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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, DEcEmbER 19, 2018
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
circulation manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production manager
CARL EARL
Systems manager
GUEST COLUMN
What are the next steps for Astoria’s school bond?
D
ear parents and community
members:
This is our final week of
school in Astoria before winter break.
Our students and staff have been work-
ing hard and I am sure they are looking
forward to some time off to spend the
holidays with their families.
December has been overflowing with
wonderful events and celebrations at all
of our schools. I hope
you were able to join us
to share the spirit of the
season with our students
and staff.
It is also a busy time
of year for our school
CRAIG
board. This past week,
HOPPES
our elected board of
directors reviewed their
goals for the upcoming
year. These goals include student atten-
dance, equity, and renewing the district’s
strategic plan for another three years.
A final important board goal includes
community engagement with every
stage of the district facilities bond proj-
ects. Our overwhelming community
support ensured the passage of the 2018
school bond by over 62 percent. We are
so proud that our community has come
together in support of our schools and
students. We often receive many ques-
tions regarding the “next steps.” We
welcome specific community questions
during this process. Here are some of the
most common questions:
Q: With the bond passing, what
will it pay for?
A: Every school in the district will
see facilities improvements begin-
ning next year. The district will address
safety, security and improvements to
old and outdated classrooms, includ-
ing increased vocational and technical
learning spaces. We will make our build-
ings more efficient through upkeep and
repairs.
Q: How will I find out about the
bond projects at each school?
A: There will be regular updates on
the district website. We will also be
out in our schools and in our commu-
nity informing parents and commu-
nity members of upcoming projects.
We want the community to be actively
engaged in helping us develop learning
spaces for a modern education for our
children. Beginning early next year, we
will develop design advisory commit-
Astoria School District
The Port City Singers from Astoria High School performed Monday at the Astoria Rotary meeting.
tees at Astor Elementary School, Asto-
ria Middle School and Astoria High
School. Throughout the process, we will
invite parents and community members
to come tour the schools and share their
thoughts about project priorities.
Q: What is the process for deter-
mining projects?
A: The district established a “blue
ribbon” panel of community stakehold-
ers experienced in construction manage-
ment to help us hire a project manager.
Through a competitive bid, we are in the
process of selecting the project manager
by mid-January.
Q: How do I know that my tax dol-
lars are being spent wisely on the
projects?
A: The school board is appointing
members to a citizen bond oversight
committee. They will meet in open ses-
sions on an ongoing basis throughout all
construction to review all projects and
costs. We will post their findings on the
district website.
Q: When will construction start?
A: Some projects will start as quickly
as the summer of 2019. The larger proj-
ects — such as replacement of the dia-
mond wing at Astoria Middle School
— will take longer to plan and develop.
Our goal is to have construction
damaged. Short-wave radio was the only communica-
tion between Astoria and the outside world.
Water
under
the bridge
75 years ago — 1943
The Oregon Pine No. 1 rode at moorage on the waters
of Young’s Bay today with its identical sister ship, the
cargo barge Oregon Pine No. 2. The Pine No. 1 slid eas-
ily down the CRPA shipyard’s ways Saturday at about
1 p.m. — the second barge to be launched by the yard —
adding 5,854 displacement tons to the ship production of
the Astoria area.
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago
this week — 2008
The good news was that the cold and ice took a bite
out of crime overnight. There were very few incidents on
the North Coast and no one was booked into the county
jail between Sunday afternoon and this morning. The
bad news was that this morning’s commute was slow and
dangerous on the icy roads.
The North Coast slithered through the snow to work
today and residents braced for more of the white stuff on
its way — and accompanying treacherous highway con-
ditions — later in the weekend. The potential for a sig-
nificant weekend winter storm along the North Coast has
prompted the National Weather Service to issue a winter
weather advisory.
The old Franklin Avenue Bridge over 38th
Street in Astoria’s Uppertown neighborhood is
the only link to the rest of the city for about 40
households on the Hillside above it. Now plans
are in place to replace the deteriorating 220-
foot long, timber-truss bridge, which was built
in the 1920s and completely reconstructed in
1949.
occur with minimal impact on student
learning.
Finally, I want to let our commu-
nity know that we have an opening for
a board member on the Astoria School
Board. The board is accepting appli-
cations through Jan. 4, 2019. It is a
dynamic and exciting time to be in the
Astoria School District.
On behalf of our students and
employees, please accept our sincere
appreciation for all you do to make
Astoria School District a great place for
children.
craig Hoppes is superintendent of the
Astoria School District.
Power-hungry war plants of the Pacific
Northwest today received a huge increase of
electrical energy when the 10th and final gen-
erating unit at Bonneville dam was completed,
marking the end of 10 years of construction.
Enrollment of boys and girls in Oregon’s vocational
work program has more than doubled in recent years,
Walter W. Morse, state supervisor of trade and industrial
education, told members of the Astoria apprenticeship
commission Monday night at the regular monthly meet-
ing at the Imperial grill.
2008 — A pedestrian trudges across Commercial Street
through a heavy snowfall that quickly came and went in
Astoria.
50 years ago — 1968
This year’s highest tides are expected this week on
the Oregon and Washington coast and storms at sea
could cause flooding in coastal cities.
The Weather Bureau said storms change ocean levels
and could add as much as two or three feet to the heights
predicted on tide tables.
Operators of the Worldmark Wyndham Vacation
Resort in Seaside closed all of the resort’s balconies
and roped off the sidewalks under them after pieces
of concrete started falling from some balconies Tues-
day. No injuries were reported from the falling pieces,
said a spokeswoman at the company’s headquarters in
Florida.
The Oregon Highway commission today in
Salem approved a route survey for reconstruc-
tion of 2.83 miles of Columbia River highway
between Tongue Point and Fernhill. It will cost
$5 million. The road will be built when funds
become available.
The Naselle Youth Camp in Washington
state may close in a year. Facing what some esti-
mate to be a $6 billion budget deficit in the next
two-year budget cycle, Washington Gov. Chris
Gregoire’s budget released Thursday proposes
a number of cuts, including closing Naselle
Youth Camp.
In Days Gone By column: The Astorian-Budget, Dec.
18, 1933 — Ninety-mile-an-hour winds and high waters
ripped the lower Columbia area, starting a slide that
blocked the highway to Portland and knocking out com-
munication wires. Capt. Elfving of the Astoria-North
Beach Ferry company said the wind and waves destroyed
the slip at Megler. Railroads and other roads were badly
The war emergency has shown the need for
vocational training and planned assistance for
the youth of the state, Morse said, as he compli-
mented the local commission on its work among
Astoria boys and girls.
“We hope that the war will be over before the
16-year-old boys now in vocational work pro-
grams reach the age for military service,” said
Morse, “but if it isn’t, the training they are receiv-
ing here in Astoria industrial plants will stand
them in good stead when Uncle Sam needs them.”
The mysterious and rare white beaver has been found in
Clatsop County. Three of the animals were trapped in this
community this week by a predatory hunter and trapper
sent by the state to check damage to the dike by beavers.
The white animals weighed about 35 pounds apiece
and were a clear white when their pelts were cleaned of
the dirt and discoloration of water. No estimate of the
value of the white beaver furs can be made, but their rar-
ity would make it prohibitive to most persons.
The sport of basketball — longtime king of
sport in Astoria — will ascend to new heights here
Friday and Saturday nights, when the best inter-
collegiate athletes of Oregon and Washington
gather for the intercollegiate hoop jamboree at the
USO pavilion at 8 o’clock.