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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2016)
144TH YEAR, NO. 11 ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 DOWNTOWN RALLY TRUCK ATTACK MARKS DEADLY TWIST IN TERROR FRIDAY EXTRA! • 1C PAGE 3A Building a better boat in Astoria J&H Boatworks looks to future with owner’s retirement and Port’s new plans Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Tim Hill is a co-owner at J&H Boatworks at Tongue Point in Astoria. By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian im Hill stood underneath the towering hull of the fi shing boat Taasinge, raised on a trailer on the tarmac at North Tongue Point, examining the rud- der his company, J&H Boatworks, Inc., was hired to replace. The boat’s owner, Mike Hag- gren, had the Taasinge towed north two days from Crescent City, Cal- ifornia, to J&H, unable to fi nd a closer spot at any of the scant number of West Coast shipyards. Despite having so much busi- ness — Hill has to turn some away — Hill faces uncertainty over what’s going to happen to his main boat-working facil- ity as the Port of Astoria decides what to do with Tongue Point. Add to that his efforts to create a smooth transition for employees as he approaches 70 years old and retirement in March. “Personally, I think the indus- try for repair and building is … I haven’t seen the future look as bright ever, since I’ve been in boats,” Hill said. T RV park on river closes, displacing tenants and prompting inquiry By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Residents are emptying out of the Pier 38 RV Park after the owners moved to close the park by September. At least two long-term residents have retained an attorney, claiming they have been illegally forced out . The RV park and adjacent Hampton Inn & Suites are both owned by Pier 38 Marina & RV Park, whose registered agent is Kar- shan Patel. The company issued a press release Tuesday saying it would shut down the park, although current and previous resi- dents say the rousting started in June. “Managing transient guests for (the) RV park has been a challenge for us and we agree with our neighbors that the best decision is to close the park,” the release said, adding there are no plans currently to develop the property. See RV PARK, Page 8A WCT Marine & Construction Inc. employee Jeremy Milligan works to cut out the outer-skin of a ship in order to remove an engine . The WCT and J&H Boatworks warehouses are adjacent to one another and the businesses sometimes work together on repair jobs. Sharing a dream These days, Hill spends less time welding and more at Colum- bia Steel Supply, which J&H acquired in 2004 to expand its metalworking and welding oper- ations. He organizes projects in an upstairs offi ce with his wife, Debi, who has taken on much of the company’s administrative and fi nancial side since the cou- ple married in 1981. The walls are fi lled with photos of the dozens of fi shing boats the company has made or modifi ed over the past 40 years. The windows look out on Miles Crossing, from which Hill can see his company’s orig- inal boat shop on Wireless Road, where he and former partner Al No place to roam, or stay J&H employee Kevin Eaton works to install a replacement rud- der on t he Taasinge . Jacques started J&H in 1976. A trawl fi sherman before he became a boat-builder, Hill said he got an inside look at the Rus- sian trawlers that appeared off the coasts of Oregon and Washing- ton state in the 1960s and thought he could recreate their design in smaller boats for American fi sh- ermen. Then 30, Hill went to his friend Jacques, then at the Asto- ria Marine Construction Co. yard in Miles Crossing, and shared his dream. Hill sold off his interest in his fi shing boat for seed money — and later his house — as he and Jacques spent the next two years building the steel-hull, alumi- num-house fi shing vessel Milky Way, which they launched in 1978. “We survived it barely, but we established a reputation that we do what we said we were going to do,” Hill said. J&H’s second project — Hag- gren’s Defi ant — came out in 1980, followed by dozens more boats, repairs and modifi cations, as J&H tracked along the same ups and downs as the fi shing industry. See BOATWORKS, Page 8A Police work to bridge dangerous divide Staten Island offi cers spend a third of their shift forging relationships AP Photo/Seth Wenig Members of the Cure Violence group talk with a man near the Stapleton Houses low-income housing complex in the Stat- en Island borough of New York on June 8. The group, five black men and one Latino, all acknowledge past crimes or prison time. Mike Perry, second right, used to deal drugs around another low-income housing com- plex, two miles away. 2016 Clatsop e Blu on! b Rib County Fair August 2-6 For more information go to www.clatsopfairgrounds.com This story is part of Divided America, AP’s ongo- ing exploration of the eco- nomic, social and political divisions in American society. By ADAM GELLER AP National Writer NEW YORK — On an unusually cool night for sum- mer, Mike Perry and his crew thread the sidewalks running Go through the Stapleton Houses, tracked by police cameras bolted to the apartment blocks and positioned atop poles. Perry’s group, fi ve black men and one Latino, all acknowledge past crimes or prison time. Perry, himself, used to deal drugs around another low-income hous- ing complex, two miles away. Now, though, their Cure Vio- lence team works to defuse arguments that can lead to shootings. Their goals are not so different from those of the police. Neacoxie barn faces foreclosure Gearhart event center scheduled to be auctioned By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian GEARHART — Martha Strickland, a co-owner of Neacoxie Barn in Gearhart, is facing foreclosure at the former livery stable on the banks of Neacoxie Creek. “In October, the bank puts it up for auc- tion, or it forecloses,” Gearhart City Admin- istrator Chad Sweet said . While Gearhart’s Shannon Smith is listed on the property deed, she is not listed as a party to the foreclosure proceeding, which appeared as a legal notice in The Daily Astorian. The notice of default comes after Strickland’s failure to repay $297,741 and other advances and expenses. The property is scheduled to be sold at auction at Clatsop County Courthouse on Oct. 7. The Neacoxie Creek Barn, at 774 Pacifi c Way in Gearhart, has been used for wed- dings, family reunions and other commer- cial events. Without a conditional use permit and a building occupancy permit, according to Gearhart offi cials, the owners have put the health and safety of guests and residents at risk. See BARN, Page 8A The Daily Astorian/File Photo See DIVIDED, Page 8A Neacoxie Creek Barn in Gearhart. or The BLUE ! F Bring out your BEST in the T alent C ontest, K araoke F inale, Open Class, M utton B ustin’, P uzzlemania or C ircus W orkshop!