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A6 THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, OcTObER 13, 2020 Dorm: ‘Not a minor oversight’ continued from Page A1 Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian A neighbor has appealed the extension of building permits for Pacific Seafood’s proposed dormitories inside part of a fabrication shop the company owns in Hammond. would need to bring in 100 extra workers to reach full capacity. The Warrenton City Com- mission last year amended the city’s development code and passed a good-neigh- bor agreement to pave the way for the Pacific Seafood dorms. But neighbors in a residential cul-de-sac have argued that the proposed footprint is not big enough to safely house 70 workers. One of those neighbors, Scott Widdicombe, filed an appeal over the extension of building permits, claim- ing the city’s former commu- nity development director, Kevin Cronin, didn’t tell the mission and on to the state Land Use Board of Appeals if necessary. “I feel that this (Planning) Commission should con- sider asking Pacific Seafood to agree to abide by Oregon OSHA building codes as they apply to employer-provided housing for seasonal workers where the employer charges a fee for those workers to live in that housing,” Widdi- combe wrote. The appeal comes shorty after Pacific Seafood dropped a proposal to house 80 work- ers at Astoria Pointe, a for- mer drug and alcohol treat- ment center in Uniontown. The company gave no rea- son for withdrawing the application. Planning Commission about more stringent regulations specifically for Pacific Sea- food’s project under consid- eration with the state Occu- pational Safety and Health Administration. “This is not a minor over- sight,” Widdicombe wrote. “The building codes required by OSHA are much more demanding for Pacific Sea- food to comply with than the (local) regulations for dormitories.” Widdicombe took issue with Pacific Seafood’s argu- ments that the dorms are not seasonal housing regulated by the state. He indicated his willingness to take the appeal through the Planning Commission, City Com- McMaster: Junior aims to compete in college continued from Page A1 “We’re looking up in bas- ketball,” he said, as the Fish- ermen were 2-22 last year. “I’m hoping so. Me and Xander (Marincovich) have been working a lot. Last Sat- urday against Ilwaco, I had 24 points and he had 40.” In track, McMaster will be the front-runner for a 4A state title in the discus in the spring. Between basketball and track, McMaster will suit up for his junior year of football. He is hoping to become the Rob Gronkowski of the Cowapa, as the Fishermen will take advantage of his talents as a tight end. Astoria football “could use the tight end more than they have in 15 years,” McMaster said. “Last year they really couldn’t work me into the offense. I didn’t know the routes really well, and I just wasn’t as phys- ically developed. I proba- bly would have gotten eaten alive.” McMaster likes the idea of a spring football sea- son, with games starting in mid-March. “There’s always a home- coming game, but I think a prom game would be pretty cool,” he said. “A spring season is better for me. If I get hurt playing football in the fall, then I would be out either the next sport or two sports that come after that.” But beginning in early May, McMaster will com- pete in his best sport. The shortened spring track sea- son will be just his second year at the high school level. The coronavirus wiped out the 2020 season, but with luck, McMaster still has two years to rewrite the Astoria record book in at least two events: the discus and shot put. McMaster’s best mark is 145-5, set as a freshman in 2019 and making the list of top discus throws in school history. He stands as the fourth-best discus thrower in Fishermen history. After the season was can- celed, McMaster said, “I was super disappointed. I was ready. I wanted to beat the school record my sopho- Warrenton and other school districts have taken precautions during the coronavirus pandemic. Schools: High caseload continues to impact districts continued from Page A1 The school district had reopened to all grade levels before the outbreak at the seafood processor. Because of the concentration of virus cases, district administrators decided to close the schools to all activities beginning Sept. 25 as a precaution even before contact tracing of the cases wrapped up. The high caseload con- tinues to impact other school districts, too. Students in the Seaside School District are doing all of their learning at home, a decision the district plans to reevaluate later this month if coronavirus case metrics improve. The Knappa School Dis- trict, which had opened to some grade levels, announced last week it would continue with dis- tance learning for all stu- Elizabeth Douglass Astoria athlete Colton McMaster is out to set the new school record in the discus. more year.” Instead, he gave a glimpse of what might have been by competing in three virtual meets over the sum- mer. The meets were open to any high school thrower in the nation. He took first in the first meet with a throw of 156- 1. McMaster placed sixth in the second meet (160-9), then took ninth in a virtual meet in June, with his new personal best toss of 173-6. “I did my regular war- mups, then it was on the third throw,” he said, “which is usually how it goes. You can throw as much as you want, as long as you get it on film.” The mark was good enough to beat the Astoria record but does not count as an official school record. In virtual meets, athletes have to film the full throw and measurement in one take. “I didn’t expect them to count it as a school record. It has to be in a regulated meet,” McMaster said, add- ing he will set the new school record “as soon as we can get myself in a regular meet. I just want to hit it as soon as I can, so I can keep improving on it.” Although only a junior, McMaster has hopes of competing in college. Through Astoria throw- ing coach Bob Ellsberg, he said, “I’ve been contacted by Stanford about track. My transcripts are solid, but I would need to take way more AP classes in order to be qualified there.” Meet directors for Astoria home meets may have to set up precautionary measures once meets start again since McMaster’s throws in the discus are landing on or near the new track, the spectator bleachers and closing in on traffic along Marine Drive. Ellsberg “told me that by the time they put up a net, I’ll be throwing over it,” McMaster said. “They’re talking about putting down some rubber mats on the track so I’m not denting the track.” dents until metrics allowed them to reevaluate. The school district offered day care and inter- net access options to help students and parents man- age the shift. The Astoria School Dis- trict is continuing with the online-only model schools adopted at the beginning of the school year. The Jewell School Dis- trict remains the only pub- lic school complex where students are regularly meet- ing for in-person instruction across grade levels. Because of the district’s small size and remote location, Jewell has more leeway in what it can offer. For now, school admin- istrators are watching the number and location of pos- itive cases and, said Jon Wood, Jewell High School principal, “crossing our fingers.” Don’t forget! Coast Weekend is included in The Astorian every Thursday and The Chinook Observer every Wednesday Daily Astorian - 08/13/2020 Copy Reduced to 79% from origina l to fit letter page Copy Redu ced to 75% from origi nal to fit lette r page Page : C01 THURSDAY SEPT. 10 THURSDAY AUG. 13 2020 2020 ABOVE ASTORIA KS MUSEUMS, PAR AND ART TO SEE REAL FLAVOR PAGE 2 NDS HOLIDAY FRIE ALBUM RELEASE NEW PAGE 6 PAGE 3 EST POETRY, NEW NORTHW RAPHY BOOK PHOTOG PAGE 4 IDYLLIC ILWACO EXPLORE TH E TOWN’S GALLE REF LEC GEARHA RY RT ARTIST TS ’S PERSONALI TY CHARM PAGE 4 PAGE 8 ASTORIA ART WALK A NEW PE BOOT AND SHOE ET DRYER! 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