149TH YEAR, NO. 146
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022
$1.50
Coast
Guard
invests in
child care
A $20 million boost for
child development center
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Potholes can be found along Exchange Street in Astoria.
On the North Coast,
potholes can be more
than bumps in the road
Weather, materials, funding and staff challenges can prolong repairs
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
P
otholes can be a source of irri-
tation for drivers on the North
Coast as they swerve to avoid
jarring bumps and potential damage
to their vehicles .
For local agencies , fi lling potholes
can also be a struggle .
“Pavement management in gen-
eral on the North Coast I think is
challenging for a number of reasons,
and this includes potholes,” Nathan
Crater, the engineer for Astoria, said.
Crater, who assists with per-
mitting, capital improvement proj-
ects and infrastructure management ,
passes along complaints of potholes
to the P ublic W orks D epartment .
The process for getting a pothole
fi lled varies based on a number of fac-
tors, including shape, size and sever-
ity , as well as the road it’s on. A pot-
hole on a street with a high volume of
traffi c – like near Columbia Memo-
rial Hospital – usually takes priority.
Often the most important piece
aff ecting the time frame in patching
is weather – an endless challenge on
the North Coast .
Astoria is one of the U.S. Coast Guard
locations that will receive a slice of $120
million in federal i nfrastructure money for
child care .
The Coast Guard’s new child develop-
ment center — a $20 million investment
— is still in the planning stages. But the
center will likely free up child care slots
on the North Coast, where families often
struggle to fi nd options . Since 2017, Clat-
sop County has lost over half of its licensed
child care capacity — more than 1,000
slots.
“If the Coast Guard families don’t have
child care through the Coast Guard, then
you’re coming to places like this, and then
that’s fewer spaces for other community
members,” U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici,
an Oregon Democrat, said during a visit
Thursday to Sprouts Learning Center in
Astoria .
In July , Bumble Art Studio, an Astoria
preschool provider, will take over Sprouts
Learning Center operations from the city,
which was set to close Sprouts at the end
of June because of staffi ng and fi nancial
limitations.
“We know child care is one of those few
big-ticket items that are big considerations
for any potential employees,” Mayor
Bruce Jones said. It is a refrain city leaders
consistently hear from Columbia Memo-
rial Hospital, the Astoria School District
and other employers.
“When they’re bringing in prospective
new employees, they’re looking at housing
and they’re looking at child care,” he said.
“And in the current housing environment,
where housing is so expensive, child care
can be a tipping point.”
Jones, a former commander of Coast
Guard Sector Columbia River, said he
See Potholes, Page A6
See Child care, Page A6
A local legend in Brazilian jiujitsu
Brewery jobs
expected to grow
Kyllo has earned
a black belt
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
EASIDE — “A local legend.”
That is how Zach Adam-
son of Adamson Bros. Jiu Jitsu
describes Michelle Kyllo.
After a decade of dedication,
Kyllo became the fi rst woman on
the Oregon Coast to earn her black
belt in Brazilian jiujitsu.
“Michelle is an inspiration to
many women here locally and
throughout the Pacifi c Northwest
and this is something our commu-
nity can be proud of, ” Zach Adam-
son said.
Kyllo attended local schools
from elementary to high school,
graduating in 2009.
“I have always kind of been a
little — I don’t want to say tom-
boy — but when I was in elemen-
tary school, primary school, I was
always trying to wrestle, scrap with
people,” she said. “We’d go to the
beach, and I’m like, ‘L et’s play
sumo.’ I’ve always been, I wouldn’t
say aggressive, but I always liked to
mix it up a little bit.”
Her mom always wanted her to
be a ballerina . “She put me in dance
classes, and I was terrible. I hated
it,” she said. “And so when I was
12, I eventually mustered up the
courage to say, ‘I don’t want to do
this, I want to fi ght. I want to do
martial arts.’”
Study projects increase to 700 by 2024
S
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Michelle Kyllo stands atop the podium after a recent competition.
She started at a studio in Warren-
ton with tae kwon do kickboxing,
her introduction to the martial arts.
“I loved it,” she said. “I never
really considered myself very
athletic. When I did softball I
mostly picked daisies in the out-
fi eld. I swam for the fun of it. Any
other sport did not appeal to me.
And I wasn’t good at them. Why
would you do something you’re not
good at? We’d go to competitions
and I would just whoop on every-
one. Once I got started with martial
arts, I was like, ‘Oh, my God! I’m
good at this!’”
See Kyllo, Page A6
J obs at breweries,
distilleries and cider-
ies in Clatsop County are
expected to rebound from
the coronavirus pandemic
and grow from about 520
to more than 700 by 2024.
An economic impact
study prepared by the
Columbia Pacifi c Eco-
nomic Development Dis-
trict in May illustrates the
fermentation sector’s dra-
matic growth over the past
two decades.
The study was initiated,
in part, in response to steps
Astoria has taken to off -
set the impact the sector’s
industrial waste has had
on the city’s wastewater
treatment facility. It was
funded by Business Ore-
gon, Clatsop County and
Clatsop Economic Devel-
opment Resources.
Ayreann Colombo, the
executive director of Col-
Pac, acknowledged to the
City Council in May that
the nonprofi t does not
have expertise in waste-
water systems, but used
the study to demonstrate
the outsized economic
contributions of the fer-
mentation sector.
Lydia Ivanovic, the
programs analyst for Col-
Pac, said breweries on the
North Coast have formed
“a
strong
economic
cluster.”
“They’ve achieved this
through signifi cant job
creation, entrepreneurial-
ism, innovation and visitor
spending,” Ivanovic said .
She said Fort George
Brewery and Buoy Beer
Co. — the two larg-
est breweries in Clatsop
County — act as anchor
businesses and incuba-
tors for others entering the
market .
Since
the
busi-
ness model for brewer-
ies includes production,
wholesale, distribution and
retail, Ivanovic said the
sector is considered inher-
ently resilient because
there are multiple avenues
of operation.
See Brewery jobs, Page A6