LOCAL ARTIST SKETCHES ASTORIA SUNDAY MARKET WEEKEND BREAK • PAGE 1C
145TH YEAR, NO. 70
ONE DOLLAR
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017
Arts and culture a boon to county
Events brought in
$13 million in 2015
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County reaped more than
$13 million in 2015 from arts and cul-
tural organizations .
The fi nding comes from a national
study conducted by economists at the
Georgia Institute of Technology and
funded by Americans for the Arts,
an advocacy organization based in
Washington, D.C. The economists
focused on data from 22 nonprofi t
organizations in the county.
Randy Cohen, vice president of
research and policy at Americans for
the Arts, presented the fi ndings at a
gathering of local artists and public
offi cials Thursday night at Buoy Beer
Co.
After including the Portland and
Eugene metro areas in previous stud-
ies, the organization coordinated with
the Oregon Arts Commission and the
Arts Council of Clatsop County to
analyze data on the North Coast.
“This is the fi rst time in the county
that we’ve had some hard data,” said
Don Frank, chairman of the arts coun-
cil . “We don’t have to just stand up
there and say it. It’s like, ‘Here, read
it.’”
The survey also found that arts
in the county support 359 full-time
equivalent jobs, add $6.7 million in
household income for local residents
and $1.3 million in local and state
government revenue.
The aggregate amount of money
spent, including for overnight lodg-
ing, meals and souvenirs, by the more
than 160,000 arts and cultural event
attendees was more than $10 million.
Out of all the visitors who traveled
Clean needles, but no exchange
No takers
on fi rst day of
pilot program
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
latsop County public health offi -
cials stood by with plenty of clean
needles Thursday afternoon and
were ready to exchange them with
anyone in possession of a used one. But
they went home at the end of the day with
the same stock.
Public Health Director Michael
McNickle, Public Health Nurse Sheri
Salber and Kerry Strickland, founder of
Jordan’s Hope for Recovery, hosted the
fi rst in a series of needle exchange oppor-
tunities at Peoples Park in Astoria. T hey
found that illegal drug users are hesitant .
McNickle said it would take time to
develop trust . He spoke to people ear-
lier this week who may be able to spread
word , handing out a number of informa-
tional cards.
C
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
ABOVE: Sheri Salber, a county public health nurse , displays a
clean syringe that can be traded for used ones at the needle ex-
change program in Astoria. BELOW: Salber, left, Michael McNickle,
center, and Kerry Strickland spent Thursday afternoon at People s
Park in Astoria waiting to provide food, water and clean syringes .
See NEEDLES, Page 7A
from outside the county to an attend
an art event, 66 percent said they vis-
ited the county specifi cally for that
event.
More than 300 communities par-
ticipated in the study across the coun-
try . Nonprofi t art organizations were
found to have contributed $166.3
billion to the national economy, or
more than 4 percent of the U.S. gross
See BOON, Page 7A
Helping
after a
hurricane
Local vacation
rental companies
donate after disasters
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
CANNON BEACH — When Brian
Olson saw the path of destruction Hurricane
Harvey left in Texas in August, his reaction
was a sense of grief and a desire to help.
But soon after, the co-owner of Beach-
comber Vacation Homes in Cannon Beach
had another thought.
“These people are just like us. We in Can-
non Beach could be in the same boat,” Olson
said.
Many vacation rental property man-
agement company owners lost homes they
rent in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
and Hurricane Irma. Destroyed or damaged
rental properties mean no income for the
foreseeable future.
Olson couldn’t help but think what he
would do as a property manager if a tsu-
nami were to ravage the homes he makes his
living off of on the North Coast. So Olson
and several other vacation rental managers
from around the country collaborated with
the property management software LiveRez.
com to create LiveRelief. The nonprofi t col-
lects donations and coordinates efforts to
support property managers who are strug-
gling after the natural disasters.
See HELP, Page 7A
‘IT’S ALL ABOUT
BUILDING TRUST.
WE WANT PEOPLE
TO KNOW WE’RE
NOT GOING TO
ARREST THEM OR
DO ANYTHING
LIKE THAT.’
Michael McNickle |
Public Health director
Submitted Photo
LiveRez’s Sharon Keefe assesses the
damage Hurricane Harvey inflicted on a
home in Rockport, Texas.
Vintage dealer plans mall in former Abeco building
Mixed use
planned for
Astor Court
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
William Hicks, who owns
Hollywood Vintage in Port-
land, is planning a mixed-use
shopping mall inside the for-
mer Abeco Offi ce Systems
storefront on Commercial
Street in Astoria .
Hicks plans to call the proj-
ect Astor Court. He intends to
rent square footage to busi-
nesses looking for some-
thing less than a full-fl edged
storefront. Helping him in the
endeavor is business partner
Rodney Bender.
“I really want to put stuff in
here that locals, that residents,
as well as tourists, can take
advantage of and enjoy,” Hicks
said, adding he’s interested in
anything from retail and offi ce
space to a deli or antique dealer.
For the past 20 years, Hicks
has run Hollywood Vintage
in Portland’s Hollywood dis-
trict, offering vintage cloth-
ing, accessories, costumes and
eyewear. Over the next few
years, he’s looking to leave
Portland and relocate to
Astoria, where he bought a
house several years ago.
“What I will do to seed the
business, is I have an optical
department in Portland, so I’ll
sell vintage … and classic-style
eyeglass frames,” he said.
Hicks has been moving
stuff in from Portland over the
past week. H e will be readying
the space for businesses in the
next few months.
Hicks imagines a three-
story mall with storefronts
of varying sizes. He plans to
extend the third-story mezza-
nine around the entire ground
fl oor and punch a stairway to
the basement.
See MALL, Page 7A
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Rodney Bender, left, and William Hicks are planning a
mixed-use mall inside the former Abeco Office Systems
storefront at 1332 Commercial St.