A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
A Seaside maestro steps down
IN BRIEF
County business leaders win awards
Clatsop Economic Development Resources pre-
sented its 2021 business awards virtually Thursday
evening to a Zoom audience.
State Sen. Betsy Johnson and Rep. Suzanne Weber
spoke at the event and commended the economic
development group in helping businesses navigate the
challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic and
related restrictions.
Chris Breitmeyer, the presi-
dent of Clatsop Community Col-
lege, surprised Jessica Newhall, the
associate director of the college’s
Small Business Development Cen-
ter, with an award for her transfor-
mative leadership. Breitmeyer said
Newhall has been instrumental in
providing community support to
Newhall
businesses.
In a prerecorded video montage,
Kevin Leahy, the executive director of the economic
development group, and others involved in the organi-
zation presented 16 awards to business leaders.
Destiny Dudley, of Culinary Concierge, won as the
business leader of the year for a new business, while
Chris Laman, the director of Columbia Memorial
Hospital-Oregon Health & Science University Knight
Cancer Collaborative, won individual business leader
of the year.
Terry and Todd Robinett, of Merry Time Bar &
Grill, won business leader of the year for a small busi-
ness in North County, while Mrs. Tami’s Daycare &
Preschool won the equivalent for South County.
The exceptional customer service awards went to
Insomnia Coff ee Co. for a small business in South
County, to Purple Cow Toys for a small business in
North County and to Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa for the
large business division.
Good to Go in Astoria received the innovation
award for a small business, while TLC, a division of
Fibre Federal Credit Union, won the innovation award
for a large business.
Economic impact awards went to Slurpalicious for
a small business and to Hampton Lumber in Warren-
ton for a large business.
Meanwhile, community impact awards went to
Columbia Memorial Hospital’s Seaside clinic for
a large business, to Papa Murphy’s in Seaside for a
small business in South County and to Raymond
Graves, the owner of fi shing vessel Ken & Al Inc., for
a small business in North County.
Providence Seaside Hospital and Spruce Up War-
renton each received community supporter awards.
print_headline
Journalists from The Astorian
recognized with regional awards
Journalists for The Astorian were recognized in the
2020 Northwest Excellence in Journalism contest.
Emily Lindblom won fi rst place in the small news-
room division for her video of elk in Clatsop County.
Gary Henley won second place in the small news-
room division for sports feature for his story on Dick
Miller, a Seaside High School graduate who starred
for the University of Oregon as a runner.
The Society of Professional Journalists’ con-
test honors work across a region that covers Oregon,
Washington state, Idaho, Alaska and Montana.
Virtual disaster preparedness
training planned for families
Oregon State University Extension Service will
host a virtual disaster preparedness training for
families.
Experts will discuss communication plans, shel-
tering possibilities, evacuation planning and fi nancial
considerations during a live webinar at 6 p.m. on June
15.
The Astoria Fire Department is sponsoring the
event.
People can register for the discussion through June
14 at bit.ly/3ozXlOw
— The Astorian
ON THE RECORD
DUII
• Taylor Deshaun Florance, 26, was arrested Thurs-
day off of U.S. Highway 101 in Gearhart for driving
under the infl uence of intoxicants and reckless driving.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway St.
TUESDAY
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board,
5:15 p.m., 1225 Avenue A, Seaside.
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., 989 Broad-
way St.
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By KATHERINE
LACAZE
For The Astorian
SEASIDE — Over the
past 19 years, under the
direction of Terry Dahlgren,
the Seaside High School
band programs have thrived,
performing concerts and
claiming district and league
titles.
Yet competitive success
has never been Dahlgren’s
top priority.
For him, the relatively
mammoth size of the band
— which surprises judges
at competitions and makes
Seaside stand out among
other 4A schools — is what
he takes the most pride in.
“The mission is to teach
music to as many kids as
possible,” said Dahlgren,
who will be retiring at the
end of the school year after
a 32-year career as a high
school band director, the
majority of which was spent
in Seaside. “I’ve really
enjoyed being ‘the monster
band.’ We’re like the phe-
nomenon. It’s like, ‘What’s
going on in Seaside?’ That’s
been really fun.”
