CHRISTMAS GOES TO THE DOGS (AND CATS) COAST WEEKEND • INSIDE
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017
145TH YEAR, NO. 114
Health
advisory
lifted for
Coffenbury
Lake algae
ONE DOLLAR
PEARL HARBOR DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
REMEMBERING
THE SACRIFICE
Toxin levels are still
dangerous for dogs
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Coffenbury Lake in Fort Stevens State
Park is safe for people again, but the water is
still dangerous for dogs.
The Oregon Health Authority lifted a
health advisory on Wednesday that it had
issued in July over blue-green algae and
the toxins they produce. Tests showed lev-
els have fallen below state guidelines for
human exposure. Toxin levels remain above
the very low exposure levels established for
dogs, said Rebecca Hillwig, a state natural
resource specialist.
The large harmful algae bloom was a
first for Coffenbury Lake. Rangers posted
signs warning people away from the water
and plan to keep a close eye on conditions
at the lake in the future, Park Manager Jus-
tin Parker said.
This summer, rangers were tipped off that
something was wrong when they saw the
greenish color of the water and the appear-
ance of a thick scum on the surface of the
lake.
“If it’s a gray area, we could close it or
not,” Parker said. “We tend to err on the side
of public safety.”
The health advisory at Coffenbury Lake
didn’t seem to discourage visitors during
the park’s busy summer months. People still
held picnics and parties and hiked around the
lake, Parker said.
“Some folks chose to ignore the ‘avoid
contact’ warnings and went in (the water)
anyway,” he added.
Only a handful of lakes and waterways
across Oregon are monitored for blue-green
algae, Hillwig said.
“You’re your own best advocate,” she
said, recommending people pay close atten-
tion to water they plan to enter or let pets or
children play in.
The Oregon Health Authority says peo-
ple, especially small children and pets,
should avoid areas where the water is foamy,
scummy or thick like paint, and pea-green,
blue-green or brownish-red in color. Some-
times a thick mat of the algae is visible, or
bright green cells are suspended in the water
column. In such cases, people should avoid
any activities in or around the water that
could lead to them accidentally inhaling or
ingesting droplets.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Warnings were posted around Coffen-
bury Lake near Fort Stevens State Park
last summer because of the presence
of blue-green algae.
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Spurgeon Keeth, center, visits with people at a ceremony at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center to honor the 76th
anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Keeth is the last living Clatsop County survivor of the attack.
Ceremony marks
76th anniversary of
Pearl Harbor attack
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
S
EASIDE — Before the Pearl Har-
bor Day of Remembrance began
this morning, Maurie Hendrickson
of Clatsop Post 12 American Legion
sat waiting with a box filled with his
friend’s hat, yearbook and personal
notes.
His friend, Ray Lukenbill, died last
September. He was a survivor of the
Japanese attack in Hawaii, and the notes
in the box detailed his time as a Navy
man on the USS Tennessee.
“You can see sometimes his writing
was concise, but others the handwriting
is hard to discern — from fatigue,” Hen-
drickson said.
Hendrickson was one of the doz-
ens who gathered to remember the 76th
anniversary of Pearl Harbor at Seaside
Civic and Convention Center.
The military strike by Japanese air-
craft against the naval base at Pearl Har-
bor killed more than 2,400 military per-
sonnel on Dec. 7, 1941.
The remembrance, sponsored by Sea-
side American Legion Post 99, featured
a Coast Guard flyover and wreath-lay-
ing ceremony at Pearl Harbor Memo-
rial Bridge. It was conducted by Spur-
geon D. Keeth, who was stationed at
Veterans salute during a wreath-laying ceremony in Seaside on the 76th anni-
versary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
the Army’s Schofield Barracks on Oahu
during the attack and is the county’s last
remaining survivor.
Seaside’s Pearl Harbor remembrance
was driven by Bill Thomas, a seaman
on the USS Medusa who died earlier
this year. In the 1970s, Thomas moved
to Seaside, where he rallied for veterans
and proposed a Pearl Harbor memorial
on the First Avenue Bridge in 2000.
Steven Gibson, the Seaside Ameri-
can Legion Post 99 commander, thanked
those who served and called upon the
audience to never forget the history that
brought them together.
“I don’t want to make this a history
lesson, but I think it’s really important
to understand what really happened,”
Gibson said.
Hendrickson, an Army veteran him-
self, remembers history through the
memory of his friend.
“After the war he really wanted to
put it all behind him,” he said. “He was
a humble man, a quiet man — but you
knew he had steel underneath.”
Locals get credit for investing
in downtown landmark
Property tax
break helps
with renovation
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Marcus and Michelle Liotta
knew the dire condition of the
Mary & Nellie Flavel Build-
ing when they purchased the
expansive property last year
for $135,000.
The 93-year-old, 8,000-
square-foot building, named
after the late Capt. George
C. Flavel’s wife and daugh-
ter, had been an eyesore for
decades, one of the last hold-
ings of the famous Astoria
family. Restore Oregon had
added the structure to a list of
Oregon’s Most Endangered
Places.
The Liottas submitted a plan
to the State Historic Preserva-
tion Office to spend upward of
$1 million — including their
own sweat equity — restor-
ing the M&N Building. They
recently secured a 10-year
property tax abatement to hold
down the assessed value while
they bring the ailing down-
town landmark back to life.
“We’re both just really
excited to just see this end
goal of having it fully restored
and bringing life to this part
of downtown,” Marcus Liotta
said.
One of the first steps was
to stabilize the uneven build-
ing. Bergeman Construction
installed more than 20 earth
anchors around the base, some
digging down 60 feet through
the sandy bottom under the
city to reach more solid
ground.
See LANDMARK, Page 7A
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Michelle and Marcus Liotta discuss progress to the fa-
cade of the Mary & Nellie Flavel Building in downtown As-
toria with new tenant Robert Seitz.