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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 11, 2016 Submitted Photo Annotated maps include comments from Cannon Beach residents. Plan: Process will Flavel: Couple believes they can restore the take about a year Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian A crack in the M&N Building is visible from Ninth Street. ‘beautiful building to its former greatness’ Continued from Page 1A Named the M&N Build- ing after Mary Christina Flavel — Mary Louise’s great-grand- mother and the wife of Capt. George C. Flavel — and her daughter, Nellie Flavel, the dilapidated structure was built in 1924 and covers 8,000 square feet, plus a basement of equal size. It is the latest Flavel prop- erty to ind a new owner. Last year, the family’s mansion at 15th Street and Franklin Ave- nue was sold to Greg Newen- hof, co-owner of City Lumber, for $221,901. Mary Louise Flavel owns another property on the south side of Commercial Street. Her conservator, Caroline Evans, could not immediately be reached for comment. Michelle Liotta, 39, said she and her husband are excited to own a Flavel property. “We want to try to add to Astoria without taking away from its history and small- town personality. We don’t want to try to make huge changes,” she said. Though the couple con- sidered purchasing differ- ent properties, “we gravitated toward this one even though it needs work,” Marcus Liotta said. “We’re not afraid of work.” In their letter to the city, the Liottas said they are “aware that there are several major issues with the building in its current condition, includ- ing structural, roof, electrical, siding etc. Our plan would be to start by getting a structural engineer for a professional opinion on what would need to be done to bring any major foundation issues or structural safety concerns up to code, per the city of Astoria.” The Liottas, who lived in Portland for more than 15 years, also own a 116-year- old triplex on Columbia Street. They purchased that property in May 2013 and renovated it. Before moving to the North Coast, the couple had visited the area for about 10 years, they said. In 2011, they got engaged on the roof of the Hotel Elliott. “We love Astoria,” said Michelle Liotta, who worked the front desk at KOIN 6 in Portland. John Goodenberger, a local historian, said, “This is a good day for us — ‘us’ being Asto- early February led to vacan- cies, leading shifts of 12 hours or longer. Fourth of July coincided with the week of the Miss Oregon Scholarship Pageant, bringing two parades to Sea- side, Ham said, and addi- tional enforcement needs, complicated by a route change due to construction on North Holladay Drive. The department received Recreation. Others wrote they do not want restrooms on the beach by Haystack Rock and that they want to see wetlands and streams restored in Tolovana Park. A resident suggested a com- munity garden by the Sunset Boulevard loop. Some ideas that came out of three parks master plan citi- zen advisory meetings include a trail parallel to U.S. High- way 101 with privacy screen- ing when it veers near homes, a new Ecola Park access and locations for “pocket parks” throughout Cannon Beach that could serve as beach-ac- cess parking and getaways. The parks master plan is still in its research phase. Otak planners explored Cannon Beach on bikes with GPS to help identify public lands and zoning. Some trails are oficial and others were formed over time by people and elk, Bolen said. The next citizen advi- sory committee meeting is in August and another open house for the master plan will be in September. The planning process will take about a year. Hartley: He’s grateful for Guide Dogs program Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Continued from Page 1A Leftover debris litters the floor in the basement of the M&N Building. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian A view of one of the storefronts in the M&N Building. ria — because it means we can move forward on that building.” Goodenberger briely met the Liottas in May when he and Community Develop- ment Director Kevin Cronin took them and other sightseers on a guided tour of downtown Astoria. The tour included the M&N Building. “(W)e believe we can restore this beautiful building to its former greatness,” the Liottas wrote. To inquire about leasing a storefront, email marcus. liotta@gmail.com. “I’m my opinion, they’re going to be great purchasers,” City Attorney Blair Hennings- gaard said. assistance from eight Oregon State Police troopers, who helped patrol roads and city streets. Cannon Beach Police also lent an assist, part of an arrangement where Seaside provides oficers at Cannon Beach’s Sandcastle Festival. “That paid off at the witching hour when the ireworks took off,” Ham said. Over the holiday weekend, the department was “busy, but not overwhelmed,” Ham said. “We didn’t really see the calls Hartley, who walks him at least 4 miles almost every day. “As long as you know the basic route of where you want to go, he can take you there,” Hartley said. Sometimes they walk to Fred Meyer and catch the bus to downtown Warren- ton, then trek around War- renton Grade School or take a trail to Hammond. Heading home, they always stop by the Mini Mart for a tea- and water-break. “George grew up in War- renton, so he kind of knows the area, which helps him,” Roxanne said. “You’ve lived here all your life, so you kind of know where the streets (are) and where your loca- tion is. But when you lose your sight — if you closed your eyes yourself — do you really know where you’re at?” ‘A great companion’ Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian The main floor of the storefront of the M&N Building. Oficers: With lingering vacancies at the department, oficers are ‘a little bit tired’ Continued from Page 1A Continued from Page 1A for service we have in the past, possibly because the Fourth fell on a Monday.” The department received more than 400 service-related calls, including nine arrests, three DUIs, and 112 traf- ic stops. Police responded to reports of illegal camping, dis- orderly conduct, noise, ire- works and issued one citation for marijuana use in public. “There was a little bit of every- thing,” Ham said. Four people were reported lost over the course of the weekend — and all returned without incident. Beach clean- ups turned up wallets, cell- phones and keys, Ham said, which can be reclaimed by their owners at the police station. With lingering vacancies at the department, oficers are “a little bit tired,” Ham said. “It was a very long weekend for our staff. There were some tired faces looking forward to some days off.” Since his mid-20s, Hart- ley has suffered from a form of glaucoma that, over the last 15 years or so, has “just been getting worse and worse,” he said. He’s completely blind in his left eye; his right recently sustained a retinal vein occlusion that has blurred his vision. Hartley’s condi- tion forced him to give up his career as a commercial house painter. “It’s been pretty hard for me to get used to this,” he said. “Of course, I’ve always known that there’s people a lot worse off than I am in this world, but that doesn’t make things any bet- ter for you.” As his vision worsened, Hartley had to give up driv- ing his prized hot rod. Now he can’t even work on it. “Those things are all gone. Can’t do ’em any- more,” he said. “I still try doing things that I used to do. And you know you could do ’em, and you can’t do ’em anymore. “So Roxanne’s the one that catches all the (brunt) of that stuff, which isn’t right,” he admitted. “And you say you’re sorry, but it’s too late to say you’re sorry when you already took your bad times out on her.” But Roxanne, a school bus driver, is tremendously Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian George Hartley, a War- renton resident, gives his new guide dog, Grover, some affection on their back porch. supportive. Long before a guide dog became necessary, she pushed Hartley to get a white cane. “I fought that, too,” Hart- ley said, adding that he was “too macho to want peo- ple to know that (blindness) was my problem, I guess. But people probably did anyway.” Since Grover entered his life, though, Hartley hasn’t needed his cane as often. Grover makes Hartley’s environment navigable, and has given him his freedom back. And people have noticed. “The community out here in Warrenton has just been awesome,” Roxanne said. “People see him walk, they stop and talk with him, and they give him a help-out.” ‘Just marvelous’ During his interview with The Daily Astorian, Hart- ley kept coming back to one thing: his gratitude for the Guide Dogs program. A legally blind person, he said, “couldn’t ask for anything better.” He wanted to give a spe- cial shout-out to the pro- gram’s instructor Keith Laber and trainers Rachel Sutton and Michael Mont- gomery; and to Jane and Gary Meyer, who raised Grover until he was a year- and-a-half old. “It’s just marvelous, to think of all the great things that they’ve brought to my life,” Hartley said. — Erick Bengel
