143rd YEAR, No. 121
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015
ONE DOLLAR
Port interested in South Tongue Point
Mushen takes
Port &ommission
chairman post
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Add the Port oI Astoria to the mi[
oI suitors interested in South Tongue
Point.
During a Port &ommission meet-
ing Tuesday, ([ecutiYe Director -im
Knight said the Port sent a letter to the
2regon Department oI State Lands stat-
ing that the agency is interested in buy-
ing some or all oI South Tongue Point.
The land, located east oI Astoria oII
oI 8.S. Highway 0 south oI the indus-
trial property at North Tongue Point,
was created between the mid-1940s
through the 190s by soil dredged Irom
the &olumbia 5iYer shipping channel
by the 8.S. Army &orps oI (ngineers.
Zoned marine industrial but still most-
ly undeveloped, the land is valued as
both wildliIe habitat and Ior potential
industrial development because oI its
location between a derelict rail spur and
a deepwater channel oII the river.
In March, &latsop &ommunity &ol-
lege applied to buy the 7.5 acres the
college leases Ior its Marine and (nvi-
ronmental 5esearch and Training Sta-
tion campus. As a separate part oI the
Jim
Knight
John
Raichl
application, the college applied to buy
more than 100 acres oI the undeveloped
property Ior a living classroom, with
the help oI conservation groups &o-
lumbia 5iver (stuary Study TaskIorce
and the &olumbia Land Trust, which
hope to raise state and Iederal Iunds to
buy the land and create more estuarine
salmon habitat.
&ommission &hairman -ohn 5aichl
said the Port and the college could enter
their own partnership oI the Port¶s in-
dustrial development coupled with the
college’s career technical training pro-
grams.
³I don’t think the Port can aIIord to
watch industrial property go away to
watch birds,´ Port &ommissioner Bill
Hunsinger said, adding the Port should
aggressively pursue the land.
Hunsinger said the property is essen-
tial Ior establishing a Ireight railhead,
part oI the reason the agency leases
much oI the industrial tarmac, hangars
and piers at North Tongue Point.
Little interest before
South Tongue Point was acquired
by the state Irom the Iederal govern-
ment as part oI a dispute settlement in
the 1990s, with the idea oI turning the
land into an industrial port. But the state
has had little success in attracting inter-
est.
In December 01, Warrenton )i-
ber &o. applied to buy the land Ior log
storage and a possible e[port site Ior
its wood-chipping business, initiating
a due diligence review by the state.
See PORT, Page 7A
SEAPORT TREASURES Party
barn’s
heIty
¿nes
upheld
‘It’s not right,’
Smith says
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Natalie St. John/EO Media Group
After 15 years of running the Seaport Museum together, “Capt. Pete” Darrah and his friend and longtime volunteer Virginia Wallace can finish
one another’s sentences. They kept up a steady stream of banter while giving a tour of the museum. More photos at www.dailyastorian.com
Hidden 5aymond
museum celebrates
local maritime culture
By NATALIE ST. JOHN
EO Media Group
5
AYMOND, Wash. — It seems ap-
propriate that a museum dedicated
to maritime treasures is, itselI, a hid-
den treasure.
The plain e[terior oI the Willapa
Seaport Museum conceals something oI a &ave
oI Wonders. Proprietor ³&apt. Pete´ Darrah, 0,
has amassed a Iascinating collection that spans
centuries and continents.
Much oI the collection is nautically themed.
There are antique sailors’ instruments, rubble
Irom shipwrecks, a voluptuous ¿gurehead and
a corner devoted to pirates. But the cavernous,
dimly lit interior also contains a diverse col-
lection oI less-e[pected displays, covering ev-
erything Irom local history and culture to the
branches oI the American military.
Together, the e[hibits pay tribute to an era
oI American history when residents both relied
IF YOU GO
The Willapa Seaport Museum is open from
noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday, depend-
ing on the availability of volunteers.
The suggested donation for admission is $3.
To check hours, or ask for a tour outside of
those hours, call the museum at 360-942-4149.
