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.