Astoria School District Appoints New Principal

Astoria Middle School will begin the 2014-2015 school year with a new principal.   

Linda Berger, Assistant Principal and Director of Special Programs, will replace Ron Alley as principal.  Mr. Alley recently accepted a position in the Scappoose School District.

Ms. Berger began her tenure with the district as a Special Education teacher in 1998.  She went on to become the Director of Special Programs in 2010 and, three years ago, added the role of Astoria Middle School Assistant Principal to her position.

“I am excited to step in and continue moving forward with the progressive, educational foundation established by Mr. Alley and our professional staff.  We are motivated and eager to work collaboratively with parents and students to optimize our time and resources to cultivate an outstanding, educational community for students.”

Astoria School District superintendent, Craig Hoppes stated, “Linda has a real passion for her work at Astoria Middle School.  She is continually working with staff to provide the best possible education for our students.”  He went on to say, “I truly appreciate the invaluable contributions Mr. Alley has demonstrated over the last eight years of service as principal and I wish him the very best in his new endeavor.  I am confident the transition of leadership will be fluid and with minimal disruption to the education of our students.”

" Clatsop County Vision 2030 Together" Community Workshops Start This Week

The  Clatsop County project:  “Clatsop Vision 2030 Together” is holding public workshops this week, with more coming next month.  The county is asking for citizen  input into long range planning in a variety of community concerns. 
The vision and goals developed through these conversations will be used to guide the policies, plans, decisions and actions of Clatsop County, as well as be available to inform the decisions and actions of the county’s cities and unincorporated communities, local businesses, civic organizations, and community groups. While workshops will be open to all comments and ideas, each event will emphasize one or more focus areas developed during the initial phase of the Vision 2030 project – areas ranging from jobs to education to arts and culture. Comments and ideas specific to each community will also be welcome.
This week’s schedule begins tonight in Cannon Beach, with a meeting focusing on the areas of Arts, Culture & History; Health, Safety & Resilience.  The meeting will be held tonight (Wednesday, April 23) from  6-8:30 p.m., at the Community Hall, 207 N. Spruce Street.  Tomorrow night (Thursday, April 24th) a session will be held in Jewell, focusing on the areas of Health, Safety & Resilience; Education & Learning.  Thursday night’s meeting will be held from  6-8:30 p.m., at Jewell School, 83874 Highway 103

Next Month’s meetings will be held in:
Arch Cape May 16, 6-8:30 p.m., Arch Cape Fire Station, 79729 Highway 101 Focus areas: Environment, Natural Resources & Recreation; Community Development & Planning Astoria May 15, 6-8:30 p.m., Clatsop Community College, Columbia Room 219, 1651 Lexington Ave. Focus areas: Arts, Culture & History; Community Development & Planning Knappa/Brownsmead Date and time to be determined Westport May 24, 2-4:30 p.m., Westport Community Church, 49246 Highway 30 Focus areas: Economy & Jobs; Environment, Natural Resources & Recreation Seaside/Gearhart May 24, 9:30 a.m.-noon, Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Ave. A, Seaside Focus areas: Economy & Jobs; Education & Learning

Clatsop Vision 2030 Together began earlier this year with research as well as one-on-one interviews and small-group discussions with local stakeholders and other participants to identify the key focus areas and help guide planning for the outreach process to follow. The community engagement portion includes the seven workshops, which are designed to share data collected in the fact-finding stage and to gather citizen input. More information is available on the Vision 2030 website, which can be reached at www.co.clatsop.or.us.

CLATSOP COUNTY COVER OREGON APPLICATION FAIR APRIL 23-24

  

Clatsop County residents interested in applying for health insurance coverage under the Cover Oregon insurance marketplace can get personal assistance at one of two Application Fairs April 23 and 24.

The events are:

Cannon Beach – April 23, 1-5:30 p.m. – City Hall, 163 E. Gower

Warrenton – April 24, 3-6 p.m. – Northwest Oregon Housing Authority, 147 S. Main

Volunteer Weather Watchers Wanted For The Skywarn Severe Weather Spotters Program

The National Weather Service Portland office is offering training for volunteer weather spotters along Oregon's north coast.

Volunteer spotters will learn to make accurate and timely weather reports to aid the National Weather Service in saving lives and property during severe weather events. After training, volunteers will be on a roster to be called, or to call in for reports about severe weather in their area.

A training will be held Thursday, April 24th, 7 to 8:30pm, at Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue, 36375, US Highway 101 North. 

Next month at training will be held Thursday, May 15th, 7pm, at Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue, 188 Sunset Boulevard.

An abbreviated training will be offered online for those who cannot attend the in-person sessions.  The virtual training will be held Tuesday, April 29th, at 7pm.

All training sessions are free of charge.

More information on the SkyWarn Severe Weather Spotter program on the National Weather Service site:

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/skywarn.php

Clatsop Community College Offers Training for Literacy Tutors

Clatsop Community College continues its training series for practicing tutors, and others who are interested in becoming volunteer literacy tutors, on Saturday, April 26, 11am – 2pm, in Columbia Hall, room 117, 1651 Lexington Avenue, Astoria.

Volunteers tutors will explain what works best for students who face many barriers to improved literacy.  Get practical advice on simple lesson planning and assessments.  Sample materials that the literacy program provides will be available for review.  Call 503-338-2557 or email Eileen Purcell (epurcell@clatsopcc.edu) to sign up or for additional information.

911 Lines Back Up Most Places After Outage In Washington.

Service appears to be restored to 911 systems in Washington's Pacific and Wahkiakum counties according to officials. Clark and Cowliz Counties say service may be sporadic.  Officials remind people NOT to call 911 "just to see if its working".  911 is for emergency calls only. 

Alternate numbers you can call if you have an emergency.

Pacific County:  360-875-9397 or 369-642-9397

Wahkiakum County: 360-795-3242

Cowlitz County: 360-577-3098

For more alternate numbers in Washington, Click here. 

BOCCC RECOGNIZES VOLUNTEERS, APPROVES LEASE AND ACCESS FOR WESTPORT FERRY

The Board of Clatsop County Commissioners recognized local volunteers during their morning meeting today (Wed).  The board proclaimed April 6th through 12th as Volunteer Week in Clatsop County.

Sue Farmer, County Volunteer Coordinator, said over the past year, 520 volunteers provided 19,626 hours of service with a value of $434,520.00 to the county. 

COVER OREGON OUTREACH DEADLINE EXTENDED; LOCAL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE IN CLATSOP COUNTY

  

Clatsop County residents and the rest of Oregon have until April 30 to apply for health insurance coverage through Cover Oregon.

Gov. John Kitzhaber announced the deadline extension March 26.

People who apply for coverage through Cover Oregon during the extended application period and enroll later will not be subject the potential federal tax penalty.

In addition, an agreement between Cover Oregon and participating insurance providers offers small businesses access to federal tax credits for 2014.