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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2017)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017 144TH YEAR, NO. 258 ONE DOLLAR Convention center redo drives high city budget Spending plan inches near $75 million By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Lt. Col. Todd Hofford with the Oregon Air National Guard releases a wreath onto the waters off Cannon Beach Monday to com- memorate the 10-year anniversary of the loss of his friend and fellow airman Maj. Gregory Young. Young’s F-15A went down in 2007 during a training exercise, approximately 40 miles off Cannon Beach. To honor a friend, comrade New firefighter, health increases The new budget is for the fiscal year that begins in July. The city’s general fund, which cov- ers the mayor, council, city attorney, busi- ness office, library and community center, Oregon Air National Guard, Coast Guard pair to commemorate a fallen pilot See SEASIDE, Page 4A By COLIN MURPHEY The Daily Astorian O n June 26, 2007, during a routine Oregon Air National Guard training mission 40 miles off the coast of Cannon Beach, an F-15A fighter jet piloted by Major Gregory Young crashed into the ocean after he became disoriented during the flight. His body was recovered the next day. One of the first responders to the scene of the accident to search for Young was his fellow airman and friend Lt. Col. Todd Hofford. Monday morning, on the 10- year anniversary of the tragedy, Hofford returned to the site to lay a wreath. Hofford was trans- ported to the site during a special mission undertaken by the U.S. Coast Guard to commemorate Young’s death. Hofford was flown in a Coast Guard helicopter to the site where he said a few words in remem- brance of his friend and colleague before releasing a wreath made by some of Young’s family and friends. Hofford said he volunteered to take the flight and lay the wreath before heading to more memorial events scheduled later in the day at different locations in Oregon. Young was a member of the 142nd Fighter Wing out of Port- land. Hofford is still with the same outfit. SEASIDE — Boosted by $30 million in transfers for upgrades to the Seaside Civic and Convention Center, the Seaside City Council on Monday night approved a budget inching near $75 million. This fiscal year’s total, by comparison, stood at $41.4 million. City Manager Mark Winstanley said the new budget is the high- est he has seen in 32 years. Bonds for the convention center renova- tion will be sold for $15 million, then trans- ferred to construction funds. Capital improvements, designed to accommodate larger groups, will add about 10,000 square feet to the 62,000-square-foot convention center. To pay for the renova- tion, city councilors raised the lodging tax from 8 percent to 10 percent in November. The additional tourist revenue will be used to repay construction bonds over a 20- to 30-year period. The $15 million renovation is planned to begin March 2018, ABOVE: Lt. Col. Todd Hofford, second from left, prepares to board a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that will take him to lay a wreath at the 2007 crash site of an F-15A off Cannon Beach that took the life of fellow airman Maj. Gregory Young. ABOVE LEFT: Lt. Col. Todd Hofford gazes out the window of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter as it lifts off to take him to the site of the F-15A crash in 2007 that took the life of his friend Maj. Gregory Young. LEFT: Lt. Todd Hofford prepares to lay a wreath at the crash site as the Coast Guard helicopter hovers over the area. Total solar eclipse casts spotlight on rural town Madras is among the best viewing spots By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press MADRAS — Just before sunrise, there’s typically nothing atop Round Butte but the whistle of the wind and a panoramic view of Oregon’s second-highest peak glowing pink in the faint light. But on Aug. 21, local officials expect this lookout point just outside the small town of Madras to be crammed with people from around the world, all hoping for the first glimpse of the moon’s shadow as it crosses Mount Jefferson’s snow fields. Then, a solar eclipse will throw the entire region into com- plete darkness for two minutes. The first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years will first be visible in Oregon, and Madras is predicted to be among the coun- try’s best viewing spots because of its clear, high-desert skies, flat landscape and stun- ning mountain views. A wreath floats on the waves after it was dropped from a Coast Guard helicopter on Monday. See ECLIPSE, Page 8A PURR, WOOF Pet love at Capitol mitigates the stress of lawmaking By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Cris Cloyd, chief of staff for state Rep. Jeff Reardon of Portland, said she came to the Capitol for work Monday morning feeling tired and stressed. Holding a kitten melted the tension away for a few min- utes, Cloyd said. “It has a calming effect,” another staffer chimed in. State lawmakers and their staffers lined up in the House of Representatives office suite to participate in the “Snug- gle Express” Monday at the Capitol. The Oregon Humane Soci- ety brought in puppies and kit- tens for legislators and staff members to snuggle during the lunch hour. “This is just so exciting,” said Naomi Zhao, an intern in Rep. Ann Lininger’s office, as she waited in a line that wrapped around a wall into a hallway, to hold a puppy. When volunteers with the humane society arrived with the animals in pet carriers, peo- ple in line gasped with delight. “This is my favorite event of the entire session,” another staff member gushed. Mounting tension Rep. Janelle Bynum, a freshman lawmaker from Clackamas, organized the See PET LOVE, Page 4A Paris Achen/Capital Bureau Cris Cloyd, chief of staff for Rep. Jeff Reardon, D-Portland, snuggles Sully, an 8-week-old kitten up for adoption at the Oregon Humane Society, during a Snuggle Express at the Capitol in Salem Monday. The event was meant to reduce stress in the waning days of the legislative session.
