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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 157 ONE DOLLAR Cost of oil spill balloons Fuel tank leaked near Cannery Pier Hotel By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian The oil spill from a fuel storage tank near the Cannery Pier Hotel has cost about $700,000 so far to clean up, the Coast Guard reported. Capt. Bill Timmons, the commander of Sector Columbia River, and others from the Coast Guard briefed the Port of Astoria Commission and regional officials Tuesday about the cleanup efforts and how they are being financed. After reports of an oil sheen in the Colum- bia River late last month, the Coast Guard investigated and found that part of a dilap- idated pier west of the hotel had fallen on a fuel tank containing thick oil used to fire the boilers in a cannery. Cannery Pier management has said the hotel did not know about the tank. The hotel is built on the former site of the Union Fishermen’s Cooperative Packing Co. The tank had been in the ground there since at least 1921, said Capt. Dave Ber- liner, deputy commander of Sector Colum- bia River. Especially high tides helped spread a sheen 5 miles long, with oily debris found as far downriver as Hammond and among the boats at the Port’s West Mooring Basin just west of the tank. Containment booms were placed around the hotel. Contractors removed the tank and emptied it of about 2,200 gallons of Bunker C oil. Cleaning solution Simple Green was used to remove oil from boats. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Former Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen shares an embrace with state Senator Betsy Johnson at an event in October to celebrate the opening of the new cancer center. Campaigning against cancer Cancer center donations came from across the community By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian A fter Steve Roman was diagnosed with can- cer, former Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen — a friend of his — would often drive the lawyer to Longview, Washington, for treatment. The care would only take 30 seconds, but the round trip would last 2 1/2 hours. “I sometimes wouldn’t even sit down,” Van Dusen said. “When the patients have to drive out in heavy traffic, it adds to the stress that’s already there.” Van Dusen led the Columbia Memorial Hospital Foundation’s campaign to raise money for the Knight Cancer Collaborative with Oregon Health & Science University that opened in October. Launched in May 2015, the campaign raised $3 million. See CANCER CENTER, Page 7A TOP DONORS More than 700 donors contributed to the CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative. Here are the 15 top donors, all of which were more than $50,000: • Teevin Bros. Land & Timber Inc. • Warrenton Fiber Co./ Nygaard Logging • M.J. Murdoch Chari- table Trust • Martha Whitener Estate • Margaret Rubidoux • Van Dusen family • Dr. William and Deb- orah Armington • Anonymous • Constance Waisanen • Eloise and Carl Pohlad Family Fund • Oregon Health & Science University • Henningsgaard family • Leinassar family • Mary Armington • Autio family See OIL SPILL, Page 7A Reward offered in arson probe Up to $5,000 available for information By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Astoria police are offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest in an arson investigation in Uppertown. A series of small fires broke out in a neighborhood around 38th Street and Harri- son Avenue in January, rattling residents. The blazes were reported over a span of less than two weeks and left burn marks on three houses — one of which was burned twice — and destroyed a pickup truck. Another fire in the same area scorched a garage that contained a motorcycle, four recycling bins and a lawnmower, though officials believe it was accidental. Police have also found another scorch mark on a fence in the area but believe it was not part of the January spate. The ribbon is cut in October at a grand opening event held in front of the new cancer collaborative. See ARSON, Page 7A Seaside subdivision gets go-ahead Project involves 58 homes for workforce By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Patience proved a virtue for Seaside developers Bruce and Max Ritchie. For more than a decade, they’ve submitted plans for the 15-acre plot of land on the cor- ner of South Wahanna Road and Avenue S known as Blue Heron Pointe. At Tuesday night’s Plan- ning Commission meet- ing, their 58-lot, single-fam- ily proposal won conditional approval. A draft of a final plan will be delivered later this month, Planning Director Kevin Cupples said. The homes will provide workforce housing, Max Ritchie said, with prices in the “low $300,000 and high $200,000” range. Homes will average under 2,000 square feet. The saga of Blue Heron Pointe began in the early 2000s, going so far as to win preliminary approval in 2006. But plans stalled until late 2016, when the Ritchies pre- sented a 45-unit multifamily proposal. That plan hit a snag over a requirement for a side- walk along Wahanna Road. The project remained dor- mant until the Ritchies pre- sented a new design show- ing pedestrian and bike lanes within the subdivision. The prior plan would have accom- modated a duplex on every lot See SEASIDE, Page 7A Cannon Beach votes to raise water rates 16 percent Revenue to finance repairs By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — Residents will see their water rates go up 16 percent in March. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve raising water and wastewater rates to help fund repairs to an aging sys- tem. The average residential water bill will go from about $47.81 to $55.68 – about an $8 increase a month. The increase will raise about $434,000 in reve- nue for capital projects next year. The decision comes nearly a year after former Public Works Director Dan Gras- sick proposed a 40 percent rate increase to fund half of all of the projects listed in the water and wastewater master plans — documents that rec- ommend capital projects the city should address for the next 20 years. Between res- idents taking issue with the See RATES, Page 7A
