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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 DACA: ‘This administration Council: Decision hinged on how they defined Shooting Stars has been so unpredictable’ Continued from Page 1A Her lawyer went over more of the specifics about what the Trump administra- tion is planning. If Congress does not pass legislation by March 5, the government will stop renewing permits for those covered by the pro- gram. Permits set to expire before that date may still be renewed, but applications must be submitted by Oct 5. Applications already submit- ted will still be processed, and the program will end gradually. Ponce May is working toward a career as a medical assistant helping translate for non-English patients. She is concerned about her ability to work, go to college and take care of her kids, she said. Since the government now possesses some of her per- sonal information, including her home address, she is wor- ried she may be targeted for deportation. “We depend on DACA. That’s the only way we can work and go to school,” she said. “If they catch me and they do something to me, what will happen to my daughters?” She remembers her fam- ily members and can partially visualize the ranch where she grew up in Mexico. Other- wise, she is much more famil- iar with her new home in Astoria. “I don’t know anything about Mexico,” she said. “I don’t know what it looks like, nothing.” ‘They have broken that trust’ Eileen Purcell, a board member of the hispanic coun- cil and coordinator of Clatsop Community College’s liter- acy program, has helped stu- dents like Ponce May with DACA applications. The council helps those who wish to fill out a DACA application but cannot afford a lawyer. She received numerous calls Tuesday from concerned students. “We have invested so much money in these kids. It’s ridiculous. It’s stupid,” Purcell said. “I never thought it would come to this.” Purcell lamented the fact that DACA applicants have now, like Ponce May, turned over their private infor- mation to the government, which may in turn seek to deport them. “We trusted them to treat them right, and they have broken that trust today.” ‘We’re reaching a breaking point with this where something has to give.’ Jorge Gutierrez executive director of the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council Many of the students with DACA benefits are the only members of their families who can work or even have a driver’s license. “This is a definite blow for students and their families,” she said. Tuesday marked the first day of school for most North Coast children. Asto- ria High School Counselor Andrew Fick, though he does not record who participates in the DACA program, said the repeal would affect some students. “We talk with students about a variety of issues that relate to family life,” he said. “School counselors are avail- able for anyone who feels like they need support. That’s our job.” ‘America is better than this’ Demonstrations against the repeal broke out in sev- eral cities across the coun- try, including Portland. Gov. Kate Brown said in a state- ment that Congress should push back against the Trump administration’s decision, adding dreamers contribute over $6 million annually to the state. “I am deeply troubled by federal orders that seek to tear apart otherwise law-abid- ing families and undermine Oregon’s economy,” Brown said. “I call on Congress to step up and push back against the White House’s reckless immigration policies.” Oregon’s U.S. senators and multiple representatives agreed. “Deporting people brought to this country as children is heartless, doesn’t improve national safety and will have a detrimental effect on our economy,” U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici said in a statement. “America is bet- ter than this; we don’t — and shouldn’t — penalize chil- dren for the actions of their parents.” ‘Something has to give’ Gutierrez is hopeful the six-month time limit will prompt Congress to pass meaningful legislative reform to address the more than 11 million undocumented immi- grants in the country. But he isn’t sure what to realistically expect, he said. “This administration has been so unpredictable,” he said. “I’m hoping that we do get some legislative reform. We’re reaching a breaking point with this where some- thing has to give.” Until something does give, immigrants such as Ponce May will continue to grapple with an uncertain fate. “It will be difficult, I think, for everyone,” she said. Giliga and her staff had hoped to spend the month of August getting the Gateway building, formerly used by the Oregon State Police, ready for students. She had also planned to add 20 more slots at the new location, bumping the total of children enrolled in the cen- ter’s programs to approxi- mately 60. These students are now “in holding,” she said Tuesday. “Today would have been our first day of school.” The City Council’s deci- sion Tuesday, like the Planning Commission’s decision in July, hinged on how they defined Shooting Stars — as a primar- ily educational facility, or a day care. Day cares would not be permitted in the Gateway Avenue area under city zoning. Mayor Arline LaMear and City Councilors Bruce Jones, Tom Brownson and Cindy Price voted in favor of upholding the Planning Com- mission’s decision. LaMear and Jones argued that, though Shooting Stars takes children as young as 6 weeks old, edu- cation takes place at a very young age and Shooting Stars Connaway did not say if he would appeal the City Coun- cil’s decision to the state, say- ing only as he left the meeting Tuesday night, “I just might.” Several councilors also expressed concern over a point Connaway made about the fact that the Gateway building is located in the tsunami inun- dation zone. However, they concluded that tsunamis have not been factored into Asto- ria’s land use decisions before, and to do so now would likely require a development code update. The fractured vote echoed what happened with the Plan- ning Commission when they considered Shooting Star’s request in July. Commissioners voted 4-3 to approve the center, with those in favor of the per- mit request accepting the cen- ter’s definition of itself as pri- marily an educational facility. However, Commissioner Daryl Moore contended that Shooting Stars is a day care center and therefore a use not permitted. Commission- ers Kent Easom and Jennifer Cameron-Lattek also voted to deny the permit, saying they believed the Gateway building was the wrong location. ‘Today would have been our first day of school.’ Continued from Page 1A Denise Giliga owner of Shooting Stars is not a day care; it is an educa- tion center. They also did not accept Connaway’s characterization of the area as an industrial area that would be unsafe for a child care center. Price said more traffic travels along down- town’s Commercial Street, where a variety of businesses are located, than on Gateway Avenue. Councilor Zetty Nemlow- ill was the only councilor who voted in favor of Connaway’s appeal. “I agree that there is defi- nitely a demand for qual- ity child care in Astoria,” she said, “but I also feel that just because there’s a demand that doesn’t mean we should allow day cares to go into inappro- priate places. This is a land use issue and we must apply our development code.” Haze: Water quality issues not expected Continued from Page 1A due to air quality concerns far- ther inland. In Seaside, boys and girls soccer was canceled Tuesday. Astoria City Engineer Jeff Harrington said he checked with staff on Tuesday to make sure no one was doing espe- cially strenuous work out- doors — a precaution Jonah Dart-McLean, parks mainte- nance supervisor for the city’s Parks and Recreation Depart- ment, also followed. Dart-McLean said they are trying to limit exposure to employees outdoors today as well by focusing on indoor work. Elsewhere, doctors have advised anyone with pulmo- nary conditions such as asthma to stay home. The blaze in the Gorge has forced hundreds of people to leave their homes and shut down a highway. The Coast Guard also closed 20 miles of the Columbia River to all vessel traffic east of Portland Tuesday. The Captain of the Port deemed it was unsafe for vessels to travel the river from Reed Island to Bonneville Dam because of hot ash and firefighting aircraft landing on the river. So far, the ash has fallen in such small amounts that Astoria Public Works is not worried about water quality issues at Bear Creek Reservoir. The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Astoria office sent one engine and two people to help fight the fire in the Gorge. As the winds shift, it is expected the air at the coast will clear. The National Weather Ser- vice in Portland, meanwhile, issued a red flag warning for lightning in the region, includ- ing the coast, through this evening. 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