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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2015)
Live on the beach Fishermen À\DW'XOFLFK INSIDE SPORTS • 7A 143rd YEAR, No. 129 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015 ONE DOLLAR Two strikes for Oregon LNG in Army Corps conflict Judge rules company did not prove Corps abandoned site %\ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian A federal magistrate judge has UXOHGDJDLQVW2UHJRQ/1*LQDGLV- pute with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over whether the Army Corps abandoned the property on Warrenton’s Skipanon Peninsula where the energy company wants to EXLOGDOLTXH¿HGQDWXUDOJDVIDFLOLW\ The decision, handed down by Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta before Christmas, states that Ore- /1*¶V VHFRQG DWWHPSW WR WDNH FRQ- trol of the easement property, which covers land the company leased from JRQ /1* GLG QRW SUHVHQW HYLGHQFH the Port of Astoria. showing the Corps “clearly and un- Last summer, Acosta ruled in HTXLYRFDOO\´ DEDQGRQHG LWV LQWHUHVW the Army Corps’ favor after Oregon in the property where the agency has /1*FODLPHGWKH&RUSVKDVQRULJKW held an easement to deposit dredging to the land beneath the water where spoils since 1957. the company’s proposed facility The lawsuit marked Oregon would be built. See LNG, Page 10A Port settles with staff Port of Astoria has one more active lawsuit remaining DECK THE CREEKS WITH BOUGHS OF JOLLY %\EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Jenny Bell, a National Park Services biological technician, gestures to locations where Christmas trees and wreaths will be placed at the Colewort Creek restoration site at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. Park Service effort puts Christmas trees to use for coho %\KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian C hristmas trees can serve another purpose beyond keeping homes festive during the holiday season. /HZLV DQG &ODUN 1DWLRQDO +LVWRULFDO 3DUN ² LQVSLUHGE\VLPLODUHIIRUWVDORQJWKH1RUWK&RDVW — is collecting old Christmas trees at its Colewort Creek restoration site to provide additional habitat IRUDTXDWLFOLIHVSHFL¿FDOO\MXYHQLOHFRKRVDOPRQ Trees will be collected until Jan. 16, when park staff and volunteers will host a work par- ty to place the trees into the creek. The event, known as Cocoa and Coho, is in its third year. 7KH SDUN FROOHFWHG DERXW WUHHV WKH ¿UVW year and 75 trees last year. Jenny Bell, a biological technician at the park, VDLGWKH&KULVWPDVWUHHVFUHDWHDKXJHEHQH¿WWR the creek’s ecosystem. Once the trees are put into the channels of the creek, within a few days the trees become covered in algae, which attract in- Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian sects. The insects then attract the salmon. “It’s this whole ecosystem you end up get- Jenny Bell, a National Park Services biological technician, stands near trees that have al- ready been dropped off at the Colewort Creek restoration site at Lewis and Clark National WLQJIURPWKHVHWUHHV´%HOOVDLG Colewort Creek’s channels have become Historical Park Monday. a juvenile rearing habitat. In the summer, Bell said, she sees young salmon, about 3 inches ‘It’s this whole ecosystem you long, in the creek. It shows her the Christmas WUHHSODFHPHQWLVZRUNLQJ(DFKWUHHLVEHQH¿- end up getting from these trees.’ FLDOWRWKHHFRV\VWHPIRUDERXW¿YH\HDUV See TREES, Page 10A The Army Corps moved to dis- miss the company’s claims, arguing that the 12-year statute of limita- tions to bring the claim under federal law had expired. The federal court DJUHHGDQGGLVPLVVHG2UHJRQ/1*¶V lawsuit. The company then tried to amend Jenny Bell a biological technician at the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park The Port of Astoria is closing the ERRNRQFDVHVEURXJKWE\WZR¿UHG employees in February. Tammie Herman, the agency’s IRUPHU IDFLOLWLHV PDQDJHU ¿UHG LQ 1RYHPEHU DFFHSWHG DQ RIIHU of judgment earlier this month from the Port and Michael Weston, the former director of business develop- ment and operations. Herman’s acceptance of judg- ment brings to an end the legal quag- mire the Port has been in nearly a \HDUZLWKPHPEHUVRILWVIRUPHU¿- nance department staff. Herman and Colleen Browne, the Port’s former ¿QDQFH PDQDJHU ZHUH ¿UHG LQ 1R- YHPEHU E\ ([HFXWLYH 'LUHF- tor Jim Knight shortly after he took RYHU%RWK¿OHGODZVXLWVLQ)HEUXDU\ claiming Weston, who was interim executive director between when Hank Bynaker resigned in Septem- ber 2013 and when Knight was hired LQ2FWREHUDEXVHGKLVDXWKRUL- ty in trying to become the permanent director. The lawsuits also alleged Herman and Browne were retaliated against by the Port after reporting Weston’s indiscretions. The judgment accepts all claims WR EH ¿OHG DJDLQVW WKH 3RUW DQG Weston, named as a defendant in lawsuits brought by both Herman and Browne. Herman and her lawyer get $255,000 in the offer of judg- ment, plus attorneys fees. Her law- yer, Anne Foster, applied for more time to calculate those fees. Browne recently settled with the Port and Weston. She and her law- yer, also Foster, received a total of IURP WKH 3RUW¶V LQVXUHU See PORT, Page 10A :ULWHUEHOLHYHV3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVWKDVVWRULHVWRWHOO Entrepreneur makes a home in Gearhart %\KATHERINE LACAZE EO Media Group GEARHART — Entre- preneur and writer Gideon For-mukwai was a bit un- certain when he moved from Singapore to Gearhart in late August, but over the months, he became intrigued by the stories to be told of sailors, shipwrecks, indigenous peo- ple and other local interests. “I’m very fascinated by the OUR NEW NEIGHBORS HIGHLIGHTING PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TO THE COMMUNITY 3DFL¿F 1RUWKZHVW´ KH VDLG “Cape Disappointment, the *UDYH\DUG RI WKH 3DFL¿F ² all these things are new to me, and they’re very, very intrigu- LQJWRPH´ He moved to Clatsop County because of his wife, Dr. Pamela Soh, who works as a pharmacist at Providence Seaside Hospital. For-mukwai, founder of Business Storytelling Acade- my, is a native of Cameroon, Africa. From humble begin- nings, he used the power of storytelling to plot a journey that took him to undergrad- uate school in South Africa, to Singapore for specialized VWXGLHVWR5HQR1HYDGDIRU a master’s degree in new me- dia journalism and then back to Singapore. For-mukwai has Katherine Lacaze/EO Media Group See NEIGHBOR, Page 10A Author Gideon For-mukwai moved to Seaside this year.