149TH YEAR, NO. 101
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
On the North Coast, the closure of
Sprouts Learning Center marks
another setback for child care
Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce
Skip Hauke won the George Award, Astoria’s
citizen-of-the-year honor, two times.
Hauke
remembered as
a civic leader
From a family market to
the chamber of commerce
Clatsop County has lost over half of its licensed
child care capacity over the past five years
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
Skip Hauke, who helped sustain his family’s
market as an Astoria staple and was influential
in promoting economic growth, cultural events
and tourism on the North Coast, died on Thurs-
day. He was 78.
Hauke’s Sentry Market was in business for
over 100 years in two locations before the gro-
cery off of Lief Erikson Drive in Uppertown
was sold to Safeway in 2002.
Hauke served as the executive director of
the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Com-
merce for 13 years before stepping down in
2018.
He co-founded Clatsop Economic Devel-
opment Resources and was the energy behind
community projects like the Astoria Aquatic
Center and the Astoria Riverfront Trolley.
His commitment as a volunteer, most nota-
bly with the Astoria Regatta and the Astoria
Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, was exten-
sive. He won the George Award, Astoria’s citi-
zen-of-the-year honor, in 1982 and 2002. The
only other two-time winner is former Astoria
Mayor Willis Van Dusen, a friend of Hauke’s.
While Hauke’s role as a civic leader was piv-
otal, friends and colleagues point to his person-
ality and character first. His bright smile and
wacky costumes enlivened community events,
and his friendly nature, selflessness and love for
his family were clear to those who knew him.
“He was such a loving, kind and gentle
person,” Sara Hauke, his wife, said. “We had
a wonderful life together. We will miss him
terribly.”
A family market
Immigrating from Norway, Hauke’s grand-
father, Erik, arrived in Astoria in 1892. After
saving up for several years, he opened a market
along with a partner.
$1.50
S
arah Humphrey and her hus-
band, Parke, said they were
impressed by Sprouts Learn-
ing Center since enrolling their
3-year-old son. They enjoyed
getting updates about him
throughout the day. He would
often come home showing great
progress with his language skills.
On Wednesday afternoon,
Humphrey was among several
parents who tuned in virtually
to an Astoria City Council work
session and watched as the coun-
cil unanimously voted to transi-
tion out of providing day care by
the end of June.
Over the past several months,
families started to worry as it
became increasingly clear that
Sprouts — run by the city’s
Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment at the Astoria Recreation
Center — was having issues
with staffing and operational
costs. The city said that it loses
around $17,000 a month from
the day care, money that comes
at the expense of other commu-
nity activities.
As recently as December, the
parks department had said there
were no plans to end child care.
In the following weeks, city staff
tried to keep parents in the loop,
said Jonah Dart-McLean, the
city’s parks director.
“That was the effort of our
staff team, myself, to present to
City Council at their work ses-
sion to just give them the trans-
parent picture of the decisions
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
TOP: A child at Sprouts Learning Center in Astoria plays with a toy. ABOVE:
Children at Sprouts Learning Center look at a betta fish named ‘Drax.’
that are possible. And then from
there, that was the City Coun-
cil’s complete deliberation pro-
cess unfolding,” he said. “We
were being informed at the same
time as everybody else.”
Humphrey said she thought
the parks department presented
good options during the work
session to address the financial
challenges. She wasn’t expect-
ing every vote to favor closing
Sprouts.
“As the City Council meet-
ing was happening and I kept
hearing these votes, I was pretty
shocked,” she said. “And so I
started calling day cares.”
She said she was able to land
the last open spot at a local pre-
school and her son will be start-
ing there soon.
Humphrey, who is pregnant
and due to give birth in April,
had been planning to enroll her
baby at Sprouts. It was one of
the few options for infants on the
North Coast.
“We have no idea what
we’ll do for the baby when she
comes,” she said.
‘It’s been happening’
The closure of Sprouts Learn-
ing Center is the latest in a series
of setbacks for child care on the
North Coast.
Since 2017, Clatsop County
has lost over half of its licensed
child care capacity — more than
1,000 slots at licensed care cen-
ters, care homes and family
homes. Over those five years,
the county went from having
around 22 certified child care
centers to 10.
See Child care, Page A6
See Hauke, Page A2
Sibony is Seaside’s sharp-shooting guard
The youngest in a
competitive family
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
EASIDE — Ever Sibony,
a Seaside High School
senior, is a standout in aca-
demics and athletics.
Ever, short for Everest, is
the third and last of the Sibony
brothers. The sons of Salomon
and Cecilia Sibony are famil-
iar to fans of Seaside sports,
year-round.
S
Rafael, Samson and Ever-
est Sibony have taken part in
everything from cross-coun-
try, football and soccer in the
fall, to golf and track in the
spring. It’s basketball only in
the winter.
As you might imagine, the
Sibony house has its fair share
of medals, trophies and letters
received for competing.
In fact, Rafi, from the Class
of 2018, is said to be the only
athlete in Seaside school his-
tory to letter in four sports —
cross-country, soccer, basket-
ball and track — all four years.
The second oldest, Samson,
was a standout golfer, and now
it’s Ever who is carrying the
torch and holding out hopes
for one more state champi-
onship medal for the Sibony
family.
In addition to being a pos-
sible future Ivy Leaguer, Ever
— one of the most accurate
long-range shooters in league
history — is a strong candidate
for Cowapa League boys bas-
ketball Player of the Year this
season. The Gulls likely have
one more home game appear-
ance before they head south
to Marshfield, with hopes of
competing in this year’s 4A
state basketball tournament.
After a first round exit in
2019-20, Sibony is up front
and honest about Seaside’s
expectations, the final year
for several key seniors on the
team.
“Our goal is not just win-
ning league,” he said, “we’re
definitely trying to go for state
this year.”
Setback
A day before being inter-
viewed, Sibony and the Gulls
suffered their first league loss
of the season, a 47-32 setback
at Banks. “Suffered” is the key
word whenever the Gulls and
Braves get together.
Justin Grafton
See Sibony, Page A6
Seaside High School senior Everest ‘Ever’ Sibony.