DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022
149TH YEAR, NO. 116
$1.50
KNAPPA
Tax levy
to help out
fi refi ghters
Sign of change
Voters will decide in May election
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A measure on the May ballot would
increase property taxes within the Knap-
pa-Svensen-Burnside Rural Fire Protec-
tion District to help the
district better respond to
emergencies.
M easure 4-214 seeks
to raise more than $3.5
million over fi ve years
by levying $0.7167 per
$1,000 of assessed value to fund staff ,
equipment and facilities.
If approved by voters , the measure
would bring the fi re district’s total tax rate
to $1.90 per $1,000.
See Levy, Page A8
Seaside looks
at safer routes
to schools
Improvements planned near
school district campus
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — A state program aims to
make getting to school safer for students .
The Safe Routes to School plan calls for
more than $1.5 million in safety upgrades
on Spruce Drive leading to the Seaside
School District c ampus, roadways at the
elementary, middle and high schools and
on streets throughout the neighborhood.
First on the list is safety at the inter-
section of Spruce and Alder Drive, about
halfway up the hill to the campus, accord-
ing to a report prepared by the Ore-
gon Department of Transportation , NW
Transportation Options, the city and the
s chool d istrict working with the Port-
land-based Alta Planning + Design.
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A new Fort Astoria sign, updated with language focused on the Native American history of the region, stands at 15th and Exchange streets.
See Seaside, Page A8
Trolley hopes to get back on track Oja leading the return of
the Scandinavian festival
A return from
pandemic disruptions
A longtime educator
and swim coach
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
Just before noon on Friday, the
Astoria Riverfront T rolley’s lights
fl ipped on. They glowed within
its Uniontown barn like the eyes
of a creature waking from a long
slumber.
The kids waiting at the t rolley’s
fi rst stop began to bounce and pace
with excitement as Old 300 rumbled
down the tracks for the fi rst time this
season. They repeatedly informed
their parents of its imminent arrival.
Their parents reminded them
to stay behind the yellow line as it
rolled to a stop with a hiss.
Longtime volunteer Frank Kemp
swung open the cream-colored back
door, wearing a conductor’s hat and
an array of buttons.
“You all have just made my day,
you’ve all got masks on” he said,
smiling behind his own mask.
On Friday, the popular attraction
returned after hiatuses caused by the
coronavirus pandemic.
The trolley initially shut down
for 16 months at the start of the pan-
demic, then reopened for July and
August of last year before shut-
ting down again after volunteers
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
arring any unforeseen pan-
demic interruptions, the Asto-
ria Scandinavian Midsummer Fes-
tival is a go for June .
And running the show, with lots
of volunteer help, is Carla Oja, the
festival’s president . It’s one of the
many roles Oja has had since she
and her family moved from Hood
River to Astoria in 1973.
Oja was a manager at the former
Tapiola Pool, a longtime teacher in
the Astoria School District, a swim
coach for Astoria High School,
and — one of her favorite titles —
grandmother, times 11.
She still serves as an instruc-
tional assistant at Lewis and Clark
Elementary School and as a substi-
tute teacher on occasion.
So, “coming to school at
7:30 a.m. and fi nding out you’re
going to be in a classroom all day
is kinda hectic,” she said. “Always
something crazy.”
But Oja likes it like that.
Oja came on board the Scan-
dinavian festival in a leadership
capacity in 2018, when she and
Tony Larson were named as the
co-chairs .
The two had no idea what the
B
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The Astoria Riverfront Trolley made its fi rst offi cial run of the season on Friday.
WANT TO RIDE?
The trolley plans to run from
noon to 6 p.m. on Fridays,
Saturdays and Sundays through
Oct. 30th.
expressed concern during the surge
of the d elta variant.
This year, the trolley plans to run
from noon to 6 p.m. on Fridays, Sat-
urdays and Sundays through Oct.
30th.
Astoria residents Narayan and
Mandy Elasmar were among the
fi rst to board on Friday, bringing
their 4-year-old daughter, Lucia .
“She was 1 , the last time she got
to ride it,” Mandy Elasmar said.
From her mom’s lap, Lucia
waved to people who gathered out-
side waterfront businesses to greet
the trolley and take photos as it
passed.
Kemp narrated the journey, point-
ing out changes on the waterfront
since the trolley’s closure last year.
“I don’t recognize that,” Kristen
Harrison said to her husband, Dan,
pointing to Buoy Beer Co.’s recent
expansion into the building that was
previously Video Horizons.
See Trolley, Page A8
Carla and Alan Oja, longtime
attendees
of
the
Astoria
Scandinavian Midsummer Festival.
next few years would bring, as the
festival — now in its 55th year —
would be canceled in 2020 and
2021 because of the pandemic.
“The discussion around our
house is that if we don’t come
back now, we might not ever come
See Oja, Page A8