149TH YEAR, NO. 85
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022
$1.50
Officials
appoint
Johnson’s
replacement
Armitage does not plan
to run for state Senate
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Rachel Armitage, a Warren resident
who chairs the Democratic Party of Ore-
gon’s Womxn’s Caucus, is the new state
senator for Senate District 16.
County commissioners from within
the district appointed Armitage on Fri-
day morning from a group of three final-
ists during a virtual meeting held at the
Columbia County Courthouse.
Armitage will finish
the term of former state
Sen. Betsy Johnson, the
prominent and influen-
tial Scappoose Demo-
crat who announced her
independent gubernato-
rial run in October and
Rachel
resigned from the Senate
Armitage
in December to focus on
her campaign. The term
runs through 2022.
The district covers all of Clatsop and
Columbia counties and parts of Tilla-
mook, Washington, Multnomah and
Yamhill counties.
In an interview, Armitage — who
received 87.6% of the weighted vote —
said she felt “very excited, deeply hon-
ored.”Melissa Busch, another Warren
resident and a home health nurse with
Providence Health & Services, and Nadia
Gardner, an environmental consultant
See Armitage, Page A6
County
declares
emergency
over flooding
A response to storms that
hit the region last week
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
The Clatsop County Board of Com-
missioners has declared an emergency
over storm-related flooding in the hope
of getting resources from the state to help
recover.
The amount needed to pay for the
damage caused by the wet weather, which
occurred from Jan. 3 through Jan. 6, has
exceeded $144,082, the county’s thresh-
old for declaring a disaster, according to
Tiffany Brown, the county’s emergency
management director.
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Signs with COVID-19 protocols are posted at Astoria High School.
As virus cases soar, Astoria schools
committed to in-person learning
School district hosted
virtual meeting for parents
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
A
storia Superintendent Craig
Hoppes stressed to parents on
Thursday night that despite a
rise in coronavirus cases among stu-
dents and staff, the school district is
dedicated to maintaining in-person
learning.
Hoppes, who was accompanied
by Margo Lalich, Clatsop County’s
interim public health director, and
Lisa McClean, the county’s immu-
nization coordinator, hosted a virtual
meeting for parents due to confusion
around shifting virus protocols.
After a short presentation, Hoppes
gave parents an opportunity to ask
questions. Over 100 parents tuned
in at the peak of the discussion. A
similar meeting was held for Span-
ish-speaking families shortly after.
The school district has followed
the Oregon Health Authority’s guid-
ance from the start of the pandemic,
Hoppes said. Many of the restrictions
have changed over the last 20 months,
including the isolation period being
reduced from 10 days to five.
Throughout the meeting, an
emphasis was placed on the school
district doing what it can to avoid a
complete return to remote learning.
“I can tell you that myself, I can
tell you – I would guess 99.9% of
the staff in the district – as well as
the school board, are dedicated to
in-person instruction,” Hoppes said.
“We’re going to do everything we
can to stay in person. We’re tak-
ing steps necessary to be able to do
that.
State reports
dozens of new
virus cases
for county
The Astorian
The Oregon Health Author-
ity has reported dozens of new
virus cases for Clatsop County
over the past few days.
The state reported 40 new
virus cases for the county on
Friday, 97 new cases Thurs-
day and 45 new cases on
Wednesday.
Since the pandemic began,
the county had recorded
3,380 virus cases and 37
deaths as of Friday.
“What it comes down to as a dis-
trict, to be upfront and honest, is we
need kids to stay home if they have
symptoms and we need staff to stay
home if they have symptoms.”
Virus cases surge
New virus cases, linked to the
omicron variant, have surged across
Oregon. Virus case numbers have
jumped in schools in Clatsop County
since students returned to classes
after the holidays.
On an online dashboard, the Asto-
ria School District has posted 19 pos-
itive or presumptive virus cases – 16
students and three staff – and 10 peo-
ple in quarantine across all schools
within the past week. The school dis-
trict has recorded 63 virus cases this
school year as of early Friday.
Last week, the Jewell School
District sent home all kindergar-
ten-through-third grade students due
to three positive virus cases.
The Oregon Health Authority, in
a weekly outbreak report that docu-
ments virus cases through late Sun-
day, disclosed six new virus cases at
schools in the county.
All six cases were students. Two
cases were from the Astoria School
District, with one from Lewis and
Clark Elementary School and one
from Astoria High School.
One case was from Warrenton
Grade School.
The final three cases were from
the Seaside School District, with two
from Seaside Middle School and one
from Seaside High School.
One of the biggest struggles with
the surge in new virus cases, Hoppes
said, is having to find fill-ins for staff
who have to isolate or quarantine.
A number of schools in Oregon
have turned to remote learning, many
due to the inability to find enough
healthy staff.
“Our school districts in Clatsop
County are doing very well relative
to many, many districts,” Lalich said.
“I’m commending all the staff, the
superintendents and all of you who
pay attention to the guidance and do
the best you can with your kids.”
While the county’s school super-
intendents had expressed confidence
this school year that the virus had not
spread on school grounds, and expo-
sures had mostly come from home
and off-campus events, Hoppes took
a different tone on Thursday.
See Schools, Page A6
See Flooding, Page A6
Appeals court sides with Cannon Beach in beach house dispute
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A Cannon Beach couple is in a legal fight to build a beach house.
CANNON BEACH — The
Oregon Court of Appeals has
upheld the city’s decision to
deny a couple a building permit
for a beach house.
Stanley and Rebecca Roberts
submitted an application to con-
struct a 2,712-square-foot ocean-
front home on a steep hillside
off of Hemlock Street. The pro-
posal, however, did not advance
because it did not meet the city’s
oceanfront setback standard.
After several appeals with
the city, the Roberts appealed
to the state Land Use Board of
Appeals, which sided with Can-
non Beach. Then the Roberts
sought judicial review from
the Court of Appeals which, in
December, upheld the state’s and
city’s decision.
The location of the Roberts’
5,394-square-foot property puts
it under an oceanfront manage-
ment overlay, which requires the
application to comply with the
city’s oceanfront setback rule.
The rule requires that new devel-
opment be set away from the
shore and outlines how to calcu-
late that distance.
If the setback standard was
applied, it would significantly
reduce the possible footprint for
any building on the property.
The couple argued that there
is ambiguity in the city’s ordi-
nance, which can lead to differ-
ent interpretations. They also
argued that state law prohibits
Cannon Beach from applying the
standard because it has the effect
of reducing the density of their
proposed home by reducing the
floor area.
In the ruling, the appeals
court rejected the Roberts’ first
argument, concluding that they
“rely on potential ambiguity
in various terms when they are
considered without reference to
their context and the purpose of
the ordinance.”
As far as the state rule deal-
ing with housing density, the
See Dispute, Page A6