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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2015)
143rd YEAR, No. 45 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 Burn ban boots battles ONE DOLLAR THE CLASH OVER LNG Civil War living history continues with prices dropped By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian No muskets will be fired, nor cannons blasted; no candles lit, nor campfires kindled at the Civil War re-enactment, to be held over Labor Day weekend at Fort Ste- vens State Park. The ongoing open fire ban in place at state parks and throughout Clatsop County is to blame. This means that, for the ¿rst time in the Northwest Civil War Coun- cil’s history, the event won’t feature battle re-enactments, which tradi- tionally have been the highlight. “They will probably do some drilling, but the battles themselves will not happen,” council President Scott Ingalls said. “It’s a pretty big chunk of our event.” An artillery demonstration and a speed-loading contest have also been canceled. Re-enactors won’t be able to cook meals over open ¿res, either. The council knows the burn ban will decrease the expected number of attendees and participating re-en- actors. But the group understands that ¿re¿ghting resources are tied up throughout the state as men and women continue to battle blazes on several fronts. “We wholeheartedly support this decision on the part of the parks and the county,” Ingalls said. “We don’t want to be the ones that start a ¿re there are no ¿remen to ¿ght.” He added that the re-enactors will make do with Àashlights and Coleman stoves. “Sure, it’s an inconvenience for us, but big deal,” he said. “I think it’s absolutely the best decision.” See BURN BAN, Page 10A Hugh McKenna/Daily Astorian File Cliff Owen/AP File In 2014, federal regulators concluded that Dominion Energy’s proposal to export liquefied natural gas from its Cove Point terminal on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland would pose “no significant impact” on the environment. Astoria may take sides on Oregon LNG City has no regulatory say over project Warrenton staff gives OK to LNG permits Public hearing scheduled for Wednesday By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian In a symbolic gesture, the City Council will likely back a resolution opposing the Oregon LNG project as a potential threat to the North Coast. Astoria does not have any regulatory oversight over the $6 billion project, but many residents be- lieve a terminal and pipeline pose risks to the environment, pub- lic safety and the qual- ity of life. The resolution is timed for the opening of a hearing in War- renton Wednesday on development permits for the project and Arline public meetings lat- LaMear er this month at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s draft en- vironmental review. “I think it’s important that we go out and put ourselves on the line regarding the LNG project,” Mayor Arline LaMear said. “To me, the primary responsibility that the City Council has is to protect the health and safety of the citizens. “And I think that this project could threaten our health and safety.” Christopher Baker washes a pitch- er during the Civil War re-enact- ment at Fort Stevens State Park. See ASTORIA, Page 10A By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian IF YOU GO W ARRENTON — Warrenton’s plan- ning staff will recommend the approv- al of Oregon LNG’s land use permits to develop a liTue¿ed natural gas terminal on the Skipanon Peninsula and a natural gas pipeline to serve the terminal. The recommendation is contingent on the energy company satisfying the city’s conditions to offset the impact of the proMect on traf¿c and public works. Planning Director Skip Urling will present the recommendation to hearings of¿cer Daniel Kearns, a Portland land use attorney, at a public hearing at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Warrenton Community Center. If necessary, the hearing may continue Thursday. After Urling’s testimony, members of the public and interested parties may voice their opinions. To ensure everyone gets a chance to speak, Kearns may limit the amount of time each person has to testify. “I think that the opposition’s pretty well or- ganized,” Urling said. “I think they’re going to have a lot of people.” A rally outside the community center is planned for 4:15 p.m., said Laurie Caplan, co-chairwoman of Columbia Paci¿c Common Sense, a local group opposing the LNG project. The project Oregon LNG, a subsidiary of Leucadia Na- tional Corp., a New York-based holding com- pany, hopes to build an export terminal near the 5 p.m.. Wednesday Warrenton Community Center 170 S.W. Third St. Columbia River on land the company has leased from the Port of Astoria and the Oregon Depart- ment of State Lands. The project design includes a facility to lique- fy the natural gas by cooling it, two large storage tanks, a loading terminal for tankers and addi- tional support facilities. The new 87-mile pipe- line, which would connect to an existing pipeline in Woodland, Wash., would carry natural gas pri- marily from Canada to the proposed terminal in Warrenton. The company estimates the project will cost more than $6 billion. For the terminal, the city’s permit actions include site design review, two conditional uses, a wetland hardship variance, a fence- height variance and large-scale development review. For the pipeline, the permit actions include a conditional use permit, a wetland hardship vari- ance and large-scale development review. Order of operations After the hearing, Kearns will likely keep the record open to written comments for one week. Oregon LNG will have one week to submit a ¿- nal written argument. See WARRENTON, Page 10A Wyden comes to Seaside to help foster kids What happens when kids age out of foster care? By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Young peo- ple leaving the foster care system are falling through the cracks, in terms of housing, health care and basic neces- sities. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden came to Seaside Monday to show support for a Senate proposal to expand funds available for foster care families. The legis- lation expands reimbursement to provide parenting skills, family counseling, mentoring programs and services to sta- bilize families in crisis. “It looks like this fall we’re going to be able to advance this bill,” Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Sen- ate Finance Committee that oversees foster care, said. “In a tight budget environment, it would be very hard to pro- vide direct ¿nancial support, but the idea is that we provide young people ways to ¿nance college, ways to secure hous- ing and health care.” Wyden, whose wife, Nan- cy, joined him, chose Seaside to debut his foster care ¿nance reform package because the city is home to FosterClub, the Seaside-headquartered na- tional network for young peo- ple in foster care. Nancy Wyden’s father and aunt had both been in foster care; her father from age 5 to 12 and her aunt from 13 to 15, she said. “I want you guys to pre- tend you’re in my shoes,” Sen. Wyden said. “I’d be in- terested in hearing what you would be working with you if you were in my shoes.” Royce Markley, 22, who spent nine years in Oregon and Washington state foster care systems, said he had re- ceived little or no information on ¿nancial aid before enter- ing Linn-Benton Community College. “That put a lot of strain on my life and my edu- cation,” he said. R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian See WYDEN, Page 10A Celeste Bodner of FosterClub in Seaside receives a visit from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Monday.