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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, MAy 29, 2021
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
The former Broadway Middle School could be used for dorms for seasonal workers.
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
Schools are relaxing mask rules as more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Schools: Knappa’s school year
Dorms: Interest in former
middle school has been high will be extending into late June
Continued from Page A1
the park district revenue of
about 75% of the new mort-
gage annually in the four
months of summer.
“Our group has already
gotten
more
financial
pledges than is needed to
complete this project,” Pos-
alski said.
When businesses aren’t
housing employees, the
dorms could be used by the
park district.
“The newly built-out
facility would provide facili-
ties for overnight camp type
events, cooking classes,
indoor movie nights, craft
and game retreats as well
as many other uses we hav-
en’t thought about,” Posal-
ski said. “These would be
great opportunities for the
community that also gener-
ate revenue for the district.”
Interest in the former
middle school, renamed the
Sunset Recreation Center,
has been high.
At a park district work-
shop earlier this month, the
Northwest Regional Edu-
cation Service District
expressed interest in the
facility as “the ideal hub” for
their services. The service
district is in the process of
selling their 29,000-square-
foot Clatsop Service Cen-
ter location in Astoria and
is seeking a space to lease.
They hope to downsize to
a 7,600-square-foot space
in the Sunset Recreation
Center.
Areas of interest to the
service district include three
classrooms along the south-
west corner of the building,
the computer lab adjacent
to the library, administrative
office space and a counsel-
ing room.
“If you’d like me to ini-
tiate discussion about poten-
tial agreement or revise the
proposed plan that they
offered, I’m happy to do
that,” Skyler Archibald, the
park district’s executive
director, told board mem-
bers. “I think that there was
general excitement about
their proposal, but just
wasn’t sure exactly what
direction the board wanted
staff to take on this.”
Board member Celeste
Bodner volunteered to work
with Archibald and the ser-
vice district to weigh poten-
tial terms.
Board member Michael
Hinton called the service
district proposal a good fit.
“I’m in favor of supporting
this and I would work with
Celeste, if need be,” Hin-
ton said. “She’s got a lot of
capacity in real estate expe-
rience herself, so I think
that’s a great offer.”
Pushback: Brown not moving
toward another change of policy
Continued from Page A1
of being berated over the
policy. He said some busi-
nesses have turned to an
honor system.
“I don’t blame those busi-
nesses and actually I support
them in that because we’ve
asked enough of essential
workers,” Balensifer said
on Facebook Live on Tues-
day night. “And for anybody
that’s not worked in that
line and have had to deal
with that, it’s painful for me
to observe it let alone hear
about it, and it’s even more
painful for those experienc-
ing it.
“The state needs to stop
asking that of those people.”
A letter from the National
Grocers Association and 10
other major retail groups
asked federal health and
worker safety officials to
stop Brown from requiring
employees to ask for and
verify vaccination cards.
Making front-line workers
the gatekeepers and enforc-
ers of state policy was inap-
propriate and potentially
dangerous, the letter said.
Some of the opposition to
the plan to require showing
proof of vaccination came
from politicians and others
who had opposed masks at
different points in the pan-
demic and had lobbied for
lifting restrictions on busi-
nesses and crowds despite
high levels of infection in
many areas of the state.
While Rep. Daniel Bon-
ham, R-The Dalles, had crit-
icized Brown’s new policy
earlier in the week by not-
ing the strong feelings about
masks “on both sides,” the
volatility against show-
ing certificates surfaced
quickly among opponents of
COVID-19 restrictions.
Health officials in Ore-
gon, California and Wash-
ington pledged early in the
pandemic to work together
and keep policies in sync as
much as possible.
But the trio of West
Coast states — led by Dem-
ocratic governors — have
hardly been monolithic in
their responses. California
and Washington went much
wider, earlier with vaccina-
tion priority for all residents
65 and over, while Oregon
stuck with a more step-by-
step approach of priority
groups.
Brown’s boldest initia-
tive has been to require the
display of vaccine cards in
selected situations. Oregon
health officials wanted res-
idents to be more assured
when going to a vaccinat-
ed-only area than just the
promise of others that they
were obeying the law.
