DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2017
144TH YEAR, NO. 154
‘To honor his memory’
ONE DOLLAR
Warrenton
grad rates
on the rise
School goes from last
in the pack to top tier
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Lt. Devin Hepner’s family, including (front row) father Ron and mother Carolee Hepner, his wife, siblings and others, traveled
from Washington, Utah and Idaho for his memorial Tuesday at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air Station Astoria.
Coast Guard,
family, friends
remember
fallen comrade
See GRAD RATES, Page 9A
New year brings
cleanup crusade
in Long Beach
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
T
he family of Lt. Devin Hepner sat in the
front row at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air
Station Astoria Tuesday, surrounded by
servicemen in dress blues packing the cavern-
ous hangars to honor a fallen comrade.
The Coast Guard memorialized Hepner,
34, a marine inspector from Mendon, Utah,
who was based in Warrenton. He died of pul-
monary embolism Jan. 16 while at an investi-
gating officer course in Training Center York-
town, Virginia.
The ceremony included commanders from
Hepner’s Marine Safety Unit Portland, Sector
Columbia River and District 13, which over-
sees the Pacific Northwest. Hepner’s fellow
guardsmen paid tribute, led prayers, read scrip-
ture and fired off a three-volley salute.
Mayor targets eyesores
By AMY NILE
EO Media Group
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
A portrait of the late Lt. Devin Hepner in his service dress whites, along with a pair
of his operational dress blues, looked over his memorial Tuesday at the U.S. Coast
Guard’s Air Station Astoria, during which his compatriots donned service dress blues.
Coast Guard family
“It was nothing short of amazing,” said
Hepner’s father, Ron, of the support the Coast
Guard has shown his family, helping care for
his son’s wife, Erin, and four daughters Saman-
tha, Aurora, Audrey and Juniper.
The family flew in from Idaho, Utah and
Washington state for the memorial.
Hepner’s mother, Carolee, said it meant
a lot to the family when his close friend and
former comrade in officer candidate school,
Lt. j.g. Ross Phillips, traveled from Honolulu
to accompany Hepner’s body from Newport
News, Virginia, to Salt Lake City.
At the airport, an honor guard watched over
the transfer to a hearse for the drive to Mendon,
where another honor guard acted as pallbearers
at his funeral and performed a 21-gun salute.
See HEPNER, Page 9A
WARRENTON — Over the past five
school years, Warrenton High School has
steadily climbed from the worst to nearly the
best in Clatsop County at grad-
uating students in four years.
Since 57.9 percent of the MORE
class of 2012 graduated in INSIDE
four years, the worst mark
in the county, the school has Charts
show
seen continual gains, with Clatsop
more than 63 percent in 2013, County
66 percent in 2014 and more graduation
than 69 percent in 2015. Last rates.
year, more than 74 percent of Page 9A
Warrenton students gradu-
ated on time, nearly the highest rate among
the county’s three larger school districts.
Over the same period of time, Astoria
High School has increased from less than 60
percent to a nearly 73 percent four-year grad-
uation rate. Seaside, which has historically
had a stronger graduation rate, increased
from 69 to 74.4 percent over the past five
years.
Knappa, which boasted the second-high-
est graduation rate five years ago at more
than 72 percent, fell off into the mid-60s for
three years, but built graduation back above
70 percent last year. The state as a whole has
increased graduation from 68.4 percent in
2012 to 74.8 percent last year.
LONG BEACH, Wash. — The mayor is
continuing to set his sights set on ridding the
city of eyesores.
Jerry Phillips has been working to clean
up ramshackle lots and bedraggled build-
ings. He took the helm as mayor last year
after serving 10 years
on the City Council.
The city plans to
demolish a dilap-
idated house on
Fourth Street North-
east within the next
month. After that,
Phillips wants to find
Jerry
a fix for half a dozen
Phillips
other shabby spots,
such as a rundown
building that once housed a thrift store and
pharmacy on Pacific Avenue and 14th Street
South. He also hopes to clean up the aban-
doned filling station next to Ferrellgas.
“This is what people see coming into
Long Beach,” Phillips said. “I think it’s
terrible.”
City money
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Erin Hepner, wife of the late Lt. Devin Hepner, and her four daughters attended his
memorial Tuesday at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air Station Astoria, surrounded by her
husband’s comrades.
The mayor is tired of using public dol-
lars to make sure private-property owners
See CLEANUP, Page 7A
Cannon Beach public works director to leave
Grassick credited with
upgrades, parks plan
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
CANNON BEACH — Dan Grassick, the
city’s public works director since 2013, will be
leaving Cannon Beach to spend time with his
family.
The public works director supervises the
work of 13 employees and manages an average
annual operations budget of $5 million and an
average capital budget of $500,000.
“The expertise you had with that guy was
amazing — you almost never find it in a town
of this size,” City Manager Brant Kucera said.
Because of vacation time accrued, Grassick
plans an April 28 departure.
“My life priorities shifted recently and I
realized I need to focus on my wife and grand-
kids while I am still able and healthy,” Grass-
ick said. “I have enjoyed my time here with the
entire management team and especially the pub-
lic works staff. These are very dedicated and pas-
sionate staff who take pride in the work they do
every day for the citizens, as well as environmen-
tal sustainability.”
Nationwide search
Grassick was hired in 2013 after a nationally
advertised search that drew 35 applicants. With
the U.S. Air Force for 29 years, both active duty
and reserve, he worked in an engineering capac-
ity as an instructor, liaisons officer and com-
mander before acquiring municipal works expe-
rience in Albany and Lebanon.
Kucera credited Grassick with water, waste-
water and parks master plan development
See DIRECTOR, Page 7A
Dan
Grassick is
leaving his
post in April
after being
Cannon
Beach’s public
works director
since 2013.
R.J. Marx
The Daily Astorian