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VINYL RECORDS AND ART FROM NOEL THOMAS • INSIDE
145TH YEAR, NO. 187
FLOOD CONTROL
Residents
grumble
about
demands
ONE DOLLAR
DailyAstorian.com //
Farms to salmon swamps
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County may make alterations
to land use rules this year that would affect
several hundred property owners in flood-
prone areas, citing new federal insurance
requirements.
The county has participated in the
National Flood Insurance Program since
the 1970s. For residents to remain eligi-
ble for the 50-year-old program that guards
against flood losses, the Federal Emergency
See FLOOD CONTROL, Page 4A
College to
propose $3
tuition hike
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Scott Thompson, owner of Blackberry Bog Farm near Svensen, looks out over his property near the habitat restoration project.
Project to bring back
60 acres of habitat
Enrollment and fee
revenue is down
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
S
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — The
Clatsop Community
MORE
College Board, fac-
INSIDE
ing lackluster enroll-
ment and funding,
College to go
tobacco-free
will consider a $3-per-
by fall
credit tuition hike next
month.
Page 3A
“None of us feel
like increasing tuition
is something that we want to do,” College
President Christopher Breitmeyer said Tues-
day. “We’d rather not do it. But we think at
this time it’s necessary, given where we are
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
The Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce is planning to restore several ar-
eas of wetlands near Svensen, including two parcels along either side of Bear
Creek, which runs north from Svensen Slough.
VENSEN — The southern banks
along Svensen Slough, a side chan-
nel of the Columbia River, have
transformed over time from historic
spruce swamp into fields diked off by
European settlers for farming.
Clatsop County and three private
property owners along Bear, Mary’s and
Ferris creeks, all tributaries of the slough,
have partnered with the Columbia River
Estuary Study Taskforce and Bonneville
Power Administration to bring more than
60 acres of the swamp back for salmon
and wildlife habitat.
Nearly 80 percent of estuarine habi-
tat along the Lower Columbia has been
See HABITAT, Page 7A
See COLLEGE, Page 3A
Knappa looks at ways to curb school shootings
Forum comes
three weeks after
threat at school
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Jack Heffernan/The Daily Astorian
Superintendent Paulette Johnson speaks
during a forum Tuesday on school safety.
KNAPPA — During a Knappa
School District safety forum Tues-
day, Wendy Montgomery, a sixth-
grade teacher at Hilda Lahti Ele-
mentary, explained to the crowd of
concerned parents some of the com-
plexities of school shootings.
For instance, the shooter would
likely target classroom windows
rather than entering front doors,
forcing teachers to be creative.
Despite extensive training, nothing
is foolproof.
“Please remember teachers are
human and yes, we want to guar-
antee your child’s safety. But I’m
scared standing here. You can see
my voice fluttering,” Montgomery
said. “So when a shooter is there,
I’m going to do my darnedest to get
your kid to safety, but please don’t
hold us 100 percent accountable if
we make a mistake or, you know,
we jump in front of a bullet and
your child is shot anyway.”
The forum at the Knappa High
School gymnasium came three
weeks after a student at the school
threatened to grab a gun, return to
campus and shoot himself. It also
took place about a month after 17
people were killed in a Florida high
school shooting. Hours before the
forum, a student shot two class-
mates at a Maryland high school
before eventually being killed by a
school resource officer.
Recent arguments about how to
avoid more school shootings have
ranged from limiting access to guns
to arming teachers.
Superintendent Paulette John-
son began the forum by explaining
school training, policies about com-
municating with the public, safety
and security resources and partner-
ships with local police. In addition
to leading safety drills, for instance,
faculty are assigned certain tasks
See KNAPPA, Page 3A