9A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016
Homeless: Rural communities have been hit hard
Continued from Page 1A
Student homelessness in Clatsop County
The Oregon Department
of Education report blames
a lack of affordable hous-
ing statewide for the increas-
ing number of homeless
children.
(Statistics by school district, 2015-16)
Local figures
In Clatsop County last
school year, 287 students were
reported as homeless, up from
about 235 the year prior. The
designation includes students
without a permanent home,
doubling up with friends and
family because of economic
hardship, or staying in shel-
ters or commercial lodg-
ing. The state tracks unshel-
tered students staying in cars,
trailers, parks, public spaces,
abandoned buildings, sub-
standard housing, bus stations
and other areas not equipped
for sleeping.
Wa r r e n t o n - H a m m o n d
School District reported 130
students considered homeless,
nearly 13 percent of the dis-
trict’s enrollment and up from
117 homeless students the
year prior. Two-thirds were
Astoria
Seaside
Warrenton
-Hammond
Knappa
Jewell
Unaccompanied minors
19
<5
—
<5
—
Sheltered
7
<5
—
—
—
Doubled up
69
37
98
<5
—
Unsheltered
8
<5
32
<5
—
Hotel/motel
8
20
—
—
—
Total
92
59
130
6
0
4.9%
43.8%
3.8
28.3
13
11.1
1.3
-25
—
—
Circumstance
Percent of enrollment
Percent change from 2014-15
NOTE: Amounts of five or fewer students are redacted for student privacy.
Sources: Oregon Dept. of Education; Warrenton-Hammond School District
doubling up, with the rest
unsheltered.
Astoria reported 89 stu-
dents homeless, nearly 5 per-
cent of enrollment and up
more than 1 percent from the
year prior. Nineteen of those
were unaccompanied minors,
by far the county’s largest
share.
Seaside reported 59 stu-
dents — or 3.8 percent of
enrollment — homeless, with
20 students living in hotels
Edward Stratton and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
and motels, the county’s larg-
est share.
Knappa reported six home-
less students, down from eight
the year prior. Jewell reported
none, after having five or
fewer the year prior.
Eviction
Reacting to the report, the
Stable Homes for Oregon
Families Coalition urged the
Legislature to protect tenants
at risk of losing their homes
because of eviction and severe
rent increases.
The number of homeless
students increased by more
than 1,100 from the previous
year, the new report said.
Lincoln County Commis-
sioner Bill Hall said rural
communities have been hit
hard, with nearly 1-in-7 stu-
dents experiencing homeless-
ness for part of the 2015-16
school year in his county.
“Our children should be
‘Our children should
be thinking about their
homework and playtime, and
not worrying about where
they will sleep at night.’
Bill Hall
Lincoln County commissioner
thinking about their home-
work and playtime, and not
worrying about where they
will sleep at night,” Hall said
on Facebook. “We can do
more to protect kids and fam-
ilies from experiencing home-
lessness in Oregon.”
State law allows landlords
to evict families at any time
without stating a reason and
prohibits local governments
from enacting rent stabilization
measures, the Stable Homes
for Oregon Families Coalition
said. The United States Con-
ference of Mayors has identi-
fied eviction as a leading cause
of homelessness, especially
for families with children, the
coalition said.
The instability that home-
lessness causes often leads to
school absences and falling
behind, Marti Heard, home-
less program liaison for Port-
land Public Schools, was
quoted as saying by the coa-
lition. That can jeopardize
future college or career suc-
cess, Heard said.
In some districts, 20 per-
cent or more of their stu-
dents count as homeless by
the federal definition, the
education department said.
Unemployment and a lack of
family-wage jobs and afford-
able housing in rural areas
have contributed to the rise,
it said.
Edward Stratton of The
Daily Astorian contributed to
this story.
Parade: Community thanked
for ‘amazing amount of support’
Continued from Page 1A
AP Photo/Mike Groll
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a rally to raise the minimum wage in Alba-
ny, N.Y., in February. A federal court today blocked implementation of a rule imposed by
President Barack Obama’s administration that would have made an estimated 4 million
more higher-earning workers across the country eligible for overtime pay starting Dec. 1.
Overtime: Department of Labor
could appeal the Tuesday ruling
“Each school will be
sending out an invitation to
their students in this week’s
newsletter,” Seaside School
District
Superintendent
Sheila Roley said Friday.
“It is a wonderful honor for
our students to be invited to
be the grand marshals of the
Parade of Lights.”
Roley thanked the com-
munity for their “amazing
amount of support for our
students.”
“With the passage of the
school construction bond,
our voters have expressed
how highly they value our
young citizens,” she said.
“We are so grateful.”
Local Pacific Power
employees and their families
‘Our voters have expressed
how highly they value
our young citizens.’
Sheila Roley
Seaside School District superintendent
will participate in the parade
this year, Pacific Power’s
Regional Business Manager
Alisa Dunlap said. “We will
be decorating a bucket truck
for the festivities. And look
forward to handing out our
signature glow sticks along
the parade route.”
