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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2016)
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 119 ‘I have such mixed feelings, because I’m going to miss so many people — the staff, the parents and, of course, the kids.’ Patty Skinner Astoria Library’s retiring senior library assistant FOR CHILDREN, A NEED TO READ CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN RETIRES AFTER WORKING FOR 17 YEARS WITH THE ASTORIA LIBRARY ONE DOLLAR Warrenton turns to Corps in dam fight City Commission declares emergency By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — Declaring an emer- gency risk to public safety and property, the Warrenton City Commission on Tues- day night voted to ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review whether the Eighth Street Dam should be restored for flood control. The city wants the Army Corps to inves- tigate if the Skipanon Water Control Dis- trict improperly removed tide gates on the dam and whether the devices should be reinstalled. The resolution, approved unanimously by the City Commission, is a shift in the city’s strategy. The city was preparing to sue the water district to take control of the dam for flood control, and had given the water dis- trict until Tuesday to respond. See DAM, Page 7A College may ban smoking on campus Prohibition could be in place by late winter By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Senior Library Assistant Patty Skinner will retire this week after working 17 years with the Astoria Library. By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian O ne way to turn young children into good readers: Teach them to enjoy books before they actually start reading. Patty Skinner has made that her mission at the Astoria Library for 17 years. As a senior library assistant, she has led the Preschool Story Time sessions, developed children’s reading pro- grams and served as a resource for parents aiming to get their kids hooked on books. This week is Skinner’s last at the library. A retirement open house in Skinner’s honor will be held 5 p.m. Thursday at the library. “I have such mixed feelings, because I’m going to miss so many people — the staff, the parents and, of course, the kids,” she said. Skinner, who also did administrative work at the library, said she hasn’t decided how she will spend retirement, but she knows it will involve children. See SKINNER, Page 7A Clatsop Community College could go tobacco-free by spring term. President Christopher Breitmeyer said he is drafting a no-smoking policy after the col- lege council, a group of college faculty, staff and students used to address major issues on campus, voted to move ahead. “The goal of our policy is to change the culture on cam- pus to one where stu- dents, faculty and staff do not smoke on our campus,” Breitmeyer said. “We will step up efforts to educate people about the con- Christopher sequences of smok- Breitmeyer ing and secondhand smoke. We do not expect this to be an over- night change and we will be sensitive in how we implement this policy.” Breitmeyer said the first reading could happen in January, with adoption in late win- ter or early spring. Smoking survey Patty Skinner, senior library assistant, shows her library pins on her name tag Tuesday at the Astoria Library. Each pin signifies five years of service with the library. Breitmeyer said some of the impetus See SMOKING, Page 5A Local retailers rejoice robust seasonal sales Others hope December picks up By LUKE WHITTAKER EO Media Group Nor rain, ice, snow or lin- gering election anxiety can curb sales and optimism lead- ing into the homestretch of the holiday shopping season for retailers across Clatsop County. “The last two days of snow have been a challenge but we’re on par,” said Tom Leiner, co-owner of Pat’s Pan- try, a “spices and more” store in Astoria last week. “December is typically our biggest month for sales.” The store has been busy prepar- ing gift packs featuring their freshly ground spices, a con- venient way for out-of-town- ers to take a taste home. “The bulk of our sales, probably 80 percent, are from Seattle and Portland,” Leiner said. “We’re still in the high- growth mode.” In a clothing store in Can- non Beach, a similar occur- rence is taking place. “It seems like our customer base continues to grow,” said Vange Alderman, sales asso- ciate at Dena’s Shop on the Corner, a women’s cloth- ing boutique. “We’re seeing a new influx coming into town from Portland and Seattle — everywhere,” Alderman said, “November turned out to be very strong in spite of the tor- nado, power failures and all the bad weather.” But not everyone felt the weather was necessarily bad for business. “It doesn’t matter if the weather is bad or not — there are people who come down specifically when there are storms,” said Mary Laplante Krettler, owner of Commercial Street Antiques and Collect- ibles in Astoria. “People will See RETAILERS, Page 9A Luke Whittaker/EO Media Group “The last two days of snow have been a challenge but we’re on par,” said Tom Leiner, co-owner of Pat’s Pantry, a “spices and more” store in Astoria.