The idea of segregated
access for those who have
been inoculated and those
who haven’t hasn’t gained
traction in a majority of
states, but 14 have created
or are working on ways to
keep potential virus spread-
ers away from others. But
the sticking point always
comes back to how to really
know if vaccinated-only
areas include only the truly
vaccinated.
The
most
common
answer is trust. In a politi-
cally fractured nation where
masks, vaccines, in-person
school instruction and large
gatherings have become
grist for often hyperventilat-
ing debate, that’s a leap of
faith. But it’s the approach
suggested by the CDC.
For now, Brown is not
moving toward another
change of policy.
Nicole Bales of The Asto-
rian contributed to this
report. The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Civics: ‘There are only so many hours in the day’
Continued from Page A1
College and has overseas
service with the U.S. Air
Force and the Oregon Air
National Guard. He also
was an adviser to Gov. Ted
Kulongoski on emergency
management, military and
veterans issues.
The bill passed the
state House in a 60-0 vote
on Monday. The Senate
approved the bill in a 25-3
vote in April.
Though Rep. Gerald
“Boomer” Wright, R-Reed-
sport, voted for the bill, he
said lawmakers should be
mindful of teaching prior-
ities. Oregon graduation
requirements cover two
years of social studies —
not necessarily civics, even
though some school dis-
tricts already require it —
in addition to four years in
English and three years in
math.
“When we require things
in high school, there are
only so many hours in the
day,” Wright, a retired
teacher and school adminis-
trator, said. “Every time we
require something, some-
thing is not taught that was
previously taught. When we
want to make sure our stu-
dents get what we believe
is necessary to continue
this form of government
and support this society, we
must remember that when
we add something, some-
thing disappears.”
The bill emerged from
the House Education Com-
mittee, led by Rep. Teresa
Alonso Leon, D-Woodburn,
who said there is a pend-
ing bill that would direct the
state Department of Educa-
tion to review social stud-
ies standards with an eye
toward teaching a more
complete view of the nation.
“It’s also important that
we talk about the history
and the many people who
contributed to the devel-
opment of our country,”
Alonzo Leon said. “These
are people who for many
years could not vote. I want
to make sure those standards
cover that piece of history.”
Only 24% of students
were proficient or better in
civics in the 2018 National
Assessment of Educational
Progress, otherwise known
as the nation’s report card.
The average score on civ-
ics was 153 of 300, largely
unchanged from 150 —
22% proficient — in 1998.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Continued from Page A1
For more than a year,
face masks have been fog-
ging up eye glasses, imped-
ing peripheral vision and
making it difficult to hear
and understand one another.
But it turns out the seem-
ingly simple act of remov-
ing them is not so easy for
some people.
Some Astoria staff, after
verifying their vaccination
status, opted to keep their
masks on — which is fine,
Hoppes said.
“You work so hard to
get masks on people, now
it’s hard to get them off,”
he said.
But this hesitancy is part
of why he opted to move
forward with easing mask
restrictions in the school
district just weeks before
the end of the school year.
He wants to give peo-
ple time to get used to yet
another change.
KNAPPA SUPERINTENDENT BILL
FRITZ ESTIMATES THAT AROUND
75% OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT’S
EMPLOYEES ARE VACCINATED.
“For us, everything we
do is a slow transition to
‘somewhat
normalcy,’”
Hoppes said. “By doing
this, it just gives us oppor-
tunities to move forward.”
Knappa Superintendent
Bill Fritz estimates that
around 75% of the school
district’s employees are
vaccinated. This estimate is
based on the initial lists of
employees who signed up
for vaccine appointments
through the district earlier
in the year and what Fritz
has been told by employ-
ees who sought out vaccine
appointments on their own.
Knappa’s school year
is extending late into June
and some employees told
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Fritz they were comfortable
going without masks now
that they were vaccinated.
To mask or not to mask
within the parameters
agreed on by the school
district and the education
association is optional,
however.
“Some of our staff mem-
bers are still wearing masks
and we respect that,” Fritz
said.
In the Knappa School
District, students, staff,
volunteers or visitors can
remove their masks for out-
door activities. People must
still wear masks or other
types of protective mouth
and nose coverings when in
school buildings.