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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016 County commissioners invite comments R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Matt Brown takes the oath of office as mayor of Gear- hart Wednesday from City Administrator Chad Sweet. Brown takes oath to be mayor in Gearhart New mayor succeeds Widdop By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian GEARHART — The Bible was unavailable, but Matt Brown had some handy read- ing material on which to take his oath as Gearhart mayor — the 1971 classic novel, “Golf in the Kingdom” by Michael Murphy. The choice was appropri- ate for the man who recently received the Merchandiser of the Year award from the PGA of America in New York City. Brown, a former Gearhart planning commissioner, is the general manager and PGA golf pro at Highlands Golf Course. Two returning council members, Dan Jesse and Sue Lorain, also took oaths of office at a City Council meet- ing Wednesday. Brown then convened his first meeting with a light tap of the gavel. Former Mayor Dianne Widdop was a member of the audience for the first time in four years for an agenda which yielded the reappointment of planning commissioners Carl Anderson and David Smith and a preview of the city’s Jan- uary dune-grass workshop at the firehouse featuring a panel of scientists and government officials. Organizers, led by Gear- hart’s Margaret Marino, hope the workshop will yield a plan to restore dunes, address tree growth in the dunes and limit invasive species like Scotch broom while protecting snowy plover habitat. City Administrator Chad Sweet will moderate the forum. At the meeting’s conclu- sion, Brown’s gavel was less tentative. “I was a little nervous, but I thought it went well,” he said afterward. “It was really good to be working with some of the councilors I worked with on the Planning Commission.” Coast Guard seeks help catching mayday hoaxster The Daily Astorian The U.S. Coast Guard is asking for the public’s help in finding a person making false mayday calls over the past seven months near the mouth of the Columbia River. Personnel at Sector Colum- bia River’s command center in Warrenton have received 22 false mayday calls since April, likely from the same person. “False maydays waste valuable time and resources, but most importantly it poten- tially puts responding person- nel in danger and can inter- fere with legitimate search and rescue cases,” Capt. Bill Tim- mons, commander of Sector Columbia River, said. “These false reports have to stop, so I ask anyone with a legiti- mate tip in locating this per- son or persons to step forward immediately.” All 22 calls have come from Chinook, Washington, or between Warrenton and Seaside. Through a voice analysis conducted at Carnegie Mellon University, the suspect mak- ing the calls is believed to be a white male, 35 to 40 years old, with an accent from the East Coast to Southeast Coast. The analysis also puts the person at 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall, and 190 pounds. Information pertaining to these false maydays should be reported to the Sector Colum- bia River command center at 503-338-9021. Making a hoax call to the Coast Guard is a crime pun- ishable by up to six years in prison, a $250,000 criminal fine, a $5,000 civil fine and reimbursement to the Coast Guard for operating costs incurred. If a mayday call — actual or potentially false — is heard, boaters are encouraged to contact their local Coast Guard unit and relay what they heard. • Listen: Audio of the hoax mayday calls can be found at http://tinyurl.com/j699ucz W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Class action suit against state over timber harvests By KATIE FRANKOWICZ For The Daily Astorian The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners are inviting public comment on a contro- versial $1.4 billion timber law- suit at their next meeting. The board announced that it will accept testimony begin- ning at 6 p.m. Wednesday on the suit filed by Linn County earlier this year against the Oregon Department of Forestry. In this lawsuit, Linn County alleges a breach of contract over the state’s timber harvest practices on more than By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE — Washington has become the first U.S. state to sue the agrochemical giant Monsanto over pervasive pol- lution from PCBs, the toxic industrial chemicals that have accumulated in plants, fish and people around the globe for decades. The company said the case “lacks merit.” Democratic Gov. Jay Ins- lee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the law- suit at a news conference in downtown Seattle Thursday, saying they expect to win hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars from the company. “It is time to hold the sole U.S. manufacturer of PCBs accountable for the significant harm they have caused to our state,” Ferguson said, noting 1-844-hagfish that the chemicals continue to imperil the health of protected salmon and orcas despite the tens of millions of dollars Washington has spent to clean up the pollution. “Monsanto produced PCBs for decades while hiding what they knew about the toxic chemicals’ harm to human health and the environment.” The suit arrives just days before Monsanto shareholders vote whether to accept a $57 billion buyout offer from Ger- many’s Bayer. The extraordi- nary meeting of shareholders takes place just outside of St. Louis on Tuesday. PCBs, or polychlori- nated biphenyls, were used in many industrial and commer- cial applications, including in paint, coolants, sealants and hydraulic fluids. Monsanto, based in St. Louis, produced them from 1935 until Con- Associated Press U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state has emerged as President-elect Donald Trump’s top contender to lead the Interior Department. That’s according to a per- son involved in the transition. Trump’s been weighing others for the post, including Okla- homa Gov. Mary Fallin, but is said to be interested in finding a place for McMorris Rodgers in the administration. McMorris Rodgers, the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, is the only Republican woman with a leadership role on Cap- itol Hill. As interior secretary, she would oversee the nation’s public lands. The person involved in the transition was not authorized