A6
THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, FEbRuARy 22, 2022
Child care: ‘One of us honestly might have to quit our job’
sop County.”
Gaffney, a retired Sea-
side educator and an advo-
cate for early learning, said
shared services are a poten-
tial option. The county is
also trying to improve the
local information network
to let families know about
openings.
“We’re trying to figure out
the best way to move forward
to help sustain and hopefully
increase the number of child
care providers,” he said. “It’s
a slow process, but I think it’s
a process that is necessary to
be thorough and we’re hop-
ing that we can move for-
ward in a significant way.”
Continued from Page A1
Part of the drop can be
attributed to a shift away
from licensed care, accord-
ing to Eva Manderson, the
regional director of North-
west Regional Child Care
Resource and Referral,
which provided the data. The
numbers are not exact given
that some places, like school
districts and churches, con-
tinue to operate without
needing a license.
Manderson said the count
still demonstrates a steep
downward trend, though.
The majority of the decline
came before the coronavirus
pandemic.
“COVID has shone a light
on it for us and now every-
thing feels really big. But
it’s not that that’s new. It’s
been happening,” Mander-
son said.
The lack of child care
options can limit the poten-
tial for job growth, creating
obstacles for parents across
income ranges.
The Humphreys, for
example, both work at
Columbia Memorial Hospi-
tal in Astoria, where Sarah
is a physician and Parke is
a physical therapist. Sev-
eral other families with chil-
dren at Sprouts also work in
health care.
Humphrey said that in her
clinic, child care issues have
made it tough to hire and
retain staff.
“It really trickles down
to the entire community and
then you think about: OK,
well now we have this aging
population but no one to pro-
vide them with medical care
because you don’t have the
younger workforce able to
work,” she said.
Humphrey said she felt
the City Council did not
exhaust all options, such as
raising prices on an income-
based scale. She said she
would have been willing to
pay more.
“I feel really grateful that
we have a lot more flexibil-
ity than a lot of other fami-
lies,” she said. “So, we’re not
in as dire straits. But I really
feel for some other families
that are going to be in a much
worse space because of it.”
While the Sprouts clo-
sure will impact 21 families,
Manderson said she thinks it
was the right choice for the
‘It’s a really
big deal for us’
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Madi Devine, a lead child care professional at Sprouts Learning Center, passes chalk out to a class.
city in the long term.
“We’re going to figure
out how to help those fami-
lies and help their staff,” she
said, adding that she is work-
ing to see if Sprouts’ staff can
be placed in other child care
programs, which could allow
the programs to add slots.
“It’s a huge loss to the
community and a very diffi-
cult decision. And I think a
decision made for the right
reasons for the community,”
Manderson said.
‘Highlights the urgency’
An Oregon State Univer-
sity report in 2019 described
Clatsop County and others
across the state as child care
deserts.
The problem intensified
in the months before the pan-
demic, when Shooting Stars
Child Development Center,
one of the county’s larger
providers, downsized.
The county formed a task
force to look at potential
solutions, but little progress
has been made as child care
slots continued to dwindle
over the past few years.
Mark Kujala, the chair-
man of the county Board
of Commissioners, said the
county’s child care work
group will discuss avail-
able options at a meeting on
March 1.
“I think now, with Lil’
Sprouts closing, I think it just
highlights the urgency to do
something. And we’ve got a
number of resources in the
community,” Kujala said.
He said several child care
services have the potential
to expand, including Sun-
set Empire Park and Rec-
reation District in Seaside,
various school districts and
Warrenton Prep Preschool.
He said businesses, too,
have expressed an interest in
helping.
Kujala said the county
hopes to identify cost-shar-
ing methods. One option is
the one-third model, with
funding split three ways
between government, busi-
nesses and families.
Another challenge is find-
ing ways to improve the pay
and training for child care
workers.
“We knew that, Lil’
Sprouts, this was something
they were considering for a
long time. But it doesn’t take
the sting out of it because
it’s been a big support to so
many families in Astoria and
beyond. And certainly that
loss is going to be felt when
they close,” Kujala said.
Colleen Larson, who
has a 4-year-old son and
14-month-old daughter, was
one of over 100 families on
the waitlist for Sprouts. She
said she already wasn’t hope-
ful about getting a spot, hav-
ing watched the funding situ-
ation decline.
She recently found out
that her daughter’s day care
in Warrenton will be closing
its infant room after deter-
mining it was not profitable.
“I know lots of people
that are having kids com-
ing up that had their kids at
these places and they have
nowhere to go and noth-
ing to show for it,” she said.
“So people are quitting jobs,
obviously, and I don’t have
that option. I need to work.”
Larson said that she and
her husband spend around
$1,850 a month on child care
for her two children.
“It’s like a Catch-22 for
us because we’re straight
middle class, but we don’t
make enough on one income
to stay home and support
our family. So I have to pay
ungodly prices for day care
to sustain what we’ve got,”
she said.
Her daughter is on the
waitlist at Peace Learning
Center in Astoria, where
she said it might take over
a year to land an infant spot.
Until then, three of Larson’s
friends will be splitting time
watching her baby.
“It’s a lot of stress. I mean,
most of us don’t have another
option,” she said.
Dan Gaffney, who is
part of the county’s child
care work group, said that
Sprouts closing after more
than a decade of operation
will have a big impact in a
county with little child care
availability. The day care —
formerly called Lil’ Sprouts
Academy — opened in 2010
at the Gray School campus at
a time when choices for par-
ents were limited.
