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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2021
Field: The school district Astoria schools: ‘We’ve
done what we can’
has several options
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
broke down temporary out-
fi eld fences for practice and
competition — fences which
often fell during games . The
softball coach and softball
athletes reported having to
roll temporary, heavy foul
poles out, and described the
wheels “not working well.”
While the baseball teams
practiced during softball
games, softball teams were
prohibited from practicing
during baseball games.
In addition to Broad-
way Field, the junior var-
sity softball team used
Wahanna Field, but only
sparingly because of its poor
condition.
“The infi eld dirt was hard
and uneven, with no mark-
ings for a pitching mound,
foul lines, batter’s box, or
other markings of any kind,
and the grass outfi eld was
muddy and uneven,” accord-
ing to a letter from the Offi ce
for Civil Rights.
The Offi ce for Civil
Rights concluded that
the softball fi eld, as com-
pared to the baseball fi eld,
“may result in the denial of
equal opportunity to female
athletes.”
In making their decision,
Astoria School District lead-
ers pointed to the fact that
vaccines against the virus
have been available to adults
and older children for months
now, and that there are fewer
cases and lower instances of
spread of the virus among
younger children.
Superintendent
Craig
Hoppes told the school board
he preferred an option that
recommended masking but
did not require it.
“I’ve felt like for the past
year and a half we’ve been
telling parents what they have
to do and not given them any
options,” he said.
Jeanette Sampson, a
school board member, was
fi rm in her belief that masks
needed to be a choice. The
pandemic has gone on for
more than a year and the dis-
trict has taken a number of
measures to inform parents
and make things as safe as
possible, she said.
“We’ve done what we
can,” she said.
Board member Jenna
Rickenbach agreed. She clar-
ifi ed that she is not against
vaccination, but every fam-
ily is diff erent and some peo-
ple may not be able, medi-
cally, to receive a vaccine.
In the meantime, she wor-
ried about how masks might
hamper learning for younger
children.
“I feel like parents are
being vigilant and we can put
mask ownership on parents
and not the fi ve of us,” she
said, referring to the school
board. “We need parents to
take ownership.”
Board members Grace
Laman and Heidi Winter-
mute were against the deci-
sion, noting that health
experts continue to recom-
mend wearing masks . Laman
was also concerned about stu-
dents who might be immuno-
compromised but who would
benefi t from a return to
in-person school. These stu-
dents may have to stay home
if masking protocols are not
in place, she said.
The school district plans
to continue off ering an online
school option.
In a statement, Melissa
Grothe, a fourth grade teacher
and president of the Astoria
Education Association, the
teachers union, said in a state-
ment to The Astorian that she
hoped as many people as pos-
sible received vaccinations.
“And that those that are
unable, or choose not to vac-
cinate, will practice other
safety measures in order to
protect the health and safety
of all our staff and students,”
she said.
The Jewell and Knappa
school districts are in the pro-
cess of fi nalizing their return-
to-school protocols. Jewell
School will have masks avail-
able for students on campus,
but masks will not be required
except on school buses.
The Warrenton-Hammond
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The turf in the pitcher’s circle is poorly patched and uneven.
During the investigation,
the school district expressed
interest in resolving the
complaint . “OCR agreed
that the complaint is appro-
priate to resolve prior to the
conclusion of the investiga-
tion,” the letter said.
Several options
The school district has
several options, Anderson
said, from tearing down
the boys’ fi eld, modifying
it with a portable mound
or building another soft-
ball fi eld. His preference, he
said, is “right here, right here
on the boys’ baseball fi eld.”
If the school district
moves the girls’ fi eld off
Broadway Field, then they
increase the distance for
girls to the new batting prac-
tice facility. “And now the
boys would have the advan-
tage, short access, to where
the girls would have to
travel ,” Anderson said.
The park district, which
maintains Broadway Field,
is aware of the agreement,
executive director Skyler
Archibald said.
“We have had ongo-
ing and productive conver-
sations with the city and
school district regarding
this,” he said. “We will con-
tinue to work with them to
determine the best way to
move forward and I am opti-
mistic for a great outcome
for our community and ath-
letes that use the Broadway
Field.”
Masks: Hospitalizations spike
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The health authority on
Wednesday reported 804
new virus cases in Oregon,
including eight in Clatsop
County. On Tuesday, the
state reported 1,032 new
virus cases, including 13 in
Clatsop County.
“Today’s reported sharp
rise in cases and hospitaliza-
tions in Oregon are sober-
ing reminders that the pan-
demic is not over, especially
for Oregonians who remain
unvaccinated,” Dr. Dean
Sidelinger, the state’s epide-
miologist and health offi cer,
said in a statement Tuesday.
Most of the new virus
cases in Oregon and across
the country involve peo-
ple who are unvaccinated.
But the CDC also cited data
that showed the potential for
the delta variant to spread
among people who have
received vaccines.
“We know that the CDC
is recommending indoor
masking again. We would
encourage people to follow
that, and then again, vacci-
nations are your best option
for avoiding the virus at all,”
Tom Bennett, a spokesman
for Clatsop County, said.
Asked about the recent
rise of virus cases in the
county, Bennett said “the
large majority are unvacci-
nated. We’re seeing more
people out without masks,
congregated without masks.
It’s concerning, but it’s really
not all that surprising.”
