A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2021
SAIL AWAY
IN BRIEF
Westport boat ramp closes
for construction
The Westport boat ramp will close on July 1 as Clat-
sop County begins construction of a new boating recre-
ation facility.
The closure is expected to last into November while
the county builds a new boat ramp, short-term tie-up
dock and kayak launch, along with paved parking and
restrooms.
The second phase of the project will include the con-
struction of a picnic area and playground.
County dissolves housing authority
County commissioners, acting as the Clatsop County
Housing Authority, voted unanimously Wednesday
night to dissolve the agency.
The housing authority was established in 1974. The
board contracted with the Northwest Oregon Housing
Authority, which provides critical housing assistance to
low-income residents in Clatsop, Columbia and Tilla-
mook counties, in 2013 to provide management services.
The Clatsop County Housing Authority agreed in
2016 to transfer all properties and assets to the North-
west Oregon Housing Authority and dissolve upon com-
pletion of the transfer.
The county completed the transfer in May.
— The Astorian
Washington state’s drought
increasingly ‘extreme’
The second-driest spring on record has pushed more
than one-fi fth of Washington state into an “extreme
drought,” the U.S. Drought Monitor reported.
In 127 years of record-keeping, only the spring of
1924 was drier statewide, according to the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration.
South-central and southeast Washington are espe-
cially dry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thurs-
day predicted winter wheat production will decline by
28% and rated nearly half the state’s pastures and range-
land “very poor.”
— Capital Press
TOP: Nansen Malin raises a fl ag,
signaling that the race will begin in fi ve
minutes.
TOP INSET: The Escape Artist sails across
the start line and heads for Port Angeles.
LEFT: Doug Pihlaja pulls the spinnaker
up the mast.
Feds could restrict West Coast
salmon fi shing to help orcas
BOTTOM: Twenty-four sailboats left
Ilwaco for Port Angeles at the beginning
of the Pacifi c Northwest Off shore Yacht
Race on Thursday morning. Rage was the
fi rst to fi nish with line honours in just
over 33 hours.
Federal offi cials are proposing to curtail nontribal
salmon fi shing along the West Coast in especially bad
years to help the Northwest’s endangered killer whales.
NOAA Fisheries is taking public comment on the
plan, which calls for restricting commercial and recre-
ational salmon fi shing when Chinook salmon forecasts
are especially low.
The southern resident killer whales — the endan-
gered orcas that spend much of their time in the waters
between Washington state and British Columbia —
depend heavily on depleted runs of fatty Chinook.
— Associated Press
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
DEATHS
June 12, 2021
In DEAN,
Brief
Janette Lou-
ise, 70, of Warrenton, died
in Warrenton. Caldwell’s
Deaths
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
June 11, 2021
PASSMORE, George
Gordon, 91, of The
Dalles, formerly of Asto-
ria and Warrenton, died in
The Dalles. Ocean View
Funeral & Cremation Ser-
vice of Astoria is in charge
of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Assault
aggravated harassment.
On
the
• Amber
Hope Record
Duff y,
• John Henry, 43, of
23, of Astoria, was
arrested Saturday at
McDonald’s in Astoria
for assault in the fourth
degree and two counts of
Sherwood, was arrested
Saturday on S.E. Mar-
lin Avenue in Warrenton
for assault in the fourth
degree.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10 a.m., work
session, (electronic meeting).
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., budget adoption hear-
ing and workshop, 10 Pier 1, Suite 209.
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board,
5:15 p.m., 1225 Avenue A., Seaside.
Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission, 5:30 p.m., City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Seaside School District Board, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Gearhart Small Business Committee, 6 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
WEDNESDAY
Astoria City Council, 1 p.m., work session, City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., 989 Broad-
way.
Gearhart Parks Master Plan Citizens Advisory Committee,
5:30 p.m., work session, (electronic meeting).
THURSDAY
Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
989 Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Game sparks real-world skills at Seaside library
By KATHERINE
LACAZE
For The Astorian
SEASIDE — During the
coronavirus pandemic, local
educators searched for an
activity that could take place
remotely, keep students
engaged, spark creativ-
ity and provide real-world
problem-solving skills.
The fantasy role-playing
game Dungeons & Dragons
was the ideal solution.
“You have a chance to be
creative,” said Ann Branson,
the assistant youth services
and teen services librarian at
the Seaside Public Library.
“There’s a lot of collab-
oration and teamwork. It
teaches a lot of really good
skills for kids — and all of
us, too,” she said. “It’s a fun
escape that’s still healthy
and productive. It’s a great
way to make friends.”
The imaginative game
was created in the 1970s
and has taken slightly dif-
ferent forms over the past
50 years. In general, it con-
sists of an adventure or story
that is narrated by the dun-
geon master. The other play-
ers are the adventurers who
contribute to a structured yet
fundamentally open-ended
narrative with an overarch-
ing theme or goal.
One of the fi rst steps is
Dungeons & Dragons
The Sword Coast in the game Dungeons & Dragons.
building a character. Par-
ticipants can choose from
being an elf, dwarf, human
or fairy, and accompany-
ing titles, such as sorcerer,
monk, barbarian, druid or
bard. During the course of
a game, the adventurers run
into a variety of nonplayer
characters, all created and
controlled by the dungeon
master, who provides infor-
mation or assistance to the
group, or are sometimes vil-
lains who must be defeated
in combat.
When Branson was hired
in September, the library’s
Teen Tuesdays program
had been out of commis-
sion for several months
because of the pandemic.
She was tasked with help-
ing to rebuild the program
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and introduce activities that
could be done in a virtual
environment. The idea of
Dungeons & Dragons was
pitched during Branson’s
interview, and by Novem-
ber, she had incorporated
the game into the monthly
lineup for Teen Tuesdays.
At the Cannon Beach
Academy, fi rst and second
grade teacher Ryan Hull had
come up with a similar idea.
During the end of 2019-20
school year, when he was
teaching third-through-fi fth
grade, he asked his stu-
dents if they wanted to cre-
ate characters for fun. Of the
23 in his class, 19 chose to.
Throughout the following
summer, he kept thinking,
“I’ve got to do something
about this.”
At the start of the new
school year, Hull invited the
students to start an ongo-
ing campaign, which means
continuing the same story
with the same characters
from week to week with dif-
ferent quests or tasks along
the way.
He originally had three
students involved, but the
group has since grown to
seven kids between second
and fi fth grade. They meet
once a week on Wednesday
afternoons.
FINNISH BROTHERHOOD
LODGE AUXILIARY
RICE PUDDING/
FRUIT SOUP
“TO GO”
Call to preorder by June 17
Pick up Saturday, June 19, 11-3
behind
Suomi Hall
244 W. Marine Dr.
Astoria, Oregon
503-440-9002