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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2017
On the edge: Federal funding is on shaky ground
… People who work or have
other means can find other
ways to make do, but (seniors
on fixed incomes) are kind of
stuck where they’re at.”
Continued from Page 1A
housing, they are talking about
housing a bartender, barista,
server or landscaper — the
average worker — can afford.
Such housing is greatly
needed, City Councilor Zetty
Nemlowill has emphasized,
pointing to the employees at
the Astoria Co-op where she
works and the Fort George
Brewery her husband, Chris
Nemlowill, co-owns. Coun-
cilors worry short-term rent-
als and Airbnb-type vaca-
tion rental arrangements take
houses and apartments away
from potential long-term
renters.
Mayor Arline LaMear,
however, has pointed to some
instances where the ability
to rent out a room on a short-
term basis has allowed retir-
ees to continue to live in his-
toric homes that can be costly
to maintain.
The waiting list for low-in-
come, Section 8 housing was
between three- and- four-years
long in Clatsop County, but
has since been closed to every-
one except the elderly, dis-
abled and homeless for now.
The North West Oregon Hous-
ing Authority board made
the decision “out of a desire
to serve the most vulnerable
populations out there,” said
Todd Johnston, the executive
director.
But federal funding is on
shaky ground. Instead of issu-
ing new vouchers for the fed-
eral Housing and Urban
Development affordable hous-
ing programs as people qual-
ify, local groups say they are
being advised to only fill open-
ings created when people
move out of HUD housing or
leave the program entirely.
Limiting the waiting list
doesn’t mean more apartments
are suddenly available, though.
Some people who recently
moved into the Owens-Adair
Apartments in Astoria, a build-
ing restricted to low-income
seniors, said they were told
the waiting list was nearly two
years long. Some of them got
in earlier than expected as res-
idents moved away or died,
but Glaser — who lives in an
apartment on Harrison Avenue
— doesn’t feel like she can
afford to wait.
“I don’t know if they can
bump somebody to get me in,
but I’m worried about getting
in before the rent goes up,” she
said.
Some friends have offered
her rooms in their own homes,
but those are only temporary
options. Some are located far
from downtown.
“I don’t want to depend on
Threat of poverty
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Marge Glaser says she likes walking places to keep herself active, but access to the bus is vital.
Marge Glaser spends the remaining time she has in her home with her beloved dog,
Dorothy, and packing before she has to move due to a rent increase.
the bus,” Glaser said. “And,”
she added, “how far would I
have to walk to catch the bus?”
At this point, few of her
options are appealing. She
could find a roommate. She
could set aside money for taxis
and buses and prepare to move
to a temporary home beyond
easy walking distance from
downtown. She could get rid
of her dog. She could cut back
what she spends on food. She
could use less water and less
electricity. She could move
out of the city, maybe live with
her daughter. She could stay
put and try to swallow a rent
increase that would leave her
with exactly $37 of her Social
Security check each month,
the only income she receives.
‘Stuck where
they’re at’
Every Tuesday, up to a
dozen members of the Asto-
ria Senior Center board the
center’s bus and go shopping
at Fred Meyer. Every Friday,
they have the option to go
to Safeway. Once a month,
the bus travels to Longview,
Washington, to hit Walmart
and lunch at Izzy’s. The trips
are open to anybody who is
a member of the senior cen-
ter but are usually taken by
seniors who don’t have cars or
who no longer drive. Many are
people who live at the Owens-
Adair Apartments up the road
or in the immediate two- or-
three-block radius around the
center.
“The challenges are basi-
cally there’s no affordable
housing and most of them
have limited transportation,”
said Larry Miller, the senior
center’s director.
Fifty-two units across three
apartment complexes in War-
renton form more than half the
affordable housing available
in that city. In the same neigh-
borhood as one of the com-
plexes, market price rental
rates for two-bedroom apart-
ments are $1,200.
Local organizations offer
several forms of assistance,
including loans for people who
may be able to afford a higher
monthly rent but, because of
a fixed income, would have a
harder time moving to a new
place because they can’t bring
in the extra money for move-in
costs like a security deposit or
first and last month’s rent.
“Generally the rents here
are a little bit higher than they
would be in more rural areas
because of the tourism and the
second homes we have here,”
Johnston said. “The rents
compared to the wages here,
there’s a big gap there. Even
folks who do work have trou-
ble affording the rents here
Astoria can be a difficult
place to get old. Major gro-
cery stores are located on the
outskirts, with Safeway on the
eastern edge of the city and
Fred Meyer across the New
Youngs Bay Bridge in War-
renton. Taxis can be used as a
more flexible mode of trans-
portation, but cost slightly
more than the bus. For some
elderly people, it has made
sense to try to stick as close
to downtown as possible and
walk.
According to data col-
lected in the 2010 U.S. Cen-
sus, people 65 years and over
represented 17 percent of
Astoria’s population, while
people considered to live in
poverty made up just under 20
percent.
