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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018 Warrenton Grade School track bubbles up, closes down Oregon reports increase in deaths related to meth use By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — Water and construction damage has closed the track at War- renton Grade School to com- petitions, leaving the War- renton-Hammond School District to find another venue for outdoor events. Superintendent Mark Jef- fery said the track, last refin- ished in the early 2000s, has had longstanding issues with water intrusion whenever a ditch on the east side of cam- pus floods. The water fills into the space between the rubber surface and asphalt, causing bubbles around the track, along with potholes. About 30 yards of the west- ern portion of the track sur- face had become detached from the asphalt. The prob- lem got worse during the installation of several new modular classrooms over the summer. “Moving those trucks in across that part of the track that was detached anyway finished it off pretty well,” Jeffery said. Replacing the track would require going down to the Associated Press Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Parts of the track at Warrenton Grade School have detached from the underlying as- phalt because of water intrusion during floods. base and building it back up. A similar project cost Neah-Kah-Nie School Dis- trict around $500,000, Jef- fery said. “Short of a bond, that’s not going to happen,” he said. The track will be avail- able for practices, but the dis- trict will have to reschedule any home meets, Jeffery said. The district also needs to fin- ish landscaping around the track to prevent the wash off of sand and dirt. Washington state House votes to ban Atlantic salmon farms in wake of accidental release By JOHN RYAN KUOW OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state House has voted to phase out farming of non-native fish in state waters, drawing the end of Atlan- tic salmon farming in Puget Sound one step closer. The move comes one week after a similar vote by the state Senate. Both bills let existing salmon farms keep operating only until their current leases run out, in the next four to seven years. The House vote also comes six months after a poorly main- tained fish farm collapsed near Anacortes, letting an estimated 250,000 Atlantic salmon escape into Puget Sound. Republicans, including state Rep. David Taylor of Moxee, called the move an overreac- tion to a single accident. “You have an accident on a farm, we don’t try to elimi- nate that industry,” Taylor said. “But in this case, we are.” Presidents Day office closures The Daily Astorian In observance of Presidents Day on Monday, all federal, state and city offices and services, including Astoria, Warrenton, Gearhart, Seaside and Cannon Beach city halls, are closed. All U.S. post offices are closed, and there is no mail delivery. Astoria, Jewell, Warrenton/ Hammond, Seaside (includ- ing Cannon Beach and Gear- hart schools) and Ocean Beach School District schools and Clatsop Community College are closed. The Knappa School District is closed Friday and Monday. The Astoria Library, Sea- side Library, Warrenton Library and all Timberland libraries in Washington state, including Ilwaco, Ocean Park and Naselle, are closed. The Port of Astoria offices and services are closed. Garbage collection through Recology Western Oregon (covering Astoria, Seaside, Gearhart and Cannon Beach), city of Warrenton garbage col- lection, and Peninsula Sanita- tion (covering the Long Beach, Washington, Peninsula) are not affected by the holiday. Recol- ogy Western Oregon’s transfer station and Peninsula Sanita- tion’s transfer station are open. The Sunset Pool in Seaside is open. The Astoria Aquatic Center is open. The Oregon Film Museum and Flavel House are open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Car- riage House is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Uppertown Fire- fighters’ Museum and the Clat- sop County Heritage Museum are closed. Capt. Gray’s Port of Play and Lil’ Sprouts are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fort Clat- sop is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Columbia River Maritime Museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Seaside Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunset Empire Transporta- tion (“The Bus”) is running. The Daily Astorian offices are open, and the newspaper printed and delivered as usual. EMERALD HEIGHTS APARTMENTS But Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, said he would vote in favor of the phase-out, even if it meant some jobs would be lost. Wilcox said the risk to runs of native salmon was too great. “My sympathies are with the people that depend on these fish runs who are unwilling to take the risk, and I don’t blame them,” Wilcox said, “and also on the people that this vote is going to harm.” He said he’d never felt worse after a vote. Wilcox called on Washing- tonians to take all threats to native salmon more seriously. Canadian company Cooke Aquaculture raises Atlantic salmon on three continents. It employs about 80 people in Washington state. If the House and Senate can hash out the minor differences between their two bills, either by approving the other cham- ber’s bill or agreeing on some compromise between them, Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign a ban on Atlantic salmon farms into law. