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THURSDAY
SEPT. 23
2021
ASTORIA’S
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149TH YEAR, NO. 37
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
$1.50
Portion of aging causeway at
East Mooring Basin collapses
No injuries were reported
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
A portion of the aging causeway at
the East Mooring Basin collapsed on
Tuesday afternoon, sending debris into
the water and knocking out power for
boats and navigation lights.
The Port of Astoria closed the cause-
way in 2018 because of a severely rot-
ting substructure. The span was used
by fi shermen and other boat owners to
access their vessels and was a popular
place to get close-up views of sea lions
that take over sections of the docks.
“We’ll probably know more in the
next couple of days, but right now, the
main thing is, obviously, it’s fortunate
that there were no people involved in
terms of injuries or casualties,” said
Will Isom, the Port’s executive director.
The collapse caused damage to a
breaker box, which took out power that
supplies boats and the navigation lights
on the breakwater.
Shelley von Colditz
See Causeway, Page A6
Part of the East Mooring Basin causeway collapsed into the water.
VACCINE MANDATE
Warrenton
mayor warns
fi refi ghters
will quit
Balensifer pens letter to Brown
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Katie Davidson, left, and Andria Zippler, both part of the housekeeping staff at the Campfi re Hotel in Bend, work on cleaning
a room together after a guest checked out in September.
Hotel workers pitch in to cover labor shortage
By SUZANNE ROIG
The Bulletin
END — The diff erence was obvious, even to the
casual observer: Summer tourism was far busier
this year than it was in 2020 — the fi rst year of the
pandemic.
But keeping up with demand during Oregon’s labor
shortage undermined businesses that hoped to rebound .
They had more customers to
serve, but far too few workers to
serve them.
At the Campfi re Hotel on
N.E. Third Street , even the hotel
manager was pitching in strip-
ping beds, said Daniel Elder, the
hotel’s general manager. Even
taking some of the 100 rooms
offl ine, everyone who worked
at the Bend hotel had to pitch in.
Overtime pay was off ered, but the hotel never was able
to get fully staff ed by the end of summer to make all
rooms available for rent.
“I knew what the challenges would be,” Elder said.
“It was diffi cult to get applicants. I’d call and email
the people who had applied, but often they would not
B
See Shortage, Page A6
For some restaurant
workers, the pandemic
was a catalyst for change
Workers changed careers during disruption
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
Hundreds of people who
worked in restaurants and
bars on the North Coast
were laid off when the coro-
navirus pandemic fi rst hit.
Many looked for other
service sector jobs or col-
lected extended unemploy-
ment benefi ts while waiting
to reenter the workforce .
But some, like Josie Lilly,
used the interruption as an
opportunity to change careers .
“After three months, I
was just like, ‘OK , it’s time
to do something diff erent.
I’m not gonna sit around and
wait to go back to this indus-
try,’” she said.
Last spring, Gallup
researchers
found
that
48% of U.S. workers were
actively job searching or
watching for opportunities.
Younger workers, in partic-
ular, are looking for change.
A Washington Post-Schar
School poll in July found that
1 in 3 workers under 40 con-
sidered changing their occu-
pations during the pandemic.
See Change, Page A6
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
The executive director for
a nonprofi t that serves Clatsop
County’s Hispanic community
is taking on a new role .
Jenny Pool Radway, hired in
2019 to lead Consejo Hispano,
announced she will become
the executive director at Causa
Oregon. At the larger organiza-
tion, she will be able to advo-
cate for immigrant commu-
nities at the state and national
levels , she said.
“I appreciate the board and
staff ’s confi dence in me,” Pool
Radway said in a statement,
“and I’m honored to have the
opportunity to lead Causa and
to continue serving mi comuni-
dad in this new capacity.
“I will be able to continue
in the work that is so import-
ant to me: building power
within the Latinx immigrant
community.”
The change in jobs comes
as some former Consejo His-
pano board members and peo-
ple in the Hispanic community
have expressed frustration with
the nonprofi t’s board and Pool
Radway. Four board members
See Firefi ghters, Page A2
Most school
staff in the
county are
vaccinated
State ordered vaccination
by mid-October
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
stepped down this year as a
result.
The group had requested
a mediator to work through
communication issues with the
board and also called for Pool
Radway’s removal.
T he Consejo Hispano board
is proceeding with a facilita-
tor to give people a chance
to express any concerns in a
confi dential manner, but they
stand behind Pool Radway,
said Rosa Gilbert, the board’s
president.
Most school staff in Clatsop County
are vaccinated against the coronavirus .
At a news conference Wednesday
morning, school district superintendents
gave updates on vaccination rates and the
precautions schools
are taking to reduce
the spread of the virus
MORE
as in-person classes
INSIDE
resumed in the new
County
school year .
reports
Gov. Kate Brown
26th virus
has required teachers
death • A2
and other school staff
to be vaccinated by
Oct. 18. The mandate
is intended to help keep schools open to
in-person classes and reduce the risk to
students under 12 who are not yet eligible
for COVID-19 vaccines.
Superintendent Craig Hoppes, of Asto-
ria, and Superintendent Susan Penrod,
See Director, Page A2
See School staff , Page A6
Consejo Hispano director takes on statewide role
New job comes
amid some criticism
over direction
WARRENTON — Mayor Henry Bal-
ensifer has warned Gov. Kate Brown
that he will be forced to declare an emer-
gency and ask for help from the Oregon
National Guard or other state resources if
the city’s fi refi ghters quit over the gover-
nor’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.
Most of the city’s fi refi ghters are
unvaccinated and a signifi cant por-
tion have indicated they will not get a
COVID-19 vaccine by Brown’s Oct. 18
deadline for health care workers, teachers
and other school staff .
In a letter to Brown on Friday, Balen-
sifer asked the governor for an exemp-
tion for volunteer fi refi ghters. The mayor
explained that the fi re department not
only protects lives and property from
fi res, but responds to emergency medical
service calls.
“While the delta variant rages on, and
hospitals see the worst thus far, there is a
demand to act — which you’ve taken,”
Balensifer wrote. “However, while this
insidious disease creates hospital capac-
ity issues and deaths — far more peo-
ple in our city, county and state die from
strokes, heart attacks and other causes
that require fast attention from EMS
providers.