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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 4, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 4, 2016 ‘Alumni Day’ at Warrenton ballpark Astoria Ford posts three wins in two days The Daily Astorian Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Players from Saturday’s Warrenton alumni baseball game pose for their annual team photo. The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — A bunch of former Warren- ton Warriors baseball play- ers brought out the big bats Saturday afternoon for the annual Warrenton alumni day at Huddleston Field. Home runs by Eric Gantenbein, Reese John- son, Josh Biel and Thomas McFadden highlighted a fun day of baseball and burgers, with 25 Warrenton graduates mixing it up in one nine-in- ning game. Eight others showed up but did not play, along with over three dozen alums, friends and family members. “One thing that’s grati- fying about it, the guys pass the hat after the game, and that’s what we use to pay for a lot of our gear,” said War- renton coach Lennie Wolfe. “And we have two proj- ects this year — we’re put- ting in a new backstop and we’re going to create a hit- ting facility underneath (the football bleachers).” Still, it’s seeing his for- mer players and their fam- ilies that highlights the day. “I don’t care if we don’t make a nickel,” Wolfe said. “It’s just so much fun get- ting to see all the guys again, and it’s a great time watch- ing them play ball.” As for the action, Wolfe said, “the guys get after it. They’re in different degrees of physical condition, but The Astoria Ford summer baseball team scored three wins in 24 hours this weekend at Aiken Field. The Fishermen topped Dallas twice Saturday, 8-0 and 7-0; and scored a ive-inning, 4-1 victory Sunday. Tyler Lyngstad highlighted Saturday’s action with a complete-game three-hitter in Game 1, adding a double at the plate. Tristan Wallace got the win in Game 2, as he tossed three innings in relief of Fridtjof Fremstad. Fremstad started and pitched two scoreless innings, and also had a single and a double at the plate. Kyle Strange led the offense in Sun- day’s win, with a single, double and triple. Ole Englund, Trey Hageman and Cal- vin Kaul combined on the mound. Hage- man had a double at the plate and picked up the victory. Astoria Ford returns to action with two games this week: Tuesday at Tilla- mook, and Thursday at home against the Cheesemakers. Both contests are single games scheduled to start at 6 p.m. SCOREBOARD Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian SPORTS SCHEDULE Dan McFadden enjoys a moment in the on- deck circle in Saturday’s alumni baseball game at Warrenton. they compete. It’s an awful lot of fun.” Warrenton’s current players — the Junior State summer team — is sched- uled to host a doubleheader with Clatskanie Thursday. Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Catcher Eric Gantenbein, right, stares down a charging Josh Biel in Saturday’s alumni baseball contest at Warrenton. Erosion threatens beach home, signals battles to come TUESDAY Junior State Baseball — Astoria Ford at Til- lamook, 6 p.m. THURSDAY Junior State Baseball — Tillamook at Astoria Ford, 6 p.m.; Clatskanie at Warrenton (2), 4 p.m. FRIDAY Junior State Baseball — Madison at Astoria Ford, 5 p.m.; West Salem at Astoria Ford, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY Junior State Baseball — Madison at Astoria Ford, 10 a.m.; West Salem at Astoria Ford, 11:30 a.m.; Madison vs. West Salem, 2 p.m.; Warren- ton at Clatskanie (2), 1 p.m. Federal court ponders local authority to regulate GMOs Associated Press PORTLAND — The owner of a $1 million vaca- tion home on the Oregon Coast says the structure is in danger of slipping into the ocean after waves whittled away a protective sand dune. Tai Dang built the ocean- front property in Rockaway Beach seven years ago. He has since applied for a per- mit to install riprap, which is loose stone used as a founda- tion, to stop the erosion from eating away the land under the home, but neighbors, the city, the state and conserva- tionists oppose the proposal. Conservationists say install- ing riprap in one location can increase erosion elsewhere by redirecting the low of water. “Basic common sense should tell you that it shouldn’t have been built there,” Phillip Johnson, executive director of the Oregon Shores Conserva- tion Coalition, told The Ore- gonian newspaper. “We have little sympathy for him. ... He knew what he was doing.” Dang said he consulted a geologist about the land’s stability, the city told him exactly where to build and then approved all the build- ing permits. He said he’s con- founded by the opposition to his riprap application. “I’m not reckless,” he said. “I’m very conservative. ... I looked to my left and I looked to my right, and I didn’t see any homes in Rockaway Beach getting washed away.” Historians say there aren’t a lot of cases where Oregon homes have actually fallen into the ocean or been relo- cated because riprap wasn’t By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Photo courtesy of Tai Dang via The Oregonian The northwest corner of Tai Dang’s vacation home is within 8 feet of falling down a bluff onto the sands at Rockaway Beach. Dang believes that riprap will save the home, but the state has denied him a permit. allowed. The state gets a few riprap requests each year, though the numbers