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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2017)
145TH YEAR, NO. 10 ‘BEHIND THE BAR’ Pacifi c Seafood expands with crab processing Warrenton plant being rebuilt after fi re By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — When Pacifi c Coast Seafood reopens its plant in Warren- ton, crab will be on the roster of seafood it processes. The Warrenton Planning Commission on Thursday night approved, with con- ditions, a request to modify a previously approved site design for the facility . Rep- resentatives of the seafood company said the additional 15,000 square feet of fl oor space requested would be dedicated to crab process- ing, a move that will provide steady employment through- out the year, they said. An estimated 106 jobs will be created or maintained by the plant . Whiting and rockfi sh will also be processed there, as in the past. With the Planning Com- mission’s approval in hand, Pacifi c Seafood represen- tatives say crab processing could begin at the end of the year, in time for the com- mercial Dungeness season that traditionally opens in December . Planning Commissioner Vince Williams approved of the company’s decision to add crab processing, calling it a “good business plan.” Pacifi c Seafood will need to comply with 26 condi- tions of approval outlined by city staff, most dealing with utilities and fi re safety and access. The company has been operating in a limited capac- ity out of the Del Mar Sea- foods sardine processing plant at Tongue Point in Asto- ria following the destruction of their Warrenton plant in a fi re in 2013, but promised to See SEAFOOD, Page 7A Legal battle drives extraordinary salmon research Millions spent to help fi sh By CASSANDRA PROFITA Oregon Public Broadcasting On a research boat on the Columbia River, Laurie Weitkamp with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grabs two buckets fi lled with water and about a dozen young salmon and steelhead. “Ooh, we got some steel- ies!” she says. By stretching a net across the river below Bonneville Dam, researchers are inter- ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017 UNIONTOWN TAVERN OWNER LEFT BEHIND A VAST TROVE OF ART WEEKEND BREAK • PAGE 1C CHANGING HANDS Dollar General looks at Mill Pond, while NAPA Auto Parts eyes former Astoria Ford By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian C hanges are afoot at two of Astoria’s most visible pieces of vacant land. A new Dollar General is being proposed for the Mill Pond neigh- borhood. T he owner of NAPA Auto Parts in Mill Pond, mean- while, is preparing to buy the for- mer Astoria Ford site off Youngs Bay to build a new store. Barry Hess owns 18 NAPA branches regionally, including in Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside and Long Beach, Washington. He said he is buying the former Asto- ria Ford property from owner Ruth Birdwell and hopes to move into the new store by January. Demolition crews are tear- ing down the former auto dealer- ship, which went vacant late last year after Dane Gouge opened the new Astoria Ford at the North Coast Retail Center in Warren- ton. Birdwell, the widow of late Pacifi c Northwest car salesman Ray Birdwell, took control of the property after he died in 2013. She could not be reached for comment about the potential sale. The site includes more than 3.5 acres of buildable land and Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Dollar General is looking at developing a new store in the Mill Pond neighborhood of Astoria. about 40 acres of submerged land jutting into Youngs Bay. The zon- ing is general commercial, which allows anything from parking lots and restaurants to hotels and apartments. The parcels had been listed at $3.5 million. Hess said he is looking to buy the entire property, which includes four lots. “We think the Astoria Ford piece is going to be more visible,” he said, adding his location in Mill Pond can be chal- cepting the fi sh swimming toward the ocean to see what they’ve been eating. What they really want to know is whether the fi sh are eating bugs that came from marshes restored for their benefi t. That’s key to proving habitat restoration is helping the fi sh grow and survive. Federal agencies have spent millions of dollars restoring salmon habitat on the L ower Columbia River as part of a massive effort to save salmon from the impacts of hydroelectric dams. In the Columbia Basin, 13 species of threatened and endangered salmon lenging for customers to navigate through Astoria to reach. “We’re hoping with a new location that we’re more effi cient as far as operations are concerned.” Hess said the new location will carry about twice the inven- tory of the existing Astoria store. He declined to comment on any effect of the new location on the future of his NAPA branch on See CHANGES, Page 7A The former Astoria Ford site off Youngs Bay could get new life as NAPA Auto Parts. See SALMON, Page 7A Locks of love Spa owner shaves her head to raise money for young cancer patient By KAELIA NEAL The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian BEFORE: Riki Irie prepares to have her head shaved on Thursday at Salon Boheme in Astoria. Irie agreed to shave her head as part of a fundraising goal for a local cancer patient . AFTER: Irie reacts as she sees her shaved head for the first time as supporters look on around her. Fair hours: 10 am to 10 pm, August 1-5 Daily Admission: $4 ADULT , $2 YOUTH 5 day admission: $18 ADULT , $8 YOUTH Daily parking: $2 5 day parking: $8 F OR T ICKETS AND I NFO GO TO : C LATSOP C O F AIR E XPO . COM Rainie Amusem r en Carniv ts al: $20 TH ROUGH J ULY 31 $30 A T THE GA TE “It feels like Velcro!” Riki Irie laughed as she rubbed her hands through her buzzed hair Thursday at Salon Boheme. In June , Irie made a promise to shave her head to help raise money for Daxton Olson, a Seaside baby with an inoperable brain tumor. Olson, who is 8 months old, has a tumor classi- fi ed as a strocytoma . He began a chemotherapy plan in February. Irie, who owns the Malama Day Spa, started See LOCKS OF LOVE, Page 7A Life is Fair
