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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2017)
LOSE YR MIND MUSIC FEST COMES TO SOU’WESTER LODGE DailyAstorian.com // 145TH YEAR, NO. 64 NORTH AMERICAN PORCUPINE These toothy rodents are a rare sight in Clatsop County. They like to gnaw bark and have sharp quills to ward off predators. BY THE NUMBERS By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Two options are being discussed for an expanded Clatsop County Jail at the site of the shuttered North Coast Youth Correctional Facility in Warrenton. One plan calls for a simple renova- tion of the youth facility that would include 140 beds and entail more than $12 million in construction costs. The other plan is a renovation and an addi- tional structure in the middle of the facil- ity that would house 200 inmates and cost more than $28 million. Representatives from DLR Group met with the c ounty Board of Commissioners for a work session See JAIL, Page 7A ONE DOLLAR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 County jail could move to Warrenton Two options range from $12 million to $28 million COAST WEEKEND • INSIDE Clatsop County is discussing two options for an expanded county jail at the former North Coast Youth Cor- rectional Facility in Warrenton. The overcrowded county jail in Astoria has 60 beds and requires 29 jail staff. Thinkstock.com HECK GNAW! • $12 million/ Modest renova- tion with 140 beds and 46 jail staff • $28 million/ Larger expansion and redesign with 200 beds and 36 jail staff. Could later expand to 252 beds PORCUPINES SPOTTED IN CLATSOP COUNTY Pacific County Sheriff’s Office Pacific County Sheriff Scott Johnson, right, met with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Sept. 19 in Seattle. Sheriff bashed, praised for his Sessions meeting Pacifi c County’s Johnson met with top cop By AMY NILE EO Media Group Pacifi c County Sheriff Scott Johnson says he went to Seattle to hear U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions lay out federal plans for immigration, drugs and other issues that involve local law enforce- ment. But that doesn’t mean he “drank the Kool-Aid.” Johnson described his meeting last week with the Trump administration offi cial as “an honor and a privilege” on Facebook. Johnson said Sessions emphasized the vital roles played by front-line law enforcement on the city, county and state levels. “I felt this was a very produc- tive meeting, and a positive change away from how the past few U.S. AGs have dealt with local law enforcement,” Johnson wrote on Facebook. His post, which included a photo of the sheriff with the nation’s top lawman, spurred dozens of comments. A num- ber were enthusiastic about the Johnson-Sessions meet- ing and Johnson’s compli- ments of the attorney general, while others criticized John- son for accepting the invita- tion and appearing to endorse any of Sessions’ positions. By KATIE FRANKOWICZ and BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian Clatsop County timber company saw porcu- pines for the fi rst time in forestland around the Ecola Creek w atershed near Cannon Beach this summer. Squashed, dead porcupines are a common sight on the side of highways on Washington state’s Long Beach Peninsula, and hikers occasionally spot live ones lumbering down trails and logging roads around Willapa Bay. But they are rare in Clatsop County — even though the same mixed hardwood and coniferous forest hab- itat the large, stumpy-legged, quill-covered rodents prefer exists here . The Lewis and Clark National His- torical Park between Astoria and Warrenton keeps a list of animals spotted in its dense, forested land. Por- cupines aren’t on it. But contractors for GreenWood Resources inves- tigating porcupine-related damage to young stands around the Ecola Creek w atershed have now trapped 17 porcupines in a 1,500-acre area . A These sightings are the fi rst offi cial reports of porcu- pines in Clatsop County received by the local Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife o ffi ce, said Michelle Dennehy, a spokeswoman for the department. But she doubts the porcupines seen on Green- Wood’s land are new to the area. Likely, they’ve been here all along, and the sightings could be a sign that the population is growing. ‘A balance’ Depending on where they are, what they’re doing and how many of them are around, porcupines are either an exciting wildlife sighting or a threat capable of damaging acres of young, valuable trees. For GreenWood Resources, a timber company that prides itself on a commitment to responsible steward- ship and has been praised for its collaboration with local land conservation groups, it’s a little bit of both. “We want to embrace the critters. T his is their home,” said Kathryn Olson, an area forester with GreenWood Resources based in Gearhart. “But it’s a balance.” See PORCUPINES, Page 7A ‘THE PORCUPINE RANGE HAS BEEN EXPANDING SLOWLY FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS OR SO.’ Michelle Dennehy | spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife See SHERIFF, Page 7A County commissioners put off vacation rental vote Topic of future work session By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian The Daily Astorian County commissioners are debating new regulations on vacation rentals. The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners has indef- initely postponed a vote on possible vacation rental regulations. Commissioners held a pub- lic hearing Wednesday on an ordinance that would require property owners to apply for fi ve-year, renewable permits based on safety inspections for an unlimited number of short- term rental properties . At the hearing, commissioners tabled the discussion in favor of a future work session to learn more about the topic. “I think that we do need to regulate short-term rent- als . H owever, I do have some questions about the ordinance as it’s written,” Commissioner Kathleen Sullivan said. Sullivan’s questions included whether or not the fi ve-year requirement is too long or if the ordinance ade- quately treated short-term rent- als as businesses . Other com- missioners agreed that they needed more time to discuss the issue before voting on it. County staff had been dis- cussing the issue since the summer of 2016 and have doc- umented multiple complaints from renters since then. Com- missioners have held two work sessions about the topic this year and were handed a draft of the ordinance in June. “We’ve had work sessions and discussions about this, but if we have to go back to it, that’s what we’ll do,” County Manager Cameron Moore said. Unlike hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts, short-term rentals are not regulated by the state to ensure renters’ health and safety. Regulations would include requirements for own- ers to comply with quiet hours, See RENTALS, Page 7A
