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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018
LEFT TO RIGHT A van and trailer got stuck in the surf around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday near Gearhart. The van and trailer were almost completely submerged. Debris
washed up onshore.
Van and trailer submerged near Gearhart
The Daily Astorian
A van and small travel trailer got stuck in the
surf near the Del Ray Beach access in Gearhart on
Wednesday morning.
The owner contacted several tow companies
to remove the vehicle, but one was not able to
arrive until the vehicle was halfway submerged
in the ocean. There will be another attempt to
remove the vehicle at the next safe opportunity,
Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said in a
statement.
The owner of the vehicle has been cleaning up
debris as it washes on shore. The Coast Guard is
monitoring for any oil or fuel leaks.
Warrenton close to taking over
ownership of Hammond Marina
Army Corps
reviewing the
land transfer
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — A
long-desired transfer of land
from the federal government
to Warrenton may finally hap-
pen this year.
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers is requesting public
comment on a plan to transfer
ownership of the Hammond
Marina to Warrenton. City
leaders have been working
toward a transfer for the past
four years, but City Manager
Linda Engbretson said War-
renton has long hoped to own
the marina.
Without full ownership of
the property, Warrenton, which
leases the small boat basin and
surrounding property from the
Army Corps, has struggled to
secure money to dredge the
silted-in marina. Nor has the
city been able to go ahead with
some other improvements.
If the property transfer goes
through, the city would also
take on the responsibility of
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Fishing boats head out of the Hammond Marina to catch
salmon during the Buoy 10 season.
maintaining the channel lead-
ing into the marina and break-
water. Ownership of the land
will revert back to the Army
Corps if the land ceases to be
owned by a public entity.
“I’m feeling very confident
at this point,” Engbretson said.
“The folks at the Corps have
been great to work with.”
The marina would be a key
acquisition as Warrenton lead-
ers begin to craft an economic
development road map for
Warrenton and Hammond. The
city is in the middle of a com-
munity exercise to identify
what kinds of businesses, ame-
nities, jobs and other improve-
ments residents want to see in
the area, and steps they can
take to achieve these desires.
The marina is already a busy
hub during the height of spring
and summer recreational fish-
ing seasons. Hundreds of fish-
ermen launch from the marina
and camp at the small camp-
ground above the boat slips,
especially during the summer.
Last year, revenue from
camping fees alone covered
the city’s budget for maintain-
ing and staffing the marina —
a feat the city is on track to
accomplish again this year.
Harbormaster Jane Sweet’s
first priorities once the city
gains ownership of the marina
will be to get the marina
dredged and repair docks,
but other improvements and
enhancements are likely to
follow.
Mayor Henry Balensifer
told attendees at an economic
development meeting in Ham-
mond on Monday that the city
will be working with neigh-
boring Fort Stevens State Park
to connect a city trail system
with the park’s network of
trails after the transfer of land
goes through,
Sweet herself would like to
see the addition of a dock that
would give people who don’t
have boats the ability to fish
and drop crab pots from the
shore.
The Army Corps is accept-
ing public comments through
Sept. 6. The agency’s envi-
ronmental assessment of the
site is available at https://
usace.contentdm.oclc.org/dig-
ital/collection/p16021coll7/
id/7748
Comments and ques-
tions can be sent via e-mail
to Suzanne.Hill@usace.army.
mil, or mailed to: U.S. Army
Corp of Engineers, attention
CENWP-PM-E/Suzanne Hill,
P.O. box 2946, Portland, OR.,
97208.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Astoria Warehousing Inc. has sold four warehouses it
owned in Knappa to Pacific Highway Holding Co.
Astoria Warehousing
sells Knappa property
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
KNAPPA — Astoria
Warehousing Inc. has sold
its warehouses in Knappa to
Pacific Highway Holding Co.,
which will continue leasing
them out as warehouses.
Representatives
from
Astoria Warehousing declined
to comment. Several sources
recently confirmed the com-
pany is shutting down opera-
tions in Clatsop County.
Astoria Warehousing is
owned by Bellevue, Wash-
ington-based Peter Pan Sea-
foods and Seattle-based Icicle
Seafoods, recently acquired
by Canadian seafood giant
Cooke Aquaculture. The com-
pany also owns about 5 acres
and several large warehouses
along the Columbia River
near the Astoria Bridge.
The property in Knappa
includes four 20,000-square-
foot warehouses. Lawrence
Hoffman, a representative of
Pacific Highway Holding Co.,
said the company intends to
hire a manager for the ware-
houses, which could even-
tually employ between 10
and 20 people. The company
hopes to make the warehouses
operational by the end of the
year, he said.
Clatsop Post 12
Two appointed
to fill county
planning posts
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County commis-
sioners appointed two resi-
dents Wednesday to the Plan-
ning Commission.
John Orr, a Gearhart law-
yer and former Democratic
candidate for state House Dis-
trict 32, was appointed, along
with Nadia Gardner, an Arch
Cape environmental scien-
tist. They replace Robin Ris-
ley and Thomas Merrell on the
commission.
County staff originally sug-
gested Seaside City Coun-
cilor Tita Montero — one of
six applicants — over Orr, but
Commissioner Sarah Nebeker
made a motion to appoint him.
The appointment carried in a
3-0 vote, with Commissioners
Lianne Thompson and Kath-
leen Sullivan absent.
Planning Commissioner
Michael Magyar was reap-
pointed to his position for
another term. All three terms
run through June 2022.
Washington state to fight Trump’s
move to relax rules on coal plants
By PHUONG LE
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Washington
state plans to sue the Trump
administration over its pro-
posal to dismantle pollu-
tion rules that would have
increased federal regulation
of emissions from coal-fired
power plants, Gov. Jay Inslee
said Wednesday.
The U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency plan
threatens lives, props up an
old technology and is illegal,
the Democrat told reporters.
“It’s an affront to people who
want to breathe clean air.”
The state will file a law-
suit — likely joining with
other states — but it must
first wait for the EPA rule to
be formally proposed and
finalized, which could take
months, said Bill Sherman,
LOOK FOR THE FALL
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ASTORIA
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Clatsop Post 12
1132 Exchange Street
325-5771
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Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
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FEATURING
The Hartill family would like to extend their
deepest feelings of gratitude to all those who
tended to the medical needs of their loved one
during a life or death emergency situation on
Thursday, August 16th, 2018. Thanks to the
quick response of the staff and customers at
Cash ‘N Carry in Warrenton and the dedicated
and professional Emergency Room staff at the
Providence Hospital in Seaside, our loved one
is alive today. Our family is extremely blessed
to live in a community where good people
do good things without giving it a second
thought and that second saved a life.
Our family cannot thank you enough.
the attorney general’s counsel
for environmental protection.
The EPA announced Tues-
day that it plans to replace
President Barack Obama’s
2015 Clean Power Plan, his
signature climate policy. It
says its Affordable Clean
Energy rule “empowers states,
promotes energy indepen-
dence and facilitates economic
growth and job creation.”
Ham Steak
Dinner
SPORTS SCHEDULE • Monday
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Seaside Seagulls • Thursday
Astoria Fishermen • Friday
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