A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2022
Port: ‘I am optimistic
about the things we are
doing operationally’
Continued from Page A1
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The Step Ahead Academy will serve children 3 1/2 to 5 years old.
Preschool: Step Ahead aims to open
to a full class in early September
Continued from Page A1
On the North Coast, sev-
eral preschools have closed
their doors or reduced class
sizes in recent years. Since
2017, Clatsop County has
lost over half of its licensed
child care capacity slots.
Taylor said it was a pri-
ority of hers to start a pre-
school rather than a day
care. In addition to provid-
ing somewhere for children
to spend the day, preschools
have structured education
and a curriculum that builds
over time.
Monika Oldham, a for-
mer teacher in the Warren-
ton-Hammond S chool D is-
trict, is now the director and
teacher at Step Ahead. She
started her career at a pre-
school over 20 years ago,
and is looking forward to
teaching younger children.
The licensed preschool is
open to children ages 3 1/2
to 5. As of late August , all
18 slots remained open for
registration.
They have applied to
the Oregon Department of
Human Services’ Employ-
ment Related Day Care pro-
gram, which off ers co-pay
options to families depend-
ing on size and income. They
have also applied to the U.S.
Coast Guard’s Child Care
Subsidy p rogram.
“We’re hoping that that
will open new avenues
where families will know
about us and we’ll have a
chance to share what we
off er and listen to what they
need, and the hope is that we
meet in the middle and that
we’re able to fi ll up,” Old-
ham said.
The staff includes Old-
ham, a teaching assistant
and an offi ce manager who
will run the front desk and
registration.
“I wanted something that
was quality, but still play-
based,” Oldham said. “I
wanted the kids to have their
hands in everything and
learning through play, but
yet have a distinct scope and
sequence of which direction
we’re going so we can make
sure we reach the end goal:
to have many of the students
ready for kindergarten when
it comes time in the fall.”
The assistant teacher on
staff is bilingual, and will
be teaching Spanish daily.
The preschool also plans to
have regular art and music
lessons.
One area is lined with
play mats and climbable
obstacles, ready for daily
gymnastics lessons.
“My background is gym-
nastics, so I really wanted
them to be able to have
that introduction on a daily
basis. It’s good exercise for
them, learning that it’s fun
at a very early age is very
important to me,” Taylor
said.
Also part of the curric-
ulum, Taylor has brought
over her character develop-
ment exercises from Infi n-
ity Gymnastics, including
the powerful words program
where each month the kids
will learn a word or phrase
to focus on.
“I am a survivor of
domestic (child) abuse. So,
it’s always been important
to me to be able to provide
the opposite of that. Just a
safe place for kids to grow
physically and mentally,”
she said.
September’s
power-
ful words are “positive
attitude.”
Step Ahead hopes to
open to a full class in early
September.
Election: Moratoriums on psilocybin will be on ballots
Continued from Page A1
In 2017, voters approved
a jump in the tax rate
from 9 cents to 33 cents
per $1,000 of assessed
property value follow-
ing the library’s move to a
larger location on S. Main
Avenue.
The city is also asking
voters to approve the trans-
fer of a preschool build-
ing on S.W. Third Street
that has become a fi nancial
burden.
Community
Action
Team, an agency that com-
bats poverty in Clatsop,
Columbia and Tillamook
counties, would take over
the building. The space is
used for Head Start, a fed-
erally funded preschool
program.
Because the property’s
real market value exceeds
$100,000, the city has to
receive voter approval for
the transfer.
Gearhart
In Gearhart, the after-
shocks are still being felt
from the failed bond mea-
sure for a new fi rehouse in
May and the resignation of
Paulina Cockrum as mayor
in June.
City Councilor Kerry
Smith was chosen to
replace Cockrum as mayor.
Dana Gould, a for-
mer sheriff ’s deputy and
emergency responder, was
appointed to Smith’s Posi-
tion 1 slot. Gould will
face Anne Mesch, a for-
mer teacher, for a four-
year term on the City
Council.
City Councilor Brent
Warren, who was appointed
to Position 3 in 2020, is
up against Preston Dever-
eaux, a former fi re chief,
for a four-year term. War-
ren was one of the leading
advocates for the fi rehouse
bond, while Devereaux
was among the critics of
the project.
MEASURE 109, PASSED BY
OREGON VOTERS IN 2020,
LEGALIZED THE PSYCHEDELIC
— FOUND IN SO-CALLED
‘MAGIC MUSHROOMS’ — FOR
THERAPEUTIC USE BY PEOPLE 21
AND OLDER AT STATE-LICENSED
SERVICE CENTERS.
Seaside
In Seaside, Mayor Jay
Barber and City Councilor
Dana Phillips opted not
to run for reelection. City
Councilor Steve Wright
chose to run for mayor
instead of reelection in
Ward 1, leaving three open
seats on the seven-member
City Council.
Wright, the board presi-
dent of the Seaside Museum
& Historical Society, is
uncontested for mayor. He
was appointed to the City
Council in 2016 and elected
in 2018.
