A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2019
Taking a Thanksgiving gallop
IN BRIEF
Magnanimous Mug Awards raise
$77,000 for local nonprofi ts
The Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association
took the top prize and $28,000 at this year’s Magnani-
mous Mug Awards, a fundraiser by Fort George Brew-
ery for local nonprofi ts.
The brewery chose eight nonprofi ts and a repre-
sentative who gathered donations throughout Novem-
ber. This year’s contest included the soccer associa-
tion, Astoria Warming Center, Riverfolk, United Way
of Clatsop County, Association of American Univer-
sity Women, North Coast Food Web, Libraries Read-
ing Outreach in Clatsop County and Astoria Band
Boosters.
The soccer association, in existence for more than
30 years, maintains the Warrenton Soccer Complex on
Ridge Road near Fort Stevens State Park and runs rec-
reational and traveling youth teams. Monica Steele,
the group’s vice president, gathered nearly $18,000 in
donations. Fort George matched $10,000 and bestowed
Steele with the Magnanimous Mug, good for a mem-
bership in its mug club.
Jennifer Holen raised just under $13,000 for United
Way, with another $5,000 matched by Fort George.
Annie Martin of the Astoria Warming Center came in
third, receiving a $1,000 match. The Magnanimous
Mug Awards raised more than $77,000 overall, bring-
ing the total raised since 2015 to $342,000.
Crash after tree fell onto highway
A tree fell in front of an oncoming vehicle Tuesday
on U.S. Highway 26 near Military Creek Road .
Police say the driver did not see the tree until it was
crossing the roadway and drove over the tree.
Bystanders helped move the biggest part of the tree
off the roadway.
No injuries were reported. The driver’s vehicle was
towed.
Chinook woman arrested
following crash on bridge
Lilly Inez Pettit, 29, of Chinook,
Washington, was arrested Tuesday
following a crash on the Old Youngs
Bay Bridge for driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants and reckless
driving.
Police say Pettit’s vehicle collided
Lilly Inez Pettit with the side of the bridge, fl ipped
over on its side and went into the
oncoming lane striking a vehicle.
The occupants from Pettit’s vehicle and the other
vehicle were taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital
in Astoria with injuries. A dog in Pettit’s vehicle was
killed in the crash.
— The Astorian
DEATHS
Nov. 27, 2019
GERRITSE,
Giac-
ama, 87, of Tualatin, for-
merly of Astoria, died in
Portland. Hughes-Ran-
som Mortuary is in charge
of the arrangements.
GOODHART, Car-
letta, 78, of Seaside, died
in Seaside. Hughes-Ran-
som Mortuary is in charge
of the arrangements.
Nov. 21, 2019
GAU, Jean Claude,
70,
of
Warren-
ton, died in Portland.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary is in charge of the
arrangements.
Nov. 15, 2019
PUGH, Charles Ray
“Chuck,” 71, of Inde-
pendence, formerly of
Astoria, died in Inde-
pendence.
Farnstrom
Mortuary in Indepen-
dence is in charge of the
arrangements.
CORRECTION
First name misspelled — Garry Smith is the pres-
ident of the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection Dis-
trict board. His fi rst name was misspelled as Gary in an
A1 story on Thursday.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council,
7 p.m., Council Chambers,
1095 Duane St.
TUESDAY
Seaside Community
Center Commission,
10:30 a.m., Bob Chisholm
Center, 1225 Avenue A,
Seaside.
Clatsop County Commis-
sioners Work Session,
12 p.m., 800 Exchange
Street, Suite 430
Port of Astoria Commis-
sion, 4 p.m., Port offi ces, 10
Pier 1, Suite 209.
Seaside Library Board,
4:30 p.m., Seaside Public
Library, 1131 Broadway.
Clatsop Care Health Dis-
trict Board, 5 p.m., Clatsop
Care Retirement Village,
947 Olney Ave.
Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District,
5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm
Community Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside.
