Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 Short-term rental rules to be clariied in Cannon Beach citizens on what is a very important issue,” said Com- missioner Lisa Kerr, who made a motion to deny the ordinance change. “I think the whole com- munity should be more involved in that decision and By LYRA FONTAINE you’re eliminating one of the The Daily Astorian steps,” Commissioner Robin Risley said. CANNON BEACH — During public testimony, The City Council hopes to City Council candidate Herb make short-term rental regu- Florer said the consequences lations “clear and of the proposed understandable” change are uncer- by the end of the tain and could year. “remove local ave- The city is nues for hearings working on code and appeals.” amendments to “Without full streamline permit- knowledge of the ting processes. A potential ramiica- proposed change tions of the change, would stop short- we feel that this is Mark Barnes term rental deci- unnecessary,” Flo- sions from being rer said. considered land- Barnes said use issues, shifting review short-term rentals are more from the Planning Commis- similar to business licenses sion to the City Council. than planning or zoning deci- The amendment seeks sions. “I think there’s some to make the permitting and value in streamlining and appeals process smoother for simplifying this process,” he property owners and admin- said at the meeting. istrators, City Planner Mark The Planning Commis- Barnes said. Appeals would sion voted to keep short- likely go to Circuit Court term rental regulations in instead of the Land Use the zoning ordinance. The Board of Appeals. council could reject the Planning commissioners recommendation. opposed the change at their The City Council will August meeting. likely hold a work session in “I believe that it would October to discuss more sub- have a serious adverse effect stantive changes to the city’s on due process rights of local short-term rental program. Planning Commission denied code amendment Ethanol replaces crude oil at Clatskanie port Associated Press LONGVIEW, Wash. — Global Partners has replaced crude oil with ethanol at its Port Westward terminal near Clatskanie, Oregon, which has reopened for business. The Daily News reports the terminal closed in Janu- ary because of plummeting oil prices, and Global Part- ners laid off more than half its workforce there. Port West- ward reopened and began receiving shipments of the lammable gasoline additive this summer. The Oregon Department of Transportation reported Clatsop Post 12 Roast Pork Dinner With Mashed Potatoes, Veggies, Salad and Roll Friday th Sept. 9 4 pm ‘til gone $8 .00 6PM “Karaoke Dave” ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Cla t sop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street 325-5771 that 95 rail cars carrying eth- anol moved along the Colum- bia County rail line to Port Westward in June. Trains that previously car- ried crude oil from Portland to Port Westward had prompted concerns from residents along the 60-mile route about risks of derailment and explosions. Global Partners’ switch to ethanol also comes after it was ined $100,000 last year for handling excessive amounts of crude oil. The company declined to comment. Hilltop principal on leave after holiday weekend arrest Suspected of drunken driving tendent Jenny Risner said in an email. By NATALIE ST. JOHN EO Media Group According to the citation, a Washington State Patrol trooper pulled Adams over on State Route 103 near Milepost 1 at about 10:45 p.m. on Fri- day night after he noticed that Adams was allegedly driv- ing without his headlights on. During the stop, the oficer believed that Adams showed signs of alcohol intoxication and subsequently placed him under arrest. In an email, Paciic County Sheriff’s Ofice Chief Criminal Deputy Pat Mat- lock said Adams was admin- istratively booked into Paciic County Jail early on Saturday, then released a short time later. The principal pleaded not guilty to one count of DUI, a gross misdemeanor, during an arraignment Wednesday in South District Court. Visi- bly upset, Adams sat quietly in the back of the courtroom as he waited to be called before the judge, and did not speak during the hearing. LONG BEACH, Wash. — Though teachers in the Ocean Beach School District have said his tenure as the new prin- cipal of Hilltop School was off to a promising start, Darin Adams was placed on admin- istrative leave on the second day of school. According to police and court records, Adams, 53, was arrested on suspicion of driv- ing under the inluence during a trafic stop in Long Beach Friday. Adams was at Hilltop on Tuesday, the irst day of school, but had been placed on leave by Wednesday. “We’re currently con- ducting an investigation of reports of an incident that occurred away from school property, unrelated to the employee’s duties. We do not have any further informa- tion at this time and have just begun our irst few days of school. The employee is on a routine administrative leave during the pending investiga- tion by the district,” Superin- Details of the arrest A veteran administrator Adams, who was hired last spring, is an experienced mid- dle school administrator who has received recognition for his leadership. The news of his arrest likely comes as a blow to his dis- trict colleagues, because many were optimistic that he could bring stability to a campus that has suffered more than its fair share of setbacks over the last three years. In September 2014, Hilltop became an inde- pendent middle school, and added sixth grade, after Ilwaco