144TH YEAR, NO. 231
ONE DOLLAR
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017
Astoria’s
Van Dusen
Building
up for sale
The Harbor deems
remodel too costly
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
ALMOST THERE
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Work continues on Patriot Hall on the campus of Clatsop Community College in Astoria.
Patriot Hall nears opening day on campus
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Harbor, a regional advocate for vic-
tims of domestic and sexual violence, is
selling the Van Dusen Building, which was
once supposed to be the nonprofi t’s new
headquarters.
The group has been based in the Norblad
Building since 2010. Sue Farmer, the interim
executive director since the quiet departure
of Melissa Van Horn in September, said the
Van Dusen Building, hasn’t gone on the mar-
ket yet, but has attracted interest.
“This sale will provide much needed
fi nancial stability, which in turn will allow us
to better leverage grants, and in turn increase
core services that support our mission,” the
group said a release . “How we get there, and
how we create a sustainable future, is all a
part of the long-term strategic planning cur-
rently being pursued by the board.”
For more than 40 years, The Harbor has
assisted in the intervention, recovery and
well-being of survivors of domestic violence,
See BUILDING, Page 7A
T
he Patriot Hall r edevelopment project, started nearly two years
ago, is quickly approaching completion.
Clatsop Community College’s leaders hope to have the
building available for graduation June 16, with substantial completion
by the start of summer term.
The $16 million, 30,000-square -foot academic hall was half funded
by county voters and half by state bonds. The building will add a new
540-seat gymnasium, several new studios and classrooms, exponen-
tially expanded cardiovascular and weight-training areas and a third-
fl oor elevated running track looking out over the Columbia River.
How all that new space will be
used is still a work in progress.
‘We know,
though, that
this building
wouldn’t
be possible
without the
community,
so we want
to make
sure the
community
will have
access to it.’
Submitted Photo
Patriot Hall includes several new classrooms and studios.
Summer pilot
Don’t expect to be doing
laps around Patriot Hall’s new
indoor running track right after
graduation.
The college plans to open the
building’s main gym fl oor for grad-
uation, then close down to bring
in more equipment before a pilot
opening of the building for sum-
mer term with several physical
education and community courses.
If Patriot Hall isn’t available by
June 16, the college will create a
venue for graduation in the parking
lot behind Columbia Hall.
“We’re playing it pretty low-
key over the summer,” said Julie
Kovatch, a spokeswoman for the
college, adding the summer will
help determine fi rmer staffi ng lev-
els and community demand before
a more robust fall opening. The
Julie Kovatch
building will initially be open from
spokeswoman for Clatsop
6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through
Community College
Thursday.
Mary Kemhus, coordinator of
the college’s community education program, said the college will start
enrolling people in June for the fi tness program so residents can access
the building’s training rooms and track. The program will cost $99 per
term for the general public, $60 for seniors and veterans and $55 for
alumni.
Kovatch said priority in the fi tness rooms and track will go to stu-
dents. “We know, though, that this building wouldn’t be possible with-
out the community, so we want to make sure the community will have
access to it,” she said.
ACLU
talk draws
crowd in
Astoria
Group reaches out
to share its message
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
ABOVE: At the end of a long day’s work at the Patriot Hall
construction site, worker’s safety equipment bears the
marks of concrete work. BELOW: The new Patriot Hall build-
ing on the Clatsop Community College campus will include
new classrooms, a gymnasium and recreational facilities.
The American Civil Liberties Union of
Oregon visited Astoria for the fi rst time in
years Thursday as part of a wider effort to
reconnect, face-to-face, with communities
across Oregon after the contentious presi-
dential election last November.
The organization held a community
forum at the Performing Arts Center , draw-
ing an audience of more than 60 people to
discuss legislation the group is working on
in Oregon, as well as concerns particular to
Clatsop County.
The ACLU is a non partisan organization
“dedicated to the preservation and enhance-
ment of civil liberties and civil rights” —
a mission statement that takes the form
of lobbying to support the passage of cer-
tain laws and prevent the passage of others
at local, state and national levels , and pro-
viding educational outreach and legal assis-
tance, among other actions. Thursday’s audi-
ence was a mix of long time “card-carrying”
ACLU members, non-members and peo-
ple who signed up for the fi rst time after the
election.
See PATRIOT HALL, Page 6A
See ACLU, Page 7A
Women motorcyclists ‘Flock to the Rock’
Touring group
fi nds kinship,
support in
new event
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
CANNON BEACH — Four
years before leading 80 women
on a three-day motorcycle tour
to Cannon Beach, Ruth Belcher
was terrifi ed of driving on the
freeway.
It had been 15 years since
Belcher had last ridden a motor-
cycle. She started riding dirt
bikes with her grandma when
she was 9 years old in Ken-
tucky’s Appalachian moun-
tains, but took a hiatus to raise
her two sons until four years
ago.
“I realized there was some-
thing that I was missing that I
loved,” Belcher said.
Things were different when
she returned. She said she
felt “a little older, and a little
heavier,” and some of her rid-
ing confi dence had waned.
Reaching out
When she sought a way
to reach out to other women
See BIKERS, Page 7A
Stephanie
Luper, Mary
McGee, Ruth
Belcher
and Dionne
Haroutunian
pose for a
photo by
Luper’s bike.
McGee and
Haroutunian
were both
speakers at
the event.
Brenna Visser
The Daily
Astorian