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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 33 Councilor withdraws from Astoria mayor’s race ONE DOLLAR LIFE AFTER A DEVASTATING FIRE Price cites family reasons in decision By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Astoria City Councilor Cindy Price, citing family reasons, said today that she will withdraw as a can- didate for mayor in November. Price’s decision reshapes the may- oral election two weeks before the fil- ing deadline. Dul- cye Taylor, the pres- ident of the Astoria Downtown His- Cindy Price toric District Asso- ciation, and Michael “Sasha” Miller, an activist, have filed to run. “Family matters have arisen in the past couple weeks that have caused me to re-evaluate where I should be spending most of my time for the next few years,” Price said in a statement. “Accordingly, I am withdrawing as a candidate for mayor of Astoria. “I’ve been moved by the broad support I’ve received throughout the community. I will complete my term as city councilor in the same thor- ough manner I have for the past 3 1/2 years, and I expect to continue to be engaged in civic matters in the years to come. “This was a very difficult decision for me because I was enthusiastic for the position, thought I could win, and thought I could be a great mayor for a great city. But family must come first. My deep gratitude to all.” See PRICE, Page 5A Local mariner donates $1.5M to maritime museum Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Pacific Seafood CEO Frank Dulcich embraces an employee during the grand opening at the new building in Warrenton. RISING By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian FROM THE W ASHES By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Peter Brix, whose family has deep roots in the maritime and for- estry industries, will donate $1.5 mil- lion to the Columbia River Maritime Museum over the next four years to help speed the digitization of collec- tions and begin several new exhib- its, including a permanent gallery on indigenous peoples. Brix, whose family started Brix Maritime, is also the co-founder of Brusco Tug & Barge. He helped fund the museum’s construction and has been involved on its board for 35 years. “I think the museum is preserv- ing important history on the Lower Columbia,” Brix said. “We’ve devel- oped a very good staff, and an oppor- tunity I think to be a leader in the mar- itime museum industry.” Pacific Seafood opens new Warrenton plant ARRENTON — A lit- tle more than five years after its seafood-pro- cessing plant along the Skipanon River burned down, Pacific Seafood on Tuesday celebrated the fulfillment of a promise to rebuild. The Warrenton plant, built in 1941 and acquired by Pacific Seafood in 1983, was the company’s first. A roof fire on June 4, 2013, destroyed all but the ice house. Frank Dulcich, a third-generation CEO of the company founded by his grandfather, said a day later that the company would be back. “We said our family in Warren- ton will endure, and we have done just that,” Dulcich told a crowd of employees, contractors, local offi- cials and others gathered Tuesday on the new dock outside the plant. After the fire, Pacific Seafood continued paying employees. Within a week, the company had subleased a former seaplane hangar at the North Tongue Point industrial docks used by Del Mar Seafoods for seasonal sardine processing. The company will phase out operations there as it moves back to Warrenton in the com- ing months. Dulcich presented 62 workers who stayed with Pacific Seafood through the fire and rebuild with chal- lenge coins to commemorate their dedication to the company. After his Pacific Seafood project manager Aaron Dierks, far right, gives a tour of the new facility to invited guests. See RISING, Page 5A See DONATION, Page 5A Bridge inspection prompts 911 calls Routine work involves rope technique By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A worker scales a section of the Astoria Bridge during a routine inspection. Passers-by have a number of the- ories about who has been hanging around the Astoria Bridge, includ- ing suggestions of thrill-seekers and protesters. It turns out, however, the people nestled in ropes around the span have permission to be there. An engineering crew has been conducting a routine inspection for signs of fracturing in the bridge’s steel infrastructure. Six workers began the inspection last week, and a smaller group will finish this week before returning in September. The state Department of Trans- portation hired Burgess & Niple, an Ohio-based engineering and archi- tecture firm, to carry out the inspec- tion. The crew consists of structural engineers who are specially trained according to federal standards to probe defects in tight spaces. See BRIDGE, Page 5A
