Talk of
the town
Flight of
the ferries
WEEKEND
EDITION
IN ONE EAR • 1B
143rd YEAR, No. 28
EXTRA • 1C
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015
ONE DOLLAR
Pathway to citizenship
Port,
Smithart
end
eviction
clash
over hotel
New operator
‘ready to go’
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Kit Hung Lui, of Portland, originally from Hong Kong, waves an American flag onstage after receiving his certificate during a naturalization
ceremony near Fort Clatsop at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Thursday.
Long journey ends at Fort Clatsop, a symbol of exploration
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
H
olding a small American Àag and a certi¿cate of
citi]enship, 3atricN 9illaÀores, who is from the
3hilippines, soaNed in his ¿rst moments of becom-
ing a United States citizen.
His family cheered loudly as
they watched his final step in the
journey Thursday during a natu-
ralization ceremony at Fort Clat-
sop in Lewis and Clark National
Historical Park.
Villaflores, of Portland,
moved to the United States in
1994.
“This is a really great oppor-
tunity to be part of this ceremo-
ny, especially with Congress-
woman (Suzanne Bonamici)
being here and with my family,
who has been part of the jour-
ney,” he said. “Citizenship has
been a long journey for me.”
Villaflores was one of 19
immigrants from 12 coun-
tries sworn in as new citizens.
The others were from Mexico,
Ukraine, India, Belarus, Ethio-
pia, Iraq, Poland, Russia, China,
Taiwan and the United King-
dom.
The national park and the
U.S. Citizenship and Immigra-
tion Services hosted the ceremo-
ny Thursday for the immigrants,
who live in Oregon and south-
west Washington state.
It was the first time the na-
tional park hosted the event.
“What better way to celebrate
the 19 of you than in a pictur-
esque location that is critical
to the story of America today,”
Scott Tucker, Lewis and Clark
National Historical Park super-
intendent, told the group.
About 20 other national parks
hosted similar ceremonies last
year, Tucker said.
Immigrants in the region
would normally be sworn in as
citizens inside the U.S. Citizen-
ship and Immigration Services’
Portland field office.
See CEREMONY, Page 8A
Claudia Mendez Barron waves an American flag as she walks off
stage after receiving her citizenship certificate.
A Regatta queen is crowned
Warrenton teenager
chosen from princesses
By McKINLEY SMITH
The Daily Astorian
2n 7hXrsGa\ eYening at the /iEert\ 7heater ¿Ye
young women in evening gowns and tiaras held court.
It was time for last year’s Astoria Regatta Queen
Claire Helligso to pass on her throne — and the
legacy of the Astoria Regatta it represents — to her
appointed successor.
That successor was Allison Bentley, an incom-
ing senior at Warrenton High School. She received a
glittering golden crown, a scepter, a cape, a bouquet
of Àowers and a place in history as the queen of the
121st Astoria Regatta.
“Any of us could have made a great queen, so
I’m really grateful for the opportunity,” Bentley
said. “It’s such an honor.”
See QUEEN, Page 8A
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Allison Bentley reacts as she is crowned the 2015 Astoria Regatta
Queen at the Liberty Theater Thursday. Assisting in the crowning cer-
emony are 2014 Queen Claire Helligso, Regatta Co-Presidents Kevin
Leahy and Kathy Koppen Dean, and Regatta Admiral Patrick Reiten.
A lawyer for the Port of Astoria,
which has been trying to evict indebt-
ed Astoria Riverwalk Inn operator
Brad Smithart and his company Hos-
pitality Masters, announced Thursday
the agency is dropping its case.
The Port and Smithart were set
to meet Tuesday in Clatsop County
Circuit Court after Smithart chal-
lenged the eviction last week.
“The parties in this matter have
reached an agreement,” Tegan
Schlatter, the Port’s counsel, wrote
in a letter to the court Thursday. “We
will ¿le a stipulated judgment of
eviction as soon as possible within
the next week. Therefore, the trial
can be taken off the court’s calen-
dar.”
Port Executive Director Jim
Knight said this morning that Smi-
thart voluntarily decided not to con-
test the eviction. He said the transi-
tion to a new operator will hopefully
happen in the next week.
“I’m pretty sure we’ve got the
right operator ready to go,” said
Knight, who would not reveal the
Port’s choice because he said the par-
ties are still ¿nalizing an agreement.
Smithart said this morning he
decided not to contest the eviction
because the Port would not accept
a payment by Ganesh Sonpatki, the
Portland hotelier who had agreed to
pay off his debts in order to take over
the hotel.
See HOTEL, Page 8A
CONGRESSIONAL
AWARD
Young
woman
¿nds path
through
science
Interest in elements
drives learning
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Over the past six years, Alexiya
Lee has challenged herself to over-
come autism and become more in-
volved in her community, explore
and build her own personal skills.
For her efforts, Lee, 22, received
a special visit Thursday from U.S.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who pre-
sented her with the Congressional
Award bronze medal at Baked Alas-
ka.
The award is for Americans 14 to
23 years old who demonstrate vol-
unteerism, personal development,
physical ¿tness and regional explo-
ration. The honor has six levels, each
with ascending requirements.
Lee is on the fourth of six levels,
the bronze medal. She completed
100 hours of community service,
50 hours of personal development,
50 hours of physical ¿tness and an
overnight expedition.
See LEE, Page 8A