“The city of Astoria
stepped up in a very big way
for a long time and they have
been, most recently, the most
significant provider of infant
and toddler care,” he said.
“And so now with Sprouts
closing, that’s going to put a
real big hurt on the families
and on the economy of Clat-
Brookley Henri enrolled
her 2-year-old at Sprouts
in September. She said she
had felt assured by previous
statements from the city that
it would be staying open.
“One of us honestly might
have to quit our job. It’s a
really big deal for us because
there’s just nowhere to send
a child under age 3,” she said
of the challenge for her and
her husband. “We are on the
waitlist at every place that we
can think of all the way down
to Gearhart.”
She had only started
working again because the
couple finally got a spot at
Sprouts after spending over a
year on the waitlist.
Henri, who works from
home for an engineering
firm and also serves on the
Planning Commission, said
she cannot concentrate on
her work or attend meetings
while watching her son.
She appreciates that
they’ve been given until June
to figure something out and
hopes that by then there will
be more support for summer
programs for preschoolers.
Henri said she recognizes
the complexity of the situ-
ation, especially during the
pandemic.
“I definitely understand
that. Although it does impact
us — and it could be dev-
astating to our professional
lives and our personal lives
— we are a very small per-
centage of the population. So
I’m happy for whatever is
best for the community,” she
said. “I just really wish that
child care wasn’t such a scar-
city around here.”
Sibony: Gulls can take anybody on a given night
Continued from Page A1
“I made it out of that
game with two bruised liga-
ments in my left thumb, two
stitches on my right fore-
arm, and a cracked knee,”
Sibony said. “It’s frustrat-
ing to lose a game in league,
but Banks is a pretty good
team.”
He added, “Their whole
defensive plan was based
around me, because of how
much I scored the first time
we played (29 points). I was
trying to get other people
involved, but we couldn’t
penetrate their zone very
well. They played a lot
of man the first time, and
switched it up.”
Seaside rebounded two
nights later with a win
at Astoria, after a little
soul-searching.
“Our team was a little
bit shaken after (the loss at
Banks),” Sibony said. “A
lot of people are taking a
look at themselves, includ-
ing myself. We were getting
into too much of a winning,
cocky attitude, and I think
it will be a good learning
point.”
The Gulls have lost
just six games to Cow-
apa League opponents over
the last four years — all to
the Braves. The very same
Braves who will drop to the
3A level next school year.
In other words, Seaside is
saying goodbye to its only
competition in league play.
“As far as rivals go,
Banks has been the main
one,” Sibony says. “Their
fans do not like us.”
Sibony and the Gulls
scored a little revenge on
Banks with a 52-49 win
over the Braves in Satur-
day’s tiebreaker for the
Cowapa League’s No. 1
Kelsey Betts
Ever Sibony sails in for
another two points.
seed to the state playoffs.
The Gulls can take any-
body on a given night.
“We’ve gotten pretty
good looks at everybody,”
he said. “We played both
(No. 1) Junction City and
(No. 3) Marshfield this year,
and I know for a fact that
we can beat any team in the
state.”
The road to state is never
easy. Especially so this sea-
son for Sibony.
In addition to the bumps
and bruises and stitches he
received at Banks, “I’ve
been a bit injury-plagued
this year. I had (foot) stress
fracture and missed a few
games.”
Sibony was told he would
miss four to six weeks, but
was back in three.
A lot of that has to do
with Sibony’s competi-
tiveness to be on the floor,
injured or not.
Growing up as the
youngest brother, he said,
teaches you a little about
being competitive. But also
in keeping with the Seaside
tradition, and being a Gull.
“We were always real
competitive, but the thing
that helped me most in bas-
ketball wasn’t as much the
competitive thing, it was
getting involved with my
older brothers, going to
their practices and working
with coach Q (Gene Quil-
haugh) and coach (Frank)
Januik.
“Growing up, I would
join in with all the older
kids. That’s really where
my love of basketball came
from, playing up all the
time. I always wanted to be
better than the older kids.”
And watching the older
kids play in four straight
state championship games
was, no doubt, an influence.
Sibony had his idols, for
sure.
“Jackson Januik (now
an assistant coach to Bill
Westerholm) of course. I
always liked the way Hunter
Thompson played defense
— I kind of modeled myself
after that. I liked the 2012
team, too, with Nick Nel-
son, Aaron Chesnut and
those guys. Another one
was Ryan Hague, who was a
mentor for me when I was a
freshman and sophomore.”
‘Mount Everest’
Januik went on to play
at George Fox University,
but very few Gulls have
managed to play at the next
level. Sibony is hoping
there’s a spot for him, back
East.
“My main plan after high
school is to go to the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania to
study business,” he said.
“I’m also in direct con-
tact with their coach, and
if I could play there, that
would just be the cherry on
top. I find out in March if I
make it into the school, and
if I make it into the school,
there’s basically a spot wait-
ing for me.”
Finally, the name. Where
does Everest come from?
“It’s a funny story,” he
said. “Apparently when I
was born and still in the
hospital, I didn’t have a
name for a day or two, and
my parents were making a
bunch of jokes, saying, ‘I
love you forever and ever,
ever.’ They really liked the
nickname ‘Ever,’ but they
couldn’t think of a full name
that they liked.
“The only other option
was Everett. But one day
there was a documentary
on Mount Everest, and they
were like, ‘that’s it!’”
Gary Henley/The Astorian
Ever Sibony, left, has always looked up to and competed with
older brothers Samson, middle, and Rafi.
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