High School was relocated to the Black Lake Campus. Two months later, former Princi- pal Marc Simmons suddenly resigned. He was replaced by Interim Principal Deb Turver in January 2015. For the 2015- 2016 school year, district lead- ers decided not to permanently hire Turver. They also decided to move ifth grade classes to Hilltop. Though many praised Chad Madsen, who took over as principal for the 2015-2016 school year, he resigned in late spring, saying that he wanted to return to teaching in Asto- ria. So, Risner and the board found themselves searching for the school’s fourth princi- pal in three years. While last year’s ifth-grade transition went more smoothly than previous sixth-grade tran- sition, many parents, teach- ers and students felt that all of the changes made the middle school feel more chaotic than other district campuses, and ultimately took a toll on morale. State and district rules What happens from here will depend largely on how Risner and the school board decide to respond to the ind- ings of the Washington State Patrol report, and their own independent investigation. Even if he is eventually con- victed, Adams’ alleged offense likely won’t trigger state- level action. According to Nathan Olson, a spokesman for the Washington Ofice of the Superintendent for Pub- lic Instruction, district leaders make most hiring, iring and disciplinary decisions. They generally are only required to alert the state when there are clear signs that a teacher or principal is not it to work in any educational setting. In those cases, the state conducts its own investigation. “A DUI, to a large extent, is considered a minor enough offense that it’s probably not going to affect a principal’s cer- tiication,” Olson explained. “We don’t deal with employ- ment. We deal with whether or not a teacher or principal should keep his or her certiicate.” Oregon students show slight improvement Associated Press PORTLAND — Oregon students performed slightly better on state tests than they did a year ago, scores released Thursday show. The exams taken by nearly 300,000 students this spring are designed to relect how well schools helped students meet rigorous Common Core standards in English and math. Fifty-ive percent of stu- dents met the standards in English — up 1 percentage point from 2015. Forty-two percent of students were up to standards in math, also an increase of 1 percentage point. Though the improvement was minor, Oregon schools chief Salam Noor noted that it was enjoyed by all types of students, including minori- ties, students with disabilities and those living in poverty. “What is most exciting about this year’s results is the progress made by students across the board, including those from groups that have historically performed at lower levels than their peers,” Noor said. The tests are taken by stu- dents in third through eighth grades and 11th grade. Com- pared with results from 2015, more third-graders mastered mathematics and more ifth-graders mastered English. High school juniors improved in English and math. But those 11th-grade results aren’t as reliable because many juniors declined to take the exams. Many see the exams as an unwelcome dupli- cation of SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement tests or similar tests that also measure college read- iness, said Heather Beck, the superintendent of the Lake Oswego School District and a strong proponent of Common Core standards. Reacting to concerns that schools overemphasize test- ing, legislators passed a law that took effect Jan. 1 that allows parents to opt their children out of taking the tests for any reason. Previ- ously, students could only be excused for religious or medi- cal reasons. As a result, Portland, Eugene and several other dis- tricts had participation rates below 90 percent. Bend’s three high schools recorded some of the lowest participation rates in the state. “There’s absolutely noth- ing we can do with the high school data. We can’t draw any reasonable conclusions because the participation rate was below 50 percent,” Dave Van Loo, the district’s direc- tor of school improvement, told The Bulletin newspaper. FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED conceal carry permit classes Monday, Sept. 12 th 1pm and 6pm HURRY IN FOR INCREDIBLE DEALS AND SAVINGS! BEST WESTERN 555 Hamburg Ave, Astoria, OR Multi-State - valid in WA $80 or Oregon-only $45 Oregon included no-fee. Required class to get an Oregon or multi-State permit. Class includes: • Fingerprinting & photo • Oregon gun laws • Washington gun laws • Interstate travel laws • Interaction with law enforcement • Use of deadly force • Firearm / ammunition / holster selection FREE BOXSPRING OR SAVE UP TO $ 360.921.2071 FirearmTrainingNW.com : FirearmrainingNW@gmail.com QUEEN FLAT SETS FROM 800 $ 1299 on a Serta ® Adjustable Mattress Set* P SHEE L LOCA $ 999 PRIZES FOR THE BEST CO S T U M E FOXFIELD EURO TOP FREE * HOT BUY! 36 THS N O M 0% CING N A FIN $ 299 Helps reduce tossing & turning Encourages proper back support & alignment Promotes a balanced sleep temperature Minimize impact from partner movement Resists sagging & edge roll-off BACK SUPPORTER MATTRESS SPECIALS! Delivery Min. $599 Purchase FREE * Set-Up Starting at the Astoria River Walk (by the Barbey Maritime Center) 1792 Marine Drive FREE Mattress Recycle * T HE S LEEP Y OU N EED GUARANTEED Warrenton 503-861-6085 Located next to Big 5 and Fred Meyer HOURS: M-F 10-7; SAT 10-6; SUN 11-6 www.americasmattress.com With 5 convenient locations NEWPORT | FLORENCE | COOS BAY| LINCOLN CITY | WARRENTON
