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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2018)
THE IDITAROD: 145TH YEAR, NO. 184 DOG SLED RACE IN ALASKA PAGE 5A ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 Oregon takes a new look at rocky shores County fair manager placed on leave Officials decline to discuss her future By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Clatsop County Fair and Expo Manager Kathi Mattinen has been placed on adminis- trative leave, and county and Fair Board offi- cials have declined to comment on her long- term job status. At an executive session Thursday, which was closed to the public, the board consid- ered the dismissal, discipline or complaints against a public employee. After the private discussion, the board publicly approved a motion to grant Assistant County Manager Monica Steele and Mike Autio, the board’s chairman, the authority to manage the sepa- ration of employment of fair employees. “I don’t understand it. Can you explain it?” said Mattinen, the only fair board See MANAGER, Page 7A Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Adam Babcock and his son, Salem, look for signs of life in the rocks at Indian Beach in Ecola State Park. A three-story option in Astoria Some of the coast’s most popular natural features under review By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian T he tide pools at Indian Beach are a major attraction. People scram- ble over rocks that are alive with crabs and barnacles and that shake with the thud of ocean waves to peer into the pools, catching glimpses of green anem- ones, sea stars and other mysterious but iconic ocean creatures. Rocky shores account for roughly 41 percent of Oregon’s 362-mile coastline. Certain towns, parks and beaches are powerhouses of the coastal tourism indus- try thanks to highly recognizable natural features like tide pools, headlands, cliffs, rocky beaches and offshore rocks. Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plan, first adopted in 1994, coordinates manage- ment of the state’s ocean resources and guides both state and federal agencies. The section that addresses rocky shores hasn’t been touched since 1994. Educators aim to build up at middle school Visitors to Cannon Beach examine the tide pools near Haystack Rock. OUTREACH More information is available at oregonocean.info Comments can be sent to tsp.comments@state.or.us People can submit comments through email, by filling out a questionnaire on the website, by contacting working group members directly or by giving oral comments at public meetings. The next working group meeting will take place in April. The centerpiece of the Astoria School District’s long-term facilities plan is to tear down an aging, one-story academic wing at Astoria Middle School and replace it with a three-story building, each level with identi- cal learning communities for sixth-through- eighth grades. The existing academic wing of the mid- dle school includes triangular-shaped, undersized classrooms arrayed around the inside and outside of a diamond-shaped corridor. Principal Linda Berger has com- mented how many of the rooms are under- sized and lack adequate utilities and lighting. “That existing classroom wing is really not meeting the needs educationally for Linda and her staff,” said Greg McCracken, an architect advising the school district as it approaches a possible bond measure for school improvements. “They’re small, triangular-shaped spaces. Lots of them don’t have windows or daylight. They’re not very flexible.” See SHORES, Page 7A See MIDDLE SCHOOL, Page 7A Fat Bike Festival comes to Cannon Beach Event has raised some environmental concerns By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — The Oregon Coast will get its first- ever Fat Bike Festival in April on the sand in Cannon Beach. The new festival is hoping to attract bicyclists and other outdoor adventurers with a love for fat bikes, a specialty bike with 4-inch wide tires The Fat Bike Festival, the first of its kind of the Or- egon Coast, is scheduled April 20 to April 22 in Can- non Beach. designed to ride easily over soft surfaces like sand and snow. Starting April 20, the three- day event will include a sunset beach ride, bonfires and vari- ety of laid-back, riding-related obstacle courses and activities. The cornerstone of the weekend will be a “poker ride.” Participants will ride to different locations from Cannon Beach to Arch Cape to retrieve different playing cards. At the end of the day, riders can turn in their “poker hand” to win prizes at a recep- tion at Public Coast Brewing Co. Originating from the Chamber of Commerce’s for- mer marketing specialist and Oregon Coast Today See FESTIVAL, Page 7A Fat bikes are growing in popularity.