Rethinking pot,
a year later
Gulls battle in
Final Four rematch
PAGE 5A
SPORTS • 7A
MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015
142nd YEAR, No. 134
ONE DOLLAR
Herd
of elk
take the
plunge
REMAKING
UNIONTOWN
Resident elk
take a dip in the
Columbia River
By DERRICK DEPLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
This strip lies within the Bridge Vista area, part of the Astoria Riverfront Vision Plan.
Planners hold
town hall to
hear feedback
on Bridge Vista
transitions
another.
“Maybe they’re following their
New Year’s resolutions to get more
exercise,” one joked.
See ELK, Page 10A
By DERRICK DEPLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
C
ity planners Tuesday will sketch out po-
tential land use changes in Uniontown,
hoping for a vibrant mix of commercial
and residential development that still preserves
the riverfront’s historic character.
The town hall meeting — 6 p.m. at the
Holiday Inn Express — is intended to give
people who live, work and own property near-
by an opportunity to provide feedback on the
Bridge Vista phase of the city’s Riverfront Vi-
sion Plan.
The city’s preliminary concepts include a
new pedestrian-friendly zone near the Astoria
Bridge with broader commercial and residential
options but possible limits on automobile use.
The Astoria Planning Commission has held
three work sessions, which covered code, zon-
ing, building height and design, landscaping,
setbacks and off-street parking, but city plan-
ners want to hear more from the public before
formalizing recommendations for the commis-
sion, which will advise the Astoria City Council.
City Manager Brett Estes said planners are
“starting to put some skin on the bones” and
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
These businesses along West Marine Drive are examples of the 50 percent ground level
window coverage, transom windows, and recessed entryways recommended for the Astor
West Urban Renewal District in the city of Astoria’s Bridge Vista Area.
Mother,
friend
plead not
guilty to
murder
More charges
IF YOU GO
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Holiday Inn Express, 204 W.
Marine Drive
Online: http://bit.ly/1tC9cXR
ALEX PAJUNAS — The Daily Astorian
for the Planning Commission.
Bridge Vista, which extends from the Port
of Astoria to Second Street, is the second phase
of the city’s ambitious Riverfront Vision Plan.
In October, the City Council signed off on zon-
ing changes along the Civic Greenway segment
from 16th Street to 39th Street. The two other
phases involve the Urban Core from Second
Street to 16th Street and the Neighborhood Gre-
It was a remarkable sight: a herd
of elk plunged into the Columbia
River for a swim.
JoAnna Dotson of Astoria cap-
tured the scene on Saturday in War-
renton and watched as the powerful
beasts swam before coming to shore
near Hammond.
Her photographs, shared with
The Daily Astorian and posted on the
newspaper’s Facebook page Sunday,
sparked a lively discussion about
what the elk were doing in the water.
“They’re just doing the polar
plunge,” one reader wrote.
In addition to opening the restaurant Alba-
tross, Eric Bechard purchased the Union
Steam Baths in Uniontown with the intent
to reopen the sauna sometime in the future.
enway from 39th Street to the east end of Alder-
brook Lagoon.
The Riverfront Vision Plan, accepted by the
land use along the Columbia River while pre-
serving broad views and honoring the history as
a working waterfront. Some residents, however,
have complained about the potential for overde-
velopment.
George “Mick” Hague, a retired teacher, has
warned that more commercial and residential
projects near or over the water in the Bridge
Vista phase could spoil views and walks.
Hague believes such development should
take place south of the Astoria Riverfront Trol-
ley tracks. He cautioned that buildings concen-
trated on both sides of the tracks could create a
See UNIONTOWN, Page 10A
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
A Seaside mother and her live-in
boyfriend pleaded not guilty Friday
to charges accusing the couple of
from Clatsop County Jail for an arraign-
ment in Clatsop County Circuit Court.
Wing, who was arrested by Sea-
side Police Thursday, is charged
with murder by abuse from neglect
slaughter and six counts of criminal
mistreatment.
See MURDER, Page 10A
Computers, cars drive CCC auto teacher
Electronics were the craze in
the late 1970s, early ’80s when
he went to college, said Thad
Nolan, 53, who earned an as-
sociate’s degree in electronic
engineering from Clatsop Com-
munity College.
But computer skills weren’t
such a sure thing in the job mar-
ket. He’s been doing mechani-
14-year-old at a service station.
“And lo and behold, the cars
went computerized,” said No-
lan, who has worked in the auto
an adjunct instructor at CCC for
the last decade.
His last day at Warrenton
Kia was Wednesday. Today he
becomes the lone full-time in-
structor for CCC’s automotive
program, showing students how
intertwined electronics and au-
tomotive are.
The auto program has two
adjuncts helping Nolan, who is
when Stephen Sanders left to
head the diesel mechanics pro-
gram at Western Wyoming
Community College. The pro-
Nolan’s happy to be down
to one job, after spending six
days a week working, between
Kia and the college, much to
the chagrin of his wife, he said.
“She’s the most happy about me
getting full-time job (teaching).”
Coding
All cars built and sold in the
U.S. since Jan. 1, 1996, are re-
quired to have an onboard diag-
nostics (OBD) hookup, through
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
Thad Nolan takes over today as the lone full-time instruc-
tor in Clatsop Community College’s automotive program.
He’s been an adjunct instructor for the past 12 years.
which mechanics access a car’s
subsystems. There are several
thousand generic OBD codes for
a mechanic to learn, said Nolan,
and even more specialty codes.
“There’s a computer that
controls it, and unless you can
talk with the computer, all you
can do is change tires,” said No-
lan, adding that beyond learning
the codes comes learning the de-
ductive reasoning skills needed
See NOLAN, Page 10A