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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 2018)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager OUR VIEW Local bonds: Yes, yes, yes and no The project would utilize the exist- ing youth facility for staff offices, intake space, food service and 20 inmate beds, while placing 128 beds in a new adjoin- ing section with a more efficient, and safer, layout. Separate space would be available to hold inmates with behav- ioral issues and contagious illnesses. C latsop County taxpayers have a lot on their plate to consider in the Nov. 6 election. Public officials are asking their con- stituents to make big investments in bond proposals for Astoria and Warrenton schools, a new county jail and expanded Sunset Empire recreation facilities. We believe public safety and good schools are the most important services that local governments can deliver. They are crucial investments in our communi- ty’s future. The recreation facilities are more optional. Sunset Empire bond: No School bonds: Yes The bond measures for the Astoria and Warrenton school districts — $70 million and $38.5 million, respectively — are both worthy of your “yes” vote. Both proposals address critical needs and have been carefully vetted, with considerable public involvement in their development. In Warrenton, for example, instead of asking for a massive bond to move all of the district’s schools to higher ground out of the tsunami inundation zone — as Seaside did — officials chose a phased approach. The $38.5 million will pur- chase a master campus and build a new middle school to relieve chronic over- crowding at the grade school. It would raise property taxes by an estimated $2.03 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $507 on a home valued at $250,000. Future bonds will move the rest of Warrenton’s schools, as the city’s fast-growing population and increas- ing home prices gradually lower the per capita tax burden on voters over time. The decision to go after smaller bonds in a phased approach was based on public input from residents who said they support moving the schools but are on fixed incomes, said Debbie Morrow, the Warrenton-Hammond School Board chairwoman. “We couldn’t morally go out for a bond that our residents could not afford,” she said. Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Architect Tom Bates queried students at Astoria Middle School about what they like and don’t like about their learning spaces. Astoria’s bond would pay for $45 million in modernization and security improvements at Astoria Middle School, $20 million at Astoria High School and $9 million at John Jacob Astor Elementary School. Lewis and Clark Elementary School and Capt. Robert Gray School would receive smaller improvements. Astoria voters last approved $21.4 million in bonds in 2000 to build Lewis and Clark and improve the high school. The bonds have decreased in cost through refinancing and increases in property values, and are now estimated to cost $1.83 per $1,000 of assessed value. The new bonds would begin after the older ones expire in 2020, raising taxes to $2.83 per $1,000 of assessed property value, or $707 on a home worth $250,000. Consultants identified more than $80 million in needs for Astoria schools, but a facilities committee — including 30 community and district staff members — prioritized projects and whittled the recommended ask down to $70 million. We have toured both the Warrenton and Astoria facilities. We believe the requests are reasonable and sorely needed, particularly the safety modifi- cations in light of recent mass school shootings around the country. New county jail: Yes The $20 million bond for a new county jail, with an estimated tax rate of 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed value — $53 on a $250,000 home — is a bargain compared to the school bonds. While the timing is unfortunate, this shouldn’t be a “schools versus jail” decision. The real decision is public safety. Is it important to you? Inmates released early from our chronically overcrowded jail have killed people. That’s not hyperbole. It’s fact. Our jail, with only 60 beds, is hardly a deterrent for criminals in our county, who know they won’t have to serve time behind bars. We believe the former Oregon Youth Authority facility in Warrenton presents an historic opportunity to expand to 148 beds at half the cost of building new. It would be shortsighted not to take advan- tage of that opportunity. It sounds like a great idea — to bring additional preschool and recreational facilities to members of the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District. The recreation district is present- ing a 20-year, $20 million bond plan to add a second-floor walking track, indoor racket courts and fitness areas, and reconfigure administrative areas, class- rooms and storage space, among other upgrades. The timing couldn’t be worse. Seaside taxpayers are still reeling from the big hit their property taxes took by the passage of the $99.7 million school bond in 2016. With a county bond for a much-needed and long-overdue jail facility in Warrenton, residents are being asked to bear too much too soon. In addition, there remain too many open-ended questions about the pro- posed facility to make this a good bet in any economic environment. With the neighboring Broadway Middle School slated for sale by the Seaside School District, the recreation district may yet consider some sort of deal with the school district or potential buyers to redevelop part of the existing structure, classroom or recreation space. Revenue projections for the pro- posed facility fail to show how the proj- ect could break even, much less show a profit, and ongoing expenses for a larger facility — both in personnel and opera- tion costs — could deliver hidden costs to come. We’d like to see upgrades at the facil- ity honed and communication with patrons improved. That won’t come by throwing money at a big new building without a much broader base of support. