Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2017)
SEASIDE BOYS SOAR IN HOME BASKETBALL OPENER SPORTS • PAGE 10A DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 116 ONE DOLLAR County looks to nonprofits to curb low-income housing woes Refurbished Alderbrook home could serve as model By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian With a mountain of trash blighting the property, an Alderbrook home foreclosed last year after decades of disre- pair. But its potential value was obvious. It offers a scenic view of the Columbia River and it was in a scene in the series finale of the popular show “Dexter.” Instead of hiring some- one to remove the trash and preparing it for auction, Clat- sop County chose a route that other counties have tried but is unique locally. The county handed the 51st Street prop- erty over to Community Action Team and Clatsop Community Action, two nonprofit organi- zations. The debris has been cleared, and the organizations plan to list the home for sale and use the proceeds to build low-income housing units in the future. “I thought it was a very inventive idea,” CCA Execu- tive Director Elaine Bruce said. The move also may signal a new tactic for the county as it struggles with low-income housing shortages. See HOUSING, Page 7A Casey Mitchell This home in the Alderbrook neighborhood of Astoria was recently acquired by two local nonprofits that plan to sell the refurbished location and use the proceeds to build low-income housing. Ship Inn staffer ships out with a new food cart ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ Fish and chowder are on the menu By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Pyrosomes dot the landscape near Cannon Beach. Thousands of pyrosomes washing up on local beaches By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian T he pyrosome invasion continues. Thousands of the strange, pick- le-shaped gelatinous creatures continue to wash up on Clatsop County beaches months after ocean biologists first recorded masses of them drifting offshore during a research cruise in the spring. Very little is known about pyrosomes or why they have shown up in force now. Research into what they eat and what it means to have them in the ecosystem is ongoing. Pyrosomes have been seen in Oregon and Washington state waters before but never in such large numbers. This spring, there were enough floating in the water column to clog up fishing gear on com- mercial shrimp boats. The colonial animals — a single tube Enola Baeten, who spent 15 years on and off working at the The Ship Inn on Astoria’s waterfront, had always wanted to own her own restaurant, or something similar. The closure of the British-themed fish and chips haunt earlier this year gave Baeten the impetus she needed to start planning her cre- ation: Enola’s Ship Out, opening this week near the Lewis and Clark Golf & RV Resort. The new food cart, custom-built in Port- land, features a full kitchen on the inside and a panorama of Astoria and the Colum- bia River created by local artist Bryce Harris. Like The Lunch Wagon at the Astoria Regional Airport, Baeten opted to open her food cart in a more rural business corridor with few nearby restaurants. She also expects a boost from a 35-unit housing development being built next to Lewis and Clark Ele- mentary School, along with high schoolers on lunch break. Her location also provides indoor seating inside a vacant greenhouse next door. The Ship Inn, opened in 1974, closed in April after owner Jill Stokeld sold the prop- erty to developer Mark Hollander, who also purchased the former Stephanie’s Cabin See FOOD CART, Page 7A Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian Dozens of pyrosomes have recently washed up on beaches in the region. contains hundreds, possibly thousands of individuals — have been recorded as far north as Alaska, where they have never been seen before. Fishermen first saw them in their fish- ing gear in February. At the end of Octo- ber, researchers with the National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center were still encountering them in acoustic, sur- face and bottom trawl surveys all the way from Kodiak to waters off southeastern Alaska. Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian Mysterious creatures known as pyro- somes have been washing up on lo- cal beaches recently and have been showing up in fishing nets. According to NOAA, pyrosome num- bers in the Northern California Current — which encompasses Northern California, Oregon and Washington state — went up in 2015 and spiked again in 2016. “As far as scientists know, however, their abundance this year is unprece- dented,” NOAA spokesman Michael Mil- stein wrote in June. Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Enola Baeten, left, is starting Enola’s Ship Out, with assistance from her hus- band, Neal. Traveling is in the cards for Astoria bridge players Team hits the road for tournaments By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian I n their many trips together, Lewis Richardson and Mon- ica Taylor have taken shel- ter from a tornado, explored the Grand Canyon, viewed wildlife in national parks and peered over artifacts of history. But the main point was to sit around and play cards. Richardson, 75, and Taylor, 73, formed a two-person team more than 10 years ago after rediscovering bridge, a card game that pits pairs of people against each other. This year, the retired Astoria residents accomplished their goal of traveling to every state in the country to play in tournaments. Richardson’s and Tay- lor’s experiences with bridge run parallel. They learned the game in college in the 1960s and stopped playing for about 40 years. Following retirement and the deaths of their spouses, they found other locals who played and eventually agreed to form their own team. Richardson moved to Asto- ria in 1968 and worked at the Oregon State University Sea- food Lab for 20 years before Monica Taylor See TEAM, Page 7A Lewis Richardson and Monica Taylor, of Astoria, are avid bridge players.