Dahlgren
remembers
his fi rst visit to the Oregon
Coast. It was 1991 and he
and his wife, Kathy, were
traveling from Minnesota for
their honeymoon. It was his
fi rst time seeing the ocean,
and they quickly developed
a love for the area.
Fast forward 12 years,
when Dahlgren came across
a listing for a job opening in
the Seaside School District.
The couple made the move
and Dahlgren started as the
sixth-through-12th
grade
band director in the fall of
2002.
“I remember that fi rst
group of kids very fondly,”
he said.
Coming into a smaller
school district, he was will-
ing to assess the attitude of
the students and set goals
for the program accordingly.
However, about halfway
Katherine Lacaze/For The Astorian
Seaside band director Terry Dahlgren is retiring after 19 years
of leading the band.
through the year, he said,
it became apparent the stu-
dents “were really eager to
do as much as they possibly
could.”
That attitude, combined
with the administrative sup-
port Dahlgren received from
the get-go, gave him confi -
dence there were no limits to
how successful the program
could be despite the size of
the school district.
“They
collectively
decided, ‘Let’s give this
guy a chance. L et’s take
this pretty seriously and see
what happens,’” he said. “It
just kept building year after
year.”
‘Lightning in a bottle’
Dahlgren’s unyielding
optimism, high expectations
and advocacy for the stu-
dents are embedded in the
motivation he passes onto
them regularly. Some of his
most common and heartfelt
words of encouragement
include: “I think you might
be underestimating what
you’re capable of,” and, “I
know what you’re capable
of, even if you don’t.”
The eagerness and ded-
ication of that fi rst batch of
students set the program on
a fi rm foundation for future
success.
Younger students wit-
nessed their siblings playing
at sports events and concerts
and traveling for competi-
tion, and it motivated them
to get involved.
Overall,
Dahlgren
describes his experience
with the band as “lightning
in a bottle.”
“I am very, very fortunate
to have been able to be a part
of it,” he said.
However, as he refl ects
over a long and fruitful
career — and many fond
memories — he feels there
has not been a more import-
ant time to positively impact
the students than right
now, amid the COVID-19
pandemic.
Although trying to trans-
late band into a virtual pro-
gram at the start of the school
year presented unprece-
dented challenges, Dahlgren
is convinced it was worth
the eff ort. He recalls dis-
cussing the option with the
administration and express-
ing to them that, “I may
not have the magic solution
to make this go, but I think
we need to try. To not try is
unacceptable.”
The band plays on
Fortunately, lack of sup-
port — from the admin-
istration, parents and the
community — hasn’t been
a problem for Dahlgren,
which is not a given for per-
forming arts programs at
schools.
“Not every band director
has that,” he said. “I’ve been
in schools where you can’t
even take band, because it
doesn’t even fi t in the day.”
Emboldened by this sup-
port, Dahlgren has been able
to invest in making sure
the band program makes
it through the pandemic
intact, without losing signif-
icant momentum or the fer-
vor of the students.
“This, while the most
challenging part of my
career, has also been the
most rewarding, because I
really wanted to be the one
to bring them back into the
school,” he said. “Any suc-
cess we have this year is
just golden to me, because
no one has ever done this
before. … The goal is to get
them back in the building
and get them playing with
each other; that is really the
only goal.”
He has about 65 high
school students participat-
ing in band. They are split
into fi ve groups — four
which meet on campus in
the gym during the week
socially distanced and wear-
ing facial coverings specif-
ically designed for musi-
cians. One group of high
schoolers, as well as the
middle schoolers, are con-
tinuing online for the school
year.
Although administrators
and school board members
have noted that Dahlgren’s
retirement creates a sig-
nifi cant loss for the school
district, he is confi dent the
pieces are in place for the
program to continue thriv-
ing, regardless of who takes
over.
“The commitment is
there,” he said. “We’re all
on the same page. Every-
body knows what needs to
be done.”
New revenue forecast a boost for Oregon
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — For Oregon’s
state budget, and for taxpay-
ers, it appears everything’s
coming up roses these days.
