THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 NORTH COAST 3A Woman robbed on Astoria Riverwalk No break for Elks from maintenance assessment By The Daily Astorian A 32-year-old woman was robbed at knifepoint on the As- toria Riverwalk Monday morn- ing, according to the Astoria Police Department. The woman reported that she was walking her two dogs on the elevated area between Astoria Warehousing and the Holiday Inn Express when she was ap- proached by a 40- to 50-year-old man about 6 feet tall, wearing a brown hat, blue jeans and a red and blue plaid shirt. The man pointed a knife at the woman and demanded her purse, police said. The purse contained some FDVKWKHZRPDQ¶VLGHQWL¿FDWLRQ DQG D SDUWLDOO\ ¿OOHG ERWWOH RI pain medicine, she told police. 7KHPDQÀHGHDVWERXQGDQG the woman returned to her car at the Maritime Memorial to call police on the phone she left in her car. Astoria Police respond- ed to the area, but were unable to locate anyone matching the description of the suspect. By KATHERINE LACAZE EO Media Group The woman reported that she was walking her two dogs on the elevated area between Astoria Warehousing and the Holiday Inn Express when she was approached by a 40- to 50-year-old man about 6 feet tall, wearing a brown hat, blue jeans and a red and blue plaid shirt. Police are searching for anyone who may have seen the incident on the Riverwalk that occurred at about 9:55 a.m. Monday. Anyone with infor- mation is asked to contact As- toria Police at 503-325-4411 RU2I¿FHU/DQFH6KHSKHUGDW lshepherd@astoria.or.us Creative classes spring up at CCC Clatsop Community Col- lege offers a selection of class- es to teach new and interesting skills for the start of spring. Classes, held at the CCC’s main campus in Astoria unless otherwise stated, include: • “Cartooning.” Learn to draw caricatures of the human form from local artist David Poole. The class takes place 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, March 31 to May 5, at the col- lege’s South County Center, 1455 N. Roosevelt Drive in Seaside. Cost is $35. • “Digital Photography: More Techniques for Camera & Computer.” Explore your digital camera in this eight- week class taught by photog- rapher Dwight Caswell. Focus on areas of photography that in- terest you and learn the use and value of your camera features. Be familiar with your camera manual and come prepared for DFRXSOHRI¿HOGWULSVWRSUDFWLFH what you have learned. Class is held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, March 31 to May 19. • “Jewelry Metalsmithing.” Make your own silver, brass or copper jewelry by using hand tools and precious metals to create cut-work of your own design. Bring safety glass- es and contact the instructor at 503-325-0998 for a list of needed supplies. The class is taught by Virginia Hall from 6 to 8:20 p.m. Thursdays, April 2 to June 4. Cost is $75. • “Nature Journaling.” Man- age stress, and develop the VNLOOVDQGFRQ¿GHQFHWRH[SORUH the region. Learn to observe the world in a whole new way by keeping a nature journal. Class is taught by Julie Tennis from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, April 1 to May 6. It includes IRXU ¿HOG WULS GD\V IRU RQVLWH practice from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Cost is $55. • “Cast on & Knit.” Learn the stitches, how to cast on, ELQG RII ¿[ D GURSSHG VWLWFK and more. Come away with a completed project and the skills to do more. Class is taught by Evy Berger from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays, April 4 to May 23. Cost is $49 and includes all supplies need- ed to complete a swatch. Bring scissors and a measuring tape. • “Meditation.” Explore ways to clear your mind, still your thoughts and increase con- centration through this non-re- ligious practice. Led by Ron Maxted, class is held from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, April 2 to June 3. Cost is $29. • “Tai Chi for Health.” An ancient form of moving med- itation, the movements of Tai Chi are slow, gentle and round. Practiced about 10 minutes a day on a consistent basis can increase health and mental ben- H¿WV'HYHORSHGE\WKH1DWLRQDO Arthritis Foundation, this class is generally practiced standing up but can also be done sitting down. No experience required. It’s taught by Ron Graham from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays, April 1 to June 3. Serial burglar arrested in Astoria Notary seminar set The six burglary charges change Street and West Grand relate to incidents reported on Avenue. the 100 block of West Duane In November, Police found The