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THE DAILY ASTORIAN THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
The Battle of Punky Spruce
New tree controversy
County at
odds with
Bay Center
residents over
tree cutting
By NATALIE ST. JOHN
EO Media Group
This is the second time in
recent months that a contro-
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Public Works sent out a letter
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remove numerous aging trees
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Ocean Park residents strongly
objected. They asked the county
to have an arborist evaluate the
trees before making any cuts.
The county ultimately agreed to
leave the trees alone.
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Carolanne Watness, several Bay
Center residents said county
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want to be included in decisions
about how to manage them.
Many of the residents feel
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vided a much-needed windbreak
in a neighborhood that some-
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windstorms. Now that they are
gone, they worry that increased
wind volume will damage the
remaining trees. They are also
concerned about increased ero-
sion, loss of habitat for eagles
and other birds, and changes in
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formed,” Carolanne Watness
said. “We’ve yet to see the evi-
dence that they have good infor-
mation about the trees.”
“I think they should have
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which trees they were gonna
remove and let us know. Then
there could have been a com-
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have made a huge difference,”
Eric Watness said.
Another resident, Stan Hard-
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have avoided another tree con-
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munication and investigation
into it.”
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communication,” Bay Center
Association President Ed Whit-
ford agreed.
BAY CENTER, Wash. —
It’s been about a month since
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of Public Works cut down 19
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side of Bush Pioneer County
Park, and Bay Center resi-
dent Monica Pine says it’s still
shocking to see the long row
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decision.
In a late February com-
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ment of Public Works direc-
tor Mike Collins said the trees,
which were roughly 80 to 100
years old, had to go because
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created liability for the county.
But Pine and other frustrated
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should have done a better job
of communicating with locals
both before and after the work
was done.
“The county should never
have begun their tree-cutting
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decision to remove 19 trees
this year alone come from?
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fessional county staff to deter-
mine the need for cutting
healthy trees?” Bay Center res-
ident Caroline Harding wrote
in a February email to County
Commissioner Steve Rogers.
Bay Center, which is just
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Leadbetter State Park, is in
Rogers’ commission district.
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reational facility for the small
Restoring ‘woefully
community, in addition to
neglected’ parks
hosting tourists, visitors from
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nearby South Bend and Chi- view, Rogers said the tree har-
nook Indian Nation events.
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Bay Center resident Monica Pine made these crosses to
show her dissatisfaction with the county’s decision to cut
down 19 trees in Bush Pioneer County park.
Photos by Natalie St. John/EO Media Group
Bay Center residents Carolanne Watness (left), Eric Wat-
ness, Ed Whitford, Stan Harding and Monica Pine dis-
cussed the need for better communication with county of-
ficials during a gathering at the Watness home on Monday.
County officials say these recently-harvested spruce
trees were “punky” inside — Bay Center residents think
they were healthy. They wish the county had consulted
with an arborist before cutting them down in February.
There is no doubt that some of the spruce trees in Bush
Pioneer County Park needed to be cut down for safety
reasons. This rotting spruce tree destroyed a picnic table
when it fell during a windstorm in early March.
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which have been “woefully
neglected” in recent years due to
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ers have already installed a new
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sites and trails, remove more
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age ditch and install a chain-link
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“They’re hurt and I under-
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commissioner, I think I could
have done a better job commu-
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lem saying that,” Rogers said.
“But the bottom line is, the trees
would have come down.”
According to Rogers, Col-
lins evaluated the trees and
determined that their cores were
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come down in storms. Addition-
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or so before the harvest and
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to cut down “a few leaners.”
Whitford said he assumed the
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aged trees, and agreed that the
work was a good idea. So he
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down the tall trees on the edge
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more obviously diseased and
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Some Bay Center resi-
dents have wondered why they
didn’t get a letter announc-
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Ocean Park residents. In the
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adamant that the lack of a letter
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get the work done without any
resistance.
“We just didn’t do enough.
We just said we were gonna cut
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have thrown a ribbon around
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to the trees, Rogers said.
“We have a history of trees
over the years in our county
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age,” Rogers said, adding that
several years ago, an aging tree
crashed down on the roof of the
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used community asset safer and
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ers said.
Trees should be cut.
But which ones?
At the Monday meeting,
the residents made it clear that
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ting down damaged trees in the
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after the meeting, Watness and
Whitford discovered that a rot-
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Whitford said Rogers
have had a community discus-
sion. That would have been the
right thing to do,” Rogers said.
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not know why Collins hadn’t
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to ask him. Collins could not
be reached for comment in time
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Preventing controversy
It’s too late to save the
trees, but residents say the
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of communicating. They are
working with Rogers to sched-
ule a community meeting in
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weigh in on the county’s future
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does the community want it to
look like?” Caroline Harding
said during the meeting. “...
We need to do a good job of
letting the county know what
we’d like to see.”
Trial set for man accused in wild police chase
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
A trial date is set for
the Seaside man accused
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chase last fall through a Cul-
laby Lake neighborhood.
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35, is scheduled for trial
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County Circuit Court. The
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to three days.
He is accused of eluding
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iff’s home and assaulting the
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arrested.
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to 15 counts. The charges
include first-degree bur-
glary, first and second-de-
gree assault, fourth-degree
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ers have aggravating fac-
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he allegedly committed the
assault in front of the wom-
an’s child.
Sanders’ defense lawyer
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tion to the case before trial,
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by slamming her into the RIIHUIURPWKHSURVHFXWLRQ
corner of a wall, the indict-
After setting the trial date
ment states.
:HGQHVGD\ &ODWVRS &RXQW\
7KH GHSXW\ VKHULII Circuit Court Judge Cindee
grabbed Sanders and War- Matyas said both sides can
renton Police Chief Mathew continue negotiating until
Workman arrested him.
June.
Charges against Sand-
“Just because we are set-
‘Just because we are setting a trial date
does not mean that we cannot continue
resolution discussions up until trial’
Cindee Matyas
Clatsop County Circuit Court judge
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less driving, unlawful entry
into a motor vehicle, reck-
lessly endangering another
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mischief and driving under
the influence of intoxicants.
The October incident
started when law enforce-
ment witnessed Sanders
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northbound on U.S. High-
way 101.
Sanders continued on to
the Cullaby Lake neighbor-
hood. He drove through bar-
ricades and went over lawns
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caused more than $1,000 in
damage, according to the
indictment.
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allegedly tried to steal
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but the keys were not inside
the vehicle so he returned to
his 1995 Nissan Maxima.
Sanders lost control of
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uty sheriff’s house and ran
on foot. He broke into the
house on the 33000 block
of Cullaby Lake Lane and
ting a trial date does not
mean that we cannot con-
tinue resolution discussions
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Sanders remains in cus-
tody on $200,000 bail.
Scalloped H am
& Potatoes
D inner
Fri. M arch 11 th
4 pm ‘til gone
$7 .00
6PM “K araok e D ave”
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