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ASTORIA REGATTA • INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 26 ONE DOLLAR In future employment, education will pay Hannah Sievert/The Daily Astorian A camper crafted a small bee for a camp counselor called ‘Bulls Eye.’ At Camp Kiwanilong, stings in the trail Campers swarmed by yellow jackets By HANNAH SIEVERT The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Kenneth Booth works the kitchen at Astoria Coffeehouse and Bistro. Food service and preparation will account for nearly 17 percent of job vacancies over the next decade in Northwest Oregon. Service sector could have one-third of growth By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian N orthwest Oregon is projected to add nearly 8,000 new jobs through 2027. But with about 60 percent of vacancies and expansions concentrated in lower-paying jobs that require only a high school diploma or less, earn- ing a family wage will largely depend on education. The Oregon Employment Department’s biennial job growth projections for North- west Oregon include Benton, Lincoln, Tillamook, Columbia and Clatsop counties. Benton County, including Corvallis and Oregon State University, has by far the largest popula- tion and number of jobs. Employment in Oregon is expected to grow by 12 per- cent, or 246,000 jobs, over the next decade, compared to about 7.3 percent in Northwest Oregon. Erik Knoder, a regional economist covering North- west Oregon, said slower job growth is common in rural areas. “Northwest Oregon has a lot of jobs that don’t require a great deal of education or training to get into,” he said. “That’s true of most areas.” It’s common to have a Projected job growth for select industries in Northwest Oregon * Total employment for Northwest Oregon is estimated to increase by 7,992 jobs to 116,933 in 2027, up 7.3 percent from 2017. 24,282 26,919 Service 22,949 24,469 Professional/related 11,313 11,864 Sales 8,143 8,992 Management, business and financial 7,384 8,189 Healthcare Production 5,590 5,700 Transportation/ material moving 4,999 5,261 Construction/extraction 4,408 4,920 Installation, maintenance and repair Farming, fishing and forestry higher total, expansion and turnover rate in lower-wage jobs, he said. The service sector alone is expected to account for nearly one-third of the region’s vacancies and expand by more than 2,600 positions over the next decade. Food prepara- 4,030 4,341 3,259 3,469 2017 2027 (*Includes Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Lincoln and Benton counties.) Source: Oregon Employment Department Edward Stratton and Alan Kenaga/ EO Media Group tion and serving, with an aver- age wage of $13.27 per hour, is expected to add more than 1,300 jobs. Cleaning and maintenance positions such as maids, housekeepers and jani- tors, with an average wage of $14.62 per hour, are expected to expand by 600. The percentage of jobs in farming, fishing and forestry, once dominant industries in the region, are expected to remain below 3 percent of overall employment. Family wage growth Northwest Oregon is also poised for a nearly 20 percent growth rate in jobs offering wages above $15 an hour, and 28 percent in those requiring at least some post-high school training, from workforce cer- tificates to a bachelor’s degree. The region is expected to add more than 1,500 profes- sional positions and 850 in the business, management and financial fields over the next decade. Health care, a steadily growing sector, is expected to expand by another 11 percent in the next decade, with 800 new positions. That includes an estimated 188 more nurses and 79 medical assistants. Shawna Sykes, a workforce analyst and economist with the state, said local hospitals and other health providers have a continual shortage of nurses, physical therapists and medi- cal assistants because of lim- ited capacity in local training programs. “As the population ages, See JOBS, Page 7A WARRENTON — For the past 40 summers, young campers at Camp Kiwan- ilong have hiked along Cof- fenbury Lake Loop at Fort Stevens State Park. Most years, the hike goes off without a hitch. But on Wednesday afternoon, campers were swarmed by yellow jackets and about 100 were stung at least once. Since yellow jackets have a tendency to attach them- selves to victims’ clothes and sting repeatedly, many campers were stung multi- ple times. No one was seriously injured, although several campers had mild allergic reactions and one had an asthma attack. One camper, 10-year-old Lily Andrew, went into shock and was treated by medics. In a Facebook post, the Warrenton Fire Department called the incident a “great exercise in triage and mass casualty.” Andrew, who is from Astoria, said campers encountered one or two yel- low jacket nests on the trail on their way down to Coffen- bury Lake, so the group took a different trail back up to Camp Kiwanilong. It turned out that the second trail had at least eight nests, all of which were located in the ground and difficult to see. Campers ran back up the trail and were chased by the yellow jackets. Some camp counselors and older camp- ers tried to brush the wasps off of younger campers while running back to the camp. See STINGS, Page 7A Students help fight Scotch broom Campers learn to combat invasive plants By HANNAH SIEVERT The Daily Astorian Not many high school stu- dents would describe their dream summer plans as chop- ping down invasive plants in the middle of the forest. But the eight students par- ticipating in the Student Con- servation Association pro- gram have spent a week this summer doing just that, and several said they wouldn’t have it any other way. On Wednesday, the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park held the second annual youth work party to help clear invasive Scotch broom from park-owned land, called the Yeon property, in War- renton. Students from sev- eral youth programs played a part, including the Student Conservation Association, the Lewis and Clark Youth Conservation Corps and col- lege interns from Northwest Youth Corps. Lewis and Clark staff and volunteers have been work- ing to eradicate the fields of Scotch broom that has taken over the Yeon property for about six years. Scotch broom chokes out native plants and changes the soil’s chemis- try to be more nitrogen-rich, which can be more inviting to other invasive plants. While these cleanup events are helpful to clear Scotch broom, staff at Lewis and Clark also want to expose high school students to future careers with the National Park Service. “We really want to give them experience and infor- mation so they know what’s possible for them,” Carla Cole, the natural resources program manager for Lewis and Clark, said. “We would love to have these kids want- ing to work in the park ser- vice, but whether or not that See STUDENTS, Page 7A On stage, Matthews is ‘Norwegian by osmosis’ Pastor has a longtime part in ‘Shanghaied’ By HANNAH SIEVERT The Daily Astorian ARRENTON — On Sunday mornings, Kathy Matthews is known as “Pastor Matthews,” the lead pastor for the Warrenton United Methodist Church. But on other days, peo- ple often call her by her long- time stage name — “Mama” — when they see her around town. Matthews has played the character in the Astor Street W Opry Company’s annual pro- duction of “Shanghaied in Astoria,” with a few breaks, for the past 26 years. She plans to bow out of the role when the show ends its 34th season in September. The play, which centers around Astoria’s Scandina- vian heritage, is a musical melodrama that values audi- ence participation. Matthews joined the crew in the show’s ninth season and fell in love with her character, a feisty Hannah Sievert/The Daily Astorian Kathy Matthews plays the role of ‘Mama’ in ‘Shanghaied in Astoria.’ matriarch with a heavy Nor- wegian accent. “I feel like she’s a part of me,” she said. “I tell people, I’ve become Norwegian by osmosis.” “Shanghaied” runs Thurs- day through Saturday — with a few Sunday performances — from mid-July to early Sep- tember. Matthews shares the role of “Mama” with several other actors throughout the sea- son and does not perform every weekend. Though participating in the show is a time commit- ment with weekly rehearsals and performances, Matthews’ love of community theater and the desire to see the play run successfully have kept her returning year after year. “There’s some sense of responsibility when you’ve done the role that long,” she said. “You get this feeling that you’re letting people down if you leave.” See MATTHEWS, Page 7A
