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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2015)
Fishermen get shut out Seaside Fall Sports Previews SPORTS • 7A PAGES 10A & 11A 143rd YEAR, No. 46 ONE DOLLAR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015 Port seals short-term deal on inn Former Astorians emerge in latest twist in Riverwalk Inn negotiations By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian The Port of Astoria Com- mission voted Tuesday night to have Astoria Hospitality Ventures, represented by Wil- liam Orr and Chester Trabuc- co, take over short-term oper- ation of the Astoria Riverwalk Inn. Orr is a Seattle business- man and lawyer from Astoria. Trabucco b ought and ¿ [ed up the Hotel Elliott, before selling it amid foreclosure to a business partner. He also owns 1os. and Si[th St., where a large commercial wa- terfront building of his burned down several years ago. It is unclear what short- term means in the hotel’s op- eration. While Astoria Hospi- tality Ventures steps in, Port staff will develop an open bidding process for the long- term operation. It is also unclear how the Port plans to recover the debts owed by Brad Smithart, op- erator of the Riverwalk Inn through his company Hos- pitality Masters since March 2012. Orr had set aside $350,000 in escrow account to satisfy the debts, but later withdrew the funds when it appeared the Port would go with another operator. The Port estimates Smi- thart owes the Port upward of $400,000 in rent and rev- enue-sharing, along with ap- pro[imately $100,000 owed to the city and $16,000 in delinquent water bills. The Port’s lawyer, Robert Koury, said the state is also seeking $120,000 from Smithart for failure to pay worker’s com- pensation. Smithart also has ta[ liens. Smithart, at the meeting Tuesday, said he paid the water bills and brought his bill with the city down to $98,000. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian See PORT, Page 12A Chester Trabucco speaks during an August Port meeting. TRIAL BY FIRE Judge accepts ruling on LNG Magistrate had found in favor of Army Corps By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Cheryl Hoefler/The Eagle The sun is nearly blocked and the covered wagon east of Prairie City silhouetted as dark smoke from the Canyon Creek Complex fire across the valley fills the late afternoon sky on Aug. 26. Prairie City went under attack itself over the weekend. µYou could feel the heat of the ¿ re and smell the smoke’ By SEAN ELLIS and NANCY McCARTHY Blue Mountain Eagle P RAIRIE CITY — After watching a raging wild¿ re consume their neighbors’ properties to the south and west of them for two weeks, Prairie City residents e[perienced their own tri- al by ¿ re last weekend. It took only a switch in wind direction for the ¿ re to turn onto the ridge just above the town, the À ames so brilliant against the night sky that the buildings below glowed in the ¿ ery light. Streets ¿ lled with smoke. Sirens scared residents out of bed. Half the town received orders to evacu- ate immediately; the other half was told to prepare for evacuation any minute. In the smoky haze, headlights appeared as a convoy of trucks and cars, ¿ lled with prized posses- sions and random household goods quickly thrown into trunks, began moving west, down the highway. Meanwhile, hundreds of ¿ re- Sean Ellis/The Eagle An information board was set up to update residents and the media during the evacuation in Prairie City Saturday. ¿ ghters headed east toward the ¿ re. The ¿ ght to save Prairie City was on. Here is that story, hour by hour: Friday, Aug. 28 5:30 p.m.: During a community brie¿ ng in Prairie City, ¿ re of¿ cials alert residents about the incoming high winds and the potential for the ¿ re to change direction. Saturday, Aug. 29 2:30 a.m.: Winds begin to pick up, fanning the Canyon Creek Comple[ ¿ re. Prairie City Fire Chief Marvin Rynearson is in bed when he hears the wind. “The hair stood up on the back of my neck,” he said. He spends the ne[t few hours on his porch, watching. Concerned residents and ¿ re¿ ghters on the front line update him on the ¿ re’s movement. 4:42 a.m.: The operations sec- tion chief of the Great Basin Inci- dent Management Team is noti¿ ed by the night operations division supervisor that ¿ re activity has increased signi¿ cantly due to the high winds. The message goes up the chain of command quickly. Resources are reassigned from other parts of the ¿ re and begin shifting toward Prairie City. That includes 11 dozers, two skidgens, multiple water tenders, supervisors and medics. Three hotshot crews and si[ hand crews from adjacent divisions are shifted See FIRE, Page 12A In an emergency, look for the yellow signs Goal is quicker emergency responses By DANI PALMER EO Media Group CANNON BEACH — A new, bright yellow sign stands in front of homes on Chapman Beach The sign is part of an Oregon Parks and Recreation Department beach safety project, meant to speed emergency response. The signs are new to Sgt. Matt Phillips, Search and Rescue coordinator for the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office. But he’s no stranger to the guess- ing game. “I do know from e[perience that people, especially from out of the area, have a hard time relaying infor- mation to responders,” Phillips said. The state’s Park and Recreation Courtesy of Oregon State Parks Oregon State Parks is installing numbered signs along the length of the Oregon Coast to help beach visitors tell emergency responders where to send help. Department began installing the signs at state, federal and county beach access points from the Colum- bia River jetty to Crissey Field at the California border in 2008. The first was placed in Lincoln City and Dev- il’s Lake. The signs are designed to A federal judge in Portland has accepted a magistrate’s ¿ ndings that Oregon LNG waited too long to contest an Army Corps of Engi- neers easement on land in Warrenton where the energy company hopes to build an e[port terminal. U.S. District Judge Anna Brown on Monday adopted Magistrate Judge John Acosta’s ¿ ndings and granted the Army Corps’ motion to dismiss Oregon LNG’s legal chal- lenge. Oregon LNG could choose to ap- peal. Jonathan Radmacher, a Portland attorney for the energy company, said the company has ¿ led a motion to amend the complaint against the Army Corps but does not otherwise comment on litigation matters. Ammunition for opponents Opponents of the $6 billion ter- minal and pipeline will use the fed- eral court’s ruling to strengthen their arguments at a hearing Wednesday evening in Warrenton on develop- ment permits for the project. The city’s planning staff will recommend approval of the project with public works- and traf¿ c- re- lated conditions, but opponents will argue, among other points, that Or- egon LNG does not have full access to the proposed terminal site on the Skipanon Peninsula because of the Army Corps easement. “The city should deny the Ore- gon LNG project because Oregon LNG simply doesn’t have autho- rization from the Corps to use the area for an LNG terminal,” Dan Serres, the conservation director of Columbia Riverkeeper, a Hood Riv- er-based environmental group, said in an email. “The Corps holds a sig- ni¿ cant property right — a dredge disposal easement — on the east Skipanon Peninsula, and a federal judge threw out Oregon LNG’s at- tempt to void the Corps’ valid prop- erty right. “According to Warrenton’s code, Oregon LNG shouldn’t even be able to make this land use applica- tion without authorization from the Corps. “It’s like proposing a home in the middle of a city street,” Serres said. “It just doesn’t make sense, particu- larly when a federal judge just issued an order dismissing Oregon LNG’s case.” Contested claims be easily seen by beachgoers in emer- gencies, so they can relay the num- ber to 911 dispatchers who will have the GPS coordinates needed to direct first responders. Oregon LNG wants to build the terminal and an 87-mile pipeline to a natural gas line in Washington state. See SIGNS, Page 5A See LNG, Page 12A