to discuss the internal deliber- ations and spoke on condition of anonymity. McMorris Rodgers endorsed Trump for president M INDFULNESS D AY R ETREAT N EW Y EAR FOR THE With Heather Angiletta, Ph.D. and S ATURDAY J ANUARY 7 TH 10 AM TO 4 PM 2 ND T H R U 18 T H Fridays & Saturdays | 7pm Sundays Dec. 11th & 18th | 2pm TICKETS $8-$15 All Fridays are only $5 admission! F OR TICKETS : www.astorstreetoprycompany.com or call 5 03-325-6104 ASOC PLAYHOUSE 129 W. BOND ST ASTORIA Directed by: BILL CARR Music Director: CHRISLYNN TAYLOR Produced with special permission by: JUDITH NILAND Sponsored by NW NATURAL A S O C c an hos t y our C hris tm as party at a s how . C all C hrislynn to schedule or to inquire at 503-325-6104 but criticized the real estate magnate’s degrading remarks toward women. Elected to the House in 2004, McMorris Rodgers, 47, represents eastern Washington. She was born in Salem, grad- uated with a bachelor’s degree from Pensacola Christian Col- lege and a master’s in business from the University of Wash- ington, and worked in her fam- ily’s orchard business in Ket- tle Falls, Washington. She is married to a retired Navy com- mander and has three children. NORTH COAST SYMPHONIC BAND Joyful Christmas Traditions Presented by the S ATURDAY Liberty Theater and North Coast Symphonic Band Conducted by Dave Becker D ECEMBER Liberty 17 • Theater 4 PM Guests: North Coast Chorale 1203 Commercial Street Astoria Cheri Walker DOORS OPEN AT 3:15 PM PRESHOW AT 3:30 PM Astoria Tuba Quartet Tickets: Liberty Theater Box Offi ce 503-325-5922, ex. 55 Deac Guidi Box offi ce open Wed-Sat 2-5:30pm and two hours prior to the concert Regular Admission: $20 Students (18 & under): $5 Aleesha Nedd www.northcoastsymphonicband.org PLEASE ADOPT A PET! 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Most of the prior cases filed by the same contingency fee law- yers have been dismissed, and Monsanto believes this case similarly lacks merit.” In response to a similar lawsuit filed last year by the city of Spokane, Washing- ton, Monsanto said a previous incarnation of the company produced the PCBs, which it said “served an import- ant fire protection and safety purpose.” “PCBs sold at the time were a lawful and useful prod- uct that was then incorporated by third parties into other use- ful products,” Charla Lord, a company spokeswoman, wrote. “If improper disposal or other improper uses cre- ated the necessity for clean-up costs, then these other third parties would bear responsi- bility for these costs.” Ashley Dahl, MSW 90 After December 18 $ 110 On-Site S C R O O G E D IN A ST O R IA gress banned them in 1979. According to the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency, PCBs have been shown to cause a variety of health prob- lems, including cancer in ani- mals as well as effects on the immune, nervous and repro- ductive systems. In a company release, Monsanto spokesman Scott S. Partridge said that the “case is experimental because it seeks to target a product manufac- turer for selling a lawful and useful chemical four to eight decades ago that was applied by the U.S. government, Washington State, local cit- ies, and industries into many products to make them safer. PCBs have not been produced in the U.S. for four decades, and Washington is now pur- suing a case on a contingency fee basis that departs from set- tled law both in Washington Releasing Old Patterns for New Possibilities $ 2016 immediate plans to pursue a separate lawsuit against the state, he said. Court documents show the lawsuit is being largely paid for by the private timber indus- try and opponents to the law- suit worry that a successful suit could open up the coun- ties’ timber lands to increased harvest. Such harvests could have far-reaching effects on forest health, they argue. In Clatsop County, community members who have spoken up during public comment peri- ods have urged the commis- sioners to opt out. The commissioners will accept verbal and written testimony Wednesday, and will continue to accept writ- ten comments on this issue through Jan. 6. These can be e-mailed to commissioners@ co.clatsop.or.us or sent to: 800 Exchange St., Suite 410, Asto- ria, OR 97103 McMorris Rodgers could be Trump’s Interior pick N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A For more information call ate $15 million a year to the county and other local tax- ing entities. Compared to the other timber counties listed in the Linn County lawsuit, Clat- sop County is a particularly big player. County Manager Cameron Moore says it is an interest- ing lawsuit and the commis- sioners will need to carefully weigh any decision to opt out or let things continue as they are. Money gained from har- vests on the state forest land represent an important piece of the county’s annual budget and a successful suit could mean close to $300 million, at most, coming the county’s way. This is money that shouldn’t be dismissed lightly, Moore said. He and the com- missioners have a duty to tax- payers to look at all the options and potential outcomes. At this point, if the county does opt out, there are no Washington state suing agrochemical giant Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Looking for fi shermen with their own boats to fi sh for hagfi sh. 640,000 acres of state-man- aged forest lands. Clatsop County is just one of 15 coun- ties and 130 other taxing dis- tricts named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Currently, Clatsop County and the taxing districts in the county are automatically included in the lawsuit. Unless the commissioners send notice that the county and the taxing districts it represents want to opt out, they will continue to be a part of the lawsuit. The county has until Jan. 25 to decide. Other taxing districts located in Clatsop County but not included under county man- agement will have to make their own decision about whether to remain involved or not. Clatsop County contains approximately 147,000 acres of state forest land, worth mil- lions of dollars. On average, timber harvests here gener- 2 G REAT B OOKS O NE L OW P RICE www.dogsncats.org CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS 1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm THIS SPACE SPONSORED BY BAY BREEZE BOARDING S EARCHING FOR I NNER P EACE ? Come meet with us... 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