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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016
New steakhouse planned
Nevada man sentenced for stealing
cart of meat from Astoria Safeway
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
The Nevada man charged
with felony theft for stealing
a shopping cart full of meat
from Safeway in Astoria was
sentenced Monday in Clatsop
County Circuit Court.
Ronald Joe Whitehair Jr.,
54, of Sparks, Nevada, was
sentenced to 44 days in jail
and one year of probation after
he is released. He was also
ordered to have no contact
with the Astoria Safeway.
Whitehair pleaded no con-
test to irst-degree theft Mon-
day before being sentenced.
Astoria Police arrested
Ronald Joe Whitehair Jr.
Whitehair in August after a
Safeway employee reported
a theft in progress. Whitehair
allegedly ran out of the gro-
cery store with the shopping
cart full of various meats, val-
ued at more than $1,000.
The shopping cart tipped
over in the parking lot as
Whitehair was trying to reach
his 35-year-old son, Ron-
ald Joe Whitehair III, in their
motorhome.
Whitehair abandoned the
spilled meat, police said,
and hopped into the motor-
home outside. His son, from
Longview, Washington, drove
from the scene.
An Astoria Police oficer
was able to see the motorhome
and pulled it over near 49th
Street.
Whitehair was arrested.
His son was not arrested at the
scene, but was later charged
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
with irst-degree theft. He is
scheduled for an arraignment
hearing in Circuit Court on
Thursday.
Whitehair was in town vis-
iting family and temporarily
working with his son driving
trucks for BioOregon Protein
in Hammond.
According to the District
Attorney’s Ofice, White-
hair has an out-of-state crimi-
nal history of six felony con-
victions, including for assault,
burglary, criminal trespass and
drug possession. The most
recent conviction was in 2011.
Whitehair and his son are
ordered to pay $1,077 in resti-
tution to Safeway.
Two more pot stores planned for Astoria
City becoming a
popular outpost
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Two more marijuana stores
are in the planning stages in
Astoria.
Consultant Daryl Bell
applied for a conditional use
permit to open a retail out-
let on the ground loor of the
Cannery Loft condominiums
near Pier 39. Consultant Ray
Zuniga submitted a land use
compatibility statement for a
marijuana store in the former
Head Shed barber shop on the
South Slope of Astoria.
Astoria now has ive mari-
juana stores in operation, with
another three in planning.
Cannery Lofts
Bell, who has spent the
last couple of years building
out dispensaries for clients,
said he wants to open a dual-
space storefront, including a
high-end dispensary and art
gallery, called West Cannabis
and Craft.
“I think mine will be suc-
cessful in that I’m not rely-
ing speciically on cannabis
to be the driver,” Bell said.
“I’m creating a canvas if you
will for local artists to display
their work, which allows me
to support the local industry.”
Bell’s application lists
Suite 104 of the westernmost
building at Cannery Loft as a
location. The other commer-
cial spaces include a day spa,
medical ofices, mental health
counseling,
mini-storage,
computer service and an attor-
ney. On Bell’s application for
a conditional land use permit
was the signature of property
owner Ted Forcum, a chiro-
practor from Portland.
“I have been contacted by a
large number of parties inter-
ested in opening marijuana
dispensaries at the Cannery
Loft,” Forcum wrote in an
email. “Mr. Bell was different
in how he described what he
wanted in his business estab-
lishment … It was described
like wine. You can buy wine
at (AM-PM) or (7-Eleven),
but if you were interested in
quality wine convenience is
less of a focus compared to
community.”
The buildings are zoned
for tourist-oriented busi-
nesses, requiring Bell to get
a conditional use permit. Bell
has also submitted a land use
compatibility statement for
his store, as per the require-
ments of the Oregon Liquor
Control Commission.
“I like the fact that the
complex itself is upper-scale,”
Bell said. “I’m trying to pres-
ent an upper-scale type of
experience, both in regards to
the cannabis and the art gal-
lery I’m trying to implement.
“And what’s more, it’s kind
of removed from the morass
that is the cannabis store(s) in
the center of the city and on
the south side of the city.”
Astoria isn’t the only place
Bell is looking at. He and his
brother, Craig Bell, are plan-
ning a dispensary on Har-
bor Drive just east of the Ski-
panon River in Warrenton.
The dispensary was estab-
lished just months before the
City Commission voted to
restrict marijuana businesses
to the east side of U.S. High-
way 101.
Daryl Bell said he is also
looking at Rockaway Beach,
Paciic City, Creswell and
Portland. He said Astoria is
likely to be the irst store to
open. His conditional use per-
mit is tentatively scheduled
to be heard by the Astoria
Planning Commission in late
October.
