DailyAstorian.com // Tuesday, November 24, 2020
148TH year, No. 63
$1.50
CORONAVIRUS
College
considers
options
amid lower
enrollment
Larger projects are on hold
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Hailey Hoffman/The astorian
Mushrooms grow at Fort Stevens State Park.
Parks work to understand
mushroom legalization
during foraging season
The creation of a new maritime sci-
ences building, as well as several other
larger projects in the works at Clatsop
Community College, are on hold because
of the coronavirus pandemic.
The college had launched a multimil-
lion dollar capital campaign for the mar-
itime sciences building project, hoping
to expand on existing facilities and pro-
grams. But now is not the time to ask cer-
tain donors for money, said Chris Breit-
meyer, the college president.
The good news, he said, is that the
design work is complete. Though the col-
lege’s board will need to discuss soon
whether to proceed with the building in the
near term, “whenever we’re ready to pro-
ceed with that project, it’s shovel ready.”
There are other things for the college
to consider as the pandemic continues.
See College, Page A6
MORE INSIDE
Surge of visitors
at Fort Stevens
County reports 11 new virus cases • a6
Seaside police
chief takes job
in Enterprise
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
W
ith mushroom hunting sea-
son in full swing on the
North Coast, Oregon parks
officials are still working to under-
stand how two state ballot measures
will apply to sites where so-called
“magic” mushrooms grow.
Measure 109, passed by voters in
November, legalized access to psilo-
cybin — using hallucinogenic mush-
rooms in a supervised therapeutic set-
ting. Measure 110 decriminalized
possession of small amounts of drugs,
including psilocybin.
There is a possibility that people
may misunderstand the first measure
and what it does and does not allow.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department has reached out to the
Oregon Health Authority and others
“to try to get our heads around it,” said
Chris Havel, the associate director for
the parks department.
“Once we understand how the
ballot measure will be imple-
mented and how it addresses harvest,
we will update our messages so
mushroom hunters can continue to
safely and legally enjoy their hobby,”
he said.
Ham served in city for 25 years
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
oregon state Parks
Dane Osis, a park ranger, leads a wild mushroom hike and teaches foraging basics at
Fort Stevens State Park. All wild mushroom hikes are canceled this year due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
Increase in foraging
Mushroom picking has grown in pop-
ularity over the years. Local foragers
have noted an increase in activity in the
woods. At some favorite, easy-to-access
spots in Fort Stevens State Park, edible
mushrooms, like the prized king bolete,
seem to vanish the minute they emerge
from the ground.
Fort Stevens is home to many kinds
of mushrooms and has long been a pop-
ular spot for mushroom pickers, most of
them looking for varieties to add to their
dinner menu. Others simply enjoy walk-
ing and looking at the array of fungi on
display.
But rangers do see visitors who come
to hunt for hallucinogenic mushrooms.
In the past, there was a pronounced
police presence at the park during the
SEASIDE — Police Chief Dave Ham
has accepted the position of police chief
in Enterprise.
“It’s an exciting, mixed emotion type
of thing,” Ham said. “It’s
not that we were neces-
sarily wanting to leave
Seaside, as much as this
was an opportunity we
decided to take a look at.
“The city of Sea-
side, the community, has
always treated me very
Dave Ham
well. It is strictly a per-
sonal decision my wife
and I have thought about, contemplated
and researched for the past several years.
If this works out, it’s a good time to make
that move.”
See Mushrooms, Page A6
See Ham, Page A6
A story dedicated to young Native Americans
Taylor writes about
his experiences
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
W
hen Cliff Taylor is not work-
ing at Natural Grocers in War-
renton, he is writing and sharing a
memoir, short stories, poetry and
essays on his website and Instagram.
Taylor, a member of the Ponca
Tribe of Nebraska, was raised in
Columbus, Nebraska, and lived in
the state until his mid-30s, when he
moved to Seattle and then New Orle-
ans before settling in Astoria with his
partner.
Taylor self-published his new
book, “The Memory of Souls,” in
October, which he describes as part
memoir and part letter to young
Native Americans.
He said the story was born from a
pair of dreams over two nights about
the “little people,” which are com-
mon in folklore and are more pop-
ularly depicted as elves, gnomes or
leprechauns.
To many Native Americans,
Taylor said, little people live in the
woods or mountains in villages hid-
den in nature. They are keepers of
medicine and often have a hand in
helping in ceremonies, training med-
icine people or bringing healing and
spiritual help.
He said the story is about how the
little people came to him, helped him
and educated him about his culture
and heritage.
“I never thought I would write
a book about these little people,
but, then again, I never would have
thought little people would have
been such radical, beautiful healing
influences in my life,” Taylor said.
“But, like the ancestors themselves,
they are.
“Inadvertently in telling the story
about the little people, I found myself
telling all these stories about our cul-
ture, our spirituality and essentially
Nicole bales/The astorian
See Taylor, Page A6
Cliff Taylor is a writer who works at Natural Grocers in Warrenton.