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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2017 Georgia-Pacific donation will help with playground Larger project is a year away By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian WESTPORT — Plans to revitalize a boat launch and park area near Westport have been stagnant, but they took a step closer Wednesday. The Georgia-Pacific Wauna Mill, which donated the 27-acre property to Clat- sop County in 2015, has given an additional $20,000 toward a playground at the site. The playground and other upgrades, such as a picnic area, restrooms and a refur- bished boat launch, are at least a year away from being com- pleted, Natural Resources Manager Steve Meshke said. “We’ve got a lot of things lined up,” Meshke said. “It’s just about waiting for the dom- inoes to fall.” Georgia-Pacific donated the thinly shaped property along the Westport Slough, valued at more than $230,000, in 2015. Though much of the project was expected to be finished by 2016, it remains largely in the design phase. It will take at least another year to complete, Meshke said. Damian Mulinix/EO Media Group The county plans to revitalize a boat launch and park in Wesport. Completion of the project is likely a year away. Estimated to cost $900,000 for the entire project, the county parks department is hoping to secure more grants from the state, Meshke said. “There are a lot of different grant opportunities that could be had there,” Meshke said. Costs not secured by grants County unemployment rate down to 3.5 percent By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian has cut 90. Leisure and hos- pitality (130) and construc- tion (80) added the most positions. Retail trade was down 140 jobs over the year, while both manufac- turing and local government education lost an additional 70 positions. county, said Selene Keeney, the council’s coordinator. The departure of former coordina- tor Margaret Magruder, who originally spearheaded the effort, has also been a factor, she said. Georgia-Pacific attempted to donate the land in 2004, but the move was stalled when the state Department of Environmental Quality sus- pected contamination from the mill’s use of the prop- erty dating back to the 1950s. A regulatory process that cost the company $1 million ended in 2013. Miss Scandinavia is a family tradition Miss Finland takes the crown The Daily Astorian Clatsop County’s season- ally adjusted unemployment rate dipped slightly to 3.5 percent in May, according to figures from the Oregon Employment Department. Clatsop County was tied for the seventh-lowest unemployment rate state- wide, along with Deschutes and Wasco counties. The unemployment rate was 1.3 percent lower than the year prior, slightly lower than the state rate (3.6 percent) and nearly 1 percent lower than the U.S. rate (4.3 percent). Some regional economists have argued the region has reached peak employment. Nonfarm payroll employ- ment decreased by 30 from the year prior, shrinking one-fifth of a percent. The civilian labor force over that time increased by 563. Over the past year, the pri- vate sector has added 60 jobs, while the government will be funded by the depart- ment’s acquisition fund. An effort by the Lower Columbia River Watershed Council to redirect nearby Plympton Creek with its his- toric channel has also been stalled due to emergency projects in other areas in the Once completed, the play- ground will be more than half a football field in size, Meshke said. It will include climbing areas and swing sets for children that will have similar colors to the trees and rocks surrounding it. It will be valuable to more than 60 school-age chil- dren in the area who cur- rently must travel more than 10 miles to the nearest play- ground, Georgia-Pacific spokeswoman Kristi Ward said. “Our vision when we donated the property was for a great park that all Westport residents could enjoy, so it is fulfilling to know that the kids in the community will have a safe place to be active and play,” she said. The county now will seek an additional grant that will fully fund the playground design. Public informa- tion meetings will be held in Westport this summer to review the plans and for resi- dents to provide input. Clatsop County Com- missioner Kathleen Sullivan said she was thrilled by the designs she saw Wednesday. “We’re going to have to have a big party here when this is finished,” she said. Astoria’s newest Miss Scandinavia comes from a long line of women who have worn the crown. Megan Schacher was Miss Finland at this year’s Asto- ria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival and was crowned Miss Scandinavia at the festival’s opening ceremonies Friday. Her sister, Aimee, was both Miss Finland and Miss Scan- dinavia in 2013; her mother, Melissa, was Miss Finland and Miss Scandinavia in 1991. The annual festival, a cel- ebration of Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Ice- landic traditions and food, marked its 50th year last weekend. Schacher, and the other young women representing their different counties of ori- gin, didn’t wear tight spar- kly dresses or swimsuits; they were dressed in brightly col- ored traditional garb. They urged involvement in the com- munity, knowing it is up to the next generation to keep these traditions alive. Schacher’s great- great- grand parents are the reason the family now resides in Ore- gon. They moved to the United States independently, met in Montana and later settled in Hammond. Schacher’s great-great grandmother helped sponsor other Finns to immigrate to America, remembering how hard the journey was herself. Her Finnish heritage and the traditions of that culture provide Schacher with deep connections to the community, Schacher said. She could not imagine life without them. Schacher will be a senior at Astoria High School. Runner-up Kara Dowaliby, Miss Sweden, traces her heri- tage back to Finnish and Swed- ish great-great-grandparents who met at a popular dance Megan Schacher, Miss Fin- land, was crowned Miss Scandi- navia at this year’s Astoria Scandi- navian Midsum- mer Fes- tival last weekend. Georgia Sutton was Ju- nior Miss Finland. Thom E. Dickerson hall in Astoria now known as Josephson’s Seafoods. She echoed Schacher’s words, saying the Scandina- vian immigrants who settled here