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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2015)
Killing leaves mark on Cannon Beach Poultry and swine shine OPINION • 4A FAIR • 10A 143rd YEAR, No. 22 THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015 ONE DOLLAR State probing energy tax credit sales Records sought on privately brokered sales By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau Submitted Photo SALEM — The Oregon Secre- WDU\ RI 6WDWH¶V RI¿FH KDV ODXQFKHG an inquiry into the state Department of Energy’s handling of tax credit sales. The extent of the investigation is unclear, but a senior auditor from the 6HFUHWDU\ RI 6WDWH¶V RI¿FH UHFHQWO\ requested more than 70 pages of re- cords on privately brokered sales of Oregon business energy tax credits from 2013. Members of the North Coast State Forest Coalition and a professor from Portland State University contend that parts of the Oregon De- partment of Forestry’s Homesteader timber sale is more valuable as a conservation area. See PROBE, Page 10A TiPEer sales pro¿t perturb local community Conservationists want older trees spared conservation group North Coast State Forest Coalition up in arms. Homesteader By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian A s they wound their way through the forest roads in the eastern reaches of Clat- sop County last week, regional for- esters Ty Williams and Dan Goody pointed out the ages and makeup of timber stands. They and the Oregon Depart- ment of Forestry are tasked with managing 137,000 acres of the Clatsop State Forest for the social, economic, and environmental ben- H¿WRI2UHJRQLDQV Goody, the Astoria district for- ester, proudly mentioned that the forest in Clatsop County is the most productive in the state, with trees that grow up to 3 feet a year. The Astoria district of the forest- Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Regional foresters Ty Williams, left, and Dan Goody, right, walk through a modified clearcut area near the Homesteader area. ry department shoots for 74 mil- lion board feet of timber sales, all while 30 percent of the forest is set aside for long-term complex forest conditions, terrestrial anchors and wildlife habitat, On July 1, the forestry board approved 74 million board feet of proposed timber sales for the As- toria district’s 2015-16 operations plan. The sales span more than 2,400 of Clatsop State Forest’s 137,000 acres, and are worth an estimated $23.2 million to Clatsop County. But one of the sales has local Homesteader is comprised of about 250 acres southeast of Jewell School in the Buster Creek Basin, which feeds into the Nehalem Riv- er. The proposed timber sales by the forestry department include one 48-acre parcel for a partial cut, and four other parcels totaling 211 acres SODQQHGIRUDPRGL¿HGFOHDUFXWLQ which a small number of trees — WKH GHSDUWPHQW VKRRWV IRU ¿YH WR seven per acre, Williams said — are left for stream buffers, wildlife areas and biological diversity. The coalition is primarily interested in one of the four potential clearcuts it contends includes rare and eco- logically valuable old growth trees. “Logging the Homesteader sale areas will see the clearcutting of old-growth and advanced mid-ser- al forests,” said a report from the See TIMBER, Page 7A Highway 420 opens dispensary at long last Seaside business to consider recreational sales By KATHERINE LACAZE EO Media Group SEASIDE — After several years of perseverance, Highway 420 this PRQWK EHFDPH 6HDVLGH¶V ¿UVW RI¿- cially licensed medical marijuana dispensary, potentially opening the door for recreational sales in Octo- ber. “We won,” said Steve Geiger, who co-owns the business with his wife, Evee. “We won for the patients, DQGWKHSDWLHQWVDUHQRZEHQH¿WLQJ´ The couple moved to the area in 2012, when they tried opening a shop but relocated twice because of complaints from neighbors. At that point, Geiger said, they just wanted to have a glass shop. See HIGHWAY 420, Page 10A Trademark downtown corner will have eatery Commercial and 12th was home to Clemente’s By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian One of downtown Asto- ria’s trademark corners will soon have a restaurant again. Jim Defeo, of Astoria Cof- fee House and Bistro and Car- go, intends to open Carruthers at Commercial and 12th streets by around Thanksgiv- ing. The restaurant will take its name from the Carruthers Building, the 1920s-era space that spans the corner. “We’re going to have it in the period of when the build- ing was built — more of that elevated style,” said Defeo, who purchased the space. He said the city is ripe for more restaurant options for both locals and tourists. Commercial is the main thoroughfare downtown, while 12th is the site of the Astoria Sunday Market. The historic Liberty Theater is across from the Carruthers Building. For the past seven years, the space was home to Cle- mente’s, which moved this year to the end of 14th Street along the Astoria Riverwalk. Previous tenants included Valley Bronze, a sculpture gallery. Bill Lind and Virginia Laughery owned the property for 14 years. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian The Carruthers Building on Commercial and 12th streets. Jim Defeo plans to open a new restaurant later this year where Clemente’s used to be. “We are delighted that when it came time to sell the building that we found a lo- cal person who has the good of downtown Astoria as one of his goals,” Lind said of Defeo, who relocated from Portland in 2006. “We also value that he appreciates the residential community that lives upstairs.” Next week, the corner space will host a pop-up art show with Imogen Gallery that will feature the work of Greek painter Christos Kout- souras. A preview party is set for the evening of Aug. 7. Both Imogen on 11th Street and the Commercial and 12th space will display the painter’s art during the Second Saturday Art Walk on Aug. 8. The art- work will be up at Commer- cial and 12th for the month of August. “It’s such a beautiful space,” Teri Sund, Imogen’s owner, said of Commercial and 12th. “It’s, to me, crying for artwork.” FRIDAY IS 4 5 1 20 C LATS O P APPRECIATION D A Y C OUN TY F AIR th ru AUGUST 1 F a ir hou rs 10a m -9p m Ca rn iva l hou rs N o o n -9p m M ilita ry personnel, fire fighters, police & tea chers a nd their fa m ilies a dm itted for $1 ea ch F or m ore in form a tion go to w w w .cla tsopfa irgrou n d s.com