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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2015)
12A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015 Somers not selected Mill Creek, Wash., manager By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian Clatsop County Manager Scott Somers will not be the next city manager of Mill Creek, Wash., a city of about 18,750 north of Seattle. 6RPHUVZDVRQHRIIRXU¿- nalists for the position, out of 62 applicants. On Tuesday night, the Mill Creek City Council unani- mously chose Rebecca Po- lizzotto of Douglas, Alaska, near Juneau, who has been working as an assistant state attorney general, according to The Everett Herald. The City Council made its decision after a two-day selec- WLRQSURFHVV7KHIRXU¿QDOLVWV toured Mill Creek and met with city staff and the public Thursday, and interviewed with the City Council on Fri- day, The Herald reported. The application process closed in March. Somers declined to com- ment when contacted by The Daily Astorian Wednesday morning. He previously said the Mill Creek position was the ¿UVW MRE KH DSSOLHG IRU VLQFH becoming Clatsop County Manager in July 2012. Prior to Clatsop County, Somers worked as city manager of Reedsport. Somers, who has a Mas- ter of Public Administration from the University of Arizo- na, started his public service career in White Bear Lake, Minn., as an assistant to the city manager and then as the assistant city administrator in Savage, Minn., near Minne- apolis. Somers had described the Mill Creek position as an op- portunity he did not want to overlook. Scott Somers Library: ‘It’s a way to get people talking and get the community together’ Continued from Page 1A bureaucrats, drawing unwanted national media attention. Last year, Spencer Collins, a 9-year- old in Leawood, Kan., became a symbol for the movement after the city warned his family to take down a book exchange in their front yard because it was an im- proper detached structure. Neighbors had complained. The Leawood City Council later placed a moratorium on the prohibition while the city reviewed its development ordinance. “Messing with Little Free Library is like messing with a lemonade stand,” Bol said. The Little Free Library at 12th Street and Grand Avenue is on city property, which could invite a complaint from a persnickety neighbor or zoning vigilante. “It seems like a benign use,” said Mike Morgan, the interim city planner. get the community together,” said Key- ser, who was out on the bench Tuesday afternoon with her son, Olin, 6, and daughter, Juno, 1. Astoria City Councilor Cindy Price, who represents the neighborhood, said the Little Free Library is a great idea. Ready to read ³,W ¿WV ULJKW LQ ZLWK KDYLQJ D PD\RU Keyser said she wants to eventually (Arline LaMear) who is a librarian and register her family’s miniature library as who I think can bring educational, intel- DQRI¿FLDO/LWWOH)UHH/LEUDU\DQGUHFHLYH lectual, reading kind of things to the fore,” a charter sign to display. she said. “This is great. And it’s cute, too.” Her family’s self-styled contribution to the movement has already been no- ticed in the neighborhood. Over the past Melissa Keyser, with son Olin, 6, and daughter Juno, 1, at their Little Free several days, books have been taken out, Library in Astoria. while new arrivals have appeared. DERRICK DePLEDGE — The Daily Astorian “It’s a way to get people talking and Sea lions: Numbers of pinnipeds spiked during smelt run in March Continued from Page 1A ODFW periodically traps and brands sea lions at the basin, as part of a tracking effort. It’s authorized by the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration to kill up to 93 sea lions a year found predating on salmon at Bonneville Dam. Larger issue The sea lion issue has been a divisive one, with members of the Sea Lion Defense Bri- gade regularly attending Port meetings and squaring off with diametrically opposed audience members, and of- ten Port Commissioner Bill Hunsinger. “We don’t have to, in the Port of Astoria, provide a sanctuary for sea lions,” Hunsinger said, adding that nature’s balance is out of whack, with sea lions pos- VLEO\ ¿QGLQJ D QHZ SODFH WR breed and live full time now that they’re starving in Cali- fornia. Biologists from NOAA have pointed to odd wind patterns leading to rising ocean temperatures affecting the food source of sea lions, largely sardines. Female sea OLRQVDUHWDNLQJORQJHUWR¿QG food for their pups, who are looking for food on their own before they are ready, and washing up emaciated along the West Coast. Meanwhile, sea lions are moving north and into the Columbia River to take advantage of strong runs of smelt and salmon. Numbers of sea lions spiked during the smelt run in March, with one count by the ODFW estimating more than 2,300 in the East End Mooring Basin. The situation seems to have boiled over, with a federal investigation by NOAA agents into possi- ble sea lion shootings at the basin earlier this month. “Clearly there is some- thing wrong with ocean conditions,” and sea lions need more support than ever before, Astoria resident Ted Thomas said. He asked the Port Commission to publicly condemn the possible shoot- ings, state its support for the Marine Mammal Protection Act and release to the public the same surveillance tape footage Port staff gave to NOAA investigators. Members of the Sea Lion Defense Brigade, including Stacey McKenney and Ve- ronica Montoya, approached and commented about how the sea lions are so noisy be- cause of the ODFW brand- ing. JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Sea lions and seals rest on the docks of the East Mooring Basin. The East End Mooring Basin has four docks, two for boats and two for sea lions. HEALTH N OTIFIC ATIO N Are Y o u Ha rd o f Hea rin g ? A m ajor n am e bran d h earin g aid provider w ish es to field test a rem ark able n ew digital h earin g in stru m en t in th e area. Th is offer is free of ch arge an d you are u n der n o obligation . Th ese revolu tion ary 100% D igital in stru m en ts u se th e latest tech n ology to com fortably an d alm ost in visibly h elp you h ear m ore clearly. Th is tech n ology solves th e “stopped u p ears” an d “h ead in a barrel” sen sation som e people experien ce. If you w ish to participate, you w ill be requ ired to h ave you r h earin g tested in ou r office FREE O F C H A RG E to determ in e can didacy an d review you r resu lts w ith th e h earin g in stru m en ts w ith ou r h earin g care specialist. A t th e en d of th is evalu ation , you m ay k eep you r in stru m en t, if you so desire, at a trem en dou s savin g for participatin g in th is field test. Special testin g w ill be don e to determ in e th e in creased ben efits of th is tech n ology. Ben efits of h earin g aids vary by type an d degree of h earin g loss, n oise en viron m en t, accu racy of h ea rin g test, an d proper fit. Th is is a w on derfu l opportu n ity to determ in e if h earin g h elp is available for you r h eari n g loss an d get h earin g h elp at a very affordable price. CA LL N O W IF Y O U W ISH TO BE IN CLU D ED IN TH IS FIELD TEST THIS W EEK O N LY N OW Thro ug h W ed n esd a y, Ap ril 29, 2015 Ca ll to d a y to m a ke yo u r reserva tio n fo r a Hea rin g Aid Field Test M ira cle-Ea r C en ter Yo u n g s Ba y Pla za 173 S . 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