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All Rents Include: Electricity • Garbage • Water ASK ABOUT NEWLY REMODELED APARTMENTS Booze ban at Sauvie Island Associated Press PORTLAND — The Ore- gon Department of Fish and Wildlife has proposed a sum- mertime ban on booze at the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area. The Oregonian reported that the department said on Thursday it has documented an increase in alcohol-related problems at the wildlife area’s beaches over the past sev- eral years. The department says 17 people were arrested for drunken driving in 2017 while leaving Sauvie Island beaches. The department said that for the last five years, nearly 500,000 people annually visit Sauvie Island beaches from May through September. It said a booze ban during sum- mer months would “signifi- cantly reduce alcohol-related problems” and will allow the department to alleviate addi- tional law enforcement and medical personnel that have had to increase patrols due to alcohol-related incidents. Report mixed on Trump tax plan Associated Press SALEM — A report from Oregon’s state economists warned the federal tax over- haul could cost the state more than $200 million in reve- nue in the short term, amid an overall bright outlook for state businesses and workers. The report, released today by the Office of Economic Analysis, predicted that state tax revenues revenue would drop, then eventually begin to rise after changes made in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed late last year. Cleanup day planned at Fort Stevens State Park The Daily Astorian A local conservation- ist hopes people will spend Presidents Day hauling harmful plastics out of a place he calls “the mega sink.” The Seaside-based non- profit Sea Turtles Forever and the associated Blue Wave organization are lead- ing a cleanup effort at Fort Stevens State Park’s Lot C on Monday. The area, bor- dered by the South Jetty on one side and the Colum- bia River on the other, is dense with plastics, said Marc W. Ward of Sea Tur- tles Forever. Ward has led microplas- tic removal efforts through- out Clatsop County using a filtration system of his own design and has zeroed in on Fort Stevens’ Lot C for sev- eral years. Last year, he and his 57 volunteers hauled out 450 pounds of plastic — most of it just tiny chips of plas- tic — in three hours. “This is just to start off the year right and help that site,” he said. Each year the cleanup crew finds piles of micro- plastics, toothbrushes, shoes: “Everything you could ever imagine that’s made out of plastic, we pull out of that site.” Ward estimates there are 5,000 grams, or 10 pounds, A NNUAL H AGGLE Sunday D AY February 18 th 10 am -5 pm 892 Marine Drive | Astoria 503.338.0101 Antiques Glassware Vintage Decor Nautical Items Vendors are ready to DEAL! Sip, Savor & UnWined $40 ticket includes: - - - - 503-325-8221 2 & 3 BEDROOM APARTMENTS SALEM — Deaths con- nected to the use of meth- amphetamine have reached higher rates than previously recorded in Oregon, surpass- ing the death rates from her- oin and nearly matching the rates from opioids, according to state figures. The state recorded 141 meth-related deaths in 2016, rising from the 51 overdose deaths from meth recorded in 2012, according to num- bers from the Oregon Health Authority. During the same time frame, heroin-related deaths decreased from 124 to 107. Pharmaceutical and synthetic opioid overdoses dropped from 174 to 149, the States- man Journal reported . Numbers from the Ore- gon State Medical Examiner show 232 meth-related deaths in 2016 and 93 in 2012. It also recorded 124 heroin-re- lated deaths in 2016 and 147 in 2012. The discrepancy between the figures from the state agen- cies can be attributed to the interpretation of what consti- tutes a meth-related death. The health authority collected its data from death certificates. As meth-related deaths have increased, so too has the number of convictions for meth possession. The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission recorded a steady rise in con- victions from 2008 to 2016, according to its sentencing data. The state had more than 2,000 meth possession con- victions in 2008, according to the commission. By 2015, that number soared to 3,665 con- victions. The next year saw a slight decrease, dropping to 3,612 convictions. Law enforcement agencies are looking to curb drug use by emphasizing treatment options like through drug courts. Salem Police Lt. Dave Okada said agencies are work- ing together to address the issue, but it’s going to take considerable combined effort to make a dent in the problem. “We can’t arrest our way out of this,” Okada said. “It’s a societal issue, and what we really need to do is continue with education and prevention efforts.” March 3, 2018 10 wine tastes tasting glass appetizers access to 140+ wines from 40 Oregon wineries - live music and more An intimate WINE TASTING EVENT previewing Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival wine competition entries at the Liberty Theatre in downtown Astoria. Tickets available at the Chamber or at oldoregon.com. Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce · (503) 325-6311 of plastic per square meter, significantly more than what he has found at Can- non Beach, another plas- tic-plagued area. There, Ward is used to seeing an average of 100 to 250 grams of plastic per square meter. Work on Monday begins at 9 a.m. and continues for as long as people are will- ing to stay. Lot C is located past Battery Russell and Lots A and B on Jetty Road. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 ◊ What’s Fresh ◊ Dungeness Steamer Clams (Willapa Bay) Crab (Local) Oysters Razor Clams (Seaside - Local) Petrale Sole (Oregon Coast - Local) $ (Willapa Bay) Salmon (Washington) 6 DAILY SOUP & LUNCH SPECIALS MONDAY - FRIDAY • OPEN DAILY AT 11AM 1 BLOCK OFF BROADWAY • 1 BLOCK FROM BEACH 20 N. COLUMBIA, SEASIDE • 503-738-4331 NormasSeaside.com