Miles Crossing Sanitary
Sewer District Board,
6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway
101 Business.
Seaside Planning Com-
mission, 7 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
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The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR
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Nicole Bales/The Astorian
Runners take off in front of the Columbia River Maritime Museum during the Astoria Parks and Recreation’s annual Thanksgiving
Day Gobbler Gallop 5K walk/run on the Astoria Riverwalk. Over 150 people attended. Participants were asked to pay an entry
fee that supports Astoria parks or donate a can of food for the Clatsop Emergency Food Bank. The fi rst place male and female
were awarded a pumpkin pie and shaker bottle. Grace Laman and Mike Allen won fi rst place.
Trio of potential Oregon forestry ballot
measures don’t comply with constitution
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE and
JAKE THOMAS
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — A trio of poten-
tial ballot measures to change
the state’s forestry practices
don’t comply with the state’s
constitution, a Marion County
Circuit judge said Wednesday
in backing Oregon Secretary
of State Bev Clarno’s decision
to block the measures.
Circuit Judge Daniel Wren
said in an opinion that the
three petitions did not mesh
with a constitutional require-
ment that measures be limited
to one issue, and that Clarno
“properly rejected” the three
petitions. Wren denied a
motion from the petitioners
that argued for a judgment in
their favor.
Clarno rejected the peti-
tions last month, prompt-
ing petitioners Vikram Anan-
tha and Micha Gross to ask a
judge to overturn her decision.
The three petitions pro-
posed slightly different mea-
sures that supporters say were
intended to protect the state’s
water and forests, limiting
practices like clear cutting
near certain bodies of water
or spraying pesticides in those
areas.
The petitioners’ attor-
ney, Jesse Buss, declined to
comment.
“I am pleased the court
has affi rmed the importance
of the single subject rule,”
Clarno said.
“Voters should not need a
law degree to interpret ballot
measures.”
Clarno maintained that the
complexity of each proposed
measure could confuse voters.
“The single subject rule
exists to protect voters from
having to vote on ballot ini-
tiatives that are just way too
complicated,” Clarno said.
“It’s my duty as secretary of
state to protect Oregon vot-
ers, and it’s a duty I take
seriously.”
Clarno’s rejection of the
petitions had raised eyebrows.
Her offi ce hired Port-
land-based law fi rm Schwabe,
Williamson & Wyatt to
defend her decision against
the legal challenge after Ore-
gon Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum, a Democrat,
declined to provide state legal
help.
Under the contract with the
law fi rm, obtained through a
public records request, Clar-
no’s offi ce agreed to pay $690
an hour for attorney Michael
Gillette, $400 an hour for
attorney Dave Anderson and
$320 an hour for attorney Jes-
sie Schuh. The total payment
is not to exceed $30,000,
according to the contract.
Rosenblum told the Ore-
gon Capital Bureau in a state-
ment last month that she
declined to represent Clarno
because doing so would
require her to make legal
arguments that then might
be turned against the Legis-
lature and its ability to craft
new laws. The state Justice
Department represents the
Legislature.
Clarno’s
offi ce
said
Wednesday that she “decided
it was better to obtain inde-
pendent counsel than rely on
the Department of Justice in
this case.”
Clarno also took the
unusual step of attaching her
correspondence with Rosen-
blum to her news release
Wednesday.
The documents show that
Clarno wrote to Rosenblum
Oct. 21, saying she had just
met with three representatives
from Rosenblum’s offi ce,
Deputy Secretary of State
Rich Vial and Steve Trout,
head of the state Elections
Division.
“During that meeting
it became clear that your
offi ce had reservations about
defending me in that suit,”
Clarno wrote, and so she
wanted permission to hire her
own lawyers.
Rosenblum replied Oct.
24, approving retaining the
outside lawyers.
She said defending Clar-
no’s actions could be adverse
to the legislature’s interests
and “adverse to the interests
of the people wielding the ini-
tiative power reserved to them
by the Oregon Constitution.”
Oregon school report card shows gains in diversity, graduation
By NATALIE PATE
Statesman Journal
The Oregon Department
of Education released its
annual statewide report card
this week, giving a glimpse
into Oregon’s public school
system for the 2018-19
school year.
