149TH YEAR, NO. 45
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021
$1.50
Hotelier
prevails
in permit
dispute
State sides with developer
of new riverfront hotel
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter prepares to take off at the Astoria Regional Airport.
Port wraps up
infrastructure
projects at airport
Agency looking at more development
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
ARRENTON — After
completing two signifi -
cant infrastructure proj-
ects at the Astoria Regional Airport,
the Port of Astoria is eyeing more
development.
The renovations included reha-
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bilitation of the airport’s ramp and
replacement of the wastewater sys-
tem. A new fi shmeal processing plant
has also broken ground at the Airport
Industrial Park.
“As far as how the projects are
going, I’m really pleased with the
(wastewater) project, and the (ramp)
project — phase two — I really don’t
know how that could have gone
much better. It was just smooth sail-
ing from the beginning through,”
said Matt McGrath, the Port’s dep-
uty director, who oversaw the proj-
ects. “There were a few little hiccups,
but something just very, very minor.
The (wastewater) project, there were
some hiccups, just because of cir-
cumstances beyond everybody’s con-
trol with COVID.”
Both renovation projects, McGrath
said, were necessary due to aging
infrastructure at the airport that dates
back to World War II.
Columbia Pacifi c Construction,
of Woodland, Washington, replaced
over 5 acres of the airport’s ramp,
which had a poor substructure, caus-
ing the concrete to degrade over time.
“You have these panels that are
20 (foot) by 20 (foot), and they were
actually starting to rock under the
weight of some of the heavier air-
crafts,” he said.
See Port, Page A3
A new fi shmeal processing plant has broken ground at the Astoria Regional Airport.
A controversial hotel project on the
riverfront may be back on track follow-
ing a ruling by the state Land Use Board
of Appeals.
In an opinion in late September, the
appeals board reversed a decision by the
Astoria City Council to deny Hollander
Hospitality’s request for a one-year
extension on building permits for a Fair-
fi eld Inn and Suites. The state has ordered
the city to grant the request.
The appeals board argued that city
leaders imposed requirements that are
inconsistent with or not spelled out in the
city’s code in order to deny Hollander’s
request. The state determined the city’s
decision “was outside the range of discre-
tion allowed it under its code.”
Astoria is investigating an appeal, City
Attorney Blair Henningsgaard said .
See Hotelier, Page A3
Pandemic
knocked
students
off track
Astoria, Seaside saw dip
among ninth graders
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
Rates for on-track graduation among
ninth graders in Astoria and Seaside sig-
nifi cantly declined during last school
year’s pandemic disruptions .
T he Oregon Department of Educa-
tion released school district profi les
for the 2020-21 school year that docu-
ment student success at schools across
the state. The data showed that 57%
of ninth grade students in the Astoria
School District were on track to grad-
uate. The Seaside School District’s fi g-
ure was 36% .
In order for students to be on-track to
graduate, they must have completed at
least one-quarter of graduation require-
ments during their freshman year, includ-
ing summer school.
See Students, Page A3
Former teacher fi nds passion for art
Baker has an
impressionistic style
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
hen Vicki Baker refl ects
back on her teaching career,
her face lights up with a smile.
Although it took several years
of teaching in the M idwest to dis-
cover if the profession was right
for her, she eventually found a
home in Astoria in 1978 when she
was hired to teach a small kinder-
garten class in Olney.
“I had fi ve wonderful students,”
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she said. “I remember packing
them in my little Volkswagen b ug,
getting them all strapped in to see
the Astoria Column because they
had never seen the Column.”
Any remaining skepticism was
out the window, as Baker found a
unique appreciation for the enthu-
siasm of kindergartners.
“We could sing songs. I could
read books to them. T hey were
happy to be there,” she said.
She soon took over fi rst and
second grade in Olney, which
she taught until her retirement in
1999.
Although
Baker
initially
missed teaching and the enjoy-
ment of working with kids, she
has since found a new passion to
occupy her time: art.
While she had taken art classes ,
it was a printmaking class with
Royal Nebeker, a renowned artist
in Astoria, that helped drive her
appreciation of printmaking and
art in general.
During the class with Nebeker,
he had everyone pick a few pieces
of their work to display. The feel-
ing of showing off her art was
something that stuck with Baker.
“I didn’t sell anything, but
when you get your work framed,
it just makes it more precious …
it was just mainly that satisfaction
See Baker, Page A3
Artist Vicki Baker was a longtime teacher in Olney.