Steve Dillard, the owner
of the Sandy Cove Inn, and
Duane Solem, a postman,
will compete to replace
Wright in Ward 1. Dillard
ran unsuccessfully for the
Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners in May.
City Councilor Tita Mon-
tero, who was appointed
and fi rst elected to the City
Council in 2010, will run
for reelection to a fourth
term in Ward 2. She will
face Dan Schorr, a former
project manager.
The contenders to replace
Phillips in Ward 3 and Ward
4 are Seth Morrisey, a for-
mer city councilor ; Seamus
McVey, who works with the
homeless on addiction and
mental health issues ; and
Marcus Runkle, the owner
of a consulting fi rm.
A fi ve-year local option
levy would fund fi re equip-
ment and personnel. The
levy — an estimated 33
cents per $1,000 of assessed
property value — would
generate $2.3 million. It
would replace a levy set to
expire at the end of the fi s-
cal year.
The city is also asking
voters to approve a tempo-
rary, two-year ban on psi-
locybin manufacturing and
service centers.
Measure 109, passed
by Oregon voters in 2020,
legalized the psychedelic —
found in so-called “magic
mushrooms” — for thera-
peutic use by people 21 and
older at state-licensed ser-
vice centers.
Clatsop County also
placed a temporary ban on
the ballot for unincorpo-
rated areas.
The moratoriums would
give Seaside and the county
time to work out regulations
on psilocybin that could
go beyond the standards
adopted by the state.
Cannon Beach
In Cannon Beach, Mayor
Sam Steidel and City Coun-
cilor Mike Benefi eld are
completing their second,
four-year terms and are
unable to run again because
of term limits.
Barb Knop, a retired
teacher who serves on the
Planning Commission, and
Erik Ostrander, a hotelier,
will vie for mayor.
Along with the mayor’s
race, there are two at-large
slots open on the fi ve-mem-
ber City Council, which go
to the top two vote-getters.
City Councilor Robin
Risley, who was elected in
2018, will run for reelection.
The other contenders
are Lisa Kerr, an attorney
and former planning com-
mission; Gary Hayes, the
owner of a media and mar-
keting fi rm; Deanna Pau-
li-Hammond, the owner
of Cannon Beach Bak-
ery; Laurie Simpkins, the
owner of Healthy Hub Mas-
sage & Wellness in Seaside;
and Jenee Pearce-Mushen,
who works for a Gearhart
security company and is a
member of the city’s public
works committee.
results from a feasibility
study to expand the facility.
“I think there is some
evidence that we have
demand and we’re start-
ing to meet more of that
demand,” he said. “As we
move forward with this
expansion, I think there’s
hopefully going to be even
more signifi cant growth
than what we’re seeing at
the boatyard.”
With the challenges the
Port faces with deferred
maintenance and deterio-
rating infrastructure, the
agency spent nearly $3.5
million in capital outlays
during the last fi scal year.
In addition to expand-
ing the boatyard, the Port
has plans to redevelop the
waterfront and add busi-
nesses to the Airport Indus-
trial Park in Warrenton.
“Starting back in 2020,
with not only the loss of log
exports at the Port, but then
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Q: What
sealants, who should
State House
and Senate
Betsy Johnson’s decision
to launch an independent
campaign for governor had
a ripple eff ect in the state
Senate and House districts
that cover the North Coast.
State Rep. Suzanne
Weber, a Tillamook Repub-
lican elected in 2020, chose
not to run for reelection in
House District 32 so she
could campaign in John-
son’s former Senate Dis-
trict 16.
Weber, who was unop-
posed in the Republican pri-
mary for Senate in May, will
face Melissa Busch, a home
health nurse from Warren,
who was unopposed in the
Democratic primary.
Cyrus Javadi, a Til-
lamook dentist, won the
Republican primary in
May to replace Weber in
the House. Logan Laity, a
small-business owner and
community organizer in
Tillamook, was unopposed
in the Democratic primary.
House District 32 was
redrawn after the 2020 cen-
sus and now covers Clats-
kanie to the east and all of
Tillamook County to the
south.
Ethan Myers, Erick Ben-
gel and R.J. Marx contrib-
uted to this report.
also with the pandemic,
what that’s done is really
force the Port, initially on
the expense side, to really
try to lean out the organi-
zation to do things with less
resource and, quite hon-
estly, I think we’ve done a
good job at that,” Isom said.
Isom hopes the Port can
continue to bring in more
revenue and instill confi -
dence in outside stakehold-
ers and the public in order
to get in a “better position to
garner fi nancial support for
some of the infrastructure.”
“I am optimistic about
the things we are doing
operationally, but I also
understand the gravity of
some of the infrastruc-
ture issues we have and
we’re going to continue
to push really hard to fi nd
ways to get those problems
addressed, whether that
be through grants or legis-
lative eff orts — those are
things we continue to push
hard on,” he said.
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