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Vote ‘yes’ for Astoria school bond ince my first day of school, 13 years ago, I have looked up to my teachers. Admiring with eager eyes, and imagining myself one day being just like them. I still look at my teachers with awe, but now that I’m older, I realize that their life isn’t as magical as my 5-year-old self would like to believe. They don’t, in fact, live in their classrooms, and are actually facing an ever-increasing risk of being put in danger. I never thought of school as being a dan- gerous place until recently, but I feel as though I’m constantly hearing about school shootings or threats that have been put against schools, including Astoria High School. Now I go to school with a sense of fear that I will become part of one of the next tragic news stories. I fear that one of the lockdown drills will not be a drill, something I don’t think children should ever experience in the place that they go to learn. The Astoria School Bond is now addressing the fact that the schools are not as safe as they should be. I hope the community votes “yes” to Astoria kids, for the approximately 2,000 kids who don’t have a voice in this election. One day I hope that I can pursue my dream of teaching, and that it is in a safe environment that holds the same magic I saw 13 years ago. NIKAYLA LIPPY Astoria S Vote Barber for Seaside mayor lthough I don’t live inside the city limits, I am proudly displaying a “Jay Barber for Mayor” lawn sign on my property. As difficult as it must have been to be dropped suddenly into the role of mayor mid-term, and expected to replace someone as wonderful as my good Swedish friend, Mayor Don Larson, Jay did it with class. He has earned the respect of the people of Seaside, and of his colleagues around the state. He is a good listener, the result of being a pastor for many years. A Jay has been an active mayor from his first day on the job. He leads in a way that he believes best for his constituents. He interacts regularly, and in person, with the state Legisla- ture and the governor, as well as with our fed- eral delegation. He is compassionate and kind, and he takes his many volunteer roles seriously. In the emergency preparedness sector, Sea- side leaders started a local program called “Map Your Neighborhood” before Jay became mayor. Jay worked with other coastal commu- nities, and continued those activities, allowing Seaside to remain in the forefront as a model of proven practices. That small project was even- tually included in the Oregon Resilience Plan, and has become a go-to action that any com- munity can practice. If I lived in Seaside, you can be assured that I would be voting for Jay Barber for mayor. Please vote by Nov. 6. DEBORAH BOONE Cannon Beach ing clean air and healthy drinking water. Tiffany wants to end our dependence on dirty fossil fuels. This means investing in clean energy infrastructure locally, and also making sure our coast and river aren’t used to export fossil fuels. Tiffany wants to do more to encourage sus- tainability in forestry, especially when it comes to protecting watersheds. All North Coast Ore- gonians deserve pristine drinking water as a right — not as a luxury. Lastly, Tiffiny Mitchell is concerned about climate change. Our communities are espe- cially vulnerable to erratic weather, flooding and rising sea levels. Tiffiny will work to be part of the solution to better prepare us for the effects of climate change. Please vote Tiffiny Mitchell for House Dis- trict 32. CHERYL JOHNSON Astoria Hoof rot not a reason to cull elk Vote Mitchell for state representative here has been conflicting information regarding hoof disease in elk stated in the newspaper, and on Facebook recently. Want- ing to know the truth, I called the Tillamook office of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Depart- ment. The gentleman I spoke with was patient and informative. T s our state representative, Tiffiny Mitch- ell will work hard to keep the North Coast a great place to live and raise our children and grandchildren. Tiffiny is committed to protect- A LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar, and, on occasion, fac- tual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the writer by name, should refer to the head- line and date the letter was published. Dis- course should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Let- ters in poor taste will not be printed. Send via email to editor@dailyasto- rian.com, online at dailyastorian.com/ submit_letters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or 1555 North Roosevelt in Seaside, or mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. As I understand it, there is a potential pre- cursor to hoof rot disease that is called slipper foot disease. This is apparently found in less than 1 percent of any herd, and has many pos- sible causes. He stated that this is not worri- some, and is regarded as fairly normal, i.e. not something that requires intervention. Hoof rot disease is a different entity. It is thought to be caused by a treponeme bacte- ria. To their knowledge, hoof rot disease is not found in the Clatsop County herds, obviously including the elk in Gearhart. Consequently, this would not constitute a reason to cull or destroy elk in Clatsop County. SHARON KLOEPFER Gearhart Protect our most precious and vulnerable citizens s a mother, I often say a little prayer each day as my children go off to school, that they will be safe. It is terrifying, hearing about the rampant school shootings in our country. There’s an opportunity to protect our schools from this threat, and I’m all for it. Please, join me in voting yes for the Astoria school bond. As a city councilor, I realize there’s not much the city of Astoria can do to make schools more safe. The city has the best police force on the planet, and they are trained to respond to mass shootings, but how could we, as a community, ever let it come to this? We must do everything in our power to protect our most precious and vulnerable citizens, our children. There is a lot the Astoria School District could do to make our schools secure by creat- ing secure entrances. This will take a signifi- cant investment, and it can only be done with money from a voter-approved bond. We don’t have to sit back and be victims as the national debate continues over gun reform. We can take action right here, right now, in our town, to keep our kids safe by voting “yes” on the Astoria School District bond. ZETTY NEMLOWILL Astoria A