An economic surge as
the coronavirus pandemic
wanes will produce $1 bil-
lion more for state coff ers
than state economists pro-
jected just three months
ago. That will be enough to
boost state spending, with-
out cuts, as lawmakers fi n-
ish work on the state budget
for the next two years.
Meanwhile, that surge
will result in an estimated
$1.4 billion — more than
twice the amount projected
in late February — going
back to taxpayers next year
in the form of “kicker” cred-
its against their 2021 tax
bills. The fi nal fi gure will
be determined in the Sep-
tember economic and rev-
enue forecast, but the share
of tax liability is projected
at 13.6%.
For the average taxpayer
with a household income of
$67,400, the credit will be
$636. For the median with
household income between
$35,000 and $40,000 — half
are above and half below
that range — the credit will
be $312.
“I have never seen such a
strong outlook,” State Econ-
omist Mark McMullen told
members of the state House
and Senate revenue com-
mittees during his quarterly
forecast on Wednesday.
“There are a whole
lot more resources avail-
able than when we last
reported in March, and even
more than we reported at
the beginning of the ses-
sion, when the budget was
drafted. It’s quite a remark-
able turnaround from a few
months ago.
“When the pandemic hit,
we saw these massive job
losses that blew a $2 bil-
lion hole in the budget. That
hole was fi lled by the March
forecast (on Feb. 24), and
now we are past where we
thought we would be even
pre-pandemic.”
Gov. Kate Brown pro-
posed $25.6 billion in
spending from the tax-sup-
ported general fund and lot-
tery proceeds, the state’s
two most fl exible sources,
back in December . Legis-
lative budget writers, bol-
stered by $2.6 billion in fed-
eral aid from President Joe
Biden’s pandemic recov-
ery plan, unveiled a frame-
work for almost $28 billion
in spending in March .
Brown said in a state-
ment that the latest forecast,
coupled with projections for
the following two budget
cycles, sets the stage for a
better Oregon:
“Our anticipated state
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revenues will allow us to
fully fund our state agency
base budgets, make invest-
ments prioritized by the
Racial Justice Council,
move forward with a $9.3
billion school budget, fully
fund the Student Success
Act, and ensure no one
is kicked off the Oregon
Health Plan, among other
things.
“These investments will
help Oregonians recover
from the COVID-19 pan-
demic and move Ore-
gon toward a future where
equity is realized and all are
equal.”
Some Democrats want
to spend more; Republi-
cans say spending should
focus on one-time purposes.
Budget writers have already
proposed to save some of
the federal aid for the 2023-
25 budget period.
Senior economist Josh
Lehner said what has helped
prop up the economy in
Oregon and other states is
the massive federal spend-
ing during the pandemic,
including payments to indi-
viduals and businesses.
Biden’s plan gave $1,400
payments to an estimated
95% of Oregonians.
“It has been unprece-
dented outside of wartime,”
Lehner said. “It has allowed
households and fi rms to
keep their heads above
water. It does not mean that
some people haven’t fallen
through the cracks — they
have — and some busi-
nesses have closed.”
McMullen said econ-
omists have not seen the
steep downturn triggered by
the onset of the pandemic
— Oregon’s unemploy-
ment rate went from a mod-
ern-low 3.5% in March 2020
to a modern-high 13.2% the
following month — and the
equally speedy recovery.
The rate in April was 6%;
it has hovered around that
mark for a few months.
McMullen said he still
projects it will be the fourth
quarter of 2022 before Ore-
gon returns to its pre-pan-
demic employment levels,
still shorter than the seven
years following downturns
in 1980 and 2007.
“Obviously, a lot of
things can happen in two
years,” he said. “But right
now we are on a pretty
strong footing. The consen-
sus (of economists) ranges
from good to great.”
COMMUNITY NEWS
All Aboard for Astoria Citywide VBS
June 21-25 | 9:00 a.m. - NOON
Ages 3 years old to 5 th grade
Event Place: 565 12th Street
Peace First Lutheran Downtown
Register at www.peacefirstlutheran.com
PLEASE REGISTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Due to the COVID-19 restrictions there is a
cap of 48 kids, or four groups of 12 per group.
There will be no onsite registrations this year.
Please contact us if you have any questions.