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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016 Jesse bids for another term on Gearhart council Lorain seeks re-election in Gearhart council race Councilor calls for greater emergency preparedness Rentals, ire hall on horizon By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian GEARHART — Dan Jesse is making his second City Council bid in Gearhart. Jesse’s career in public ser- vice began with the Seaside Civic and Convention Center and the Seaside Improvement Commission, before he and his wife Julie moved to Gearhart, where he served on the Plan- ning Commission before elec- tion to City Council in 2012. Jesse, raised in Silver- ton, met his wife — a lifelong Gearhart resident — while a student in Seattle. The cou- ple returned to the region after school. Trained as a commer- cial photographer, Jesse is a builder by trade. “When we moved here, commercial photography was not a viable way to make a living,” Jesse said. “I love the ability in a small town to see a client I’ve worked with in the grocery store, to have smiling faces and peo- ple happy with what you’ve accomplished. I wish I could Dan Jesse say the same about politics.” Jesse was referring to the last four years on the City Council, which have seen a number of contentious issues, from a mayoral recall vote and vigorous short-term rental debates to ongoing litigation at Neacoxie Creek Barn. The reason for the city’s disquiet, he said, is a “gener- ational shift,” in which many longtime residents are either leaving or being displaced by newcomers. “People knew each other and had a mutual respect and understanding, how to get along and play nice together,” he said. With a vacation rental ordi- nance expected to pass in Sep- tember, Jesse said the conten- tious topic would likely spill into future council sessions. “I don’t think this is coming to an end,” he said. Both a referendum or a lawsuit in response to the ordinance are possibilities, Jesse said, “and I’ve heard rumblings of both. At least with a referendum, people could decide based on what the referendum is.” He said he welcomed a public vote on the ordinance or portions of it, which could come in the form of a special election in 2017. “I’d like to hear what the people think, and I hate to see tax dollars going into a lawsuit.” Jesse said. “I’m not convinced the people wanting short-term rentals would come out as well as they think it would if it was put to referendum.” Jesse said he hopes the dispute with Neacoxie Creek Barn owner Shannon Smith will draw itself to a conclu- sion as the process moves to Circuit Court. “I’m hoping we put that one behind us,” he said. One issue he would like to see greater attention to is emergency preparedness. “I think we’re still missing the boat in dealing with emer- gency preparedness,” he said. “We need to be putting time and effort as well as money in trying to put ourselves in a better position when a cata- strophic event happens.” Chronic absenteeism holds students back, AP analysis says Education secretary calls rate a national problem GEARHART — Nearing the end of her irst four-year term, Gearhart City Councilor Sue Lorain gathered enough signatures to qualify for a re-election bid in November. “It feels like it takes two years to get up to speed,” she said. “Then you start partici- pating. To me, a second term is important — to have the back- ground, be more prepared and inish the things we started in the irst term. It’s continuity.” Lorain and her partner moved to Gearhart in 2004. A retired teacher — “I taught everything at some point,” she said — Lorain spent much of her career teaching ifth- and sixth-graders in Washington’s Highline School District. Lorain serves on the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce board and as personally. I think this coun- cil position is about doing what’s good for all of us in Gearhart.” Lorain said the coun- cil’s short-term rental solu- tion “meets extremes on both sides.” As chairwoman of Gear- hart’s Fire Hall Committee, she said she hopes to develop a community-involved cam- paign for the new building, designed to replace the ire- house on Paciic Way. A pro- posal could go before voters in 2017. If re-elected, Lorain said she foresees a relatively calmer council interaction. “What’s cool about this group now is we can disagree on issues, but at the end of the meeting we can look at each other and say something funny and laugh, and be respectful of each other as human beings. That hasn’t always happened. I like the group I’m working with, even though we’re not always on the same page. We’re a good group, and diversiied.” Grounded cargo ship pulled by tug back into Columbia River channel Associated Press SKAMOKAWA, Wash. — A 751-foot cargo ship from Hong Kong that ran aground in the Columbia River near Skamokowa, Washington, has been pulled back into the channel. Oficials say a Colum- bia River Bar Pilot tug boat pulled the Rosco Palm back into the channel late Friday. The U.S. Coast Guard told KGW-TV that the ves- sel posed no environmental hazard and didn’t block other river trafic. National park to host long-distance radio events The Daily Astorian Lewis and Clark National Historical Park will host mul- tiple ham radio events in Sep- tember, including the chance for local students to talk directly with crew members of the International