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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2016)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016 FRIDAY EXCHANGE 5A Use the Merwyn he Astoria Public Library is situated between Duane and Exchange streets off 10th Street. The Merwyn Hotel is between City Hall and the library on Duane. The library shares a wall with the hotel. An interior door could be installed in the shared wall between the library and the hotel. By remodeling the hotel into an additional facility for the library, and installing a street door off Duane, the Mer- wyn Hotel could become the Astoria Public Library Annex. JEAN H. JOHNSON Warrenton T Vote McIntosh udge Philip Nelson is retir- ing in January after 24 years on the Clatsop County bench. Dawn McIntosh is the best person to ¿ll his shoes. Dawn was born and raised in Banks, and attended Wil- lamette Law School. She has been a trial attorney for 24 years, 12 years as a prosecu- tor for Multnomah and Clat- sop counties and 12 years in private practice handling civil and criminal matters in Clat- sop County and throughout Oregon. As a trial attorney she has earned the respect and endorsement of judges, attor- neys and clients. No other can- didate possesses Dawn’s expe- rience in the courtroom. Dawn is well versed in both criminal and civil law, she is intelligent, and is a tire- less worker. She is the most Tuali¿ed candidate to succeed Judge Nelson. I enthusiastically endorse Dawn, and urge every- one to vote for her when ballots come out later this month. BLAIR HENNINGSGAARD Astoria J Dig safe pril is 2016 National Safe Digging Month. Now that the sun is shining, many homeowners will be digging into do-it-yourself projects. Whether planning to install a fence, mailbox or plant a gar- den, NW Natural reminds you to call 811 before you dig. Calling 811 two business days before starting a project to locate underground utilities is not only the safe thing to do, it’s the law. Unfortunately, the majority of pipeline damage is due to a homeowner or contrac- tor digging without the proper locates done in advance. No damage to a pipeline is too small to report to NW Nat- ural, even a dent or scratch could compromise the sys- tem. If you smell rotten eggs, see or hear gas escaping, leave the area immediately and then call 911 and the NW Natu- ral 24-hour emergency line at 800-882-3377. Remember to keep our com- munities safe and call before you dig. TERESA BROWNLIE NW Natural Community Affairs Astoria A Vote yes erhaps someone from The Daily Astorian should have talked to craft distillers in Clat- sop County before declaring that we oppose the initiative to allow liquor sales in Oregon grocery stores (“Liquor initia- tive has a dirty little secret,” April 5). I strongly support it, and so do other craft distillers here. The initiative is simple. It will allow Oregon consum- ers to buy liquor in grocery stores that already sell beer and wine, just like consumers in most other states. It ends the post-Prohibition era state distri- bution monopoly that creates hurdles for many Oregon craft distillers, hurdles Oregon craft brewers and wine makers don’t face. The editorial argued that craft distillers would “lose their access to a statewide retail net- work.” In fact, under the cur- rent system, small distillers can’t compete on a level play- ing ¿eld with large manufac- turers because the state controls our pricing, distribution and sales. The initiative will allow us to set our own prices, and sell direct to local stores and restaurants, instead of forcing all our distribution through the state warehouse. The editorial claims there’s something hidden in the initia- tive because it doesn’t address P MORE TO SAY Protect programs, forests t is important for all of us here in Clatsop County to take into account the full economic, social and environ- mental bene¿ts we enjoy from our state forests when considering joining Linn County and other Forest Trust Land counties in their lawsuit against the state. Clatsop County, more than any other Oregon county, relies on funds from sus- tainable active management on state for- est lands. Those funds do not only allow the county to carry out critical mission components, such as public health and public safety, they also support valuable community institutions such as the Port of Astoria, Clatsop Community Col- lege, our Sunset Empire Park and Rec- reation District (SEPRD) and many more. It is the community that is at the heart of this issue, as programs like the I state liquor revenues. It’s ridic- ulous to suggest that the legisla- ture would allow tax-free liquor if the initiative passes, and give up more than $200 million a year that supports state and local budgets. The Of¿ce of Legislative Counsel assured legislators in February that they have time in 2017 to determine the best method for replacing liquor revenues when the state is out of the liquor business. What- ever method they choose, it will be more transparent and accountable than today’s sys- tem, where liquor revenues are determined by unelected political appointees instead of elected lawmakers. The initiative would help craft distillers like me. I encour- age people to join me in sign- ing the petition and voting yes in November. LARRY CARY Owner and craft distiller, Pilot House Distilling Astoria and Seaside Astoria needs both egarding the editorial “Workforce housing may cause Astoria discomfort” (The Daily Astorian, April 7): Weighing work force housing with performing arts groups is like comparing apples to oranges. Astoria needs both for great livability. There have to be other solutions for afford- able housing without demol- ishing the local performing arts community. Even the Portland developer who made an unsolicited offer to buy the Clatsop Community College (CCC) property at 16th Street and Franklin Avenue indicated intent to preserve the Performing Arts Center (PAC) as a community center, while incorporating affordable hous- ing at other locations on the site. The CCC Board members who voted to deny the offer were sensible in their deci- sion to protect the PAC, the college and the community’s best interests. While the offer- ing price was not revealed, it must have been low and proba- bly didn’t take into account the Estey organ in the auditorium, or the magni¿cent stained glass windows that are sitting under wraps in the chancel. Performing arts groups have not been using the PAC rent free “for decades,” as the edi- tor claimed in his comments. Music, theater and dance were once part of the curricu- lum at CCC, and their faculty was housed in of¿ces at the PAC. Partners for the PAC pay $1,819 monthly for the use of the building, while the college controls scheduling. The PAC is no differ- ent than a historical home in Astoria built in the 