144TH YEAR, NO. 226
ONE DOLLAR
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2017
Gearhart
lottery
decision
disputed
‘HEART-WRENCHING’
Dozens of cats in limbo
HOARDING ARREST PUTS STRAIN ON ANIMAL SHELTER
Owner files land use
appeal for video games
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — A Gearhart cafe owner
wants video poker in his establishment, and
he’s planning to take the city to the state
Land Use Board of Appeals to get it.
After a denial by the Planning Commis-
sion and a subsequent denial of his appeal by
the City Council, Gearhart Crossing owner
Terry Lowenberg announced his intent to
challenge that decision at the state level. If he
wins the appeal, he could install at least four
video poker machines to be located behind
an 8-foot-tall wall display in an area adjacent
to the restrooms.
“It appears to me there’s a difference of
opinion whether or not the city can actually
regulate the location of those machines in
the cafe itself, within the city of Gearhart,”
Lowenberg’s land use attorney Greg Hatha-
way of Hathaway Coback and Connors said
Thursday. “It looks to me as if the use itself
is actually allowed as an accessory use to the
cafe. We would disagree with the city’s deci-
sion because we believe the city probably
had the authority to approve it. Therefore,
the denial was not legal.”
See GEARHART, Page 7A
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
TOP: Clatsop County Animal Shelter Supervisor Stephen Hildreth comforts one of the cats that was recently rescued from a
woman who had dozens of animals in a vehicle. BELOW LEFT: A some of the cats brought to the shelter after being rescued
were pregnant and gave birth shortly after arriving at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter. BELOW RIGHT: One of the dozens
of cats rescued from a vehicle gets some attention at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter Wednesday.
face tougher penalties than Kittles did, if
she is convicted.
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Environment
plays havoc
with salmon
forecasting
Recreational fishery is
postponed this week
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Oregon fishery managers have postponed
a catch-and-release salmon and steelhead
fishery on the Columbia River set to open
this weekend, and say abnormal water con-
ditions this spring have flung them, and their
ability to predict what will happen next, into
new territory.
As of Wednesday, only 26,000 of the
approximately 160,000 forecasted upriver
spring Chinook salmon had been counted
at Bonneville Dam, according to the Ore-
gon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This
low count, coupled with the number of
fish that fishermen in a recreational fishery
downstream of the dam have already caught,
is delaying the opener of an annual recre-
ational jack Chinook salmon and hatchery
steelhead fishery. This fishery allows fishing
from Tongue Point to upriver at the Interstate
5 bridge.
A
cat hoarding arrest in Warrenton has
caused an emotional and financial
strain on the county animal shelter
and revived memories of a similar case that
attracted national interest two decades ago.
Kathryn St. Clare was arrested in April
after she was found with 42 cats in her
Chevrolet Suburban, including one that was
dead. The 58-year-old Lake Stevens, Wash-
ington, woman has been charged with 40
counts of animal neglect and one count of
first-degree animal abuse. Court documents
revealed she may have failed to seek treat-
ment for one cat infected with feline leuke-
mia, a terminal disease, causing it to spread
to other cats in her care.
St. Clare’s arrest is reminiscent of an
animal hoarding case that roiled Clatsop
County and helped change Oregon law.
In 1993, Vikki Kittles, who had a history
of hoarding, was arrested in Brownsmead
Adoption possible
Kathryn St. Clare
after keeping 116 dogs, four cats and two
chickens inside a school bus.
The prognosis for many of St. Clare’s
cats is grim, and the influx of animals at the
Clatsop County Animal Shelter has caused
headaches. But stronger state laws inspired
by the Kittles case may force St. Clare to
Initial tests following St. Clare’s arrest
indicated most of her cats likely would need
to be euthanised, but continued examina-
tions have offered a more hopeful outlook.
Bayshore Animal Hospital Director Dr.
Brad Pope initially estimated more than half
of the cats would not survive. As tests con-
tinue, though, two-thirds of the cats appear
likely to be adopted.
So far, six cats have either been
euthanised or died naturally due to leuke-
mia or upper-respiratory problems. Tests
will continue for another week to confirm
which cats are infected.
An additional 10 kittens have been born
since the arrest.
Pope, who typically visits the animal
shelter just a few times each year, has made
See KITTENS, Page 7A
See FISHERY, Page 7A
State’s winningest baseball coach calls it quits
Astoria’s Gasser
heads home
after 35 years
By NICK DASCHEL
The Oregonian
BEAVERTON — Oregon’s
all-time baseball coaching win
leader insists this season is it.
Astoria’s Dave Gasser has
said this before. He retired in
2002 from Lakeridge, only to
find a promising situation in
Astoria a few years later. Five
years and two state titles later,
Gasser retired again, only to be
drawn back to the Fishermen
program in 2013.
But 2017 will be Gasser’s
35th and final season. It might
not end until June 3, when the
Class 4A state title game is
contested in Keizer.
“This is how for real it is:
At the end of last summer, I
handed a written resignation
to the principal, the AD, and
most importantly, my wife.
Thirty-five years is enough, to
be living with a husband who
is gone a lot, and always has
baseball on his mind,” Gasser
said
“This is a great group to go
out with, but this is definitely
sayonara.”
Gasser, 65, was lured back
to Astoria for another run in
2013 when the Fishermen
needed a coach. A group of
eighth-graders, who attended
Gasser’s first Astoria base-
ball camp as 7-year-olds, were
about to enter high school,
adding to the attraction.
Gasser’s commitment at
the time was five years, end-
ing when those eighth-graders
became seniors. He’ll go out
with those nine seniors when-
ever the season ends.
But it’s clear Gasser doesn’t
think it’s going to end any time
soon. Astoria (17-4, 12-2) are
on the brink of winning the
Daily Astorian/File Photo
See GASSER, Page 8A
Dave Gasser addresses his team following a loss to New-
port in the 2008 state championship game.