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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2017)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2017 Founded in 1873 DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager OUR VIEW Rohne is our choice for Port Position 2 B rownsmead dairy farmer Dirk Rohne and commercial fisherman Dick Hellberg are vying for the Port of Astoria Position 2 seat. Each has a history of serving in elected positions, and while both share some similar outlooks on the Port, they have contrasting views on some of the critical challenges it faces. Rohne most recently served eight years on the Clatsop County Commission and six years on the Clatsop Community College Board. Hellberg’s experience includes 12 years as a Warrenton city commissioner and eight years on the Warrenton-Hammond School District’s board of directors. Both Rohne and Hellberg have worked with Dirk Rohne professional staffs, and both say the ongoing animosity between Port commissioners needs to stop. Both want to bring stability to the commission, and both say Tongue Point is an asset that could be developed with further marine repair businesses. Both also say repair- ing infrastructure is critical. What separates them, though, are their views on economic development. We believe Rohne’s long-term vision better serves the public and he gets our endorsement. Rohne supports the Port’s airport bond pro- posal, which would improve infrastructure and prepare it for potential expansion. As part of the measure the Life Flight Network’s facilities would be relocated and upgraded within the airport property. Although Hellberg supports Life Flight, he opposes the bond issue and says the Port’s tax dollars should be directed to infrastructure repairs at its piers rather than at the air- port. He sees the airport more as an industrial park that competes with others in the region without a great chance of success. Rohne, however, says expanding airport infrastructure can lay a foundation to help attract aviation-related training businesses, among others. He believes in economic development with finan- cial diligence on projects that have reasonable chances of success. To move forward, he says, the Port must create the environment in which businesses will want to locate on Port property, whether it be Tongue Point, the airport or other Port facilities along the river. He advocates that the Port should actively seek those businesses rather than wait for them to come to it. We believe he’s right. Voters should elect Rohne to Position 2. SOUTHERN EXPOSURE Authors chronicle Hood to Coast history By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian Spence gets our nod for Port’s Position 5 ot memories of Hood to Coast? The iconic 197-mile relay from Mount Hood to Seaside has brought hundreds of thousands of runners and their fam- ilies to our city. Authors Marc Spiegel and Art Garner place the race in the league of great Amer- ican sporting events. Its history offers a colorful path of personal- ities, endurance and community involvement. Those who compete often call it the “most magical” experience of their lives. The sense of team building and accomplish- ment is akin to scaling a moun- tain. “Art Garner and I are putting together an upcoming book, ten- tatively titled ‘Hood to Coast, An Oral History of the Mother of All Relays,’ ” Spiegel wrote in Feb- ruary. “It will tell the story of the relay through the words of partici- pants, organizers, volunteers, spec- tators, media and others involved in the event that just completed its 35th year. We’re working together with the Hood To Coast orga- nization, and we’re compiling short personal stories and remem- brances of the event. Obviously, we would love to hear from individu- als from Seaside and the surround- ing areas that may have stories to share about their Hood to Coast experiences.” he contest for the Port of Astoria Commission Position 5 seat pits retiree Frank Spence against auto and marine repair shop owner Pat O’Grady. Both seek office for the first time. Spence, however, gets our endorsement for his vision and wealth of public service as a former city man- ager and county administrator over a 45-year span in other areas of the country. Locally, he serves as an Astoria planning commissioner and has been on the Port’s Budget Committee for three years. Spence’s long experience of working with elected boards and his skills of constructive teamwork would be a valuable asset on a com- Frank Spence mission that has been in the headlines too many times for the wrong reasons. During his career he has worked overseas, giving him a bet- ter perspective of how the Port can figure into the global economy. He says Port commissioners have focused on the little things and not on the bigger picture, and he says economic development and improving aged infrastructure should be top priorities. Having been on the “other side of the table” as a professional reporting to elected boards, Spence says Port commissioners shouldn’t bypass the chain of command by reaching out directly to staff rather than working through the Port’s executive director. Spence also favors the Port’s airport bond