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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MARcH 24, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
Founded in 1873
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
SHANNON ARLINT
circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
Youth camp closure a big deal
A
lthough it’s nearly invis-
ible to the average per-
son living on the penin-
sula, Naselle Youth Camp has been
an important part of Pacific Coun-
ty’s economy and social fabric for
five and a half decades. Located off
State Route 4 just west of the State
Route 401 junction, the camp has
played a constructive role in thou-
sands of young lives since 1966.
Over the years, it’s provided
steady government jobs to hundreds
and hundreds of residents. Natu-
rally, most camp workers settle in
the Naselle River Valley and nearby
western Wahkiakum County, while
others commute from the penin-
sula or Clatsop County. Active and
retired employees, spouses and
children are everywhere you turn.
State Sen. Sid Snyder intervened
nearly 20 years ago during Gov.
Gary Locke’s administration when
the agency that oversees the youth
camp first floated the idea of clos-
ing it. Thanks to Snyder’s powerful
influence, bolstered by strong citi-
zen support in the county, that effort
was derailed.
Closure has since been raised
under both Christine Gregoire and
Jay Inslee, with the Juvenile Reha-
bilitation leaders clearly in favor
of eliminating it. Up until this year,
Snyder’s successors and their allies
succeeded in keeping the camp
alive.
As a practical matter, the fact
that eliminating the youth camp
kept being raised started to make
it feel inevitable. The state persua-
sively argues that juvenile crime
The Naselle Youth Camp is scheduled to close.
THOSE WHO dEdIcATEd THEIR PROFESSIONAL
LIVES AT NASELLE yOuTH cAMP TO HELPING
yOuNG PEOPLE FINd PATHS TO SuccESS
dESERVE OuR PRAISE ANd RESPEcT.
has diminished, while at the same
time the camp’s concept of get-
ting youthful urban lawbreakers
away from bad influences and into
an outdoor setting has outlived its
usefulness.
Currently serving fewer than
three dozen young men with a staff
nearly three times that number, the
youth camp’s reasons for being
have obviously dwindled in recent
years. Its viability might have been
bolstered by a robust and ongoing
appeal through the years. The invis-
ibility — inadvertent or deliber-
ate — resulted in a slow and steady
move toward closure long before
the final ax fell.
A last-minute intervention by
Gov. Inslee to keep it open is highly
unlikely. A traumatic closure pro-
cess is likely, with changes centered
in Naselle. The Chinook Observer
will be devoting much news cov-
erage to surrounding issues, such
as what the youth camp’s loss may
mean for the Naselle-Grays River
Valley School District and whether
converting the facility into an out-
door school is viable.
If well funded and envisioned,
it’s conceivable such a school could
be a valuable addition to the county.
It must not merely be a symbolic
bone to throw us for loss of the
youth camp’s many family-wage
jobs. Time and political action will
determine which way it goes. Vocal
advocacy and involvement by local
people will be required for any
hope of success.
Those who dedicated their pro-
fessional lives at Naselle Youth
Camp to helping young people find
paths to success deserve our praise
and respect. We hope the many
youths who unwillingly passed
through Pacific County found their
way to positive futures — maybe
some now willingly visit with their
families to enjoy clamming and
our countless other natural and cul-
tural assets. In the future, maybe
their children or grandchildren will
attend a fun and meaningful out-
door school on the former campus.
Despite the years of legisla-
tive and agency efforts, there still
is a sense of unreality about such
a long-standing institution ceas-
ing to exist. The shock of the sit-
uation must not get in the way of
making certain that the state pro-
vides appropriate services to nonvi-
olent youths. Nor must youth camp
employees be neglected. They
have made their lives in a remote
community based on a reason-
able assumption their jobs would
continue.
Make no mistake: this closure is
a big deal, one with consequences
that will play out for years.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Whose town is this, anyway?
ith every issue of this newspaper,
I scan the letters regarding putting
the homeless right smack in the middle
of the nicest part of our community …
front row center of the Astoria Sunday
Market, to boot.
I keep looking for a positive let-
ter or opinion that commends the wis-
dom of the City Council who jammed
this crummy decision down our throats.
But there are few. Few people favor this
decision, apparently.
Whose town is this, anyway? I know
nothing about the city charter, or if that
is even what it is called, but why isn’t an
issue like this — that potentially impacts
so many of us in such a negative manner
— voted on?
DAVID TENNANT
Astoria
W
Show me the money
he leading voices of opposition to
the development of housing on Her-
itage Square pine for a public square, a
giant, open space for public use. They
cite the success of Portland’s Pioneer
Square, while also decrying the afford-
able housing proposal, due to similar-
ity to Portland developments — the
contradiction here obviously being
overlooked.
My question to these people is:
Where is the money coming from? Pio-
neer Square was developed in the early
1980s, and cost more than $7 million —
care to adjust that for inflation?
You all have had 12 years since the
foundation of the old Safeway col-
lapsed to develop a plan, a proposal and
funders — where are they? If you can-
not point to a feasible plan for alterna-
tive development, then please, sit back
down.
Our heritage is as a working class
river city, full of economic diversity. We
are honoring that heritage by provid-
ing housing affordable to those making
below 80% area median income.
And, by providing residents hous-
ing they can afford, they will have more
expendable income to spend supporting
our local shops and restaurants.
This development is a win-win for
residents and business owners. You’ve
had 12 years, and we still have an
asphalt eyesore; time to realize your
T
LETTERS WELCOME
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Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
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ters, in person at 949 Exchange St.
in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
bringing down the house, and bringing up
edgy issues for us to ponder. Many thanks
to Karen Bain, the director, who has been
staging profound and well-written plays in
our area for many years.
Congrats to all who staged the show
and to the management at Ten Fifteen for
the beautiful space that’s been created
there. The show only runs through this
coming weekend. Check it out before it’s
gone!
NED HEAVENRICH
Brownsmead
My idea
dream of a giant downtown park is unre-
alistic, and move on.
LAURA JACKSON
Astoria
Check it out
y wife and I attended the wonderful
and hilarious play “Art” at The Ten
M
Fifteen Theater in Astoria on Sunday. We
are so thankful to have experienced such a
well acted and directed play.
What a blessing it was to be at a live
theater performance again! The many
belly laughs I had during the performance
allowed me to experience something really
enjoyable amid these troubled times.
Kudos to actors David Sweeney, Jer-
emiah Williams and Marcus Liotta for
y idea for the old Safeway site: One,
parking in the basement; two, at
street level, create open air access for local
businesses, a covered Sunday market, like
Seattle has, with security roll up doors,
like malls have; and three, use the top two
floors for rentals, etc.
DICK DARBY
Astoria
M