The National Council on
Aging estimates that more
than 25 million Americans
aged 60 years and over live
at or below the federal pov-
erty level. Twenty-one percent
of Social Security recipients
aged 65 years old or over who
are married and 43 percent of
those who are single depend
on Social Security for the bulk
of their income.
On the rise
New data released by the
U.S. Department of Hous-
ing and Urban Development
this week showed homeless-
ness was up slightly across
the nation for the first time
since 2010. The numbers were
driven in part by shortages
of affordable housing on the
West Coast.
The Trump administration
and Republicans in Congress
are weighing steep cuts to
affordable housing programs
and housing assistance vouch-
ers for low-income, elderly
and disabled people. Advo-
cates for low-income hous-
ing also worry a Republican
tax plan in the works could
worsen the problem, taking
away incentives for develop-
ers to build new affordable
housing.
Elaine Bruce, executive
director of Clatsop Commu-
nity Action, isn’t necessar-
ily seeing more elderly peo-
ple coming through the door
locally, but she does see a
landscape that is particularly
difficult for anyone who might
be on the edge right now.
People who are one bad
day away from being home-
less, she said.
Gillnetter: Museum eying other vessels Dungeness: Season
Continued from Page 1A
55 boats — Coast Guard ves-
sels, duck boats, canoes and
other historical vessels. The
Endeavor joins a line of gill-
netters spanning the 1910s
through 1960s.
“We just want to try and
capture as many good exam-
ples of that type of boat for
future generations,” said Jeff
Smith, the museum’s curator.
The Endeavor is a square-
sterned bowpicker built in
1948 by shipwright Gunnar
Hermiston in Altoona, Wash-
ington, for the Columbia River
Packers Association. The ves-
sel has gone through several
owners and several names.
‘It’s all an evolution of the
fishery, finding ways to
efficiently collect fish.’
Jeff Smith
Columbia River Maritime Museum’s curator
“John Tarabochia had
it when it was brand new,”
David Fastabend said.
The Fastabends acquired
the boat in the mid-1970s
from Larry Olson when he
upgraded to a larger boat.
A gillnetter since he was a
teen, Olson said he gravitated
toward the boat after returning
from serving in the Vietnam
War. He wanted isolation, was
invited to fish with a father
and son and eventually bought
their boat.
Back then the boat was
called Auwa, Finnish slang
for baby, and before that Piru,
or devil, Olson said. He esti-
mated four owners over the
boat’s history.
The Endeavor was recently
added to a growing compen-
dium of vessels in the Library
of Congress. The maritime
museum’s boat warehouse is
more storage than an exhibit,
but Smith said the collection
attracts special-interest groups
and families with a personal
connection to the vessels.
The museum still has its
eye on some of the latest
wooden Columbia gillnetters
built in the 1960s, Smith said.
The museum would also like
to eventually document the
fiberglass and aluminum ves-
sels on the water now.
“It’s all an evolution of
the fishery, finding ways to
efficiently collect fish and
get them to canneries and
get them to market,” Smith
said.
could be delayed again
Continued from Page 1A
Besides Oregon, the delay
also applies to parts of Cali-
fornia and Washington state
that fall under the tri-state
agreement that allows the
states to manage the commer-
cial Dungeness fishery on the
ocean together.
Ongoing testing will
determine whether or not the
season will open Dec. 31. It’s
possible the season could be
further delayed or be split
into two areas with different
opening dates. Commercial
harvest of Dungeness crab is
closed in Oregon bays for the
rest of the year. Elevated lev-
els of the marine toxin domoic
acid are the only thing affect-
ing recreational crabbing clo-
sures in some areas of the
coast.
Last year, commercial
crabbers landed 20.4 million
pounds of crab — well above
the 10-year average — into
Oregon with a record ex-ves-
sel value of $62.7 million.
Dungeness crab remains the
state’s most valuable fishery.
In Washington state, commer-
cial crabbers landed 16.4 mil-
lion pounds last year.
Official Rules:
Who can enter?
Results:
Other contest rules:
• Photographers of all ages; must be
residents of Oregon or Washington state.
• Top 10 photographs will be published in
the Coast Weekend print edition on Thursday,
Jan. 4, 2018.
• All photographs entered may be used in
future publications by the EO Media Group
What photographs are eligible?
• All subjects are welcome.
• Digital entries: Digital photographs may be
color or black-and-white and must be JPEGs,
maximum of 5MB, 300 dpi resolution and at
least 5”x7” in image size.
• Top 25 photographs will be published
online at CoastWeekend.com on Thursday,
Jan. 4, 2018.
• Each entry must include the entrant’s
name, home address, age, a description of
the photograph and email address.
• Gift cards will be awarded for first-, second-
and third-place winners, plus a People’s Choice
winner voted for online Dec. 18 to Dec. 24.
Submission deadline:
• Entries will be accepted Friday, Nov. 17
through Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017
Submit all
photos
online at:
www.coastweekend.com/cwphotocontest