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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2018)
LONGTIME SOCCER COACH AND MENTOR BOISVERT DIES SPORTS • 10A DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 150 ONE DOLLAR Astoria names Spalding as new police chief Veteran lawman has served as interim chief By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Geoff Spalding, who has led the Astoria Police Depart- ment as interim chief for the past five months, will come out of retirement to take on the role permanently. City Manager Brett Estes announced that Spalding, the retired chief of the Beaverton Police Department, has agreed to become the city’s next police chief. “I am honored to be able to continue to work with the men and women of the Asto- ria Police Department,” Spald- ing said in a statement. “This is a quality department that is highly regarded by our community.” Spalding, 60, has been the interim police chief since late August, an agreement that was intended to last six to nine months after former police chief and assistant city man- ager Brad Johnston suddenly announced his retirement. Estes said he did not bring Spalding on as interim chief with the intent to hire him, but said that after seeing how Spalding has engaged with the community and the police department it seems like a nat- ural fit. Geoff Spalding is Astoria’s new police chief. Colin Murphey/ The Daily Astorian See SPALDING, Page 5A Custom cool Newenhof praised for a life of purpose City Lumber co-owner described as kind, quiet and devoted By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Greg Newenhof, the co-owner of City Lumber who was restoring the land- mark Flavel mansion in Astoria, has died. He was 61. Locals who knew Greg Newenhof described him Newenhof as a kind, quiet and devoted person always willing to help but never seeking notoriety. His See NEWENHOF, Page 5A Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Stephan Eiter and Lucy Barna of Astoria Maker Industries work in the Van Dusen Building in downtown Astoria. Astoria Makers provides glimpse into their space A lifetime legacy award goes to Snow By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian ate last year, Astoria Maker Industries pur- chased the Van Dusen Building from The Harbor, a regional advocacy group for victims of sexual and domestic violence. The group held a first event in the building, a concert, over the weekend in a corner suite where local crafters will eventually sell what they create in the nascent makerspace. L See MAKERS, Page 7A Chamber honors volunteers who make an imprint By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Lucy Barna puts a fresh coat of paint on a window sill in the Van Dusen Building in Astoria. Julie Flues of the Columbia River Mar- itime Museum and Gary Dick of Pacific Power took home the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce’s two citizen of the year honors at the group’s 145th-annual banquet Saturday. Flues, membership and communications manager for the maritime museum, was pre- sented the George Award by Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear. Named after a saying, “Let George do it,” the award has gone to more than 130 Astoria-area volunteers since 1960. LaMear lauded Flues’ good nature and work in many different aspects of the community. See CHAMBER, Page 7A Volunteer firefighter stays close to home in Cannon Beach Avila is also a student By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian C ANNON BEACH — Fire- fighters have always had a steady presence in Silvia Avi- la’s life. Born and raised in Cannon Beach, she would get to know them as they would stop in for coffee at her job at Cheri’s Cafe & Cannon Beach Cookie. She even remembers putting on firefighting gear herself as a kindergartner during a school field trip to the fire station. But perhaps where she was most intimately familiar was at her aunt’s house, when firefighters and paramedics responded when her cousin’s seizures would get out of hand. “I felt very helpless. I wanted to change that feeling, because I wanted to be able to help,” Avila, 19, said. “That’s where my passion progressed from.” Moments like these inspired her senior Pacifica project at Seaside High School, where she chose to volunteer at the fire station and enroll in Com- munity Emergency Response Team training. Even as her project came to a close, her passion for medi- cine and the desire to help led to her eventually becoming a Can- non Beach volunteer firefighter herself the spring of 2016. “I guess they just couldn’t get rid of me,” she laughed. A year later, Avila now splits her time between volunteer firefighting and studying EMT and paramedic studies at Lane Community College in Eugene with her brother, who also is a volunteer firefighter. Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian See AVILA, Page 5A Silvia Avila at the Cannon Beach fire station.