A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2021
School: ‘We haven’t made any defi nite decisions’
Continued from Page A1
In meetings Tuesday
night to answer parents ques-
tions about next school year,
Superintendent Craig Hop-
pes thanked parents for
their patience and fl exibility
during a diffi cult year.
“We were learning as
everybody was — on the go,”
he said.
Astoria was particularly
cautious when it came to
moving away from online
classrooms, or distance learn-
ing. While some other school
districts on the North Coast
shifted operations regularly
based on changing state and
local coronavirus case met-
rics, Astoria opted to begin
online and stay online for
much of the fall and winter.
District leaders felt this
approach made the most
sense for public safety and
ease of operations. They
wanted to avoid a situation
where they opened class-
room doors only to have to
abruptly close them again.
Now, Hoppes is hope-
ful that any changes to their
plan will only be progressive,
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Astor Elementary School students cheer as seniors make their way past the school in June.
changes that allow the district
to open up even more.
Still, many students have
had a fractured school year.
Online classes worked for
some, but not for many. Dis-
trict leaders and teachers
have expressed their concern
about who was left behind
and even the lack of engage-
ment among students who
hadn’t struggled with school
before.
Like other school districts,
Astoria is providing an edu-
cational enrichment program
for students across grade
levels this summer. Previ-
ously, these kinds of off er-
ings would be more aca-
demic, geared for students
who needed additional tutor-
ing or help catching up in cer-
tain subjects.
There will still be an edu-
cational component this sum-
mer, but the focus is on fun
and engaging activities,
said Eva Hague, the school
districts’s summer school
coordinator .
The free camps, made
possible by a grant through
the Oregon Department of
Education , run from July 4
through Aug. 12, with trans-
portation and meals provided.
The sessions include a range
of options: theater, crafts,
band and orchestra camps,
afternoon sports activities, a
close read of the “Star Wars”
movies and more.
The school district is not
looking to gather any infor-
Housing: ‘We’re in Risk: One of 22 counties
the game long term’ that will be at lower risk
Continued from Page A1
“So our question to stakeholders and partners
was, ‘W hat can the county do to move the nee-
dle on housing? ‘” he said. “And knowing that we
have limited resources and, frankly, we have lim-
ited expertise in housing development.”
There were fi ve suggestions, and fundamen-
tally, Bohn said, there was a desire for the county
to act as an advocate and a convener.
Bohn laid out the suggestions to county
c ommissioners.
One of the most vital resources the county can
bring to the table is land, Bohn said. He shared
options that are available for potential aff ordable
housing development in Astoria and Warrenton.
Beyond that, he said, the county will work with
cities and review codes, zoning requirements and
other regulations that impact aff ordable housing
development.
“And then it’s to play this continual role as we
move forward to have long-standing reciprocal
relationships with these nonprofi t housing provid-
ers so that we can have a steady stream of proj-
ects within the county,” Bohn said. “Because this
isn’t a one-time challenge. This is an ongoing,
sustainable challenge of building additional units
overtime.
“We’re also fortunate that some of our non-
profi t partners, like CBH (Clatsop Behavioral
Healthcare), are also going to be getting into the
housing business, which is great. And their focus
is really on permanent supportive housing, which
fi ts a very important niche. But it’s going to take
all of us to do our small part to make a diff erence
that the community needs.”
As far as who will facilitate the work on behalf
of the county, Bohn said there are several diff er-
ent options, including funding a position at the
Northwest Oregon Housing Authority that focuses
specifi cally on housing development in Clat-
sop County. The housing authority provides crit-
ical housing assistance to low-income residents in
Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties.
“Whether that is ultimately an idea that has legs
is not fully developed yet, but that’s one of the
options,” Bohn said. “The other option is that we
hire a county staff to facilitate these kinds of part-
nerships or a consultant. So there’s a number of
options and we’re still working through that.”
Commissioner support
County commissioners were supportive of the
framework.
Commissioner Lianne Thompson said she
would like the board to have a role in the process
and serve on an advisory committee for the work.
Bohn said that while he does envision an advi-
sory committee for ongoing collaboration, he
wants to get the ball rolling.
“And again, we just need to put the shovel in
the ground from my perspective and just start this
process, because there is muscle memory that is
important to these aff ordable housing projects,” he
said. “And we just don’t have that muscle mem-
ory right now because we haven’t done it together.
And so I think staff is just eager to get the process
started.”
Commissioner Pamela Wev said she liked the
idea of the county being an ambitious convener.
“I’ve been real disappointed after we did the
housing study, which remember was half-funded
— 50 grand from the county and 10 (grand) from
each of the cities — and I have seen very lit-
tle results coming from that, including from our
standpoint,” she said.
Thompson was also happy to see movement.
“County manager, assistant county manager,
thank you for this work,” she said. “It’s inspiring.
It’s hopeful. We are getting in the game. As Com-
missioner Wev points out, we had a housing study.
The board that existed then was unwilling to have
a commission be involved with that. So it really
kind of cut the legs off . Now you’re putting the
wheels back on the bus. So we’re going to get on
the road.
“Now where we go and how much horsepower
we have — if I can continue the metaphor — we’ll
see. But we’re in the game. We’re in the game long
term. We’re in the game to build capacity locally,
regionally, across the state. We’re well begun.”
through June 24
Continued from Page A1
Clatsop County have received
at least one dose of vaccine,
according to the Oregon Health
Authority.
Margo Lalich, the county’s
interim public health director,
said the county is working on
vaccinating more people though
smaller, more targeted pop-up
vaccination clinics. She expects
the county will reach 65%.
