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DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 4 ONE DOLLAR Parks RANQUILITY master plan passes muster T WALKING THE PATH TO City Council may tackle ‘selling parks’ issue later on By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Brett Young, right, walks a labyrinth with his wife, Sara, center, and others on Sunday at Grace Episcopal Church in Astoria. The church sets up the labyrinth on the first Sunday of every month. With a portable labyrinth, local woman shares the peace she inds in the journey The irst-ever master plan for Astoria’s parks and recreation sites met mostly with critical acclaim Tuesday, when the Astoria City Council held a irst reading on an ordi- nance to adopt the document as part of the larger comprehensive plan. INSIDE The plan lays out a vision for the Parks More City and Recreation Depart- Council news ment’s policies and Page 3A offerings — parks, trails, facilities and pro- grams — using input gathered over many months from city departments, the Parks Advisory Board, a citizen advisory commit- tee and the public. It also includes recommendations for the coming decade. Among them: hiring more full-time staff and looking into new rev- enue streams, such as utility fees, system See PARKS, Page 10A By ELI STILLMAN The Daily Astorian n the irst Sunday of every month, Karin Temple lays out a large mat at the Grace Episco- pal Church on Franklin Avenue. Once completely unfolded, the 24-by-24-foot mat depicts a circular pattern of lines that wrap around the entire space. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., the labyrinth is open for anyone to walk it. Labyrinths can be traced back to various ancient civilizations through mythology and artwork, but have been adapted for mod- ern nondenominational spiritual purposes. While appearing similar to mazes, they differ in that there are no dead ends. Instead, they are comprised of a unicursal path, meaning they will lead a traveler around the mat and eventually land them in the center. Temple’s irst encounter with the labyrinth came almost 15 years ago at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland. She had returned from Spain in 2001 after completing the Camino de Santi- ago, a path nearly 500 miles long that dates back to biblical times and is considered a pilgrimage for multiple religions. She cut her trip short after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Cen- ter. “I was in turmoil that this had O Rental owners ready to battle Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian A labyrinth can be seen along the trail at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge in Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. interrupted my spiritual journey,” she said. After walking the labyrinth a few times and researching spir- ituality surrounding it, Tem- ple found peace and a space for relection in the ancient pattern. That tranquility she found when walking the path, lead her to purchase a personal, portable labyrinth. Since then, she’s taken it to various establishments and allowed people to try it out for themselves. She says there are a few people who come every Sun- day, but often, new people walk- ing by stop to try it. “It’s deinitely a different environment than the rest of your day,” walker Brett Young said. He and his wife, Sara, walked the labyrinth for their irst time on Sunday afternoon.“It’s great to zone everything out and just focus on the path in front of you,” said Sara Young said. Temple said priests, rabbis and children have walked this same labyrinth at the church. There are no rules for how long to take or what to think about while See LABYRINTHS, Page 10A Vintage Hardware needs a new home Mo’s Restaurant looking to buy building from Englund Marine By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Astoria Vintage Hardware has until the end of September to ind a new home. Last week, the business received 90 days’ notice to vacate the river- front building on the north end of 15th Street to make way for a Mo’s Restaurant. The building’s owner, Englund Marine & Industrial Supply, has inter- mittently listed the property for about 10 years. Newport Paciic Corp., which owns and operates seven Mo’s in six Oregon cities, is working on a contract to purchase the building. A Planning Commission hear- ing on the seafood company’s condi- tional use permit will likely be held Aug. 2 at City Hall, Community Development Director Kevin Cro- nin said. The hardware store, founded more than eight years ago, salvages and sells pieces of antique and vintage architec- ture. It has leased the Englund Marine building since May 2014. “It’s month to month, so we knew that perhaps this might be a situation that could occur,” Becky Johnson, co-owner of Astoria Vintage Hard- ware, said. She added there is “no animos- ity or hard feelings between Vintage Hardware and the Englund family, at all.” In fact, Kurt Englund — who owns Englund Marine with his father, Jon Englund — gave the store a heads up Memorial Day weekend that a notice might be coming, John- son said. Paul Tuter, Johnson’s business partner, said he can’t blame Englund Marine for accepting an offer. “They’ve sat on the building for 10 years,” he said. Though he recognizes many peo- ple are upset by the eviction, Tuter said he doesn’t want the Englund family to get hammered by the community. See HARDWARE, Page 10A Vote, legal action could result from Gearhart decision By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian GEARHART — No matter what happens at Gearhart City Council Wednesday night, residents are likely to challenge it at the polls or in the courts, or both. “I implore you to sit back, relect and engage forward thinking and clear vision to avoid a prolonged battle which could drain resources and further divide this com- munity,” Jim Whittemore said in opposing proposed rules regulating short-term rent- als. “Working together to resolve this issue will be far more productive than a prolonged civic and possibly legal battle that could have lasting effects on the future of this city.” The council convened at the irehouse Tuesday night to hear public comment on short-term regulation in Gearhart, a pro- cess initiated by the Planning Commission. See GEARHART, Page 10A Danny Miller / The Daily Astorian Gearhart residents and community mem- bers fill all the seats at the Gearhart Fire Station during a public hearing about Gearhart short-term rentals Tuesday.