PRIZE-WINNING DRAMA ‘DOUBT’ OPENS IN NEHALEM COAST WEEKEND • INSIDE
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017
145TH YEAR, NO. 9
ONE DOLLAR
SEAMAN’S DAY
At Fort Clatsop, the big dogs get their day
Annual event honors
famous Newfoundland
A Newfoundland
waits patiently for
a group to gather
for a presentation
during the
Seaman’s Day
event at the
Lewis and Clark
Historical Park
on Wednesday.
By KAELIA NEAL
The Daily Astorian
People who are afraid of dogs might be
intimidated by Newfoundlands.
But owners of these giant beasts describe
them as perfect for people being introduced to
dogs for the fi rst time.
Evan Anderson joined his aunt, Joan Crich-
Colin Murphey
The Daily Astorian
ton, and her 166-pound Newfoundland , Bro-
gan, Wednesday at the 24th annual Seaman’s
Day at Fort Clatsop , where he described his
apprehension with dogs.
Anderson, however, has developed a
strong bond with 5-year-old Brogan. Now
he is thinking about getting a Newfoundland
himself. “I wouldn’t consider getting a differ-
ent big dog,” he said.
This was Crichton’s third year attending
Seaman’s Day, an event by Lewis and Clark
OREGON FISHERMEN ADDRESS WHALE ENTANGLEMENT AS A LAWSUIT LOOMS
UNTANGLED
See SEAMAN’S DAY, Page 7A
Small road,
big payoff
Spur important to
the county’s stalled
business park
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
AP Photo/Grahame Long
Divers work at cutting a 43-foot humpback whale free from nets off Yamba, 370 miles north of Sydney, Australia, in 2002.
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
See ROAD, Page 7A
O
regon’s commercial fi shing industry is try-
ing to get ahead of a problem that could put
California in the middle of a lawsuit and
has the potential to drastically change Dungeness
crab fi sheries on the West Coast.
Last year, 71 whales tangled with U.S. fi sh-
ing gear off the coasts of California, Oregon and
Washington state, as well as neighboring countries
— the highest annual total for the West Coast since
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration began keeping such records in 1982.
Sixty-six of these incidents happened in Cali-
fornia, many of them involving endangered hump-
back whales tangled in commercial crab gear.
At the end of June, the Center for Biological
Diversity announced its intent to sue the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife, which manages
the fi shery, for “causing the take of threatened and
endangered whales and sea turtles.”
See UNTANGLED, Page 7A
Clatsop County plans to build a new road
that will connect two larger streets at the
future site of the North Coast Business Park.
The 650-foot-long, three-lane road is part
of the master plan for the Warrenton develop-
ment. It will connect north to south from S.E.
Ensign Lane to S.E. 19th Street. The south
end of the road will be situated between the
Clatsop County Sheriff’s Offi ce and the Ani-
mal Shelter.
Adjacent to the site of a 10 -acre prop-
erty owned by Fort George Brewery, the
road is a necessary piece of the development
plan, Clatsop County Public Works Direc-
tor Michael Summers said. In 2015, the 162-
acre lot across from Costco was designated a
r egionally s ignifi cant i ndustrial a rea and part
of a new e nterprise z one, but logistical issues
have stalled development.
Plans for a future extension of the road
north of Ensign Lane will run on another
currently unoccupied plot of land.
“It will provide them the avenue to
develop,” Summers said of Fort George’s
proximity to the road. “It will also open up
another parcel of land to the county to sell
and develop it as well.”
County c ommissioners voted Wednesday
to approve a $68,085 contract with KPFF
Consulting Engineers to design the road.
KPFF was the site civil engineer for the new
AP Photo/Christine Armario
Capt. David Anderson of Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching
Safari in Dana Point, Calif., shows a net a whale was found entangled
in. Fishermen on the West Coast are working on strategies to reduce
the chances that whales will get caught in fishing gear.
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
A new road may help spur development
at the North Coast Business Park.
Go-kart, moped complex awaits new fate
Long Beach
worried about
mess, misuse
By NATALIE ST. JOHN
EO Media Group
LONG BEACH, Wash.
— Before the April drug
raid, Tony Merrill’s down-
town entertainment complex
had two sets of customers. In
good weather, tourists lined up
to ride mopeds and go-k arts.
The other customers visited in
any kind of weather, but rarely
stayed for more than a few
minutes.
Now, there are no custom-
ers of any kind. B ut that could
change soon. Long Beach
Mayor Jerry Phillips says a
member of the Merrill family
wants to reopen the businesses.
However, the new operator
will have to fi x long-running
safety issues and code viola-
tions fi rst .
Nearby residents and busi-
ness owners knew there was
something fi shy about Mer-
rill’s go-k art, moped rental
and bumper car businesses,
which occupy a city block at
the corner of Sid Snyder Bou-
levard and Pacifi c. It was hard
to miss the steady stream of
rough-looking characters who
trekked up and down Califor-
nia Street to the moped shop,
sometimes more than once a
day. Police knew, too, but it
took longer than they would
have liked to fi nd an informant
willing to try and purchase
methamphetamine and heroin
from Merrill and his former
girlfriend, Doreen Morris.
Raids
In
April ,
investiga-
tors fi nally had enough evi-
dence to search Merrill’s busi-
nesses and home. The raid
allegedly turned up cash,
meth, heroin, pills and a stolen
EO Media Group
See COMPLEX, Page 7A
Long Beach, Washington, Police Officer Rodney Nawn
searches a storage room at Long Beach Go Karts.