came with a “suitcase” and “a dream.” The dream continues for future genera- tions, she said. Other young women who represented the festi- val included retiring Miss Scandinavia 2016 Megan McCall-Devos, Miss Denmark Sophia Hansen and Miss Nor- way Maya McGill. State senator suggests changes to tenant protections bill Monroe has offered revisions By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — A stalemate in the state Senate over a tenant protections bill could end with changes proposed by a Dem- ocratic senator who has so far opposed the legislation. State Sen. Rod Monroe of Portland, one of several land- lords in the Legislature, has opposed House Bill 2004, despite several concessions already made to landlords. Monroe on Tuesday pro- posed amendments that he says would win his vote and those of other holdouts in the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans. Jonathan Lockwood, a spokesman for Senate Republi- cans, said he couldn’t comment on whether individual Republi- cans support the amendments. “Senate Republicans are optimistic changes can be made that would be palatable,” Lock- wood said Wednesday. The amendments would eliminate a ban on no-cause evictions and drastically narrow the circumstances under which landlords would be obligated to pay tenants relocation costs. The amendments still would limit rent increases to one time per year and require a minimum of six-month leases. Landlords would be required to notify tenants 90 days before the end of the lease whether they intend to the renew the lease and increase the rent. Ten- ants would have to respond 45 days before the end of the lease on whether they plan to stay or move out. The proposed amendments are intended to prevent mass evictions, without penalizing other landlords who may use no-cause evictions in limited circumstances, Monroe said. However, housing advo- cates say the proposals are a revival of ideas that were elim- inated last year because they were deemed ineffective. Existing bill The existing iteration of the bill would ban no-cause evic- tions and require landlords to pay relocation costs of up to one month’s rent when the landlord wants to move into the property, renovate it or sell it. Landlords who own fewer than five units would be exempt from having to pay the relocation costs. A section to lift the ban on rent control in the House version of the bill was eliminated during amend- ments in the Senate Committee on Human Services. Monroe’s amendments would narrow the requirement to pay relocation costs to the following situation: A landlord evicts 50 percent or more of tenants in a multifamily com- plex exceeding five units in the first year after the landlord pur- chased the property. The land- lord would, then, have to pay the evicted tenants the equiva- lent of one month’s rent. John DiLorenzo, a real estate attorney and a spokes- man for More Housing Now, said the statewide landlord coalition supports Monroe’s amendments. “I think Sen. Monroe’s amendments reflect the best practices of many landlords throughout the state and are designed to be targeted to the outliers, and we are fine with that,” DiLorenzo said. John Van Landingham, a housing advocate with Lane County Legal Aid, said the amendment resembles a con- cept landlords suggested in 2016, when investors were pur- chasing buildings and evicting all of the tenants. “Is somebody going to track Clatsop Post 12 Auxiliary Baked Potato Bar With All The Trimmings Friday rd June 23 4 pm until gone $ W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 6. 00 6PM “Karaoke Dave” ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Clatsop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street 325-5771 when evictions pass 49 per- cent?” Van Landingham said. “Practically, it doesn’t seem to us to work, and we certainly don’t support it.” Landingham said he sees no way to target mass evictions specifically, without banning no-cause evictions. “I am still hopeful Sen. Monroe will support House Bill 2004B,” Van Landingham said. Alison McIntosh of the Oregon Housing Alliance said the amendments also fail to address discriminatory or retal- iatory behavior by landlords. The amendments “address a very small slice of what people are experiencing” in the state’s housing crisis, she said. Limbo The bill has been in limbo after it became apparent the Senate lacked enough votes to pass the legislation. Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, who heads the Senate Rules Com- mittee, has been spearheading negotiations to modify and win votes for the bill. Burdick, who also is a land- lord, said she supports the ver- sion of the bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Human Services. “I think other members of my caucus need to go farther than perhaps where Sen. Mon- roe is willing to go at this point, but I am trying to reach that happy spot where it’s mean- ingful protection but something we can get the votes for,” Bur- dick said. The Capital Bureau is a col- laboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. SEASIDE AAUW (American Association of University Women) ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIPS TO NORTH COAST FEMALE RECIPIENTS The Seaside branch of AAUW is proud to announce two scholarships to be used to further the education of two deserving local female students. AAUW’s mission advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Fund raising and offering scholarships is an integral part of the Seaside AAUW Scholarship Foundation. Through a written application and a personal interview, Maritza Casarrubias exhibits the qualities of perseverance, academic achievement and goal setting that qualifies her as an excellent recipient for the $2,000 scholarship award. She will attend Clatsop Community College where she will pursue a Bachelor of Arts in dental hygiene. She resides in Astoria with her husband and two children. Monica Alward is a 2017 graduate of Seaside High School. Her Upward Bound experiences of creating art for the community and working with the environment in community improvement, led Monica to apply and be accepted at Portland State University where she will pursue courses in architecture and environmental studies. She resides in Seaside. The $1,000 June Stromberg Memorial Scholarship will help defray the cost of her education.
