DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019
146TH YEAR, NO. 160
ONE DOLLAR
County
school
enrollment
outpaces
state’s rate
A snowy day on
the North Coast
The Daily Astorian
esidents on the North Coast awoke to a light
snow on Saturday. The winter weather did
not produce much accumulation, but cold
temperatures created icy conditions for motorists.
R
Driven by growth in
Warrenton and Seaside
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian
A deer takes a stroll in the snow in Astoria.
Katie Frankowicz/The Dai
ly Astorian
ly Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Dai
School e nrollment in Clatsop County
has grown nearly twice as fast as the state
over the past fi ve years, driven mainly
by increases in Warrenton and Seaside,
while Astoria slowly shrinks.
Enrollment, reported at 5,226 stu-
dents in the fall, has increased by 5 per-
cent over the past fi ve years. The state
has expanded from 567,100 students fi ve
years ago to 581,700 this fall, a 2.6 per-
cent growth rate.
After surpassing 1,900 students for
the fi rst time since 2013, Astoria shrank
by nearly 2 percent to 1,881 students this
fall. The school district’s enrollment has
fallen nearly 3 percent since its last high
point of 1,937 in 2010.
Craig Hoppes, the school superinten-
dent in Astoria, sees the lack of hous-
ing and living-wage jobs as some of the
biggest factors in enrollment, along with
yearly infl ux and departure of Coast
Guard families.
“I can tell you from a staff standpoint,
based on now versus how it was 15 years
ago, we have more staff that live outside
Astoria than in Astoria,” he said.
See Enrollment, Page A7
Drag Queen
Story Hour
goes on with
city support
A small protest outside
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
ly Astorian
Katie Frankowicz/The Dai
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Roads
were slick with snow for most of
Saturday morning in parts of Astoria.
A mix of snow and ice in Astoria on
Saturday.
Icy roads were a challenge for some
drivers.
Snow blankets the Astoria Column
and surrounding area for a brief time
Saturday morning.
Despite worrying messages about vio-
lent protests, a D rag Q ueen S tory H our at
the Astoria Library proceeded calmly on
Saturday morning, with over 100 adults
and children in attendance.
The event’s primary critic, Miles Rud-
duck of Warrenton, stood outside during
the reading with three other men.
Earlier in the week, Ruddu ck
announced on social media that he planned
to peacefully protest , but also indicated to
library staff and Astoria p olice that violent
protests could be possible from others ,
according to Police Chief Geoff Spalding.
But no violent protests erupted and
attendance surpassed a similar reading
last summer.
“It’s fi ne, everything went well,”
Jimmy Pearson, the library’s director,
said. “Everyone seems to be happy.”
See Library, Page A7
New parks director takes helm in Astoria
Williams has a
range of experience
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
T
Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian
Tim Williams was hired in December to take over the Astoria
Parks and Recreation Department.
im Williams looked
into several differ-
ent majors in college: psy-
chology, international busi-
ness … Then one day he
saw another student walk
by with a jack-o’-lantern
carved at a program offered
by the local parks and rec-
reation department.
It feels kind of silly to
admit now, he says, sitting
in the offi ce of the Asto-
ria Parks and Recreation
Department after his fi rst
few weeks on the job as the
new director, but that pump-
kin caught his interest.
He had long been
involved in sports as a
player and a coach through-
out his childhood and into
his early adult years, but
there was something about
that encounter, the real-
ization of the many pro-
grams parks and recreation
might offer besides sports,
that made him look more
closely at a career .
Williams was hired
in December to replace
Angela Cosby as director.
Cosby had led the depart-
ment through a diffi cult
transition to a budget that
truly refl ected the costs
of operations . There had
been program cuts and staff
had weathered months of
uncertainty.
“This was going to be
the year of stability,” City
See Williams, Page A7