1920’s and needing maintenance. Big projects do not need to be done all at once, but can be priori- tized. Partners for the PAC and the preservation classes at CCC have already started on the windows. Once the fate of the PAC is stable, perhaps other community groups will rally to support and update it. Local nonpro¿t perform- ing groups are not “hogs at the trough” as portrayed in a recent editorial. They have been doing the college and the community a service by providing mem- bers performance opportunities and audiences affordable local cultural events. Not everyone can afford to travel to Seattle for the opera or Ashland for Shakespeare the- ater or San Francisco for the R recreation district’s have lost an untold amount in potential funds, due to man- agement decisions made by the Board of Forestry. SEPRD has been serving the commu- nity since 1969. It has always been our goal to meet the needs of an ever-chang- ing demand for quality aquatic, recre- ational, youth and senior oriented ser- vices and programming and we are proud of the role we play in keeping our community’s kids safe, our resi- dents healthy and our seniors engaged and active. From the beginning, securing ade- quate funding to cover our program and facility/equipment needs has been a challenge. We do not live in a wealthy community and cannot get by on usage fees alone. The funds we receive from state lands are, therefore, incredibly valuable. Any increase in the amount and stability of those funds would be a huge win for community organiza- tions like ours and would allow us to meet the needs of the people of Clatsop County without having to raise fees and/ or taxes. Sustainable forest management that will shape our county can, and should, go with sensible conservation measures that preserve our forests. Protect the for- ests, but also protect the social/commu- nity institutions upon which we all rely. Directing the state to ful¿ll its obliga- tion to manage state lands for the great- est value for counties like ours is the right step. SKYLER ARCHIBALD Executive director, Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Seaside Forestry has not upheld their ¿duciary responsibilities to the trust counties. A major reason for this is that the term “greatest per- manent value” was changed. “Value” originally meant income to the counties. It was rede¿ned in the 1990s to include recreation, habi- tat, etc., which have resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenues to these almost exclusively rural county gov- ernments, schools, ¿re depart- ments, and other taxing dis- tricts. It is obvious to me that we can have all these bene- ¿ts and harvest public timber at increased and sustainable rates. I was a member of the Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery Team in the early 2000s, and was not surprised to learn that Big Creek in Northeast Clatsop County was selected as a “sanctu- ary stream” for wild salmon and steelhead stocks. This selection was made, in large part, because of the excellent aquatic habitat available in Big Creek and its tributaries. The Big Creek watershed is almost entirely privately owned, intensively managed commercial timberland. The ballet. Local performing arts group whose members include your family, friends and col- leagues offer quality affordable cultural opportunities here in Astoria. It’s not an either-or situa- tion. Astoria needs affordable housing and the community bene¿ts from a performing arts center and healthy performing arts groups. They can coexist and both offer something that makes Astoria a better place for all. We should be looking for solutions that bene¿t both interest groups and not calling for demolition of the existing community performance center and debasing local performing groups that are trying to sus- tain it. JANET BOWLER Astoria Not the answer feel compelled to respond to Roger Dorband’s let- ter (“Disastrous lawsuit,” The Daily Astorian, April 1). While I’m not sure a lawsuit is the best way to resolve the issues raised by some of the Oregon Forest Trust counties, it is a fact that since the 2001 Forest Manage Plan (FMP), the Oregon Department of I area also holds healthy pop- ulations of big game species and non-game animals and birds. While providing habitat for these creatures, along with recreational opportunities for the citizens of the Northwest, this forest has provided a large portion of the raw mate- rials for local sawmills, which provide high paying jobs at mills and hundreds of jobs. It is indeed unfortunate that the federal government has chosen to withhold funds from Oregon. I feel this was a political decision, not one based on any science. Many entities, including the federal government, want to force the state to adopt untested pre- scriptive regulations rather than sound, science based pol- icies to “protect” that which is already protected by Oregon’s Forest Practices Act. Yes, recent clearcuts are unsightly to some, but if one wanted to observe a truly “massive” clearcut, one needed to be in Clat- sop County in the 1920s and 1930s, when virtually all for- est land was clearcut. Almost all timber in the county is sec- ond or third growth. Regarding the “crowded tree” statement: Yes, the FPA Turn to Page 8A for more letters from and about the region. requires two trees or snags over a certain size be left for each acre harvested. With an average clearcut size of around 70 acres, 140 trees are left, in addition to any left for stream or wetland buffers, I don’t think squirrel over- crowding is an issue. BUD HENDERSON Knappa Doesn’t serve ive or 10 years ago, I would have been an enthusiastic supporter of a measure to privatize liquor sales in Oregon. When trav- eling to states like Califor- nia, it seemed that the selec- tion of spirits was much better than here, and the prices much lower. Since then, however, the Oregon Liquor Control Com- mission (OLCC) has signi¿- cantly increased available brands and bottlings, and pro- vided opportunities to spe- cial order items not ordi- narily stocked. Prices have stayed competitive, particu- larly because no sales tax is added on. The privatization initiative in Washington state has been a great lesson in how not to increase selection and reduce prices for the consumer. After it went into effect, Washing- ton buyers swamped Oregon’s liquor stores near the borders because prices and selection had degraded so much. The revenue currently gen- erated by OLCC sales is con- siderable, and without it the state will necessarily look elsewhere or deliver a major hit to state and local services. The big grocery chains and big box stores will be the ones getting all that revenue, and customer selection will suf- fer considerably. This mea- sure does not serve Orego- nians at all. 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