“I’d like to be open by the
15th of November,” he said.
“I’d like to display to the pub-
lic through the holidays.”
Head Shed
Astoria Retail LLC sub-
mitted a land use compatibil-
ity statement for a marijuana
store in the former Head Shed
barbershop at the corner of
Seventh Street and Highway
202.
Joan Hartley-Smith, opera-
tor of the former barbershop,
recently sold the building to
Patrick Martin, Michael Ng
and Jonathan Hogander, who
are associated with other dis-
pensaries in Portland. None
of the new property owners or
representatives from Astoria
Retail responded to requests
for comment.
The dispensary would be
the irst on Astoria’s South
Slope. The city has ive dis-
pensaries spread out along
the U.S. Highway 30 corri-
dor, including Nature’s Choice
Alternative Medicine, Hi
Casual Cannabis Dispensary,
The Farmacy and two loca-
tions of Sweet Relief Natural
Medicine.
Most of the medical mari-
juana dispensaries are trying
to become recreational busi-
nesses regulated by the state.
By next year, medical dispen-
saries will no longer be able to
sell to recreational customers.
Local business owner
Charles Holboke has bought
the buildings housing his two
established businesses on
Marine Drive, and said the
third, his long-planned Char-
lie’s Chophouse, is ready to
go except for a staff.
Holboke recently pur-
chased the property for his-
Tiki Bar and Charlie’s Chow-
der House. Next door is
Charlie’s Chophouse, which
Holboke has been planning
for the last year and a half.
He recently secured a liquor
license. He also owns God-
father’s Books and Espresso
on 11th and Commercial
streets.
“I hope it will be like a
throwback steakhouse, like
… Ringside (Steakhouse)
in Portland, which has been
around for 80 years,” Hol-
boke said.
Holboke said personal
medical issues have set him
back on the restaurant. Also
challenging, he said, has
been inding the right chef
and bartender. “Other than
that, we’re ready to go, pretty
much,” he said.
Nicolai Mainline reopens
The Daily Astorian
The state Department of
Forestry has reopened Nico-
lai Mainline in the Astoria
District. Nicolai Mainline has
been closed to through trafic
near the Viewpoint Quarry,
from the 5½- to 6-mile mark-
ers, since Aug. 18.
Travelers are cautioned to
be aware of heavy log truck
and rock truck trafic.
Shingle Mill Road will
be closed later this fall near
between mile markers 5 and
6.
Roads will be open for
through trafic in the late
evenings and on weekends.
Astor Street Opry Company
Presents
Tickets
$ 7 - $ 16
Produced with special permission by Samuel French
Directed by Lisa Fergus
SHOW RUNS THRU
OCTOBER 22 ND
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED
For tickets go to
astorstreetoprycompany.com
Fridays 7pm (October 7th, 14th and 21st)
Saturday 7pm (October 8th, 15th and 22nd)
Sunday 2pm (October 2nd)
Or by phone: 503-325-6104
ASOC PLAYHOUSE
129 W. Bond St
(Uniontown)
Astoria
(Behind the Chamber of Commerce)
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Body believed to be Portland man
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — A body
recovered along the coast in
Tillamook County is believed
to be that of a Portland man
who’s been missing for two
days.
Duane Anderson, 86, was
last seen Wednesday morn-
ing at the Lloyd Athletic Club
in Northeast Portland. He
never showed up for a planned
golf outing that day and was
reported miss-
ing that night.
Ti l l a m o o k
County Sher-
iff’s deputies
found Ander-
son’s
Toy-
Duane
ota
Prius
along
Anderson
the coastline,
prompting the U.S. Coast
Guard to launch a search
Thursday night, police said.
The area is approximately 90
miles west of where he was
last seen.
The body was found Fri-
day near Neahkahnie Moun-
tain, which is north of Man-
zanita in Oswald West State
Park, according to Portland
Police Sgt. Pete Simpson. He
did not disclose how the man
died.
Investigators are still
awaiting positive identiica-
tion but believe it to be Ander-
son, Simpson said in a news
release.
Dismal Nitch closed at times for repairs
The Daily Astorian
Dismal Nitch Rest Area,
one of two Lewis and Clark
National Historical Park sites
in Washington, will be closed
for repairs periodically through
Nov. 22.
Conway
Construction,
out of Ridgeield, Washing-
ton, is the contractor work-
ing on improvements such as
new guard walls, guardrails,
paved surfaces, sidewalks, pic-
nic tables, interpretive signage,
landscaping and area lighting.
The Dismal Nitch site was
established in 2004. It was
formed to recognize the area
where the Lewis and Clark
Expedition barely survived
after it irst landed on the
lower Columbia River bank in
November 1805.
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