A6
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2021
Fire season: Usually begins in
late June or early July in county
Continued from Page A1
The management plan is now
in front of the Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board for review.
T he board provided critical fund-
ing that allowed the city to purchase
the property in the fi rst place. C ity
leaders expect some degree of road
improvement for wildfi re access is in
the reserve’s future.
For now, temporary “no smok-
ing” signs have gone up outside the
reserve at the request of City Coun-
cilor Robin Risley . City Manager
Bruce St. Denis readily agreed to the
new signs, especially, he said, “with
the current drought.”
Most of Clatsop County is con-
sidered in moderate drought, while
large chunks of the state are in severe
to extreme drought, according to
recent information provided through
the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Despite recent rains, the North
Coast experienced a dry — some-
times hot — spring, and there is lit-
tle rain in sight in weather forecasts.
Already, fuel moisture levels are
going back down on the coast. In
other words, it’s dry out there, and
getting drier. Bond estimates the
North Coast is “three to four weeks
ahead of schedule” in terms of just
how dry things are.
Fire season
The Oregon Department of For-
estry announced fi re season in Clat-
sop County will begin Tuesday. A
county wide burn ban will also go
into eff ect Tuesday.
The state declaration aff ects all
lands — public and private. Most
other regions in Oregon are already
considered in fi re season. Mean-
while, state lawmakers are calling for
the need for more federal resources
to help families and businesses
weather drought and wildfi re condi-
tions exacerbated by climate change.
Under the fi re season declaration
in Clatsop County, industrial forest
operations, campfi res and small, res-
idential burns will be subject to var-
ious restrictions tied to state fi re pre-
caution levels. Clatsop County will
begin at the lowest level — level 1
— on Tuesday.
Under the fi re season declara-
tion, open debris burning will not be
allowed starting June 22. People who
want to use burn barrels will need a
permit.
The state makes fi re season dec-
larations each year when fi re haz-
ard conditions exist. Depending on
the weather, this declaration usually
begins in Clatsop County in late June
or early July.
State forestry staff in Astoria pre-
pare every year for fi re season, gear-
ing up to respond to issues on the
North Coast, as well as to deploy
resources to other regions.
But this year, Bond said, “I’d say
we’re at a little bit higher concern
than average.”
Knappa: Anyone can read
through state materials online
Continued from Page A1
years, there are at least a
few students whose parents
opt them out of taking the
course .
The curriculum commit-
tee felt the opt-out option
was a good “check and bal-
ance if parents felt uncom-
fortable,” Fritz said.
The state curriculum
also includes optional sup-
plementary worksheets and
information that teachers
can use to deepen students’
understanding of a topic or
make it more relevant to
their own lives.
The committee deter-
mined that teachers should
not be prohibited from using
these additional materials if
they believe it would help
their students. However, if a
teacher does plan to use the
extra materials, this needs
to be communicated ahead
of time to parents, so fam-
ilies know what students
will encounter in the course,
Fritz said.
Anyone can read through
the state materials online.
Though the curricu-
Oregon Department of Education
Knappa School District
briefl y suspended the use of
a state middle school sexual
health course after parents
demanded a review.
lum will remain in use, the
s chool d istrict is looking at
ways to improve how the
opt-out information is com-
municated to parents. The
committee suggested that
one way would be to bring
it up at parent-teacher con-
ferences in the fall. Previ-
ously, the district sent home
a form with students, but
some parents said this year
that they never received the
paperwork. They were later
shocked to fi nd out their
children were taking the
course.
A newly-formed parent
group, the Knappa Parents
Organization, had asked for
a review of the curriculum.
They were concerned about
how the opt-out option
was communicated to par-
ents and the content of the
course.
In a statement to The
Astorian, and repeated on
their Facebook page, they
argued that issues related to
gender identity, sexual pref-
erence and sexual orienta-
tion are outside the bounds
of a public school curricu-
lum and “are better left to
families to handle.”
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DEL’S O.K. TIRE
Firefi ghters and timberland managers want
better fi re access roads at Ecola Creek Forest Reserve.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Scooters: ‘I can see those things in the river’
Continued from Page A1
Under Bird’s model, rid-
ers download an app and are
required to watch brief train-
ing videos before taking
their fi rst ride. The scooters
can reach speeds of up to 15
mph and are intended for use
on public roads. While hel-
mets are required in Oregon,
Bird does not supply riders
with helmets and has not
required helmets in order to
use the scooters.
Herman worried that the
short training videos were
not suffi cient and the use of
scooters could further strain
city resources.
City Councilor Tom Hil-
ton became the deciding
voice about whether city
staff would continue to talk
with Bird about develop-
ing a pilot program to bring
back to the City Council for
consideration . At fi rst, he
echoed Herman and Rocka,
saying safety was the big-
gest issue for him, followed
closely by potential nui-
sance issues related to the
scooters.
“I can see those things in
the river, at the boat dock, in
the river,” he said.
But Hilton concluded that
despite his own opinions, he
wanted to hear from peo-
ple in his east side district.
When he is satisfi ed that he
has heard enough, he can
bring the matter up again at
a C ity C ouncil meeting. The
council would need to for-
mally vote on any pilot pro-
gram agreement with Bird.
Others who attended
the meeting shared the city
councilors’ concerns but
were more in favor of trying
out the pilot program.
Kathy Kleczek, a trans-
portation options specialist
for the Sunset Empire Trans-
portation District, and David
Reid, the executive direc-
tor of the Astoria-Warren-
ton Area Chamber of Com-
Del Thompson, former owner of
OK Rubber Welders.
Klyde Thompson, current owner
Mike Barnett, manager
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Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
A group of Bird electric scooters sits parked in Hermiston in March.
merce, see the scooters as a
way to encourage car-free
exploration and help ease
summer congestion .
In Astoria, electric scoot-
ers — and any motorized
vehicles — are not allowed
on the Astoria Riverwalk.
If Bird were to bring scoot-
ers to the city, the company
would work with the city to
designate no-ride zones. A
scooter would automatically,
slowly come to halt if riders
tried to enter those areas.
Scooters are not allowed on
sidewalks.
Some cities have decided
not to proceed with Bird’s
scooters after the pilot pro-
gram . Hermiston is still
evaluating the program, with
75 scooters on its streets
for now. Bird has proposed
bringing the same number to
Astoria.
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pointstire.com/astoria
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