The Columbia press., April 13, 2018, Page 5, Image 5

April 13, 2018
T he C olumbia P ress
5
Ocean salmon fishing looks Work set to begin on school bond measure
land properties,” Superinten- the district from doing any fu-
y
B c
a bit brighter for 2018
dent Mark Jeffery told board ture building at those campus-
The Columbia Press
y
Ocean salmon anglers will
have better opportunities this
year based on recommenda-
tions made Tuesday during a
Pacific Fishery Management
Council meeting in Portland.
Sport salmon fishing in the
ocean off the Columbia Riv-
er opens June 23 and is ex-
pected to run through Labor
Day unless salmon quotas are
reached earlier.
“While this won’t be a ban-
ner year for ocean salmon
fishing, overall it’s an im-
provement from 2017,” said
Chris Kern, an administra-
tor for Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife. “This is
particularly true for commu-
nities on the Southern Oregon
coast, which were hit hard by
2017’s salmon closures.”
The council’s recommenda-
tions now go before NOAA
Fisheries for approval and
implementation.
The Oregon Fish and Wild-
life Commission will be asked
to adopt matching rules for
state waters (those inside
three miles) at their April 20
meeting in Astoria.
“I want to thank the many
advisers, tribal members,
agency staff and members
of the general public who
all worked hard to ensure
that conservation goals for
salmon stocks are met while
providing fishing opportuni-
ties for communities up and
down the West Coast,” Kern
said.
The area from Cape Falcon
south to Humbug Moun-
tain opened for Chinook on
March 15 and will remain
open until Oct. 31.
The forecast for coho is
down this year for both the
Oregon Coast and Columbia
River, largely due to poor
ocean conditions.
Sport fishing for hatchery
coho will be open from Cape
Falcon south to Humbug
Mountain from June 30 to
Sept. 3 or until the quota of
35,000 fish is met.
A short season for wild and
hatchery coho in this area is
scheduled Sept. 7-8 and each
Friday and Saturday after
until Sept. 29 or the quota
of 3,500 coho is met, which
may happen quickly.
Unlike the full closure to
salmon fishing last year, the
area south of Humbug to the
California border will open
to sport fishing for Chinook
from May 19 to Aug. 29.
Commercial troll fishing
for Chinook will be open in-
termittently along the whole
Oregon Coast from May
through summer.
iNdy
iNgst
The school board voted
unanimously
Wednesday
night to take all necessary
steps to put a bond measure
on the November ballot.
The Warrenton-Hammond
School District will ask voters
to tax themselves for 20 years
in order to buy land in an up-
lands area, construct a new
school compound and repair
and upgrade current facilities.
While the exact amount
hasn’t been determined, the
district is likely to need $32 to
$37 million over the next two
decades.
The board’s action Wednes-
day gives the superintendent
the authority to hire an attor-
ney to advise them on the bond,
to negotiate real estate con-
tracts and to contract for ser-
vices such as communications
consultants and engineering.
“Ultimately, what we’re
looking at is a plan covering
15, 18 and up to 20 years to
move all our facilities to up-
members.
After purchasing property,
a new campus for grades six
to eight would be built and
those students moved. That
would immediately relieve
crowding at Warrenton Grade
School, which now serves stu-
dents in preschool through
eighth grades. This could be
done within three years of the
bond’s passage.
Within 10 years, a new high
school campus would be built
on the new property. Within 20
years, the elementary school
campus would move into new
facilities there as well.
Things such as the bus barn,
the fish farm and even the
new career training building
soon to be constructed at the
high school can stay in their
present locations.
The district is running out of
room at both of its campuses
and both sit near wetlands and
tsunami inundation zones.
Later this year, regulations
go into effect that will prevent
es. Modular classrooms are an
exception.
“If we don’t go out for a bond,
what other measures are we
doing to have to take in the
district to cover the growth,”
board member Greg Morrill
asked.
While there’s no more room
for modular classrooms at the
grade school, they could be
put on the track or two-story
modulars could be brought in,
Jeffery said. A tsunami-proof
structure could be built, but
that, too, would require extra
funding.
“If we were never to pass a
bond, we’re going to run out
of space,” he said. “As it is, we
have to get creative.”
The district qualified for a $4
million grant from the Oregon
School Capital Improvement
Matching Program should the
bond pass.
“If we don’t go out in Novem-
ber, we’d miss out on the $4
million match?” Morrill said.
“That’s a nice chunk of change.”