NORTH COAST
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015
Join the Great Backyard Bird Count
The 18th annual Great Backyard
Bird Count is taking place Friday
through Monday. Anyone can count
birds at any location for at least 15
minutes, on one or more days of the
count, and enter their sightings at
www.BirdCount.org. The informa-
tion gathered by tens of thousands of
volunteers helps track changes in bird
populations on a massive scale. The
GBBC is a joint project of the Cornell
Lab of Ornithology and the National
Audubon Society with partner Bird
Studies Canada.
During the count, visitors to Lew-
is and Clark National Historical Park,
Fort Clatsop, can learn about partici-
pating in the count, record bird num-
bers in the park and make plans to
count birds in their own backyards.
Binoculars will be available for loan
within the park during this event.
Along with the actual bird count-
ing activities, a “pink heron scavenger
hunt” will be ongoing using the Netul
River Trail along the Lewis and Clark
River, and a “Birds of Fort Clatsop”
display is in the visitor center lobby.
On Saturday, Mike Patterson will
lead a birding walk starting at 9 a.m. in
the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center lobby.
Although leashed dogs are welcome at
most of the park’s outdoor programs,
cessible, although nonmotorized users
might need assistance for about 200
yards.
On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
and from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, a bird-
themed children’s crafts, face-painting
and education corner will be available
in the visitor center.
Josh Saranpaa, a wildlife rehabil-
itator with the Wildlife Center of the
North Coast, will talk about the cen-
ter’s work at 1 p.m. Sunday in the
Netul River Room of the Fort Clatsop
Visitor Center. This In Their Footsteps
program will feature live bird spe-
cies from the center such as common
murre, rhinoceros auklet, northern ful-
mar and American kestral.
Park hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each
day. Admission is $3 per adult and free
for youths 15 and younger. In honor of
Presidents’ Day, Monday, the admis-
sion fee to all National Park Service
sites is free Saturday, Sunday, and
Monday.
The weekend’s birding events at
Fort Clatsop are sponsored by the
Lewis & Clark National Park Associ-
ation and the National Park Service.
For information, call the park at 503-
861-2471 or go to www.nps.gov/lewi
or “Lewis and Clark National Histor-
ical Park” on Facebook.
Photo courtesy of Doug Swanson
More than 20,000 European star-
lings were found in the Colum-
bia River estuary Christmas Bird
Count Dec. 15, 2013, along with
more than 8,500 in the Wahkiakum
(Wash.) count later in the month.
dogs are not allowed at this morning
walk. Participants should dress for the
weather. The walk is wheelchair ac-
Ilwaco, Chinook ports land additional
$2.4 million for dredging work
By KATIE WILSON
EO Media Group
ILWACO, Wash. — One
more year of channel main-
tenance is in the bag for two
3DFL¿FFRXQW\SRUWV
According to a work plan
released by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers Feb. 3,
the ports of Ilwaco and Chi-
nook will receive about $2.4
million for dredging at Bak-
er Bay and between Chinook
and Sand Island.
This is great news for Chi-
nook and Ilwaco, said Guy
Glenn Jr., port manager at the
port of Ilwaco.
“You work hard on it, but
you never know and then this
kind of news comes and it’s
a very positive thing for our
community,” he said Tuesday.
In December, the Corps
was allotted $2.9 billion for
operations and maintenance
projects. The money came out
of a $1 trillion spending pack-
age of which the Corps was
funded at $5.5 billion.
Of the $2.9 billion for op-
erations and maintenance,
OREE\LQJJURXS3DFL¿F1RUWK-
west Waterways Association
reports $1.1 billion came from
the Harbor Maintenance Trust
Fund, a fund that small ports
across the country have ar-
gued should be utilized to aid
Community
meeting set
to gather
comments
By NANCY MCCARTHY
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — A prelimi-
nary plan to enhance the ex-
perience of visiting the Mill
Pond in Seaside will be pre-
sented at a community meet-
ing at 6 p.m. March 4 at the
Bob Chisholm Community
Center, 1225 Avenue A.
A local committee that is
working on a citywide natu-
ral history park, is suggesting
that the Mill Pond area, on the
south end of Seaside east of
U.S. Highway 101, be devel-
oped in four phases.
Once the site of a logging
operation, the 20-acre area,
which contains two ponds, be-
came known as the Mill Pond.
It will be included in the nat-
ural history park, which is en-
visioned to stretch from north
of Seaside to the south.
Melyssa Graeper, coordi-
nator of the Necanicum Wa-
tershed Council, presented the
Mill Pond plan to the Seaside
Parks Advisory Committee
Thursday night.
Graeper said the enhance-
ments were suggested by those
attending an open house at the
Mill Pond site last August.
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naire that asked what people
might want to see at the site.
Although a rudimenta-
ry path already meanders
through the area, the pro-
posed plan calls for enhanc-
ing it all the way around the
pond, which lies behind the
city’s Public Works building.
Other suggested improve-
ments include restrooms,
a covered picnic shelter,
a parking area, a handi-
capped-accessible bird blind,
as well as a second bird blind
across the pond, an observa-
tion tower, small playground
and a historical interpretation
kiosk.
“We want to leave the rest
of it natural,” Graeper said.
Much of the area is sur-
rounded by trees and black-
berry and other bushes. Some
of the bushes between the
pond and Les Schwab Tires
would remain for people to
pick blackberries. Several of
those answering the question-
naire said they often picked
blackberries in the area, and
they didn’t want to lose that
opportunity, Graeper added.