Astoria man suspect- Street, the 200 block of West Pitts in an attic at a vacant res- ed in several burglaries in the Exchange Street and 4000 idence on the 100 block of south slope neighborhoods was block of Irving Avenue and Hume Avenue. He was arrested arrested last week after a two the 3800 block of Kensington and booked without incident month search. Avenue. for a felony warrant and the two Astoria Police found Jes- Police Chief Brad John- counts of burglary. se Allan Pitts, 32, at about 1 ston said Pitts could face more Prior to Pitts’ arrest in No- p.m. Wednesday in the densely charges, upon further investi- vember, police received reports wooded area off of the 3800 gation. from part-time residents who block of Kensington Avenue in “We believe we have found evidence that someone $VWRULD$Q RI¿FHU UHVSRQGHG enough tying him to other bur- had been living inside their res- to a report of someone outside glaries in the south slope area,” idence. In one case, police said, a home who ran off into the Johnston said. Pitts had broken through an ZRRGV7KHUHVSRQGLQJRI¿FHU 3ROLFH ¿UVW DUUHVWHG 3LWWV LQ interior wall. In another case, a found Pitts by a campsite he November for two counts of resident came face to face with VHWXSZLWKDFDPRXÀDJHWDUS ¿UVWGHJUHH EXUJODU\ DIWHU KH Pitts in their basement. over the top of it. was seen in houses and porch- Pitts stole mostly perishable It is unknown how long es around the 200 block of food items from the homes, ac- Pitts had been living at the West Duane Street, West Ex- cording to police. campsite. After a short foot pursuit, Pitts was arrested and charged ZLWKVL[FRXQWVRI¿UVWGHJUHH burglary. He was also arrest- Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber ed on a warrant for failing to appear in court for previous N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A charges. Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — A free Sec- retary of State Notary Public Seminar is being held from 9 a.m. to noon March 26 at the South County branch of Clatsop Community Col- lege, Room 2, 1455 N. Roo- sevelt Drive in Seaside. The information pre- sented covers the rules, reg- ulations and best practices for Oregon notaries public, including how to properly identify the signer, what to record in the journal and the requirements of an Ore- JRQQRWDULDOFHUWL¿FDWH7KLV training meets the educa- tion requirements for those applying for a commission. Current notaries are also en- couraged to attend to refresh their memories and learn new content. To register, go to http:// notsem.sos.state.or.us or call 503-986-2200. W A NTED P resc h o o l a n d ea rl y c h i l d h o o d R ESO U R CE R EFER R A L FA IR Warrenton Grade School 820 SW Cedar Warrenton P arents of soon-to-be preschoolers e r ’ u o Y ited! Inv • “Beginning Conversation- al Finnish.” Learn the language and experience the culture of the far north; watch Finnish videos; and sample Finnish food. The class is taught by Helen Pit- kanen from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays, March 30 to June 1. Cost is $75. The required books are available at the CCC book- store. • “Travel Tips.” Learn ev- erything about planning an international trip, from the equipment needed to han- dling cultural differences. Learn about packing light, nec- essary documentation, traveling with medical considerations, prescriptions and diet restric- tions, handling money and cred- it cards and more. Facilitated by LaRee Johnson with a variety of experienced travelers from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays, April 2 to May 7. Cost is $35. Register now at www.clat- sopcc.edu/schedule and search under the course title, or call 503-325-2402. Saturday April 11 TH 10 AM -1 PM Come meet the local preschools and early childhood providers – learn about their curriculum, philosophies, tuition and more! SEASIDE — The Sea- side Elks will get no re- lief from the mandatory Downtown Maintenance District Assessment in 2015-16, but Seaside City Council promised to re-evaluate all properties included in the assessment during the summer. At a meeting earli- er this month, Christian Zupancic, a local lawyer who spoke on behalf of the Elks, asked the City Coun- cil for a reduced rate or to- tal relief from the assess- ment fee for the nonprofit. At Monday’s meeting, the council voted unanimous- ly to keep the status quo for fiscal year 2015-16 but to further explore the topic at an August meeting. The Downtown Main- tenance District includes businesses from Roos- evelt Drive to the Prome- nade that are located