The museum is actively seeking new volunteers.
upon, and lived in Iear oI, the natural world a
time when things were made by hand and built
to last.
‘Disaster waiting to happen’
Keeping local history alive
Sitting side by side in the Iront oI the muse-
um on a chilly late-November aIternoon, Dar-
rah, and his longtime Iriend and assistant 9ir-
ginia Wallace, 79, told the story oI the Seaport
Museum.
The museum, which runs on a tiny budget,
has always relied on a small, but loyal group oI
volunteer ³keepers,´ said Darrah, who is spry
and animated, with a story Ior every occasion.
As the most veteran volunteer, Wallace has be-
come an indispensable part oI the museum’s
operations and ambiance. The two seamlessly
See SEAPORT, Page 7A
*(A5HA5T — AIter meeting
Ior more than ¿ve hours, the *ear-
hart &ity &ouncil on Tuesday up-
held more than 0,000 in penalties
against Neaco[ie &reek Barn owner
Shannon Smith but agreed to cut the
¿ne in halI.
Smith appeared beIore the council
to appeal the civil administrative ¿nes
levied by Building OI¿cial -im Brien
Ior renting out her barn without an oc-
cupancy permit.
³It’s not right,´ Smith said aIter the
decision was rendered. ³It’s not Iair.´
&ouncilors upheld Brien’s pen-
alties, issued Ior use oI the barn Ior
weddings and special events through-
out the summer on si[ separate occa-
sions, each carrying a $5,000 penalty.
³All si[ oI these violations, I per-
sonally visited the site,´ Brien said.
“In the beginning, I tried to work
with Ms. Smith. I wanted her to make
some money. She promised that iI I
didn’t close her down, she wouldn’t
do it again. This has been going on Ior
over Iour years.´
‘Chief Keeper’ Virginia Wallace looks into a
display that shows what life was like aboard
a World War II-era Navy ship.
He said restrooms are required in
public buildings, and regulated by the
building oI¿cial. The Iacility relies on
portable toilets Ior guests.
“The code is very clear,´ Brien
said. “The whole thing is, she has not
put toilets in there.´
He said the barn was a “disaster
waiting to happen,´ with construction
Àaws that could put guests a risk.
The lack oI hot water Ior dish-
washing and Iood preparation dis-
tressed &ouncilor Paulina &ockrum.
See PARTY BARN, Page 4A
Willapa Bay gillnetters lock horns with state
Agency blames
problems on drought
By KATIE WILSON
For EO Media Group
WILLAPA BAY, Wash. — Drought hit
Willapa Bay salmon runs hard this year while
questions remain about how a new commercial
salmon ¿shing policy aIIects local ¿shermen.
At a recent meeting at Naselle High School,
representatiYes Irom the Washington Depart-
ment oI )ish and WildliIe e[pected to ¿eld
questions regarding the die-oII oI appro[imate-
ly 10,000 salmon below the Naselle Hatchery
due to low stream Àow and other drought-relat-
ed Iactors this Iall.
Instead, they spent most oI the time hearing
concerns Irom commercial gillnet ¿shermen
liYing on both sides oI the &olumbia 5iYer
regarding the salmon ¿shing policy that went
into eIIect earlier this year.
The concerns were pretty much the same
as what both ¿shermen and seaIood proces-
sors stated beIore the policy went into eIIect,
according to SteYe ThiesIeld, regional ¿sh
program manager Ior the Department oI )ish
and WildliIe. But he belieYes the policy is
sound.
³I thinN the ¿shing season in and oI itselI
and how it transpired will help us craIt seasons
into ne[t year,´ he said in an interYiew, add-
ing many oI the ¿shermen present seemed to
want to Mudge the merits oI the policy solely on
the most recent season — a season he said was
complicated by drought conditions and a much
lower than e[pected return oI coho salmon.
³I thinN IolNs need to be careIul not to Mudge
on one year¶s perIormance,´ he said.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
See GILLNETTERS, Page 3A
Gillnetters (this one is pictured on the Columbia River in July)
are challenging new salmon regulations on Willapa Bay.