The improvements would
be spread out in each of the
four phases, with clean-up
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phase and the possible acqui-
sition of a few adjacent prop-
erties to enlarge the area in
the fourth phase.
Grants to make the im-
provements may be avail-
able through local watershed
councils and the state parks
department, said Neal Wal-
lace, Seaside Public Works
director.
In addition to the com-
munity meeting March 4,
the group plans to present
the plan to the Seaside Rota-
ry, Kiwanis and Lions clubs,
the Seaside Chamber of
Commerce and the Seaside
Downtown Development As-
sociation.
Wallace, who is the city’s
liaison for the parks advisory
committee, called the plan,
which has taken a few years
to develop, “excellent work.”
“I know how hard it is to
pull these things together,”
Wallace said. “It makes me
happy to see it after such a
long time.”
Columbia Memorial Hos- FDQEH¿WWHGIRUD%UDV0RPV
pital/Oregon Health and Sci- nursing bra, and a lactation
ence University Cardiology area will be available.
Chinook Observer file photo
Clinic are holding an infor-
Seen through the trees on Robert Gray Drive in Ilwaco, a dredge works its way toward mative Community Health
the Port of Ilwaco. The navigation channel requires ongoing maintenance dredging to Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat-
facilitate navigation by large fishing boats and Coast Guard motor lifeboats.
urday at the Clatsop County
Fairgrounds, 92937 Walluski
the Corps’ operations at small able to get $1.8 million in around 16 feet, but the Corps Loop. There is no cost for this
ports.
maintenance dredging. The only dredged to 14 feet in event, which is designed for
Each year, small ports have Corps, which is tasked with places which allowed them the whole family, and prizes
WR ¿JKW IRU D FXW RI IXQGLQJ maintaining all federal chan- to stretch the money available will be given hourly.
As operations and mainte- QHOV ¿QLVKHG XS WKDW ZRUN that year farther. The channel
The fair provides basic
nance earmarks have dried up last fall.
had been in a bad way, with health screenings, informa-
and disappeared, that funding
For theses two ports the Coast Guard vessels reporting WLRQRQORFDOKHDOWKDQG¿WQHVV
KDV EHHQ HYHQ PRUH GLI¿FXOW dredging work in the access that they were hitting bottom, programs, and an opportunity
to land.
channels off the Columbia DQG ¿VKLQJ ERDWV IRUFHG WR to talk to local medical spe-
20% Discount
Last year, after aggressive River is crucial to their con- edge carefully around each cialists and test one’s strength
on Pet Dentals
and focused lobbying, the tinued survival.
other and shallow spots as and balance. Nursing mothers
Port of Ilwaco, representing
The Baker Bay channel they entered and exited the
for the month
both itself and Chinook, was has an authorized depth of marina.
of February
SEASIDE
PET CLINIC
F ebruary is
P et D ental
M onth
Police arrested Heide L. Larson,
31, Seaside, for DUII in the 600
block of 18th Street. Larson’s
blood alcohol content was mea-
sured at 0.29, police reported.
• At 12:42 a.m. Sunday, As-
toria Police arrested William
M. Mueller, 24, Racine, Wis.,
for DUII at 12th and Commer-
cial streets. Mueller’s blood
alcohol content was measured
at 0.15, police reported.
Crash
• At 3:26 a.m. Monday, Or-
egon State Police responded
to a single-vehicle injury crash
on U.S. Highway 101 milepost
36. A Chevrolet SUV, driven by
Francis G. Shaw, 68, Nehalem,
was southbound and swerved to
miss several elk and lost control.
The SUV crossed the northbound
lane and went off the shoulder,
striking several trees. Shaw and
passenger Debra Reinhart, 52,
Seaside, were transported to
Providence Seaside Hospital with
minor injuries. Two dogs were
transported to the Cannon Beach
Police Department’s kennel.
AARP Foundation offers free tax help
Beginning in February, the
AARP Foundation is again
providing free tax assistance
and preparation for taxpayers
with low to moderate income
through the AARP Founda-
tion Tax-Aide program, giv-
ing special attention the older
population. Membership in
AARP, or being a retiree, is
not required to use this ser-
vice.
The program is offered at
approximately 134 sites in
Oregon, including in Astoria
and Seaside. Tax assistance
is available from 8:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. Fridays at the
Astoria Senior Center, 1555
W. Marine Drive. Walk-ins
are welcome. For informa-
tion, call 503-325-3231. As-
sistance is also available from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, by
appointment only, at the Bob
Seaside’s Mill Pond
plan presented
Health fair planned
On the record
DUII arrests
• At 12:24 a.m. Friday, As-
toria Police arrested Elle Mar-
garet Wolf, 24, Astoria, for
'ULYLQJ8QGHUWKH,QÀXHQFHRI
Intoxicants at 21st Street and
0DULQH 'ULYH $Q RI¿FHU LQL-
tially stopped Wolf for driving
with no headlights.
• At 4:04 p.m. Friday, Astoria
3A
Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A in Seaside.
For information call 503-
738-7393. Both locations are
handicap accessible.
Preparation of tax returns
under the Affordable Care
Act (ACA) rules requires ad-
ditional documentation from
taxpayers this year. The good
news is that for taxpayers on
Medicare or Medicare Advan-
tage for the full year, no fur-
ther information is required.
Otherwise, taxpayers need
to bring along their family’s
health insurance coverage
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emptions.
For details on documen-
tation that is required, go to
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call 888-227-7669.
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Astoria, OR 97103
503-325-4400
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