along Broadway, Avenue A, Av- enue B, Columbia Street and Franklin Street. Busi- nesses are charged a fee based on the number of frontage feet possessed by their property lots. The dollar per front foot rate, according to the city’s Administrative Assistant Kim Jordan, is based on two contracts the city pays for downtown landscaping and litter re- moval. “These contractors keep the downtown land- scape looking beautiful and the litter picked up in the downtown area,” she said. For 2014-15, nearly 170 lots were assessed at a rate of about $8.84 per front foot to generate $92,051. The Seaside Elks Lodge, which has two large parking lots along Avenue A, was required to pay $1,038.19 for 117.4 feet of frontage for one lot and $1,436.12 for 162.4 feet of frontage for anoth- er lot. After it’s completed, the assessment is sent to the county, which adds the fees to the property own- ers’ Clatsop County taxes for the year. The assessment for the upcoming fiscal year will start later this month when the city sends let- ters to property owners. They will have 30 days to provide comment or feedback before the City Council is presented with an ordinance for first and second reading at its April 27 meeting. The ordinance likely will come back be- fore council for a third and final reading, and adop- tion, at its May 11 meet- ing. Earlier this month, when speaking on behalf of the Elks, Zupancic ex- plained how the Elks is a nonprofit organization and typically exempt from property taxes. The orga- nization donates more than $35,000 per year in schol- arships for high school se- niors and other community programs and events, such as eye clinics for children, camps for speech- or hear- ing-impaired children and more. “The more money you have to pay in assess- ments, the less is going to go back into the communi- ty,” Zupancic said Meanwhile, he added, the Elks’ parking lots are generally open for public use free of charge, because they “can’t really charge for the use of their parking without losing their non- profit status in certain re- spects.” The organization can only charge for use of its parking lots a few days each year, and it does so during events such as the Hood to Coast Relay. “They get stuck be- tween not being able to charge and having to pay maintenance fees,” Zupancic said. He said members were grateful the council consid- ered the request for relief or some kind of reduction but the organization didn’t have any expectations. The motion at Mon- day’s City Council meeting was to keep the Elks as part of the 2015-16 assessment. If the organization’s lots were removed from con- sideration, it would require an approximately 2.7 per- cent rate increase per lot for other property owners, according to city staff. In August, the council will meet to discuss the assessment and look at what businesses and or- ganizations are included and what they’re charged. A few new businesses in the maintenance district, which hasn’t changed since 1983, are not cur- rently included in the as- sessment, Jordan said. “I think it’s a really good idea for us to look at the whole thing, not just the Elks,” City Counselor Tita Montero said. A heartfelt thank-you to the Warrenton Christian Church and to the friends and family who came to share in the celebration of life for Vernon Hart. It was a beautiful day to share heartfelt memories with everyone who he knew and loved so much. Thank you! Sincerely, the family of Vernon Hart Early Childhood Health & Education Clinic For Clatsop County Kids SIGN UP TODAY! FREE For all 3-5 year olds, regardless of income April 14, 2015 The Astoria Armory 1636 Exchange St., Astoria April 22, 2015 Seaside Convention Center 415 First Avenue, Seaside Early screening is an important step to successful learning. Your child will receive the following exams and screenings: Free! and Activity area provided for kids Sponsored by: MOMS Club of Astoria, Clatsop kinder ready, NW Parenting momsclubofastoria.org C LATSOP K INDER R EADY , NW P ARENTING , AND OTHER LOCAL RESOURCES WILL BE ATTENDING TO PROVIDE INFO TO PARENTS ~ Physical ~ Hearing ~ School Readiness ~Speech ~ Nutrition ~Vision ~Dental ~Immunization Call your local elementary school or Head Start center for an appointment by April 7 for the Astoria clinic or April 15 for the Seaside clinic. Limited transportation help is available upon request. se habla espanol. Sponsors are NW Early Learning Council, NW Educational Service District and Clatsop Kinder Ready. Major health & education groups of Clatsop County are partnering to make this clinic possible.