Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 2015)
143rd YEAR, No. 20 TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 ONE DOLLAR New suitors emerge for Astoria inn Potential $2 million restoration budget By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Curt DuPey Jr., left, and Gerald Yadon, right, work on constructing the Tornado, a spinning ride, at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds Mon- day. Yadon, the foreman of the ride, travels with the ride all over the Northwest. The ride takes approximately an hour and a half to set up. READY, SET, FAIR! By JOSHUA BESSEX The Daily Astorian New investors have approached the Port of Astoria about leasing the Astoria Riverwalk Inn, promising to pay off $350,000 in debts and pump $2 million into renovation. William Orr, the president of Sig- nature Seafoods in Seattle, who is from Astoria, would manage a part- nership that would include Chester Trabucco, the developer behind the Hotel Elliott. The new suitors are among sever- al interested in the potentially valu- able Uniontown property. Ganesh Sonpatki, a Portland ho- telier, has claimed to have a contract to take over the inn. A Marriott group may also make a pitch. Kruparao Kancharla and his fam- ily, who own a restaurant and adult foster care homes around Astoria, had stepped forward to operate the inn. But Jim Knight, the Port’s ex- ecutive director, said today that the Kancharla family has withdrawn See RIVERWALK, Page 10A State prepares to collect millions in pot taxes T he Clatsop County Fairgrounds buzzed with activity Monday as people constructed rides, cleaned livestock, and set up booths in preparation for the Clatsop County Fair. The fair begins today and continues through Saturday. The theme of the fair is “Forest, Farms and Foam.” For more information go to www.clatsopfairgrounds.com Large amounts of cash expected By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau Colton Scheel weighs a Cornish Cross chicken for market. ABOVE LEFT: Sugar, a pig owned by Sydney Johnson, chews on a hose after being cleaned up for the Clatsop County Fair Monday. ABOVE MIDDLE: Zip Security, owned by Kaitlyn Landwehr, of Knappa, stands in a stall at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds Monday. ABOVE RIGHT: From left: Tucker Delay, Bayle McCall, and Nolan Kinney try to get Mariner, Kinney’s pig, to go inside the arena during set up for the Clatsop County Fair Monday. The Oregon Department of Rev- enue is preparing to accept large amounts of cash from legal recre- ational pot businesses next year, when a state sales tax on the drug takes effect. Spokeswoman Joy P. Krawczyk said the agency will collect the tax- es on a quarterly basis, and revenue of¿cials plan to release details in the next couple of weeks on how they will handle the tax payments. “It’s still really early in the pro- cess, and our special programs folks are working on putting together a solid plan,” Krawczyk said. See POT, Page 10A For pet owners, a quick stop can mean a hot dog Experts caution against leaving dogs in cars By McKINLEY SMITH The Daily Astorian As temperatures rise during summer, so does the health risk for dogs left in sweltering cars. Most dog owners know bet- ter, yet many occasionally leave their pets in cars when making quick stops at the market, bank or shop. Without the windows rolled down, cars can become hot after about 10 minutes and like ovens after an hour. Others know better, too. Police routinely get emergency calls from concerned residents reporting dogs in danger. Between June 1 and July 8, the Astoria Police Department received 14 calls about dogs left in cars. Warrenton Police Chief Matt Workman said the department received 15 calls in that same period, though none of those calls resulted in charges. ,n most cases, the of¿cers determined the dogs were ¿ne or the owners had already re- turned. Workman said his of¿cers speak to pet owners about the dangers and possible charges each time they are able to ¿nd the owners. In one instance, Astoria police received a report that two dogs appeared to be distressed after they had been left in a van for at least an hour without the windows rolled down. Police contacted the owner as the owner was taking the dogs out of the van. 2014 5 C LATS O P Heats up fast Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian A sign asking dog owners to not leave their dogs in the car hangs in the window of Commercial Street Antiques and Collectibles. Mary LaPlante Krettler, the owner of the store, says she welcomes dogs coming into the store and has water and treats for them. “People think ‘Well, all I’m going to do is run inside,’” Workman said. Five minute trips can quick- ly turn into longer ones, he add- ed. W EDN ES DAY IS C OUN TY F AIR SEN IOR D A Y OPEN S TODAY ! th ru AUGUST 1 On June 9, the Warrenton Police Department posted a chart to its Facebook page to show how long it takes for a car to heat up. On a 68 degree day — which has not been uncommon this summer on the North Coast — a car can heat up to 81 degrees in 10 minutes and 115 degrees in an hour, according to the chart. Preliminary data for June from the National Weather Service recorded Astoria’s highest temperature at 85 degrees — 10 degrees high- er than June 2014’s highest. The average maximum tem- perature for June was 67.9 degrees. “A lot of people think if F a ir hou rs 10a m -9p m Ca rn iva l hou rs 2-9p m Seniors (61 & up) get in for $1 F or m ore in form a tion go to w w w .cla tsopfa irgrou n d s.com See HOT DOGS, Page 7A