“At this point in time Clat-
sop County would be very hard
pressed to get to 70% at any
point soon,” Lalich said during a
county Board of Commissioners
work session on Tuesday.
Clatsop County is one of 22
counties that will be at lower risk
through June 24. Five counties
will be at moderate risk and nine
will be at high risk.
Counties with a population
of 30,000 or more are evaluated
for risk based on virus cases per
100,000 over two weeks and the
test positivity rate for the same
period.
Counties at lower risk have a
case rate under 50 per 100,000
people, and may have a test pos-
itivity of 5% or less.
As of Saturday, Clatsop
County had 40 cases per 100,000
over a two-week period. Test
positivity was 3.2%.
Capacity for indoor dining at
restaurants and bars in counties
at lower risk can increase to 50%
with a midnight closing time. Up
to 300 people can dine outdoors.
Tables must be limited to eight
people.
Gyms, indoor pools, muse-
ums, theaters and other enter-
tainment venues can operate at
50% of capacity.
Grocery stores, pharma-
cies, retail shops and shopping
malls can operate at 75% of
capacity.
Churches can increase capac-
ity to 75% indoors and 300 peo-
ple outdoors.
Indoor social gatherings must
be limited to 10 people from four
households in counties at lower
risk. Outdoor gatherings can
have 12 people.
Indoor and outdoor visits
are allowed at long-term care
facilities.
The county has recorded
1,031 virus cases since the pan-
demic began. According to the
county, 25 were hospitalized and
eight have died.
The county has set a target
of vaccinating 27,533 people
— or 70% of the population —
to try to achieve herd immunity
against the virus. As of Friday,
17,973 people have been fully
vaccinated.
Agency: ‘A step forward for Seaside’
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off ers in-person services and
groups for people with men-
tal health issues and for those in
recovery from substance abuse.
Baker said she looked at the
buildings in Seaside on a Fri-
day and made an off er the fol-
lowing Monday because prop-
erties were being purchased so
quickly.
The former 2nd Chance Bar-
gains will be used for outpatient
services now being conducted
for about 250 patients a year
at the agency’s Seaside clinic.
They will close the agency’s S.
Holladay Drive location, which
the organization rents.
The former Seaside Antiques
and Collectibles, a neighbor to
City Hall, will become a fi ve-
bed shelter .
“When I say shelter, what
I mean is not what most peo-
ple mean,” Baker said. “People
will live there, God willing, for
three to four months until we
can fi nd them something more
permanent.”
The two-story facility will
have three single bedrooms and
one double bedroom.
Common areas will include
a group meeting and social
room, dining area and kitchen.
An Americans with Disabilities
Act-accessible bathroom and
bedroom will be located on the
fi rst fl oor.
The three units underneath
the building will eventually be
permanent supported housing .
The shelter will be staff ed 24
hours a day, she said.
People will have inten-
sive support services to help
them maintain employment and
actively engage in sober support
if they are in recovery.
The initial cost of renovation
was $400,000, but has increased
with the cost of materials and
the price of lumber, Baker said.
“We now expect to pay close to
$500,000 to renovate the three
apartments, the green house and
the clinic, ” she said.
Baker said she hopes addi-
tional funding from the state
Legislature will allow the
agency to hire at least two more
staff , embedding one person in
the Seaside Police Department
and one in the Astoria Police
Department, where the bulk of
crisis calls come in.
“We have one mental health
counselor who’s on at any given
time and a manager during busi-
ness hours,” Baker said. “With
a county the size of Clatsop,
it’s really hard to be available to
respond to all the diff erent calls
that we have.”
Agency funding increases,
including potential federal and
state dollars, could add staffi ng
and provide quicker and more
fl exible responses.
“I, for one, call this a step for-
ward for Seaside,” Mayor Jay
Barber said. “It will really ben-
efi t the people that you’re serv-
ing. Keep us posted as things
go along. Our neighbors will be
interested to know how it devel-
ops, and how we can help you
and support you.”
mation or data; there won’t
be any testing.
“Really it’s a social- emo-
tional focus, of making this a
healthy, inviting place to be,”
Hague said.
In Seaside, Superinten-
dent Susan Penrod said the
s chool d istrict is also looking
ahead to a full-time schedule
for students in the fall.
“We are planning to bring
back kids fi ve days a week,”
she said. “We completely
reworked what teaching and
learning have looked like.
Together, we’ve been able
to bring our students back
on-site this spring, which was
no easy feat. So we’re excited
to have them back full time
this fall.”
Masks will still be
required for students and
drivers on buses . The school
district plans to develop pro-
tocols for entry and screen-
ing of students into build-
ings, as well as cleaning and
disinfecting. All students are
required to wear appropriate
face coverings indoors.
Students, staff and other
adults will not be required to
wear face coverings outdoors
for physical education, recess
and other activities.
Fully vaccinated staff will
be required to wear masks
indoors only when students
are in school.
The school district sur-
veyed families after school
resumed on-site instruction
to see if they wanted to stay
in a virtual program or a full-
time in-person classroom.
“They want it to be in
the building,” Penrod said.
“Very, very few parents
shared that they would want
to stay in the same online
option, not enough for us to
be able to off er something
from our teachers.”
After a school year of
stops and starts, Penrod made
it clear that protocols remain
fl uid.
“These are conversations
that the leadership team is still
having, and we haven’t made
any defi nite decisions,” she
told the school board . “We
know that over the summer,
things are going to change.
But we want to let you know
that this is the plan.”
R.J. Marx contributed to
this report.
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