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.
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