are higher after stormy winters. In the past decade, Oregon has received about 30 appli- cations, and, besides Dang’s request, it has only denied one other application. Jonathan Allan, a coastal geomorphologist with the Oregon Department of Geol- ogy and Mineral Industries, said ights over riprap appli- cations will likely increase as climate change causes bigger winter storms and higher sea levels. “I’m not aware of any- one’s house falling into the ocean because they weren’t allowed to put up riprap, but it’s coming. I think we’re going to see more and more of this,” said Allan, who has taken no position on Dang’s case. Eleven people testiied against Dang’s permit pro- e v First Lutheran Church e 725 33rd Street Sa th e! Astoria, OR t a (503) 298-8580 D July 18 th– 22 nd Vacation Day Camp at Monday - Thursday: 9 am to 3 pm Friday: 9 am to 11:30 pm • Camp theme: Follow The Leader! • Camp Counselors from Camp Lutherwood! Games! Singing! Crafts! Outdoor fun! Friends and much more! For children who have completed K through 5th grade! Registration forms available at: www.astoriafi rstlutheran.com posal during a hearing last year. The riprap would cost at least $15,000 and stretch 81 feet long, projecting 30 feet from the base of the bluff onto the beach. “I hope that you do not allow him to put riprap (there),” neighbor Alice Pyne said. “Because if you do, there will be a domino effect, and I will be sitting in front of you next year asking you to put riprap in front of my house.” Dang, who immigrated from Vietnam at age 14, said he worked his way through college and relied on schol- arships to become an electri- cal engineer. He worked hard to be able to afford the vaca- tion home and sees the poten- tial destruction as an unneces- sary waste and unjust taking of his property, he said. “It’s crazy,” Dang said. “My house, I’m on the verge of losing it.” If the U.S. Department of Agriculture has only limited authority over biotechnology, how much power do states and counties have to restrict geneti- cally engineered crops? This question arose from a pivotal ruling issued by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals three years ago, and the appel- late court will probably soon have to answer it. In 2013, the 9th Circuit decided that USDA only has the power to regulate genetically engineered crops that are poten- tial plant pests. Pathogens are commonly used to alter crop genetics, so the USDA evaluates the plants to ensure they don’t inherit dis- ease-causing or parasitic traits. According to the 9th Circuit, other concerns about poten- tial economic or environmental impacts cannot stop the agency from deregulating a genetically modiied organism, or GMO, if it doesn’t pose a plant pest risk. At the time, the 9th Cir- cuit’s ruling was a serious blow to critics of biotechnology, who were trying to block the com- mercialization of GMO alfalfa due to the alleged hazards of cross-pollination with conven- tional and organic varieties. Since then, however, sev- eral counties in Hawaii have adopted restrictions on GMOs, attempting to address wor- ries over which USDA lacks authority. The counties of Hawaii and Maui banned most GMOs, while Kauai County imposed mandatory report- ing of where such crops are grown. Federal judges have over- turned all three ordinances, but now the validity of those rul- ings is being challenged before the 9th Circuit, which held oral arguments in these cases in June. How these disputes are resolved could affect GMO restrictions in the nine Western states under the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction, including Ore- gon, Washington state and Cal- ifornia, where several counties have adopted GMO bans. GMO critics are now try- ing to use their previous defeat to justify state and local regula- tions of genetically engineered crops. ‘Hands were tied’ Since the USDA’s “hands were tied” by its limited power over biotechnology, it only makes sense for local govern- ments to step in with their own rules to protect organic and con- ventional growers, said George Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, a nonproit involved in prominent GMO battles. A federal judge ruled last year that Maui’s GMO ban is pre-empted by federal law, but Kimbrell argued that reasoning doesn’t make sense. It’s implausible that the Plant Protection Act, under which the USDA’s authority is restricted to plant pests, would prevent states and counties from addressing concerns that the federal government cannot, Kimbrell said. Threats from increased spraying of herbicide-resistant biotech crops, for example, are beyond the scope of USDA’s authority but within the coun- ty’s police power, said Bernie Bays, an attorney representing supporters of Maui County’s ordinance. “Our job is to regulate the farms and farm practices in Maui County,” Bays said. The local GMO ban isn’t pre-empted by federal law because it doesn’t deal with plant pests, which are solely the province of USDA, he said. Biotech developers counter that GMO prohibitions are nonetheless federally pre- empted because the Plant Pro- tection Act is meant to estab- lish national uniformity for such crops. ‘Frustrate federal objectives’ States and counties are not allowed to “frustrate federal objectives” created by Con- gress, said Richard Bress, an attorney representing Monsanto and other biotech developers. 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