The parade formation
begins at 6 p.m. at First Ave-
nue on Necanicum Drive
with participants facing
south. The parade ends at
the Downing and Broadway
pocket park. Noncommercial
winners receive a $50 check
and commercial winners
receive a plaque. Follow-
ing the parade, participants
are invited to join tree-light-
ing, caroling and visits with
Santa Claus.
Dunlap has an additional
advisory this holiday season:
For home lighting, make
sure you are using an appro-
priate outlet and check dec-
orations for damage prior to
plugging them in.
Continued from Page 1A
“Businesses and state and
local governments across the
country can breathe a sigh of
relief now that this rule has
been halted,” said Nevada
Attorney General Adam Lax-
alt, who led the coalition of 21
states and governors fighting
the rule and has been a frequent
critic of what he characterized
as Obama administration over-
reach. “Today’s preliminary
injunction reinforces the impor-
tance of the rule of law and
constitutional government.”
Skip OT pay
The regulation sought to
shrink the so-called “white
collar exemption” that allows
employers to skip overtime
pay for salaried administrative
or professional workers who
make more than about $23,660
per year. Critics say it’s wrong
that some retail and restaurant
chains pay low-level managers
as little as $25,000 a year and
no overtime — even if they
work 60 hours a week.
Under the rule, those work-
ers would have been eligi-
ble for overtime pay as long
as they made less than about
$47,500 a year, and the thresh-
old would readjust every three
years to reflect changes in aver-
age wages.
The Department of Labor
said the changes would restore
teeth to the Fair Labor Stan-
dards Act, which it called “the
crown jewel of worker pro-
tections in the United States.”
Inflation weakened the act:
overtime protections applied to
62 percent of U.S. full-time sal-
aried workers in 1975 but just 7
percent today.
The agency said it’s now
considering all its legal options.
“We strongly disagree with
the decision by the court, which
has the effect of delaying a fair
day’s pay for a long day’s work
for millions of hardworking
Americans,” the labor depart-
ment said in a statement. “The
department’s overtime rule
is the result of a comprehen-
sive, inclusive rulemaking pro-
cess, and we remain confident
in the legality of all aspects of
the rule.”
AP Photo/Ben Margot
Protesters demonstrate outside a McDonald’s restaurant
in Oakland, Calif. A federal court today blocked implemen-
tation of a rule imposed by President Barack Obama’s ad-
ministration that would have made an estimated 4 million
more higher-earning workers across the country eligible
for overtime pay starting Dec. 1.
‘This
overtime
rule is totally
disconnected
from reality’
Karen Kerrigan
president and CEO of the Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
Council
Up with the times
The ruling dealt a major
blow to the Obama adminis-
tration’s effort to beef up labor
laws it said weren’t keeping
pace with the times.
Opponents fought hard
against the rule, saying it would
increase compliance costs for
employers who would have to
track hours more meticulously
and would force companies
to cut employees’ base pay to
compensate for overtime costs
that kick in more frequently.
“This overtime rule is
totally disconnected from real-
ity,” said Karen Kerrigan, pres-
ident and CEO of the Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
Council. “The one-size-fits-all
doubling of the salary thresh-
old demonstrated ignorance
regarding the vast differences
in the cost-of-living across
America.”
The court agreed with plain-
tiffs that the rule could cause
irreparable harm if it wasn’t
stopped before it was sched-
uled to take effect next week.
The Department of Labor
could appeal the Tuesday rul-
ing, which might end up at a
Supreme Court that includes
some Trump appointees.
But the injunction takes
political pressure off the incom-
ing administration at an oppor-
tune time, according to labor
law professor Ruben Garcia of
UNLV’s Boyd School of Law.
With no new overtime changes
kicking in Dec. 1, Trump can
accept the status quo and won’t
have to risk angering workers
by walking back overtime ben-
efits shortly after employees
start receiving them.
His administration could
choose to make its own rule
changes through the lengthy
administrative process. Or
Congress could amend labor
laws.
The impending rule wasn’t
front and center in the presi-
dential campaign, but Trump
did tell the news site Circa in
August that he would love to
see a delay or carve-out for
small businesses in the over-
time regulation. Republican
House Speaker Paul Ryan was
more vocal against it, say-
ing it would be an “absolute
disaster” for the economy and
was being rushed through by
Obama to boost his political
legacy.
We are thankful
For your support.
Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family To Yours
The caregivers at Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) would like to
wish our community Happy Holidays. From all of us at CMH, we would
like to thank you for your support and trust in allowing us to be your
healthcare provider. This Holiday Season and throughout
the coming year, may you all be surrounded with peace,
joy, good health and love.
CMH Urgent Care offers convenient
locations in Astoria and Warrenton.
2111 Exchange Street, Astoria, Oregon • 503-325-4321
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