Space Station. The park is partnering with the Mouth of the Colum- bia Amateur Radio Club. By JENNIFER C. KERR and MEGHAN HOYER Associated Press WASHINGTON — The problem of students habit- ually missing school varies widely from state to state, with about one-third of stu- dents in the nation’s capital absent 15 days or more in a single school year, according to an Associated Press analy- sis of government statistics. Overall, the national aver- age of chronic absenteeism was 13 percent, or about 6.5 million students, the Educa- tion Department said. In Ore- gon, the rate was 22.7 percent. “Chronic absenteeism is a national problem,” Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said in a statement. “Fre- quent absences from school can be devastating to a child’s education.” Bob Balfanz, a research professor at Johns Hopkins University and director of the Everyone Graduates Center, called the numbers disturbing. “If you’re not there, you don’t learn, and then you fall behind. You don’t pass your classes. You don’t get the credits in high school and that’s what leads to drop- ping out,” Balfanz said in an interview. The report was the irst release of chronic absentee igures from the department. The Obama administration began a program last fall that now works with states and local groups in 30 commu- nities to identify mentors to help habitually absent kids get back on track. As part of the effort, the White House said last week that a New York- based company, STATE Bags, was donating 30,000 back- packs to children being men- tored in the program. NBA star Kevin Durant is working with the administra- tion on the initiative. “Some- times the reasons come down to not having what you need to be present and ready … like a book bag, school supplies or the support of a caring adult,” Durant said in a statement. Detroit is among the new communities to sign up for the My Brother’s Keeper Success Mentors Initiative. Of the 100 largest school districts by enrollment, Detroit had the highest rate of chronic absenteeism. Nearly 58 percent of students were chronically absent in the 2013-2014 school year. By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian vice-president of Seaside Scholarships, a nonproit pro- viding scholar- ships for local students. Sue Lorain L o o k - ing back on her four years as councilor, she singled out short-term rentals, legal actions at Nea- coxie Creek Barn and the attempted mayoral recall of Mayor Dianne Widdop as key issues. “I didn’t see that com- ing,” Lorain said. “That was tough.” Lorain said she objects to the personal tone injected into local politics. “What puz- zles me is how issues don’t become about the commu- nity and what’s good for the community, but they become personal issues against cer- tain individuals,” she said. “I’m running to make deci- sions for the good of the com- munity, not for the good of an interest group, this person or that, or even where I stand Alycia Meriweather, interim superintendent of Detroit Public Schools, said Wednesday: “This is a serious problem, which I would term a leading indicator, that impacts everything else we are trying to accomplish at the District. DPS must address this issue in order to see greater results in our classrooms and schools.” Meriweather said Detroit was working with absentee- ism and behavior experts to address the problem, and hop- ing to gain “some new per- spectives and ideas” from the My Brother’s Keeper Summit this week in Washington. In Washington, Michelle Lerner, press secretary for the District of Columbia Schools, said the district is taking an “all-hands-on-deck approach” to try to ensure that students attend school. 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Sometime during the week of Aug. 29 to Sept. 3, local students — who have been learning about the Interna- tional Space Station — hope to have a brief radio conversation with an astronaut (Dr. Kath- ENGLUND MARINE’S ann u al DOCK SALE Frid a y & S a tu rd a y | Au gu st 19-20 Thousands of item s under the tent M ARIN E S U PPLIES for you r boat SEASIDE CONVENTION CENTER 415 FIRST AVENUE • SEASIDE, OR BEADS • CRYSTAL • FOSSILS • GEM STONES • JEWLERY MINERALS • OPALS • PETRIFIED WOOD • ROUGH SLABS SPHERES • SUN STONES • THUNDER EGGS G EAR to catch fish • Ro d s & reels • Bu o y 10 sa lm o n gea r • Tu n a gea r • Cra b po ts & rin gs • VHF ra d io s • Life ja ckets • Sa fety gea r Pro-sta ffer on ha n d w ith • M a rin e stereo s dow n rigger dem on stra tion s • Bin o cu la rs a n d a dvice • Pu m ps • M iscella n eo u s su pplies T AK IN G C ARE & a ccesso ries of you r catch AUGUST 19, 20, 21 FRI & SAT • 10AM TO 6PM SUNDAY • 10AM TO 4PM leen Rubins, Takuya Onishi or Commander Jeffrey Williams). Since the call between the students and the space station depends on many factors, the exact date and time is not yet known. For more information, call the park at (503) 861-2471 or visit www.nps.gov/lewi or Lewis and Clark National His- torical Park on Facebook. fa ctory rep on ha n d displa yin g the la test techn ology Pro pa n e bu rn ers & po ts Va cu u m sea lers & ba gs | K n ives & sha rpen ers Co o lers 95 Hamburg Ave., Astoria FREE STRAND OF PEARLS FOR THE FIRST 75 LADIES DAILY FREE ADMISSION OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE LE Drawing for Septarian Nodule from Morocco Sunday at 2pm Tickets $1 each / 6 for $5 (503) 325-4341