proposal to expand infrastructure, to better prepare it for economic development, and to move the Life Flight Network operation to new facili- ties. He believes Tongue Point can be a “diamond in the rough,” and says commissioners need to spend more time determining its possibilities. Spence’s opponent, O’Grady, wants to be a stabilizing force, but has a philosophy of “taking care of what we have before expand- ing.” Although he firmly supports Life Flight, he is against the bond issue because he doesn’t see a return on the investment. The money, he says, should be used on other projects. O’Grady has served on a variety of local advisory committees and also on the county planning commission. O’Grady’s outlook, however, focuses more on the status quo than the future, and we believe Spence has a better vision of what can lie ahead. Voters should elect Spence. Anyone who’s spent late August in Seaside knows that not everyone is a fan of Hood to Coast. “It’s not been two years, not three years, but 15 years of contin- uous debate,” Seaside’s John Chap- man said at a 2015 Hood to Coast workshop presented by the city. “I encourage you to listen to our busi- ness people.” In 2015, the city came close to giving the storied race the boot, after merchants complained about rude, unruly crowds, litter and a lack of communication between the city and organizers. The run was marred by heavy winds that diverted the finish line from the beach to the Prom — herding run- ners and visitors downtown. The conversation became so stormy that the city had to think twice before renewing the contract with race organizers. “Although the Seaside Cham- ber of Commerce and many of the area’s lodging facilities benefit financially, many of us year-round business owners feel that the over- all impact of hosting this massive event during the busy summer tour- ist season is negative,” wrote 74 business owners in a letter deliv- ered to the City Council. As trouble-ridden as 2015 was, 2016 went off without a hitch. Weather held and celebrities joined newly minted Prefontaines on the 197-mile track. Comedian and actor Kevin Hart ran on the Nike team and Olympians Ashton Eaton, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Josh Cox and Lopez Lomong kicked up the sand for Team World Vision. They were four of 17,000 par- ticipants in the race, quite a number considering Seaside’s regular pop- ulation is less than a third that. T G Submitted Photo Author Marc Spiegel’s 2016 Image team at the Ashore Hotel. At times, a rocky path The Daily Astorian/File Photo Massage therapists helped runners fight cramps and fatigue in the early Hood to Coast races in Seaside. Inspirational documentary A recreational runner, Spiegel first heard about Hood to Coast at the South by Southwest film fest in Austin, Texas, when the docu- mentary “Hood to Coast” made its debut in 2010. “My wife said, ‘We have to do this event,’” Spiegel said from his home in North Carolina. “I said, ‘Sure.’ We applied and didn’t get in. On the third time, in 2014, we got into the race, and we decided to do it.” Spiegel has run each race since. “I think every year it gets better,” he said. He and co-author Garner liked the format of their previous book, “Indy 500 Memories: An Oral His- tory of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” and were ready for a new project. When Hood to Coast organiz- ers gave the project their stamp of approval, the authors began the process of collecting memories: from volunteers and spectators to journalists and celebrities. Their first stop in the project began with an interview with race founder Bob Foote, a 35-time mar- athoner and 13-time ultra-mara- thon runner. Foote’s concept was a run from Mount Hood to the beach. A group of Foote’s running friends and competitors would form relay teams, handing off every 5 miles, starting at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood and finishing in Pacific City. Over the years, countless love matches have been made, Spie- gel said, including a proposal at the finish line. A local restaura- teur recalled preparing 100 pizzas in an hour. A mother and daughter shared their experiences of running together. Hood to Coast stirred excite- ment “from the first whisper of the event coming to Seaside,” the Sea- side Signal wrote in 1989, with predictions of “enough visitors to populate a moderately sized city.” Between 12,000 and 15,000 vis- itors came to Seaside that year, after race organizers met with city officials in February for prepa- rations. Among the novel fea- tures was the participation of more than 20 licensed massage techni- cians brought to the event by van, some of them from as far away as Roseburg. If you were there back then, you probably remember the dominance of a running team known as the Killer B’s. They won the race five of the first six years in Seaside. I hope one of their members steps forward with some stories. *Share your 500- to 1,000- word reminiscences and photos at hoodtocoastmemories.com or on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/ hoodtocoastmemories. R.J. Marx is The Daily Astori- an’s South County reporter and edi- tor of the Seaside Signal and Can- non Beach Gazette.