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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2017)
MANZANITA MUSIC FESTIVAL DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 14 College weighs PAC options COAST WEEKEND • INSIDE ONE DOLLAR THE WRECK OF THE WESTERN SKIES Not shipshape Space, housing ideas on table By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Clatsop Community College President Christopher Breitmeyer has raised the possibility of a pub- lic-private partnership to develop housing at the site of the Perform- ing Arts Center while preserving the building’s original purpose. The college board has been deciding what to do with the center, a former church the school acquired in the 1970s for a now non existent performing arts program. The cen- ter is no longer part of the college’s academic offerings, but is a popular rehearsal and performance space. The operation of the building is paid for by Partners for the PAC, a coali- tion of user groups The building, which dates to the 1930s, faces signifi cant deferred See COLLEGE, Page 5A Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian U.S. Coast Guard personnel attend to the wreck of the Western Skies fishing vessel which sank at its mooring slip at the War- renton Marina early Sunday. The boat was leaking fuel and pollution cleanup measures were taken by the Coast Guard. Sen. Johnson admonishes progressives on crime bills Cleaning up after abandoned vessels sink is complicated Democrat spoke to district attorneys W By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — In a rallying speech to district attorneys from across Oregon, state Sen. Betsy Johnson on Wednesday chastised House Major- ity Leader Jennifer Williamson and other progressives for their support of recently passed criminal justice bills. One bill — part of a larger effort to limit racial profi l- Betsy ing by police and Johnson the justice sys- tem — will clas- sify fi rst-time, low-level possession of illegal drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine as misdemean- ors. Another — intended to help curb an upward trend of prison use among women — will lower pre- sumptive prison sentences for theft and identity theft by nearly a third . By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian ARRENTON — By Mon- day afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard had mostly fi nished overseeing the cleanup of fuel from the fi shing vessel Western Skies, which still lay sunk on its side in a slip at the Warrenton Marina. More than 1,000 gallons of oily water mixture was removed from the vessel by Global Diving and Sal- vage, a contractor hired by the Coast Guard using $40,000 from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The removal of the Western Skies, how- ever, will likely fall to the city of Warren- ton, with the owner unable to be located and limited state funds for removing commer- cial vessels. Responding to spills Chief Petty Offi cer Bradley Bennett and Lt. Berit Boyle are two of several regional pollution responders with the Coast Guard’s The wreck of the Western Skies fishing vessel, which sank at its mooring at the Warrenton Marina early Sunday and was leaking fuel, remains on its side with pol- lution cleanup measures surrounding it on Monday. The wreck was being attended to by U.S. Coast Guard personnel. Incident Management Division based at Air Station Astoria. After receiving a call early Sunday morning about the sunken boat, the two started gathering information before heading to the scene. Boyle said neither the Coast Guard nor the marina could reach the owner, a situa- tion that plays out a few times a year. See MARINA, Page 7A ‘HYPOTHETICALLY, IF WARRENTON WANTED SOME MONEY, WE COULD LOOK AT HAVING THEM DO THE WORK, AND THEN REIMBURSING SOME OF THE EXPENSES.’ Rachel Graham | Policy and environmental section manager for the Oregon State Marine Board See JOHNSON, Page 7A New dock gussies up Warrenton Marina City completes $2.1 million project By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Major work was completed last week on a new dock at the Warrenton Marina as part of a $2.1 million project funded by the city’s Urban Renew- al Agency. As of Wednesday, commercial fishing vessels were already using the new facility. WARRENTON — A few balloons still bob on their strings along the new dock. “Welcome back!” they proclaim in red letters outlined in silver against a backdrop of exploding fi reworks. Major work on a replacement dock and associated gangways in the Warren- ton Marina wrapped up last week and the fi rst commercial fi shing vessel came back to tie up there Friday. The project, budgeted at $2.1 million and funded by the city’s Urban Renewal Agency dol- lars, was a long time coming, said Har- bormaster Jane Sweet. “The marina’s shaping up to be a really nice place,” said Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer. “The work is never done, but this is a signifi cant investment we’ve made.” The marina has more than 350 slips divided between commercial and recre- ational vessels. In the middle of improve- ment work last December, Sweet noted the marina’s aging infrastructure, saying the fi shermen deserved a new dock. “They work hard,” she said at the time. “It’s a long time coming,” agreed Mark Kujala, owner of Skipanon Brand See DOCK, Page 7A
