144TH YEAR, NO. 236
ONE DOLLAR
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2017
AT HOME: REAL
ESTATE GUIDE
INSIDE
HYBRID SCHOOL IN ASTORIA MARKS A FULL FIRST YEAR • WEEKEND BREAK • 1C
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
Clatsop County commissioners split over role
Salmon
state of
disaster
sought
Oregon, California
ask for federal help
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Illustration by Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
Two want board to
be more involved
Oregon and California are calling for
a federal disaster declaration of ocean
salmon fi sheries as fi shermen endure yet
another bad year.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Com-
merce Wilbur Ross requesting an expe-
dited declaration of a catastrophic
regional fi shery disaster, Oregon Gov .
Kate Brown and California Gov . Jerry
Brown cite “anomalous oceanographic
conditions” in 2016 and reduced fi shing
seasons. These conditions, in combina-
tion with others, have taken a huge eco-
nomic toll on fi shing communities, they
write.
A disaster declaration — if approved
by the federal government — would
allow people and businesses that depend
on salmon to request federal assistance.
Kate Brown said federal assistance and
ongoing efforts by states, tribes and local
governments are critical to salmon recov-
ery and the “long-term health and sustain-
ability of our salmon fi sheries and coastal
communities.”
“Salmon are a vital component of Ore-
gon and California’s natural resources
and provide signifi cant recreational, eco-
nomic and aesthetic benefi ts to both states
and Native American tribes,” she said in
a statement.
See SALMON, Page 7A
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
C
hairman Scott Lee opens every Clat-
sop County Board of Commission-
ers meeting with the same phrase,
as C ommissioners Kathleen Sullivan and
Lianne Thompson sit to his left and Sarah
Nebeker and Lisa Clement to his right.
“The Board of Commissioners is the gov-
erning body of Clatsop County,” he says.
Commissioners, though, don’t seem to agree
on exactly what that means.
Since the beginning of the year, deliber-
ations at meetings have revealed a schism
between commissioners over how many
decisions they should be making and how
much time they should spend researching
and deliberating them. While Thompson and
Sullivan argue they are not active enough in
the county’s decision-making, the rest of the
b oard views the c ounty c harter as a reason-
able limitation to their abilities. As a result,
discussions often center not only on the top-
ics at hand, but also whether or not they have
been properly examined.
See COUNTY, Page 7A
Alex Proimos/Creative Commons
Trawling nets
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County Commissioner Kathleen Sullivan, left, and Commis-
sioner Lianne Thompson, right, listen to a presentation at a B oard of
C ommissioners meeting held Wednesday.
‘It is made for us to rubber stamp.
I have a great concern about this.
This is why I’m making noise.’
Lianne Thompson
Clatsop County commissioner, speaking about a c harter that was adopted
in 1989 in a home-rule style, meaning residents decide how the county’s
government is set up and operates
Cannon Beach
city manager
heads to Sisters
Kucera has worked
on coast since 2014
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
Green, a circus spokeswoman, said.
“It’s like walking back in time,
experiencing something that’s
joyful.”
CANNON BEACH — Brant Kucera,
who has served as Cannon Beach’s city
manager since 2014, has
been named the new city
manager of Sisters in
Deschutes County.
Kucera topped a
fi eld of four candidates
who visited Sisters for
public gatherings and
interviews, according Brant Kucera
to Joseph O’Neill, the
city’s fi nance director . He was selected
unanimously by the Sisters City Council
Wednesday night.
“I felt it was time for a change of pace
as far as my job goes,” Kucera said today .
“Sisters is a small city but it’s grow-
ing fast and I fi nd that opportunity really
appealing to me.”
Kucera, 46, said he feels he has made
a lot of “positive changes” at C ity H all.
“I think that overall the direction of
the city is positive, however there’s still,
See CIRCUS, Page 6A
See KUCERA, Page 7A
Circus brings fun, controversy to the coast
Animal acts are
controversial for
some in the area
By AMY NILE
EO Media Group
LONG BEACH, Wash. — As
big tops across America become
bygone curiosities, some still rel-
ish the nostalgia of circuses, while
others are rooting for their
extinction.
For the Culpepper & Merri-
weather Circus, the show simply
must go on. It’s bringing the big top
to the parking lot next to the Bols-
tad B each approach Tuesday.
Performances scheduled for 5
Joseph Lee Novak/Wikimedia
The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus’ winter camp.
and 7:30 p.m. are expected to fea-
ture tightrope walkers, trapeze fl i-
ers, contortionists, clowns, fi re-jug-
glers and unicyclists.
“It’s meant to be the old-time,
good, old-fashioned big top,” Alana