FOLK MUSIC, CULTURE, CONTESTS
AND A TROLL RUN • INSIDE
146TH YEAR, NO. 238
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2019
$1.50
Summer school work
delayed by asbestos
Bonamici
renews call
for Trump
impeachment
inquiry
Improvements fi nanced
by $70 million bond
Democratic representative:
‘No one is above the law’
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
T
he Astoria School District
begins work this summer on
a fi ve-year, $70 million build-
ing improvement project approved
by voters last year. But asbestos in
the walls of its historic campuses is
already causing delays .
The work begins this summer
with painting and the installation of a
secured entrance at Lewis and Clark
Elementary School by local contrac-
tor Helligso Construction Co. Con-
tractors will also replace windows
and doors on the west side of the Capt.
Robert Gray School campus, home to
the school district’s offi ces, and resur-
face the track at Astoria High School.
But the discovery of asbestos in
the stucco exterior plaster at Gray
School has contractors rethinking the
replacement of the building’s other
windows, Lee Fenton, part of BLRB
Architects, told the Astoria School
Board on Wednesday.
The cancer-causing insulation
material was used widely in the walls,
fl oors and ceilings of historic build-
ings such as the 95-year-old Gray
School . The discovery will postpone
major exterior work and window
replacement until next summer, Fen-
ton said.
Craig Hoppes, the superintendent
in Astoria, cautioned that any asbes-
tos is encapsulated behind walls and
under fl ooring and not a safety haz-
ard. “If i t’s not crumbled or exposed,
it’s fi ne,” he said.
The school district hired PBS
Engineering and Environmental to
evaluate how to safely remove the
asbestos.
BLRB Architects
The centerpiece of the Astoria School District’s $70 million building improvement
bond is the replacement of a classroom wing with a new three-story academic hall
at Astoria Middle School.
The Astoria School District plans a redesigned frontage at Astoria High School,
along with enclosing all external passageways to secure the campus entrances.
See School, Page A8
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici has
renewed her call to open an impeachment
inquiry on President Donald Trump .
“No one is above the law, including
the president,” the Oregon Democrat told
a small crowd from Indivisible North
Coast Oregon gathered outside the Bar-
bey Maritime Center in Astoria on Friday
afternoon.
Bonamici is a co-sponsor of House
Resolution 257, which
would direct the House
Judiciary Committee to
begin an impeachment
inquiry.
“People have so
many questions that
they deserve to have
answered,” the congress- Rep. Suzanne
Bonamici
woman said . “We need to
be answering those ques-
tions on behalf of the American people.”
The investigation by s pecial c ounsel
Robert Mueller into Russian interference
in the 2016 presidential election raised
more questions than it answered, espe-
cially in regards to obstruction of justice,
she said.
Mueller found that Russian intel-
ligence offi cers launched a concerted
attack on the U.S. political system, but
concluded there was insuffi cient evi-
dence the Trump campaign engaged in
a conspiracy. Investigators also looked
into potential obstruction of justice
by the president, but did not make a
determination.
“If we had had confi dence that the
president clearly did not commit a crime,
we would have said so,” Mueller said in
May in his fi rst public address about the
investigation .
Bonamici has also accused Trump of
committing human rights violations over
the separation of immigrant children from
their families at the border with Mexico,
and of profi ting from his presidency.
See Inquiry, Page A8
Bonamici
shares her
experience
Congresswoman spoke
to college graduates
Among other improvements at John Jacob
Astor Elementary School, contractors will
replace an aging gym with a multipurpose
cafeteria, kitchen and activity room.
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a grad-
uate of Lane Community College in
Eugene, shared her experience and advice
Friday with graduates of Clatsop Com-
munity College.
The college awarded more than 150
degrees and career certifi cates at Patriot
Hall. The Oregon Democrat was the most
high-profi le politician to give the keynote
speech at graduation since Gov. Kate
Brown, who spoke in 2015 .
Bonamici pushed graduates to take
risks, keep their integrity and kindness,
appreciate those who have helped them,
stay informed and engaged, learn differ-
ent viewpoints and make art part of their
lives.
“Access to education levels the playing
fi eld,” the congresswoman said. “That’s
important. Education can give students
from every background the opportunity
to succeed and to thrive.”
Bonamici, originally from Michi-
gan, said she jumped in a van with some
friends, looking for adventure, and ended
up in Eugene. She enrolled in a legal
assistant program at Lane Community
College and later attended law school at
the University of Oregon.
At age 102, Nikkila has
seen a century of history
A very special birthday
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Norma Nikkila doesn’t like to
fuss. But she does have one wish
for her 102nd birthday: Santa
Claus.
“I feel pretty good,” she said
as she prepared to celebrate this
week.
Nikkila, who has lived at Clat-
sop Care since 2015, spends most
of her time in her reclining chair.
She still enjoys activities like the
morning readings and bingo, her
favorite.
Her long life is refl ective of
Astoria’s history over the past
century.
She was born June 21, 1917,
in a small town in North Dakota.
Her mother emigrated from Nor-
way. Her father was a Finn from
Nicole Bales/The Astorian
See Nikkila, Page A8
Norma Nikkila celebrates her 102nd birthday this week.
See Bonamici, Page A8