A8
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2019
Inquiry: Democrats have been School: District will
relocate students to
divided over impeachment
temporary classrooms
during construction
Continued from Page A1
The congresswoman raised
concerns Friday about recent
comments by Trump that he
would take opposition research
from foreign governments before
the 2020 election. Ellen Wein-
traub, the chairwoman of the
Federal Election Commission,
issued a statement reminding
candidates it is illegal to solicit
or accept anything of value from
a foreign national in connection
with a U.S. election.
Indivisible North Coast Ore-
gon’s rally Friday was one of
many across the nation over the
weekend on impeachment. Deb
Vanasse, an organizer with the
group, called on people to fan out
into the community and advocate
for the impeachment inquiry.
Democrats, who control the
House, have been divided over
impeachment. If the House were
to impeach Trump, a trial would
be held in the Senate, where
Republicans hold the majority
and would decide the fate of the
Republican president.
Trump, who is preparing to
Continued from Page A1
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, spoke during a rally Friday by
Indivisible North Coast Oregon outside the Barbey Maritime Center in Astoria.
formally announce his reelec-
tion campaign, said Saturday
on Twitter: “Despite the Great-
est Presidential Harassment of
all time by people that are very
dishonest and want to destroy
our Country, we are doing great
in the Polls, even better than in
2016, and will be packed at the
Tuesday Announcement Rally in
Orlando, Florida. KEEP AMER-
ICA GREAT!”
Contractors also still need to
confi rm the presence of asbestos
in the stucco at John Jacob Astor
Elementary, said Casey Cun-
ningham, a consultant with Cor-
nerstone Management Group
Inc., the project manager for the
school district.
Astor Elementary is the same
vintage as the Gray School cam-
pus. The school district also
faces potential asbestos issues
at Astoria Middle School, where
the bulk of the bond will be spent
tearing down a classroom wing
and replacing it with a modern-
ized, three-story academic hall.
“At the middle school, we
have some fl ooring concerns
that we need to address, and
we’ll take care of that with
them, develop a design docu-
ment that will try to attack that
during Christmas and spring
break so that we’re not deal-
ing with asbestos when the con-
struction starts,” Cunningham
said.
The school district is also
waiting for approval from the
state to replace aging boilers as
early as this summer at Astor
Elementary, Hoppes said.
M ost major construction
will begin in phases between
spring and summer next year
and wrap up between 2021 and
early 2022, including the instal-
lation of secured entrances at all
campuses.
About two-thirds of the bond
will pay to replace the classroom
wing at the middle school —
where staff lament over ill-fi t-
ting, triangular classrooms with-
out natural lighting or enough
ventilation — with the new aca-
demic hall by early 2022. Each
fl oor will contain identical
learning communities for sixth,
seventh and eighth grades. Sup-
port areas of the school will also
be modernized, while the track
will be resurfaced.
The school district will relo-
cate students to temporary class-
rooms within the middle school
during construction.
Around $20 million of the
bond will enclose the corridors
around the high school campus
to improve security. Shop, art,
music and science classrooms,
along with the auditorium, will
be modernized.
Astor
Elementary
will
receive $9 million worth of
improvements. An old cafeteria
downhill from the main build-
ing will be remodeled into a
multipurpose cafeteria, kitchen
and activity room. Kindergarten
classrooms will be added, along
with more covered play areas.
Nikkila: Enchantment with the
North Coast’s beauty never faded
Continued from Page A1
Photos by Edward Stratton/The Astorian
More than 150 students graduated with degrees and career certifi cates from Clatsop Community College on Friday.
Bonamici: Tenure in offi ce largely focused
on education, science and the environment
Continued from Page A1
To help pay for college, she
worked at Lane County Legal
Aid, a group providing legal
assistance to low-income peo-
ple. After college, she became a
consumer protection attorney for
the Federal Trade Commission
and later entered private practice
in Portland representing small
businesses.
After
having
children,
Bonamici took a break from prac-
ticing law. She later advocated for
education funding locally and in
Salem and became a legislative
assistant in 2001.
Voters elected her to the state
House in 2006, the state Senate in
2008 and the U.S. House in 2012.
Her tenure in Congress has largely
focused on education, science and
the environment.
“The lessons I learned starting
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, spoke at Clatsop Community
College’s graduation Friday in Patriot Hall.
in community college and at Legal
Aid shaped my future in ways
I couldn’t imagine at the time,”
she said. “I’m confi dent that your
experiences here at Clatsop Com-
munity College will shape your
future as well, and very likely in
ways you cannot imagine now.”
Iowa. She remembers how her
dad would joke about her mom’s
Norwegian phrases.
“He said she couldn’t say
anything but ‘yah,’” Nikkila
said. “So when he asked her to
marry him, she said ‘yah.’”
Growing up, Nikkila recalls
the extreme cold and the rope
that stretched from their farm-
house to the outhouse during the
winter, so they wouldn’t get lost
in the disorienting blizzards.
She also remembers attend-
ing a one-room schoolhouse
and writing on slates rather than
paper. Her hobby has always
been reading, especially history,
biographies and mystery.
Norma and her two sisters
ended up marrying three Nik-
kila brothers of a neighboring
Finnish family. Norma married
Richard Nikkila in 1935. They
would have two sons, Lloyd and
Norm.
Leading up to the Great
Depression, her father-in-law
started buying parcels of land
around his farm, and when the
market crashed, the land lost its
value. When her father-in-law
died, they became fi nancially
responsible for the farm.
With no way of affording the
farm and few prospects for mak-
ing a living in North Dakota,
they decided to leave and move
West.
They traded their wash-
ing machine for a car and sold
their belongings. Norma’s hus-
band spent $40 out of the $200
DON’T LET LIFEGUARD PASS YOU BY
It’s not too late to join or renew!
Call, come by, or apply online
while there’s time!
*Full year,
per household.
Family includes you
and household dependents.
IN AN EMERGENCY CALL
9-1-1
2325 SE DOLPHIN AVENUE
WARRENTON
503-861-5558
www.ambulancemembership.com/medix
they had for new tires, and they
moved to Uniontown — known
as Finn Town — in Astoria in
1941.
Richard Nikkila found a job
as a longshoreman. Norma got
a job at Tongue Point during
World War II.
After her sons graduated high
school, Norma went to work as
a splitter at Bumble Bee Can-
nery. She was a longtime union
member, serving as president
for one year.
Her enchantment with the
beauty of the North Coast never
faded. She remembers how
enamored she was by the trees
and the ocean when she fi rst
arrived.
Nikkila credits her longev-
ity to a life of hard work. Her
youngest son, Norm, said she
has the ability to adjust to life’s
changes and get along with
everybody. She also comes from
a long line of centennials.
“She’s very impressive,” said
Rosetta Hurley, a life enrich-
ment coordinator at Clatsop
Care. “She is beloved here. She
is inspirational to everyone.
She has a high level of aware-
ness and has kept it for all these
years, and she is very gracious
with people.”
Although Nikkila is not
physically independent, Hurley
said, “she has an independence
of spirit.”
Her friends and family are
planning a birthday party. Even
though it’s June, they are con-
fi dent Santa will make an
appearance.
LifeGu
ard
ONLY
59 00
$
*