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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2021)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021 IN BRIEF Fishing boat catches fi re in Warrenton The U.S. Coast Guard assisted local agencies Friday afternoon after a fi shing boat caught on fi re near the Ski- panon River in Warrenton. Offi cials said everyone aboard the Pacifi c Cloud aban- doned the boat and made it to shore. No injuries were reported. No other information was immediately available. County commissioners approve right-of-way policy Clatsop County commissioners on Wednesday adopted a policy to restrict commercial use in rights of way. The county placed a moratorium on permits for busi- nesses operating within rights of way in October after a neighborhood dispute over a fi rewood stand in Warren- ton. Since then, the county has worked on amending the ordinance. The ordinance prohibits commercial activity in county rights of way, with the exception of seasonal fl ower and produce stands with permits. Other permitted activities may also be allowed. Requests will be reviewed by the county. State discloses virus case at Anchor Christian Academy The state on Wednesday disclosed a coronavirus case at Anchor Christian Academy in Hammond. The Oregon Health Authority, in a weekly report on outbreaks, described the case as involving a staff er. The most recent onset was April 9. Niki Hawkins, the school’s principal, said the staff member is asymptomatic and has since tested negative for the virus twice. She said the staff er is quarantining at home. Meanwhile, a fourth student has tested positive for the virus at Seaside High School, according to the state. Children rescued at Hug Point Two children were rescued from a cliff Wednesday afternoon at Hug Point State Park. Fire crews were called at about 1:30 p.m. to a report that two children were stuck on top of a rock and could not get back to shore because of the incoming tide. The crews helped lower the children from the rock into the water, where they were carried to shore. Both children were reportedly uninjured, just cold. Merkley to hold virtual town hall U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley will hold a virtual town hall for Clatsop County on Wednesday. The Oregon Democrat will answer questions and update constituents about his work in Washington, D.C., at 4 p.m. on Zoom. To join the meeting, visit tinyurl.com/MerkleyClatsop. “Hearing from Oregonians across the state is critical to doing my job,” Merkley said in a statement. — The Astorian DEATHS April 14, 2021 In FIELDS, Brief Joyce Car- oline, 87, of Vancouver, Washington, formerly of Deaths Astoria, died in Portland. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. April 13, 2021 KARGE, Kenneth, 82, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Hughes-Ransom Mor- tuary is in charge of the arrangements. April 12, 2021 SCOTT, Joyce Elaine, 95, of Ocean Park, Wash- ington, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Lay- ton Mortuary of Asto- ria is in charge of the arrangements. April 10, 2021 OLNEY, Theodore, 71, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Hughes-Ransom Mor- tuary is in charge of the arrangements. April 8, 2021 SHELLABARGER, Joyce, 81, of Svensen, died in Svensen. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. ON THE RECORD Strangulation counts of assault in the On the Record • Jonathan Mil- fourth degree, driv- ton Wood, 33, of Ore- gon City, was arraigned Thursday on charges of strangulation, two ing under the infl uence of intoxicants, reckless driving and two counts of harassment. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Knappa School District Board, 5:30 p.m., Knappa High School Library, 41535 Old U.S. Highway 30. Seaside Budget Committee, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. TUESDAY Clatsop Care Health District Board, 3 p.m., strategic planning, (electronic meeting). Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., 989 Broadway. Seaside School District, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting). Gearhart Small Business Committee, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting). Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Hertig Station, 33496 Westlake Lane, Warrenton. PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 800-781-3214 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. New regulations aim to protect whales from crab fi shing lines By FEDOR ZARKHIN The Oregonian Rick Lilienthal and his father were just half a mile off shore, heading into the ocean to pull in their crab- bing lines, when they saw a gray whale going “100 miles an hour” with a buoy trailing off its left fi n. “It was just a shock,” Lil- ienthal said. “I’d never seen one before.” That was 50 years ago. Lilienthal, a 68-year-old commercial Dungeness crab fi sherman, said he hasn’t seen another entangled whale since. But a slew of rule changes coming within weeks could make such rare occurrences even less frequent, even as they have the potential to wreak havoc on summer- time crabbers’ harvests. Starting May 1, Ore- gon fi shermen will have to reduce the number of crab cages they can drop in the ocean and won’t be allowed to drop them lower than 40 fathoms, or 240 feet. Gway Kirchner, an envi- ronmental advocate who gave input on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife rules, acknowl- edged that whales getting caught in crab fi shing lines isn’t nearly as big of a prob- lem in Oregon as it is in California and Washington state. But that doesn’t mean it’s too early to take action. “If we don’t take the steps that we’re taking today, I think that it could become a signifi cant prob- lem for us,” Kirchner said, citing the changes to whale migration and feeding pat- terns possibly driven by cli- mate change. Humpback and gray whale populations have rebounded in recent decades after being hunted to near extinction. That rebound, in combination with recent changes in the ocean eco- system, has driven some whales into crabber terri- tory and crabbers into whale territory. Increasing humpback whale populations have forced the animals to com- pete for food, even as their primary source of nourish- ment — krill — has become Oregon’s new rules will limit how many pots commercial crabbers can drop into the ocean and how deep. ‘IF WE DON’T TAKE THE STEPS THAT WE’RE TAKING TODAY, I THINK THAT IT COULD BECOME A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM FOR US.’ Gway Kirchner | an environmental advocate who gave input on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife rules less available due to ocean conditions. As a result, the whales are going after anchovies, which are gen- erally found closer to shore. Crabs, meanwhile, have been migrating ever deeper into the ocean in recent years, drawing crabbers with them. “Increased overlap is, theoretically, drawing more entanglements,” said Caren Braby, the state’s top marine resources offi cial. “It’s a common-sense conclusion.” There have been nine known cases of whales get- ting caught in Oregon crab lines in the p ast nine years, compared to four in the nine years before that, accord- ing to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife data. Of the seven humpback whale cases since 2003, fi ve were in the last seven years. By forbidding particu- larly deep crab pots during the summer months, state offi cials hope to reduce the risk to humpback whales passing off the Oregon C oast on their way north. The whales are usually found 330 feet or deeper, the state says, meaning they will be better protected if crab cages stay at shallower depths. One alternative to the ban on deep crab fi shing is banning summer crabbing altogether, said Braby, the fi sh and wildlife agency’s marine resources manager. While an extreme option, it could still be on the table, depending on how success- ful the new rules are. But Lilienthal said the measures are overkill and have the potential to cause serious fi nancial troubles for smaller fi shing opera- tions. The restrictions will take thousands of dollars out of their pockets, he said, because crab pots must be dropped ever deeper to fi nd them in abundance. “It hurts everybody,” Lil- ienthal said. “That’s money that’s not going in your savings account to make it through the winter.” Braby acknowledged the virtually inevitable hardship to come for crabbers and, she said, their concerns are understandable. “They’re about to expe- rience something they’ve never experienced before,” Braby said. Indeed, fi nancial impact will be one of the factors the agency will consider when evaluating the rules over the next few seasons, Braby said. The state’s measures are only in eff ect in the second half of the commercial crab- bing season — from May 1 to Aug. 14. That means they are likely to aff ect smaller fi shing operations more than larger ones because bigger businesses turn their atten- tion to other ocean species that time of year, former Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission member John Corbin said. Corbin, whose operations are based on the Columbia River, said he started seeing a change in the whale pop- ulations — and the conver- sations about them — in the last few years. The indus- try has become far more aware of the whales and has been trying to accommodate them. “It’s kind of like, ‘Wow, what’s going on here?’” Corbin said of growing whale incursions into areas where fi shermen drop crab lines. “Because this is diff er- ent than how it used to be.” Testing: ‘I think it’s the right thing to do’ Continued from Page A1 The school board, how- ever, is more concerned that students get as much class time as possible now that they are back in classrooms. Astoria began the school year remotely last Septem- ber and only started bringing the majority of students back to buildings in February. “Our students have missed a large amount of in-person instruction due to COVID- 19,” said Grace Laman, the school board chairwoman, in a statement. “Students should be reconnecting with peers and school staff and not have to worry about a statewide assessment.” She echoed Colt Gill, director of the Oregon Department of Education, who had said in the state’s waiver request that, “This is not the time to subject fam- ilies and educators to addi- tional stressors that would be required for remote admin- Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Student testing has been disrupted for a second year by the coronavirus pandemic. istration of summative assessments.” Instead, s chool d istrict staff will use assessment data coming from the class- rooms and schools them- selves to work with students. State testing did not hap- pen last year, either. It was interrupted by the start of the pandemic and the emer- gency closure of schools last spring. In a normal year, the school board supports the use of statewide standard- ized testing “in order to drive state and district goals,” stated a resolution school board members approved at a meeting Wednesday night. But, they also noted, “state-mandated testing will require sacrifi cing sev- eral hours of badly-needed instruction time for most students” and the statewide assessments “do not provide data or information that indi- vidual teachers can use to inform their instruction or identify areas for remedia- tion among their students.” Superintendent Craig Hoppes told the school board he expects to see many other school districts make a simi- lar decision. “I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said, add- ing, “I think it will send a really strong message to our community.” VOLUNTEER PICK OF THE WEEK Dottie & Ollie Bonded pair 5 and 7 years old COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2021 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper Homekeeping hearts are happiest. Here are two sweet reasons, so easy on the eyes and spirit. 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