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IN TOKELAND!
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021
148TH YEAR, NO. 154
$1.50
CORONAVIRUS
County under
caution after
virus cases
increase
County will remain
at lower risk
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County will remain at lower
risk for the coronavirus on Friday despite
a spate of virus cases .
While the county meets the criteria
for moving into high risk, the state has
granted a caution period .
The county has been at lower risk
since early June.
Gov. Kate Brown said that because
Oregon is close to reaching its goal of
administering at least one dose of vac-
cine to 70% of adults, this is the last
week risk-level movements will be
announced.
Nearly 63% of people 16 and older
in Clatsop County have received at least
one dose of vaccine, according to the
Oregon Health Authority.
“Fewer than 45,000 more Oregonians
need to receive a fi rst dose to achieve a
70% statewide adult vaccination rate,”
Brown said in a statement Tuesday.
“Vaccines are the best way for Orego-
nians to protect themselves, their fami-
lies and communities against COVID-
19. It’s because so many Oregonians
have stepped up to get vaccinated that
we will soon be able to lift health and
safety restrictions. Get your shot today,
and you may just win $1 million through
the Take Your Shot, Oregon campaign.”
Mark Kujala, the chairman of the
county Board of Commissioners, urged
people to get vaccinated.
See Caution, Page A6
Knappa
health
curriculum
suspended
Some parents pressure the
school board for review
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
A state middle school health and sex
education curriculum used in the Knappa
School District is on hold again.
In a 3-2 vote, the school board opted
Monday to suspend the use of the curricu-
lum pending a review in the fall.
A curriculum committee, assembled by
Superintendent Bill Fritz, had reviewed the
curriculum earlier this month at the request
of the newly-formed Knappa Parents Orga-
nization. The committee briefl y suspended
the program, only to reinstate it last week.
The school board’s reversal of the com-
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Tanner Delay, 7, races Jordan Poyer, a safety with the Buff alo Bills, across CMH Field on Monday night. Poyer, an Astoria High
School graduate, showed his warmup with the help of some of the kids, signed autographs, took pictures and talked about his
journey from Astoria to the NFL.
Poyer returns to Astoria with a message
‘It’s OK to ask for help’
and he realizes that he had people here
looking out for him when he was grow-
ing up.”
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
aking his fi rst visit to Astoria in
two years, Jordan Poyer spent
the weekend with family, play-
ing some golf, signing autographs and
also going through a one-hour workout,
just to show fans his daily routine and a
little what it’s like to be an NFL safety.
To highlight his stay, Poyer made a
special one-night-only appearance in
front of his hometown fans, with free
admission Monday night at CMH Field.
After the workout and autograph
session, Poyer’s message to his fans,
young and old, was a little about foot-
ball, a lot about life.
“This turnout was more than I
expected,” he told the gathering. “This
is the community that embraced me,
and the community where I was out
here running in the streets since I was
5 years old.”
And the funds raised through a golf
tournament and autograph session: “We
sold a jersey yesterday for $10,000.
This is absolutely crazy.”
And, Poyer immediately brought
forth his message for the night: “It’s
OK to ask for help.”
Last spring, Poyer revealed past
struggles with alcohol addiction, but
announced in March that he was one
year sober.
“A lot of you may or may not know
my story, going through what I did,” he
said. “Alcohol had the best of me. I was
going through a lot, no excuse at all.
I’m proud I got out of it, and I’ve been
sober for a year-and-a-half now.
M
An alternative to camp
Beckam Beresh sits on Jordan Poyer’s
shoulders while taking a photo with his
baseball team.
“I really changed my life with sup-
port of my wife and my beautiful
daughter. And it’s always a blessing to
come back to where I’m from.”
His coach and athletic director at
Astoria High School, Howard Rub,
said, “He has a message for people of
all ages that it’s OK to ask for help. As
simple as it is, it’s an important mes-
sage. And we’re excited that he’s using
Astoria and our venue to help talk about
it.
“That’s just who he is. He under-
stands the importance of giving back,
Poyer hosted a golf tournament
Sunday at the Astoria Golf & Coun-
try Club, where dozens signed up and
raised money and raffl ed off items for
Astoria High School in the process.
With the uncertainty of the corona-
virus pandemic , Poyer’s annual one-
day summer camp at CMH Field for
local youth was canceled for the second
straight year, which sparked the idea of
a golf tournament and autograph ses-
sion and workout.
“Since I wasn’t having a camp, it
was nice just having everybody come
out and see what I’ve been doing every
year since high school,” Poyer said.
“Let them see the drills I go through
on a daily basis, the work I put in …
with everything going on in this world,
I just wanted to bring the community
together.”
The average length of a career for
players in the National Football League
is just 3.3 years.
Poyer — a seventh-round draft
choice in 2013 — is about to triple
that number. Buff alo’s starting safety
is entering his fi fth year with the Bills,
and 2021 will mark his ninth overall
season in the NFL.
He turned 30 in April, but hasn’t
considered when he might retire. In
fact, Poyer says the best may be yet to
come.
See Poyer, Page A6
See Sex ed, Page A2
Port to host cruise ship this summer
An agreement
valued at $350,000
By EMILY LINDBLOM
The Astorian
Danny Lehman
The Pride of America cruise ship will dock at the Port of Astoria starting July 1.
The Pride of America is plan-
ning to spend the summer in
Astoria.
The Port of Astoria announced
it has signed an agreement with
Norwegian Cruise Line to host the
vessel for 69 days, from July to
September.
Will Isom, the Port’s executive
director , said it’s a fairly signifi -
cant deal for the Port.
“In rough fi nancial terms it’s
$4,000 per day in dockage plus
another approximately $900 in
security fees, so all told gross
it’s right around $350,000 in
revenue to the Port to host them,”
he said.
Isom added the timing is for-
tunate. Depending on what hap-
pens with the late summer and fall
cruise ship season, the Port is not
scheduled to host any other vessels
until later in September, at which
point the Pride of America would
be gone.
Norwegian Cruise Line origi-
nally sent the vessel berth request
to the Port in May.
The Pride of America is much
larger than the Regatta, the cruise
ship that docked in Astoria from
October to April as cruises were
on hold because of the coronavi-
rus pandemic. While the Regatta
is about 600 feet long, the Pride of
America is 920 feet.
See Port, Page A6