JUNE 2018
AT HOME | JUNE EDITION INSIDE
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2018
145TH YEAR, NO. 234
ONE DOLLAR
Co
101
C
bi
olum
a
R
The North Coa
st’s leading real
esta
and home imp
rovement gui t
de
Knappa
r
ive
lum
30
bia
409
Riv
er
Milepost 70
Sources: oregon.gov; Daily Astorian research
Jack Heffernan and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
30
30
Westport
Milepost 95
Astoria
BUS
101
Crashes
202
23
Crashes on U.S. Highway 30, 2012-16
18 15
13
8
95 94 93 92 91
West (near Astoria)
0
1
90
89
6
88
87
86
11
85
9
14
16
10
84 83 82 81
Milepost marker
7
9
10
9
80
79
78
77
5
6
8
76
75
74
5
8
11 14
Co.
Columbia
o.
Clatsop C
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30
101
30
73 72 71 70
East (near Westport)
Seaside
scales back
downtown
association
Executive leaves,
programs reviewed
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
DANGEROUS
APPROACH
SEASIDE — The Seaside Down-
town Development Association
announced a “heart-wrenching deci-
sion” Thursday, eliminating the role
of its executive director and mov-
ing from offices on North Holladay
Drive.
Further program or event cuts may
follow for the non-
profit in its 25th year
representing
busi-
nesses and merchants.
“We’re trying to
figure out what our
path is to future sus-
tainability, to make
sure we have enough
Darren
money
administra-
Gooch
tively to continue on,”
said Darren Gooch, the board presi-
dent. “We really want this organiza-
tion to be viable for at least another
25-plus years.”
Program sponsorships have
dropped steadily over the past
decade, never fully recovering since
See SEASIDE, Page 6A
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Vehicles traveling along a curve east of Astoria on Highway 30 leave trails of light in this long-exposure photo.
Accidents on U.S. Highway 30 are
more prevalent near eastern Astoria
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
M
any people familiar with the east-
ern entrance to Astoria experienced
a nagging sense of remorse in late
April.
Doug Morgan, 54, of Knappa, was killed
while driving westbound on U.S. Highway 30
when a Chevrolet Tahoe crossed the centerline
and collided head-on with his Toyota Prius.
The crash took place at milepost 94 just east
of Tongue Point. It reminded Mikayla Morton,
18, of Knappa, of another fatal crash at the mile-
post just a few years earlier, prompting her to
write a letter to the editor warning people about
that specific spot.
“That accident hit all of us hard,” Morton
said. “It just hit even more because two people
from Knappa died.”
U.S. Hwy 30
By the numbers, 2012-16
(For mileposts 70-95)
• 26 miles
• 298 accidents
• 5 accidents/month on average
• 253 injuries
• 4 injuries/month on average
• 9 deaths
Source: Daily Astorian research
‘I wouldn’t so much
blame it on the roadway
as much as I would
driving behavior.’
Andrew J. Merila
Oregon State Police Lt.
A five-year snapshot of crash statistics reveals
her instinct to be correct. Out of the 26 miles on
Highway 30 between Westport and Alderbrook,
the 5-mile stretch approaching eastern Astoria is
easily the most dangerous for drivers.
From 2012 through 2016, 298 accidents
occurred in those 26 miles, causing 253 injuries
and nine deaths, according to state Department
of Transportation data. The 5 miles near Asto-
ria account for 36 percent of those accidents, 42
percent of injuries and three deaths.
Save for some minor tweaks to the road, the
onus is on drivers to minimize danger, officials
say.
“People drive that road daily without any
issues,” Oregon State Police Lt. Andrew J. Mer-
ila said. “I wouldn’t so much blame it on the
roadway as much as I would driving behavior.”
See ACCIDENTS, Page 7A
Southern
Oregon tribe
sues to protect
endangered fish
By JES BURNS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
A Southern Oregon tribe is accus-
ing federal water managers of fail-
ing to keep Upper Klamath Lake
full enough to ensure the continued
survival of two endangered species
of sucker fish that its people once
depended on for subsistence.
The Klamath Tribes leveled their
claim in a lawsuit filed late Wednes-
day federal district court against the
Bureau of Reclamation.
Water quality in the lake is gener-
ally poor and that can be exacerbated
in drought years like the one we’re in.
“The lake levels are very import-
ant for providing habitat — water
quality refuge habitat — for adult
fish,” said Klamath Tribes scientist
Mark Buettner.
Buettner said while the current
sucker population continues to repro-
duce, very few of those young fish
make it past the first year of life. This
means the population of surviving
sucker fish is aging and it’s feared the
reproductive capacity of the fish will
eventually start to decline, making
See TRIBE, Page 6A
Liberty Theatre seeks $5 million to modernize
Campaign is an investment in a modern venue
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Liberty Theatre will embark on a multi-
year capital campaign to raise up to $5 million
to modernize performance spaces and the the-
atergoing experience.
The Commercial Street landmark under-
went a $6 million renovation between 1999 and
2006. But the theater’s offerings are still ham-
pered by outdated equipment, from the original
1925 curtain system and rudimentary lighting to
an undersized stage and inadequate backstage.
The theater recently hired lighting and archi-
tecture consultant Schuler Shook to investi-
gate the building’s needs to become a modern
venue. They came back with $5 million worth
of improvements.
The capital campaign will start in Novem-
ber with a gala and auction at the theater. The-
ater boosters are hoping to chip away at the $5
million wish list over several years, said Chris-
tine Lolich, president of the theater’s board. The
restoration of the building took about six years.
Jennifer Crockett, the theater’s director,
called the capital campaign the second phase of
the theater’s restoration. The first phase saved
the building, while the second is about support-
ing the stage and operations by upgrading the
lighting, rigging, curtains, backstage, chang-
ing rooms, box office and concessions area, she
said.
The $5 million also includes making the
building more energy efficient by switching to
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
See LIBERTY:, Page 6A
Jennifer Crockett, director of the Liberty Theatre, shows
a tour group the condition of the curtains on the stage.