 buses from local preschools and elementary schools . Traditional b allet Since 2008, Wall has directed such classics as “Hansel and Gretel,” “Snow White,” “Cin- derella,” “A Little Princess” and the original “The Enchanted Aunts,” at the Liberty Theater as an outreach. She said “Giselle,” the globally popular ballet fi rst performed in France in 1841, was the school’s fi rst traditional ballet. See FINE ARTS, Page 10A Cancer services expand on coast Oregon sets toilet policies for schools CMH and OHSU team up for a fi rst By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Cancer patients from the North Coast and southwest Washington will soon be able to get radiation therapy locally. Columbia Memorial Hospital aims to break ground in August on a state- of-the-art cancer treatment center that will include a linear particle accelera- tor, a device that irradiates tumors. On Thursday, the Astoria D esign R eview C ommittee approved design plans for the proposed center — a two- story, 19,000-square-foot building, reminiscent of the hospital’s Health & Wellness Pavilion, that will house the hospital’s entire suite of cancer-treat- ment services. The facility will be located near Exchange Street, on the west end of the former John Warren Field. Though it will lie within the tsunami inunda- tion zone for a 90-foot wave, the struc- ture would be clear of a 60-foot wave. In any case, the design includes emer- gency exits. The Portland-based contractor, P&C Construction, said the center will likely be fi nished in fall 2017. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for Aug. 4. Closer to home The hospital already has a medi- State lays out guidelines for transgender students The Associated Press PKA Architects The planned state-of-the-art cancer treatment center. cal oncology department and chemo- therapy infusion program for cancer patients in the Park Medical Building. But patients who need radia- tion therapy — which is most cancer patients — currently have to travel to Portland or Longview, Washington. “The day we open, our patients would be able to stop going to Longview or (Oregon Health & Sci- ence University) and start coming here,” said Chris Laman, director of the pharmacy and cancer care services at Columbia Memorial Hospital. The radiation procedure, though often crucial to a patient’s recovery, is pretty short — sometimes 5 minutes per session. But the treatment plan can last anywhere from two to eight weeks. When the nearest radiation option is more than an hour away by car — several hours by bus — the process can be so grueling that some patients will simply refuse radiation altogether, Laman said. “You feel terrible, you’re sick, and you’re going every single day, some- times by yourself, driving — maybe you have a companion, maybe you have no one,” Erik Thorsen, the hos- pital’s president and CEO, said, “and to have the convenience of this service here is just a huge, in my mind, step up for our community.” The hospital estimates that within the fi rst year the center will treat between 450 and 500 cancer patients with chemotherapy and radiation, totaling about 6,700 patient visits. “Unfortunately, it’s needed quite a bit,” Paul Mitchell, a hospital spokes- man, said. See HOSPITAL, Page 4A Soldier comes home to help police Cannon Beach Astoria native brings military and academic experience C ANNON BEACH — Matthew Nunnally recently returned to the Oregon Coast after a decade serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and attending college in California. He is now four weeks into his job as Cannon Beach’s newest police offi cer. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity and humbled to be here,” he said. “I love this community, always have. I’m just excited to make my career here and my family’s really excited.” Nunnally, 27, served in the Marine Corps for four active years and eight years total, conducting military opera- tions in eight countries, includ- ing Afghanistan. During his time as a Marine, he also went to countries like Singapore, Germany, Ireland, Bahrain, Kuwait and Djibouti. Growing up, the Astoria High School graduate had the goal of joining the military and then becoming a police offi cer. He has also worked with the Astoria Fire Department. “I’ve always stood for jus- tice and standing up for oth- ers,” he said. “I grew up want- ing to serve the country and then the community.” Learning the ropes At his new job, he is learn- ing “a whole new set of skills,” including various legal aspects, violations and policies, and a different radio alphabet, since the codes used on the police department’s radio dif- fers from those he used in the military. See NUNNALLY, Page 2A R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Police Officer Matthew Nun- nally is sworn in as Cannon Beach’s newest police offi- cer beside his wife, Lisa. PORTLAND — The Ore- gon Department of Education has suggested that all transgen- der students in the state should be able to use whatever names, bathrooms and pronouns they want. The department released 15 pages of guidelines on issues that are likely to be controver- sial, including allowing trans- gender females to play girls sports and transgender men to wear tuxedos to prom . “A student who says she is a girl and wishes to be regarded that way throughout the school day should be respected and treated like any other girl,” the document reads. “So too with a student who says he is a boy.” The decision comes after Dallas School District Super- intendent Michelle Johnstone asked Gov. Kate Brown for help in February. The district, located west of Salem, has been embroiled in controversy since last fall when Dallas High School’s principal agreed to let a transgender male use the boys’ locker room. Parents and students in Dal- las protested, but the district’s lawyer said they would likely lose the lawsuit that would come if they caved to commu- nity pressure. “There appears to be con- fl ict regarding the intent of the Oregon Equality Act,” John- stone wrote to Brown, refer- ring to a state law that bars dis- crimination on the basis of sex. See POLICIES, Page 3A