WARRENTON HIGH SCHOOL WINTER SPORTS PREVIEWS PAGE 11A
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016
144TH YEAR, NO. 108
FREE SWIM
PENINSULA WOMAN’S GENEROSITY
PROVIDES THE GIFT OF SWIMMING
ONE DOLLAR
Seaside
mayoral
suitors
step up
Barber, Johnson show
interest in top spot
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
Damian Mulinix/For EO Media Group
Naselle School fourth -graders play in the deep end during free time at a recent swim lesson at the Astoria Aquatic Center.
By DAMIAN MULINIX
For EO Media Group
F
or the last three years, the third- and
fourth-grade students at Naselle School
in Washington have been taking swim-
ming lessons at the Astoria Aquatic Center.
New this year, the school is not only seeing
these young students come out of the six-
week program as better swimmers, but thanks
to an arrangement between the aquatic center
and the Oller Fund, the school is also seeing a
signifi cant savings.
“Most of our kids were able to do it for
free,” said Naselle School Principal Quinn
Donlon. “Two-third of our kids are from
Pacifi c County. (The Oller Fund) made a big
difference and really helped out.”
In fact, last year the school spent $2,025
on swim lessons. This year the bill came in at
just $600 thanks to the Oller Fund, which now
has a standing arrangement with the Astoria
Aquatic Center that allows all residents of
south Pacifi c County to swim for free. About
one-third of the third- and fourth-graders at
Naselle are from Wahkiakum County, which
is not covered by the deal.
According to Jennifer Benoit, the commu-
nications coordinator for Astoria Parks and
Recreation, Naselle is the only school so far
from south Pacifi c County to take advantage
of the free lessons.
“This is the only one,” she said. “We love
the idea of kids coming and learning how to
swim. It’s important to the community. If it
were something other schools could fi t in, I’m
sure we’d be on board with that. It’s been fun
to have them coming. It brings a lot of life to
Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
See SEASIDE, Page 12A
Plan leaves
confl icts of
interest out
of audit
ODOT review does not
address the problem
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
How it came to be
Since Aug. 1, residents of south Pacifi c
County have been able to swim and take les-
sons at the Astoria Aquatic Center for free
thanks to the Oller Fund, named for Verna
See FREE SWIM, Page 12A
SEASIDE — City councilors met Mon-
day afternoon to consider a replacement for
former Mayor Don Larson. Larson stepped
down from his post in November due to ill
health after serving as mayor since 2002.
By the session’s conclusion, two contend-
ers emerged for the position, councilors Don
Johnson and Jay Barber. By the end of the
night’s regular City Council meeting, a third
name, that of Councilor-elect Tom Horning,
was added to the mix.
Councilors considered three options:
select someone on the council to fi ll the
mayor’s two-year unexpired term; appoint
a former elected offi cial; or choose some-
one outside of the council from the Seaside
electorate.
According to city code, the mayoral
vacancy must be fi lled by a council major-
ity vote.
The appointee would serve immediately
and continue until the January following the
next general city election in 2018.
Damian Mulinix/For EO Media Group
Naselle School fourth -graders swim at the Astoria Aquatic Center recently. The les-
sons are free for the students from south Pacific County — around two-thirds of the
students — thanks to the Oller Fund, which is from a $4.5 million bequest.
SALEM — A $1 million management
audit of the Oregon Department of Transpor-
tation may not address how well the agency
avoids confl icts of interest in awarding proj-
ect contracts.
Gov. Kate Brown ordered the audit at the
request of state legislators who want to ensure
ODOT is operating effectively before they
approve costly transportation funding next
year.
That legislation — one of Brown’s prior-
ities as governor — could hike gas taxes and
fees on drivers and funnel hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars in additional funding to the
agency. Among lawmakers’ concerns were
instances when the department hired or kept
contractors who appeared to have confl icts of
interest.
See REVIEW, Page 12A
Weed is winning, but train
could still go off the tracks
Government
can still halt
pot progress
By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press
DENVER — Weed is win-
ning in the polls, with a solid
majority of Americans say-
ing marijuana should be legal.
But does that mean the federal
government will let dozens of
state pot experiments play out?
Not by a long shot.
The government still has
many means to slow or stop
the marijuana train. And Pres-
ident-elect Donald Trump’s
nomination of Alabama Sen.
Jeff Sessions to be the next
attorney general has raised
fears that the new admin-
istration could crack down
on weed-tolerant states 20
years after California became
the fi rst to legalize medical
marijuana.
“We need grown-ups in
charge in Washington to say
marijuana is not the kind of
thing that ought to be legal-
ized. It ought not to be mini-
mized, that it’s in fact a very
real danger,” Sessions said
during an April Senate hearing.
The Controlled Substances
Act bans pot even for med-
ical purposes. A closer look
at some of the government’s
options for enforcing it:
AP Photo/Ryan Kang
Take ’em to court
The government rarely
invokes its authority to sue
states, but it’s the quickest path
to compliance. The Justice
See WEED, Page 4A
Shane Cavanaugh, owner of Amazon Organics, a pot
dispensary in Eugene arranges the cannabis display in
his store. The government still has many means to slow
or stop the marijuana train and President-elect Donald
Trump’s nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions to be
the next attorney general has raised fears that the new
administration could crack down on weed-tolerant states.