Oregon lifted most gov-
ernment restrictions to con-
tain the virus at the end
of June, as the state, and
nation, appeared to have
reached a milestone in the
pandemic. Public health
experts expected a rise of
new cases after the restric-
tions were lifted and life
returned closer to normal,
but the delta variant, and a
slower pace of vaccinations,
have disrupted the recovery.
In pockets of Oregon,
particularly in counties with
lower vaccination rates,
new virus cases are placing
a strain on hospitals.
More than half of all
patients hospitalized at CHI
St. Anthony Hospital in
Pendleton as of Tuesday had
tested positive for COVID-
19, according to a hospital
spokeswoman.
The
hospitalizations
come as Umatilla County
reported one of the larg-
est surges of virus cases
in Oregon — about 8% of
the state’s total cases over
the past two weeks despite
accounting for just 2% of
its population. The coun-
ty’s case rate during that
time period was more than
seven times higher than
Multnomah and Washing-
ton counties in the Portland
metro area.
Hospitalizations state-
wide spiked to the highest
totals since April on Tues-
day with 259, up 52 since
Monday, according to the
state.
Local hospitals will
sometimes refer critically
ill patients to other facilities
for a higher level of care.
But regional hospitals have
been unable to accept trans-
fers because they are full
with patients, Emily Smith,
the CHI St. Anthony Hospi-
tal spokeswoman, said in an
email.
For one patient in need of
a transfer, health care work-
ers reached out to 15 diff er-
ent hospitals before fi nding
one with an available bed,
Smith said.
On Monday, the emer-
gency department’s phy-
sician director reported
a threefold increase in
patients testing positive in
the department over the
past fi ve days, Smith said.
On Friday and Saturday
alone, approximately 40%
of patients who came to the
hospital with COVID-19
symptoms tested positive.
None had been vaccinated
against the virus.
Health offi cials say the
surge in Umatilla County
is largely due to social
gatherings and large sum-
mer events that have
ensued since the state lifted
restrictions.
Umatilla County has
one of the lowest vaccina-
tion rates in Oregon, with
fewer than 40% of residents
fully vaccinated, accord-
ing to the CDC. The county
reported 112 new virus
cases on Tuesday, a total
that included cases from
Saturday through Mon-
day, according to county
offi cials.
Gary Warner of the Ore-
gon Capital Bureau contrib-
uted to this report.
Brewery: ‘We’re excited to branch off and do our own thing’
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the accurate term for the col-
umn, the name is still a call to
place to honor the community
and its history.
Obelisk Beer is planned
to be a small taproom on
Bond Street , the building
that housed the Blitz-Wein-
hard Brewing Co. distribu-
tion warehouse in the 1940s
and then three family gener-
ations of Columbia Fruit and
Produce.
The relatively small-scale
brewery will produce 10 bar-
rels each time it brews, result-
ing in 310 gallons.
Coyne said Obelisk will
likely host a food option as
well, though he’s not yet sure
what that will look like.
“We hope to have a com-
fortable and eclectic gath-
ering space inside,” Coyne
said.
Lampson said he and
Coyne are passionate about
volunteerism and raising
funds for local nonprofi ts.
“We hope to use this space
Obelisk Beer Co.
Obelisk Beer Co. is planned for the Bond Street building
that housed the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co. distribution
warehouse in the 1940s.
to benefi t the community,”
Lampson said. “That’s a core
tenant to craft breweries and
we’re excited to become an
asset to the community.”
The Obelisk project
paused during the start of the
coronavirus pandemic but
has picked up since. Lamp-
son and Coyne tentatively
plan to open in 2022, depend-
ing on the schedule with per-
mits and construction.
“Where we’re at is we’ve
worked on fi nancing and
we’ve signed a lease for the
building and submitted per-
mit applications for the city in
order to begin the buildout,”
Lampson said. “From here
moving forward we would
start construction when we’re
able to complete all neces-
sary permitting.”
After working together
closely at Fort George Brew-
ery, the two decided to start
their own venture.
Lampson was at Fort
George for about six years,
most recently as the market-
ing and sales director . After
Coyne got a degree in illus-
tration, he wanted to get a
job in something he cared
about while also doing free-
lance artwork. He’d been
homebrewing for years and
was interested in getting into
the brewery industry, so he
joined Fort George in 2013.
He’s worked in several
areas at Fort George over the
years, from the brewery side
to packaging, selling and run-
ning a barrel program with a
small, test-batch system. He
said he got plenty of creative
freedom while doing research
and development, and still
works for Fort George as bar-
rel manager, R&D brewer
and illustrator .
“It was great working with
Nathan on those projects,”
Coyne said. “Now we’re
excited to branch off and do
our own thing.”
At Fort George, they
worked with nonprofi ts and
farmers directly and want to
carry on that tradition.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
A divided Astoria school board voted to give families the choice
on masks when school begins in the fall.
School District is waiting on
the results of a survey sent out
to families that asks for feed-
back on masking and social
distancing options.
Students and staff will
likely still need to follow
some pandemic protocols.
Frequent hand-washing and
wellness checks are easy to
implement and don’t dis-
rupt the daily schedules at
school buildings, Superinten-
dent Tom Rogozinski wrote
in a letter to the community.
Masks and social distancing
are trickier, he said.
It’s often a political dis-
cussion, Rickenbach said
Monday.
Implied in all of the dif-
ferent district discussions and
usually stated in their pre-
liminary plans is the under-
standing that everything
could change by the time the
school year actually begins in
September.
As Astoria’s district lead-
ers noted Monday: They have
local control over decisions
like masking — for now.
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