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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2021)
148tH yEar, NO. 125 WEEKEND EDITION // Saturday, april 17, 2021 $1.50 CORONAVIRUS Astoria schools opt out of state testing A burden during the pandemic By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian Hailey Hoffman/the astorian Astoria will stop collecting taxes for the Astor West Urban Renewal District. Astoria spreads urban renewal wealth Students in the Astoria School District will not have to participate in state test- ing this year. The federal government recently approved a request from Oregon to waive statewide assessment requirements because of the impacts of the coronavi- rus pandemic and the limited opportuni- ties many students have had for on-site learning. However, limited testing at each grade level, starting at third grade, will be required. If parents in the school district still want their children to take the state’s Smarter Balanced assessment, they can opt in and the district will provide stu- dents with an opportunity to take the test. See Testing, Page A2 Tax collections end for west side district Vaccine eligibility expands By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian L ocal governments can budget for an additional $803,000 in funding after Astoria opted to stop collecting taxes for the Astor West Urban Renewal District. The property tax money will instead flow back to local govern- ments, including around $407,000 that Astoria plans to spend on several full-time positions to help with plan- ning, emergency preparedness and community policing. The City Council, in its role as the Astoria Development Commis- sion, created the Astor West Urban Renewal District in 2002 to fund improvement projects from the Asto- ria Bridge to Smith Point. The fund has collected a maximum indebted- ness — the amount that can be spent on projects — of $9.1 million. It is projected to have $5.3 million left for future projects. Without the urban renewal collec- tions, the State School Fund is in line for another $246,000 in funding next fiscal year, Clatsop County another $76,000 and Clatsop Community College more than $39,000. City Manager Brett Estes recom- mended not increasing the maximum indebtedness and instead using the money to hire several new positions to help turn the City Council’s two- year policy goals into action. New virus cases are climbing By NICOLE BALES The Astorian the astorian Astoria plans to add an emergency preparedness and fire marshal position in the Astoria Fire Department. A new urban planner would help with code amendments amid a deluge of development activity. A new joint fire marshal and emergency manager would help enact a more proactive approach to fire safety and disaster preparedness. And a part-time police position would help with a commu- nity policing presence to address quality-of-life issues. Mayor Bruce Jones called the sit- uation a “win-win,” with $5.3 mil- lion left over in the urban renewal fund to help improve Uniontown. He singled out the help for community development with City Planner Bar- bara Fryer out on leave but working part time. “We know how far behind staff is on work in that department because of the lack of manpower,” Jones said. “And we’ve all identified resil- ience — and specifically resilience for disaster preparedness in earth- quakes (from) the Cascadia Subduc- tion Zone — as a huge gap.” Clatsop County is vaccinating the remaining priority groups against the coronavirus as eligibility opens to all adults in Oregon on Monday. As virus cases con- tinue to climb through- out the state, more MORE counties are also INSIDE expected to move into County higher risk levels. reports Dr. Dean Sidelinger, new virus the state’s epidemi- cases • a6 ologist, said Friday that while Oregon is approaching a mile- stone of offering vaccines to everyone 16 and older, the state is also confront- ing emerging and more contagious vari- ants of the virus. See Tax, Page A6 See Vaccine, Page A6 Miss Oregon to return to Seaside A hybrid event planned for June By R.J. MARX The Astorian SEASIDE — Miss Oregon will be back in June. The scholarship program, can- celed last year because of the coro- navirus pandemic, will return to the Seaside Civic and Convention Cen- ter from June 16 through June 19. Director Beth McShane said it will be a hybrid event, with both a live audience and a livestream. In-person activities will be con- ducted under the Oregon Health Authority’s guidance for indoor entertainment. Hosting the pageant will signify the beginning of a slow return to pre-pandemic normalcy, Russ Van- denberg, the general manager of the convention center, said. “I couldn’t be more delighted to see the return of this organization and others as they make their way back to Seaside,” he said. In 2020, the directors of the Miss Oregon and Miss Oregon Outstand- ing Teen competitions canceled the events over virus concerns. “As you can imagine, 2020 found us at a loss,” McShane said. “Contracts canceled. Loss of events. Loss of fundraisers. Loss of reve- nue. Our commitment to providing scholarships for women throughout Oregon remains steadfast, and we plan to offer over $300,000 in schol- arships for young women across Oregon.” Hailey Hoffman/the astorian See Miss Oregon, Page A6 Miss North Coast Caitlin Hillman, left, and Miss Clatsop County Haylie Moon ride on a vintage fire engine last year.