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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
145TH YEAR, NO. 104
DailyAstorian.com //
ONE DOLLAR
Volunteers provide for a well-fed
Thanksgiving weekend for kids
Port sets
plan to
leave N.
Tongue
Point
Letter on its way soon
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Students at the Warrenton Grade School grab food items to add to Thanksgiving boxes for families in need on Tuesday.
Nonprofit,
others help feed
hungry families
‘TONGUE POINT
IS THE FUTURE
OF THE PORT OF
ASTORIA. IT’S THE
EXPANSION WE
NEED.’
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
ARRENTON — Parents, stu-
dents and other volunteers gath-
ered in a mostly empty War-
renton Grade School cafeteria Tuesday
morning. They filled Home Depot boxes
with all the makings of Thanksgiving
meals.
Warrenton-Hammond Healthy Kids,
a nonprofit supporting the Warren-
ton-Hammond School District, sent out
100 Thanksgiving meal boxes, part of a
continuing effort to feed kids in need on
weekends and breaks, a growing trend
among schools.
In 2011, the Windermere Founda-
tion provided seed money for Warren-
ton-Hammond Healthy Kids. The non-
profit added to an ongoing weekend food
box program co-director Pam Ackley said
now discreetly provides breakfasts and
lunches each weekend to about 300 kids.
With Hyack Maritime preparing to close
on its purchase of North Tongue Point next
month, the Port of Astoria Commission
voted 4-1 to give a proposed termination
agreement to landowner Washington Devel-
opment Co.
The Port Commission in August approved
sending a letter to the company seeking a ter-
mination of the lease. Hyack presented its
plans to turn the deteriorated, but appealing,
industrial dock into a shipyard. Port Com-
mission President Frank Spence said Hyack
is scheduled to close on the property Dec. 1.
The Port started a lease at Tongue Point
— a former World War II-era boat plane base
— in 2009, but has been unable to bring in a
major tenant in or make significant improve-
ments to the docks.
W
Bill Hunsinger | commissioner,
commercial fisherman and retired
longshoreman who opposes the
idea of leaving Tongue Point
ABOVE: Tyson McGorty adds food items to boxes for families in need at the
Warrenton Grade School on Tuesday. BELOW: Boxes of food wait to be picked
up at the Warrenton Grade School on Tuesday.
Feed the need
Warrenton has consistently led the
region in rates and total number of home-
less students, despite having a much
lower enrollment than Seaside and Asto-
ria. The district reported 125 home-
less students last year — nearly 40 per-
cent of all homeless students reported
countywide, 12.5 percent of Warrenton’s
overall enrollment and the 12th-high-
est rate in Oregon. The vast majority of
Executive Director Jim Knight said the
Port has lost an estimated $2 million at
the facility since leasing it. The Port pays
$350,000 in yearly rent, with an option to
buy the property once its lease expires in late
2019. The proposed purchase price was more
than $5 million, too high for all the work that
needs to be done to modernize the facility.
Spence and Commissioners Dirk Rohne,
James Campbell and Robert Stevens have
supported the effort to leave. Commissioner
Bill Hunsinger has vehemently opposed to
the idea of leaving Tongue Point.
“Tongue Point is the future of the Port
of Astoria,” he said. “It’s the expansion we
need.”
Hunsinger, a commercial fisherman
and retired longshoreman, has argued the
Port never properly marketed Tongue Point
or created a plan to buy the facility. He
accused the Port staff of planning to sell
Tongue Point without giving the public a
decent chance for input, adding he thought
about filing an injunction against the lease
termination.
See HUNGRY, Page 4A
See PORT, Page 4A
‘Craft comfort food’
Former Bill’s Tavern bartender opens
smokehouse and deli in Cannon Beach
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian
Co-owners Jacob Bond and Brian Raymond pose with beers at their new-
ly opened restaurant, Cannon Beach Smokehouse Charcuterie & Bar.
CANNON BEACH — At first
glance, it’s hard to imagine how a cold-
case deli, bar and restaurant fit into the
700-square-foot space squeezed in at
131 Second Ave.
But Brian Raymond and Jacob Bond
managed to do it.
“It was a tight squeeze, but I
think we maximized our space,” Bond
said.
A few weeks ago, the two Cannon
Beach residents opened Cannon Beach
Smokehouse Charcuterie & Bar — a
deli and pub that serves what Bond calls
“craft comfort food.” The aesthetic is
rustic at heart with hardwood detailing
and a boar head mounted on the wall,
juxtaposed with the more modern, large-
screen TVs.
Deli cases are filled with hand-
smoked and cured meats, and the menu
offers items like beer cheese soup and
chorizo pot stickers. The tap list is
thanks to Bill’s Tavern and Brewhouse
— their partner in business.
See DELI, Page 4A