Offi cials reported an
increase in statewide gradua-
tion rates, stagnant or slightly
declining class sizes, a mix of
attendance outcomes, poor
performance on standard-
ized tests and a higher num-
ber of students experiencing
homelessness.
The dropout rate decreased
for the fi rst time since 2014-
15, and in that same window,
the percent of children eligi-
ble for early learning services
who were actually served
jumped 15 percentage points.
Students of color still dra-
matically out number teach-
ers of color. More women are
becoming superintendents,
but they still only make up a
fraction of the total.
And though they’re no
longer included in the dis-
trict and school report cards,
discipline rates are up, dis-
proportionately
affecting
students of color, students
accessing special needs ser-
vices and students considered
low-income.
Class sizes stagnant,
some decreasing
Education advocates and
politicians such as Gov. Kate
Brown have pushed in recent
years for more state funding
to hire additional teachers
and lower class sizes.
Research shows smaller
classes are easier to manage
and allow educators to give
more one-on-one attention
to students for better social,
emotional and academic
success.
However, the median class
size for all Oregon classes
across all school types has
not changed since 2017-18.
The statewide median is
25 students, driven by high
schools, which report more
classes than any other school
type.
The medians for high
schools and middle schools
have not changed since the
inception of class size report-
ing in 2014-15, according to
the state’s latest data. Ele-
mentary schools, however,
decreased from 25 to 24 in
2015-16 and has held at 24
since. When looking at indi-
vidual grades, especially at
the elementary level, there
are more classes decreasing
or staying stagnant. Third-
grade classrooms, for exam-
ple, decreased by one student
in 2018-19 to an average of
24 students.
Most elementary students
experience classes of 16-25
students from kindergarten
to third grade, offi cials said.
Students in fourth and fi fth
grades are more likely to
experience classes of 26-35
students.
More teacher diversity
Oregon has made some
progress in hiring and retain-
ing more racially and ethni-
cally diverse teachers. In
2018-19, teachers of color
made up more than 10% of
the teacher population for
the fi rst time.
However,
offi cials
said this progress has not
decreased the gap that exists
between students and teach-
ers of color.
About 38% of Oregon
students identify as a race or
ethnicity other than white.
Meanwhile, almost 90% of
Oregon’s teachers identify
as white.
And while about 23%
of students identify as His-
panic, only 5.4% of teach-
ers do.
This has been criticized
by some as one reason stu-
dents of color drop out of
school more, graduate less
and are disciplined more.
Women have made prog-
ress moving into superinten-
dent positions between 2000
and 2008, the latest data
show, but there has been lit-
tle change over the last fi ve
years.
Though women make up
71% of Oregon’s teachers,
they are still the minority as
superintendents are at only
31% in 2018-19.
There has been a grad-
ual increase in the percent-
age of women as princi-
pals. In the 2014-15 school
year, women made up 48%
of principals in Oregon; by
2018-19, women made up
53%.
This can be substantial
based off salary alone. The
average teaching salary in
Oregon — including new
and experienced teachers,
and varying education levels
— is $65,019.
For
principals,
the
average salary jumps to
$111,457, and superinten-
dents jump even higher to
$141,701.
While salaries have
grown over time, offi cials
said, trends can only be
tracked after adjusting for
infl ation. For example, when
adjusting for infl ation, the
superintendent salary has
gone up by the equivalent of
about $6,300 since 2007-08.
Oregon teachers are
required to hold a bachelor’s
degree or higher, be fully
licensed and hold the proper
endorsement for the courses
they teach, according to the
Oregon Teacher Standards
and Practices Commission.
The new state report card
shows about 75% of Ore-
gon teachers have a mas-
ter’s degree; about 90% of
administrators do.
More students
disciplined
The percent of students
with one or more disci-
plinary incidents continues
to climb, reaching a peak not
seen in years.
In 2013-14, the rate
reached 5.92% of students,
but then decreased to 5.2%
in 2016-17.
The rate jumped back up
the following year, at 5.8%
in 2017-18, now climbing
again in 2018-19 to 6.5%.