SMALL EARTHQUAKE REPORTED NEAR VERNONIA SUNDAY NIGHT
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017
145TH YEAR, NO. 76
PAGE 2A
ONE DOLLAR
GREAT COLUMBIA CROSSING
OVER THE BRIDGE
Hundreds of runners gathered Sunday morning for the Great Columbia Crossing. The 10K run started at Dismal Nitch in Washington state
and crossed the Astoria Bridge before finishing on Basin Street in Uniontown. The popular run was canceled last year for the
first time because of stormy weather, but the weather cooperated on Sunday. See more photos at DailyAstorian.com
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Port director
gets backing
after verdict
BEWITCHED
Commission president
stands by Knight after
$4 million loss in suit
Texas couple
tries hotel life
in Arch Cape
New owners seek
a Northwest feel
for the historic inn
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Port of Astoria Com-
mission President Frank
Spence gave the Port’s
e xecutive d irector a vote
of confi dence a day after
the agency was hit with a
$4 million loss in a breach
of contract lawsuit over the
Frank
Astoria Riverwalk Inn.
Spence
“I
support
Jim
Knight wholeheartedly,” Spence said Fri-
day. “I have no doubts whatsoever on his
capability.”
See PORT, Page 7A
RCH CAPE — Before buying the Inn at
Arch Cape, Heather Newman and Chris
Anderson knew the Oregon Coast just as
another faraway place on a map.
A year ago, the couple were living in Dal-
las, Texas, both working in highly intense
marketing jobs.
“We were working 60-hour work weeks.
We would come home from work and sit on
our laptops,” Newman said. “We needed a
change.”
That’s when Anderson
and Newman decided to
take a chance and pursue
a dream venture : owning
and operating an inn.
They didn’t know
much, other than they wanted a place near
water. When the two saw the former owners,
Tracy and Henry Hooper of Gearhart, selling
the Inn at Arch Cape earlier this year, they
immediately booked a fl ight.
A
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Dozens of people gathered at the Cannon Beach Community Hall on Satur-
day dressed up for the annual Halloween event.
After 40 years, a Cannon Beach
woman gives away her witch collection
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
C
ANNON BEACH — Witches
from all over the world have
joined Helen Feldmeier’s coven .
Lucia, named after St. Lucia D ay,
fl ew in from Sweden. Snuffy the can-
dle snuffer was brought in a box from a
friend. Amelia Bedelia has been with her
for 17 years, but doesn’t get around the
way she used to since her batteries died
and her wheels locked up.
The 365 witches that hid in every
nook and cranny of the Cannon Beach
Community H all Saturday represent 40
years of family, friends and memories.
Each one of the eerie creatures has a
nametag and a story, and for more than
20 years, Feldmeier would bring them
out for the annual Halloween party she
hosts .
But this year, Feldmeier decided it
was time for the coven to disband .
“It’s gotten overwhelming. These
were all in my attic at my little house on
Jackson Street,” she said. “I tried to fi nd
someone who would take all 300 or so,
but that turned out to be easier said than
done. So I’m giving them away.”
Feldmeier always has had a love for
Halloween. Early in her life she remem-
bers celebrating the holiday with her
family in Iowa, throwing corn on peo-
ple’s porches or dressing up in parades.
Her family’s extravagant and festive out-
door decor was even featured in the local
paper in Davis, Calif.
She instilled her love for Hallow-
een into her own family, who she said
have all inherited “the witching gene.”
In the early days, she would pick up the
occasional witch here and there. One
Sunday she invited friends to a spooky
breakfast with witches on display, and
ever since her “witch parties” have
mushroomed into large neighborhood
affairs.
See BEWITCHED, Page 7A
START YOUR PATH
TO RECOVERY
TREATMENT FOR ALCOHOLISM • DRUG ADDICTION • MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
O P E N N O W ! C A L L T O D AY 9 7 1 . 6 0 6 . 0 2 8 0
See COUPLE, Page 5A
Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian
Heather Newman and Chris Anderson
became the new owners of the Inn at
Arch Cape in May.