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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2016)
SEASIDE FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS PAGES 10A-11A 144TH YEAR, NO. 45 DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 HERZIG’S LEGACY: BE SOCIALLY AWARE ONE DOLLAR Sunset RV park passes muster County case is settled and work is set to be done By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Astoria City Councilor Drew Herzig poses for a portrait on Wednesday in the Astoria City Council c hambers at City Hall . Herzig is moving to Massachusetts. Departing Astoria councilor refl ects on term See RV PARK, Page 12A By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian I n his one term on the Astoria City Coun- cil, Drew Herzig widened the range of issues discussed at meetings and in the community — a practice that drew heartfelt praise and provoked sharp criticism. Herzig, the south side representative for the past four years, is leaving the coun- cil this month. He and his partner, Charles Schweigert, an artist , are moving to western Massachusetts. And Herzig knows that the news of his departure is receiving mixed reactions. A dance instructor who moved from Cal- ifornia to the North Coast in 2009, Herzig established a reputation for his progressive views, outspoken approach and insistence on city transparency — qualities that many of his constituents value. But Herzig also knows that others feel dif- ferently; his detractors frequently cast him as an outsider and obstructionist. “That’s going to be certain people’s take on me. It’s going to be: ‘Goodbye, good luck and good riddance,’” he said. A handful of Herzig’s friends and support- ers recently gathered in the Astoria Library to thank him for his service, particularly for giving a voice to the local LGBT community and co-founding the Astoria Warming Center, an emergency shelter for the homeless during the cold months. Helen Westbrook, an Astoria resident, said Herzig “has taken on issues that maybe have gone unaddressed for some time in Asto- ria,” adding that the work he did was spe- cial, personal and “really made a difference in Astoria.” See HERZIG, Page 12A WARRENTON — Things are looking up for the embattled Sunset Lake Resort & RV Park south of Warrenton. Earlier this month, the park’s owner, Ken Hick, settled the case brought against his company, Resources Northwest Inc., by Clatsop County after a judge found the com- pany had met occupancy restrictions. The state Department of Environmental Quality says Resources Northwest is also on sched- ule to replace its failing drain fi eld by today’s deadline. The park uses a recirculating gravel fi l- ter and soil-absorption drain fi eld, which the state identifi ed as failing a year ago. In April, Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Cin- dee Matyas ordered the company to pump sewage from the failing system, reduce the wastewater being processed to 4,500 gallons a day and spread hydrated lime daily over the drain fi eld as needed to disinfect the ground. Alex Pajunas/The Daily Astorian Drew Herzig, an instructor with Clatsop Community College’s Exploring New Con- cepts of Retirement Education program, leads seniors in his International Folkdanc- ing class at the temporary Astoria Senior Center located inside the Astoria Recre- ation Center building in September 2014. Nicholson housing plan wins new OK Cannon Beach group raised $25,000 to fi ght council approval By LYRA FONTAINE The Daily Astorian Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian City Councilor Drew Herzig serves up soup in the kitchen of the warming center last November. Ilwaco homeowner upset over pond spray City followed Washington state rules, offi cials say CANNON BEACH — A property owner got the go ahead again for new homes on his half-acre Cannon Beach property. The state Land Use Board of Appeals affi rmed the City Council’s March approval of Jeff Nich- olson’s four-lot resi- dential development last week. Ten residents had challenged the coun- cil’s decision, includ- ing Jeff Harrison, president of Friends of Cannon Beach, a Jeff group formed in oppo- Nicholson sition to the devel- opment. The group sought to reverse the council’s fi nal approval, with conditions, of Nicholson’s development plan. The Board of Appeals found their argu- ments “provide no basis for reversal or remand of the decision .” After Nicholson bought the property in 2014, his plans were denied by the Planning See HOUSING PLAN, Page 12A By DAVID PLECHL EO Media Group ILWACO, Wash. — When Barbara Bloom went to check in on the rental property she owns in the Vandalia neighborhood a few months ago, she noticed that some of the trees around a small pond in her backyard looked dead. “What’s up with those trees? We should see growth. They look really sick. Why does it look so weird?” Bloom recalled thinking at the time. She asked the neighbors if they knew what had happened. No one did. So Bloom contacted Ilwaco offi cials in August. City clerk Holly Beller told her that in June 2015, crews had sprayed the pond with Polaris, an herbicide used to manage a host of See POND SPRAY, Page 5A David Plechl/EO Media Group Barbara Bloom is worried a big alder could come crashing down onto a rental she owns in Vandalia af- ter the city of Ilwaco contracted to have a pond that overlaps into her backyard sprayed with herbicide. She thinks smaller trees closer to the pond were killed by the spray, and worries the roots of the bigger trees may now be compromised. INSIDE
