DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2017
144TH YEAR, NO. 223
ONE DOLLAR
Sheriff finds no wrongdoing at Man Cave
Fulton’s claims were
‘political in nature’
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office has con-
cluded there was no criminal activity at a private
hangar at the Astoria Regional Airport known as
the Man Cave, describing allegations from Port
Commissioner Stephen Fulton as “political in
nature.”
Fulton had called the Man Cave an “unli-
censed speakeasy” and claimed that alcohol
consumption at the hangar placed the Port of
Astoria at serious risk of liability. The hangar is
owned by retired dentist Philip Bales, a pilot, on
land leased from the Port.
Fulton also alleged that Commissioner James
Campbell, his opponent in the May special dis-
trict election who socializes at the Man Cave,
failed in his role as Port treasurer to disclose the
private club in the agency’s financial statement.
Sheriff Tom Bergin, in an investigative sum-
mary released Monday, said he found nothing
criminal in nature. “I find from the detectives’
reports that there was no criminal activity at this
hangar in question,” the sheriff wrote. “No alco-
hol was sold by Bales and this appears to be a
very limited place for pilots and other(s) from the
community to rarely or occasionally socialize.”
Bergin also wrote that he found it “suspi-
TO THE RESCUE
SOUTH PACIFIC COUNTY TECHNICAL RESCUE
DRILLS TO PRACTICE SAVING OCEAN VICTIMS
cious” that Fulton had visited the Man Cave yet
did not report any violations, as Fulton claimed
Campbell had failed to do. The sheriff noted
that Fulton switched seats to run against Camp-
bell in the election rather than campaign for his
existing seat on the Port Commission.
“I felt pretty good about it all along,” Camp-
bell said of the allegations against him. “I didn’t
think there was any substance.”
See MAN CAVE, Page 4A
Legislators
unveil new
plan for
roadways
Would raise $8 billion
through gas tax, fees
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Rescue swimmers keep a lookout for other emergency personnel bringing in ‘victims’ during a beach rescue drill Monday.
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
S
EAVIEW, Wash. — A callout came
over Washington’s Pacific County
Dispatch just after 6 p.m. Monday.
Five people were seen in the water south
of the Seaview approach.
“This will be a drill,” the dispatcher
said.
The all-volunteer South Pacific County
Technical Rescue, a nonprofit founded in
1978, has practiced such scenarios for the
past quarter century, a precursor to the
summer season when tourists descend
on the Long Beach Peninsula, and some
inevitably fall prey to the Pacific Ocean.
Within several minutes of the call,
local first responders roll down the beach
approach on 38th Place to where the
call was made. Rescue team members
unload their personal watercraft and tow
See DRILLS, Page 4A
SALEM — Legislators on Monday
announced a blueprint for raising $8 billion
over the next decade to pay for projects to
relieve congestion and maintain roads and
bridges.
The plan represents the first comprehen-
sive framework for crafting a transportation
package this year.
“We are running the most
transparent transportation
MORE
process I think this build-
ing has ever seen, so now
INSIDE
it’s time for public input,”
Crumbling
said state House Speaker
roads and
Tina Kotek, D-Portland.
bridges
“We still have plenty of
bring higher
taxes and
time to work out the details,
fees around
but this is an important turn-
the U.S.
ing point in terms of having
PAGE 8A
specifics out there for peo-
ple to respond to.”
The money for the plan
would come from a combination of hikes in
the gas tax and registration and license fees,
tolls and new taxes on payroll and purchases
of new vehicles and bicycles.
The plan identifies a few specific projects
to ease congestion, but other projects would
be prioritized by the Oregon Transportation
Commission. Specific projects would:
• Add lanes on Interstate 5 near Portland’s
Rose Quarter from Interstate 84 to Interstate
405.
See TRANSPORTATION, Page 4A
Paris Achen/Capital Bureau
A mock victim is pulled in from the surf Monday as part of beach rescue train-
ing involving multiple agencies and departments in preparation for increased
traffic on local beaches in coming months.
Left to right, state Sens. Brian Boquist,
R-Dallas, and Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, talk
at the state Capitol Monday before their
presentation on a transportation package
lawmakers will consider this session.
Downtown housing project receives state grant
Money will
help renovate
Waldorf Hotel
The Daily Astorian
Oregon Heritage has
awarded $100,000 to the Asto-
ria Downtown Historic Dis-
trict Association for a proposed
housing project in the former
Waldorf Hotel.
“Housing is a proven need
in this community and people
living in downtowns support
other downtown businesses,”
a release from Oregon Heri-
tage said.
Innovative Housing Inc., a
Portland nonprofit that refur-
bishes old buildings into
low-income housing, is per-
forming due diligence before
purchasing the old hotel from
Groat Brothers Inc. Innova-
tive Housing hopes to develop
about 40 one-bedroom and stu-
dio units for people earning 50
to 60 percent of the region’s
median income. To finance the
project, the group is lining up a
series of tax credits for histor-
ical buildings and affordable
housing, a mortgage and some
smaller grants through the State
Historic Preservation Office.
The Waldorf, also known
as the Merwyn, was expected
to be demolished as part of
a library renovation project.
Preservationists urged the city
to spare the hotel as an exam-
ple of 1920s architecture.
Oregon Heritage, a divi-
sion of state Parks and Recre-
ation Department, awarded 27
matching grants worth more
than $2 million to Oregon
Main Street Network organiza-
tions across the state for build-
ing projects that encourage
economic revitalization.
The Astoria Historic Land-
marks Commission will hold
a meeting about the proposed
development at 5:15 p.m. May
16 in the Astoria City Council
chambers.
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
A proposed low-income housing development in the for-
mer Waldorf Hotel, also known as Merwyn, has received a
$100,000 state grant.