148TH YEAR, NO. 152
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2021
$1.50
CORONAVIRUS
Astoria
considers
electric
scooters
City Council divided
over pilot program
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Smoke covered Clatsop County last year during the Labor Day fi res.
Wildfi re protection takes
on a new signifi cance
Dry conditions a concern
as fi re season approaches
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
W
ith much of Oregon
abnormally dry or experi-
encing drought, commu-
nities on the North Coast
aren’t sure what to expect as fi re sea-
son approaches, but some wildfi re pro-
tection measures have taken on a new
signifi cance.
Putting aside the catastrophic fi res
like the Tillamook Burn that blazed
decades ago, wildfi re has not been a
major concern on the coast for some
until recently.
But the Labor Day fi res that burned
across Oregon last year and fi lled
North Coast skies with smoke and ash
set off alarm bells.
The fi res were not so much a
wake-up call as a reminder that the
coast is not immune to the threat . A
shift in the wind can carry fl ames here,
while a dropped cigarette, a carelessly
maintained campfi re or logging opera-
tions can spark a disaster if conditions
are right.
“I would say we were very fortu-
nate last year in that we didn’t have a
fi re that wound up destroying a bunch
of homes,” said Neal Bond, a protec-
tion unit forester with the state based
in Astoria.
“But that could very easily hap-
pen here,” he added, echoing others
involved in coastal forestry .
A proposal to bring electric scooters
to the streets of Astoria is in limbo while
one city councilor collects feedback from
the community.
Bird, an electric scooter company,
approached city leadership about running
a pilot program for pay-to-ride scooters .
The company, which recently rolled out
a similar program in Hermiston, would
need permission to use city rights of way
to stage scooters across the city.
In a C ity C ouncil work session
Wednesday, Mike Butler, a company
representative, argued the scooter pro-
gram would provide low-cost transporta-
tion options for tourists and residents and
bring indirect benefi ts to the city.
But opinions were divided among city
councilors. Mayor Bruce Jones and City
Councilor Tom Brownson voiced con-
cerns, but said they were open to discuss-
ing a pilot program.
“For me, the primary concerns have to
be with people just being bad citizens and
irresponsible,” Jones said. O verall, he
believes scooters pose no greater safety
risk than bicycles.
“The problems are going to identify
themselves,” Brownson said, adding,
“These are good things to try out. They’re
working in other places. We just have to
see if it’s going to work here or not.”
City Councilor Joan Herman and
Councilor Roger Rocka were adamantly
opposed, saying they had signifi cant con-
cerns about riders’ safety, particularly on
the stretch of U.S. Highway 30 that runs
through Astoria and can fi ll up with tour-
ist as well as heavy truck traffi c.
See Scooters, Page A6
Fire season in Clatsop County starts Tuesday.
Fire access roads
In Cannon Beach, the Labor Day
fi res were fuel for further arguments
by city leaders, fi refi ghters and nearby
timberland managers pushing for bet-
ter fi re access roads into the city’s
Ecola Creek Forest Reserve.
The city-owned forestland protects
the source of the city’s drinking water
and conservation is a driving factor in
how the land has been managed. Some
city leaders and those involved with
updating the reserve’s management
plan worried that improving access
could increase the risk of a human-
caused fi re, as well as negatively
impact wildlife habitat.
Previous drafts of the plan called
for limited access into the reserve,
arguing that people are predominately
to blame for many disastrous fi res in
the state. Build a road, the theory goes,
and they will come.
But Cannon Beach Emergency
Manager Rick Hudson, neighbor-
ing timber companies and district fi re
personnel countered that without key
access roads, it was nearly impossi-
ble to respond eff ectively to a wildfi re
in the reserve. Power lines, another
potential fi re hazard, also swoop
through one section.
The two sides have since landed on
a compromise, a balance between how
some road improvements could proceed
and continued conservation eff orts.
See Fire season, Page A6
Knappa
reinstates
health
curriculum
Some parents had
objected to the content
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
‘Fall down, pick up check’
Stuntman retires to
Wahkiakum County
Jeff Jensen falls
off a seven-story
building in the TV
show ‘The Fall Guy.’
By PATRICK WEBB
Chinook Observer
CATHLAMET, Wash. — Call it
the stuntman’s curse.
After a successful Hollywood
career, standing in for tough guys
like Sean Connery and Dolph Lund-
gren, falling off buildings, crashing
cars and blowing things up, Jeff Jen-
sen would always do one more stunt.
“It’s diffi cult to turn down Steven
Spielberg,” he laughed. “I should
have stopped before I was forced
to stop. It’s like being a pro foot-
See Stuntman, Page A2
Patrick Webb/Chinook Observer
Jeff Jensen said he fell in love with the scenery of
Wahkiakum County on a trip north from California
and has moved his home base. Now retired after
a career as a Hollywood stuntman and movie
director, he is setting up a foundation to off er job
opportunities to disabled military veterans.
A state-created middle school health
and sex education curriculum will continue
to be used in the Knappa School District.
A committee tasked by the school dis-
trict with reviewing “My Future-My
Choice” at the request of a parent group
concluded Thursday night that it is the only
curriculum that meets the state’s standards
in their entirety. They decided to reinstate
the curriculum after a brief suspension.
The Knappa Parents Organization,
the group that requested the review, has
informed Superintendent Bill Fritz they
will appeal the committee’s decision to the
school board. The board meets Monday.
Oregon schools are required to teach
sex education that recognizes diff erent sex-
ual orientations, gender identities and gen-
der expression. Knappa has used the state’s
curriculum for around a decade. Most
See Knappa, Page A6