DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, JULY 25, 2016
144TH YEAR, NO. 17
ONE DOLLAR
Library
choice
looms
Astoria nears decision
to remodel or move to
build at Heritage Square
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Scott Thompson and his son, Andrew Thompson, walk past a group of their pasture-raised chickens on Friday at Blackberry Bog
Farm in Astoria. Blackberry Bog Farm raises and processes chickens for Fort George Brewery.
AT FORT GEORGE, A PUSH
FOR GREENER BEER
Local brewery explores
paths to sustainability
By ELI STILLMAN
The Daily Astorian
N
owadays, restaurants are critiqued as thoroughly on their environ-
mental footprint as they are on the quality of food.
To stay ahead of the curve, Fort George Brewery and Public
House has hired a full-time employee to track the company’s choices
and put them on a greener path.
Whether it’s selecting local ingredi-
ents or handling waste, sustainability
doesn’t come without a cost and isn’t
achieved overnight.
Renee Johnson was hired two
months ago as the brewery’s direc-
tor of sustainability. Having worked
more than two decades in recycling,
Johnson is keen on what businesses
can change, all the way down to
individual worker habits.
“It’s a little bit of a culture shift,
people are coming up to ask what
they can recycle and what they can
throw away. With 120 employees, it
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian can add up,” she said.
Renee Johnson is the new
With stairs taken from the Astoria
director of sustainability at Column winding to the upper level
Fort George Brewery.
of the pub and tables made from seg-
ments of old bowling lanes, Fort
George has been integrating recycling into their business for a while.
Now they are starting programs to recycle uneaten food.
Johnson explained how instead of going into the trash, leftover
food scraps are collected and donated to a pig farm. Fort George has
donated more than 1,000 pounds in one month to the farm.
See FORT GEORGE, Page 10A
Armed with fresh inancial data and a
recommendation from the Library Board,
the Astoria City Council could select the
location of a new library tonight.
Mayor Arline LaMear has called a spe-
cial meeting to go over six options to reno-
vate the aging library at 10th and Exchange
streets, expand into the vacant Waldorf
Hotel next door, or relocate to Heritage
Square. The council could also decide
whether to pursue a housing component,
either at the Waldorf or Heritage Square.
City staff has provided an updated inan-
cial analysis for each option and an esti-
mate of how much a bond issue might cost
an average homeowner in annual property
taxes.
The Library Board in June recom-
mended a new 18,000-square-foot library at
Heritage Square east of the Garden of Surg-
ing Waves, but took no position on housing.
LaMear has said she wants the coun-
cil to decide this month, and a majority of
councilors, while not tipping their hands
about which option they prefer, say they
are ready.
See LIBRARY, Page 10A
A pooch
place in
Seaside
Locals, visitors alike
would have a place to
play with their canines
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Scott Thompson holds out the chicken feed he gives his pas-
ture raised chickens at Blackberry Bog Farm.
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Baby chickens are illuminated by a heating lamp at Blackberry
Bog Farm.
SEASIDE — Rover may get room to
roam in Seaside.
Seaside’s Parks and Recreation Commit-
tee will request the conditional approval of
the city’s irst dog park at the City Council
meeting Monday. The park would be located
in an “underutilized area” at the north end of
the Broadway Middle School parking lot.
Approvals from the Parks and Recreation
Committee, Seaside School District and
Planning Commission have been delivered,
Public Works Director Dale McDowell said
in a letter to the council this week.
The Seaside Public Works Depart-
ment and volunteers would maintain the
landscaping.
The Planning Commission conditionally
approved the plans at a meeting earlier this
month.
The proposed dog park will provide a
centrally located facility that can be used by
residents and visitors, according to Planning
Director Kevin Cupples.
Rund sees beauty in healthy body image
Pageant sets women up for
workplace wins, opportunities
SEASIDE — Miss North
Coast Tess Rund was a contes-
tant for Miss Oregon.
The 21-year-old has used
the experience to help educate
young people about healthy
body image. The Daily Asto-
rian caught up with her at the
Seaside Beach Run, where she
represented the Miss Oregon
Scholarship Program.
Q: What is your
background?
A: I was raised in Knappa
and graduated from Astoria
High School. I’m going to the
University of Oregon. Leann
and Dave Rund are my par-
ents. Teyl is my sister. She’s
25. They’re my biggest sup-
porters. They come to every
event — they’re awesome!
Q: What was competing
in the Miss Oregon pageant
like?
A: It’s been so rewarding.
It was my irst time being in
a pageant. I met a lot of new,
amazing, incredible women
and I learned a lot about myself
and the world around me.
Q: How is being a pageant
contestant different from
being a regular student?
A: The biggest thing is
the interview skills that come
from it. That will help us get-
ting jobs in the future. And the
scholarship opportunities are
super important to me. Being
a junior in college and going
into senior year, that scholar-
ship help is really needed.
Q: What are you studying
in school?
A: My major is gender and
women’s studies. I’m taking
all the classes to be an early
education teacher, and I’ll go
to grad school after my senior
year. I want to teach irst grade.
Q: How does women
and gender’s studies it in
with your beauty pageant
experience?
A: My platform is “the
ideal body is your own.” My
goal is to educate youth about
positive image and self love.
My onstage question at the
Miss Oregon contest — picked
at random — was, “Do you
think pageants cause girls to
have distorted self image?”
See RUND, Page 10A
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Tess Rund at the Seaside
Beach Run, one of the vol-
unteer activities she partici-
pates in as Miss North Coast.