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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2022)
The Columbia Press Celebrating our 100th year • 1922-2022 1 50 ¢ 503-861-3331 Astoria waterfront revamp would liven industrial area March 18, 2022 High school increases job-training capabilities By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press An updated cruise ship terminal and fishing village-themed water- front boardwalk will revitalize an area that has long suffered from in- dustrial decay and a lack of focus. That’s the idea behind the new wa- terfront master plan, a joint project of the Port of Astoria, the city of As- toria and the Astoria Development Commission. Port leaders on Tuesday got an ad- vance look at the plans that are ex- pected to inject life into the 65-acre industrial area, which runs along the Columbia River from the As- toria-Megler Bridge to the Astoria Riverwalk Inn. Goals listed in the plan: • Strengthen Astoria’s working waterfront with a mix of uses and ongoing private investment. • Make a place for Astorians and establish long-term community support. • Contribute to the financial sta- bility and prosperity of the port, city and region. • Support living-wage jobs. • Establish an enduring framework plan that’s flexible to new opportu- nities and resilient to changing eco- nomic conditions. “We want to make sure we’re OK with what we see in the plan and that it’s something we can im- plement over time,” Will Isom, the port’s executive director, Isom told commissioners. “This can’t just be a plan we finish See ‘Waterfront’ on Page 5 Vol. 6, Issue 11 Above: Students in Warrenton High School’s career-techni- cal education program ponder their next steps in building a bridge. Left: Evan Augustin, William Carruthers, and Brian English show off the model they created. Photos courtesy WHS Warrenton High School will expand its offer- ings next year to include classes in advanced manufacturing thanks to a large state grant meant to boost career-technical education. WHS, which will get $125,000, is the only campus or district in Clatsop County to re- ceive the funding, although three other North Coast districts also won awards -- Vernonia, Tillamook and Neah-Kah-Nie. “It’s huge for us because a chunk of that is to support staffing over the next year and a half to two years,” Principal Rod Heyen said. “As I’m trying to build up the program, I know I have the staffing covered and there’s enough money in there to buy things we need, such as computers.” The goal is to provide additional classes in CTE that align with both student interest and industry need, exposing students to high- wage, high-skill, in-demand careers, accord- ing to the CTE Revitalization Grant summary submitted by WHS administrators. The school plans to hire an advanced man- ufacturing teacher, launch new courses, build a computer lab capable of supporting the pro- gram, and work with community partners to grow and sustain the coursework. The school expects to serve an additional 80 to 100 students per year. The grant will See ‘Jobs’ on Page 4 Goodbye spring cleanup, hello year-round dump day The Columbia Press The city of Warrenton wants to give dump vouchers to residents to use at their convenience instead of organiz- ing a single spring cleanup day. “It’s a lot easier to manage. It’s just easier all the way around,” a repre- sentative from Recology told city of- ficials at a meeting earlier this month. Recology would issue one paper voucher per year good for up to 800 pounds of mixed solid waste. “We’re not totally shooting in the dark. We have data from what Asto- ria is doing,” said Kyle Sharpsteen, Warrenton’s operations manager. Customers who live within Astoria’s city limits can dump up to two loads a year of up to 850 pounds. While Recology is the designated waste hauler in Astoria, the city of Warrenton serves as the trash collec- tor here. With the voucher program, Recol- ogy will issue one paper voucher to Warrenton residents with city waste service accounts in good standing. The customer would haul the waste to the dump, present the voucher and a current city of Warrenton utility bill along with a photo ID that has a matching address. The customer would dump the trash and weigh out. Those hauling 800 pounds or less would pay nothing (the city would be billed). Any amount over 800 pounds would be owed by the customer at the time of the dump. See ‘Dump’ on Page 6