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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018
Top women’s
team snubbed at
Hood to Coast
Relay issued public apology
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — This year’s Hood to Coast ended
with organizers issuing an apology after they failed
to recognize the relay’s top finishing women’s team
during the award ceremony on Saturday.
The apology came after Emily Pritt, a member of
a team named “Goats N Roses,” tweeted about how
the top walking, high school and men’s teams were
awarded trophies, and that when she asked the race’s
founder, Bob Foote, about why the women’s teams
weren’t acknowledged, she said he told her to “Go
talk to someone who cares.”
The organization apologized to Goats and Roses
in a tweet Sunday, saying the top three women’s
teams should have been recognized.
“We did not recognize this great achievement
and we were wrong,” the tweet said. “This will
never happen again. We thank Goats and Roses for
making us aware of our error.”
Traditionally, the race, which spans 199 miles
from Mount Hood to Seaside and attracts more
than 19,000 participants, only recognizes the top
three finishing teams overall, as well as the top high
school and walking teams, chief operating officer
Dan Floyd said in an interview with Runner’s World
Magazine.
Goats N Roses finished 12th out of 1,032 teams.
Moving forward, the organization tweeted it will
make changes to recognize the top women’s teams
and “it will be because of Team Goats N Roses.”
Pritt tweeted on Sunday that Jude Hubber, the
race’s CEO, has been “positively responsive and
extremely apologetic,” and that she’s encouraged by
the organization’s efforts to make improvements in
response to her situation.
“To be clear, the issue we had and (the) reason
for the tweet was because of founder Bob Foote,”
Pritt tweeted. “Yes, Hood to Coast is his event and
he needs to be held responsible, but I do not want to
disparage all the work put in by volunteers, spon-
sors, organizers and teams that make H2C great.”
Foote has yet to issue a public response to his
alleged remarks.
Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian
Members of the Transplant Trotters team watch for their final walker on the Promenade in Seaside.
Relay: ‘We are the face of organ
recipients, and we look a lot like you’
Continued from Page 1A
The team has hosted a revolv-
ing door of participants from
around the Pacific Northwest,
welcoming organ donors,
recipients and their family
members.
Andergard has made partici-
pating an 11-year tradition since
the surgery, often competing
side by side with her friend’s
family members.
According to Donate Life
Northwest, 87 percent of all
transplants needed in Oregon
are kidneys, and the waiting list
for transplants can span years.
Part of this, Andergard believes,
is due to the perception that
giving an organ means giving
away the possibility of a nor-
mal, healthy life.
Andergard, a Warrenton
local who now lives in Portland,
decided to start competing in
the relay to show how the per-
ception is wrong.
“The only thing that has
changed in my life is I can’t take
Advil. I take Tylenol instead.
And no contact sports, like foot-
ball or bull riding, which luckily
I never was interested in doing
anyway,” she said, though she
admitted she did make sure to
ride a mechanical bull at least
once before her surgery.
Walking in the race is espe-
cially important to Tracy
Hoyle, who over the course of
two decades has received two
heart transplants and a kidney
transplant.
At 29, when she first was
told a virus had impacted her
heart’s ability to function, her
life was filled with uncertainty.
“I thought I’d never have
a child. I didn’t know what to
expect,” she said. “I have a
weird outlook on life that’s like
‘everything’s going to be OK,’
so I wouldn’t say I was panicked
at any point. But I just never
knew I’d be healthy enough to
do something like this.”
There are some aspects of
the race for the Transplant Trot-
ters that aren’t realities for other
teams.
Everyone chuckles on
the registration form when it
comes to the question about
medications.
“Too many to list,” Hoyle
laughed.
The team is also less likely
to have a “suck it up, butter-
cup” mentality when it comes
to pain, said Andergard, who is
always ready with a backup for
someone who may be having a
bad day.
But otherwise?
“If you saw any of us
walking down the street, you
wouldn’t think that we had
transplants,” Hoyle said. “We
are the face of organ recipients,
and we look a lot like you.”
In fact, this year, the power
walking team finished about an
hour earlier than they expected.
“We’re pretty proud of that,”
team captain Lee Golden Jr.
said.
For the past five years, Josh
Long — an Olney resident and
the cousin of Andergard’s friend
— has set up his house as a rest
stop for the team as they arrive
in the middle of the night from
the first legs of the race. Offer-
ing a comfortable place to sleep
is an easy thing to do make the
relay easier, Long said, and a
way to say “thank you.”
“Nicole’s always been con-
sidered family, even before the
transplant,” Long said. “It’s not
surprising Nicole would do this.
By the time I was worried about
Anna being sick it was like she
already had it under control. But
it’s just an amazing gift, that my
cousin got to live another 11
years more.”
Councilor: ‘I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished’
Continued from Page 1A
term does not end until 2020.
If Jones is elected mayor, a
new councilor would likely be
appointed to fill out his term.
Nemlowill is the market-
ing director for the Astoria
Co-op Grocery and the mother
of three young children. The
downtown natural and organic
food store plans to expand to
a larger building in the Mill
Pond neighborhood. Her hus-
band, Chris, is the co-founder
of Fort George Brewery, and
she had referenced both job
and family obligations as rea-
sons she may not run again.
Nemlowill was elected
to the City Council in 2014
after nine years on the Plan-
ning Commission. She hoped
to be an advocate for younger
families and engage them on
diverse city issues.
“It has been an honor to
serve with such a talented city
manager, staff and colleagues,”
she said today. “I’m proud of
what we’ve accomplished.”
She does not have any
immediate plans to be directly
involved with city government
when her time on the City
Council ends in December.
“In my 13 years volun-
teering for the city, I’ve also
started a business, sold a busi-
ness, gotten married, had three
kids and started a new career,”
she said. “I’m ready to take
a little step back from poli-
tics, but there are other ways
to help make Astoria great,
like raising awesome kids and
helping community-minded
businesses grow and flourish.”
Plastic bags: Warrenton’s
support for such a ban is key
Continued from Page 1A
Challenges
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Cross Development hopes to build a Dollar General store at the corner of U.S. High-
way 30 and Hillcrest Loop Road in Knappa.
Store: Dollar General has
around 15,000 locations
Continued from Page 1A
The property, owned by
Rob Zweber, is the site of the
former Hwy 30 Roadhouse
restaurant.
Cross Development would
demolish the former restau-
rant and build a new 18-foot-
tall store with access off of
Hillcrest Loop Road. The
project requires a condi-
tional use permit and com-
prehensive plan amendment
because the store would be
bigger than the 4,000 square
feet usually allowed in a rural
community commercial and
light industrial zone. Build-
ings may exceed the limit if
they “are intended to serve the
rural community, surrounding
rural area or the needs of peo-
ple passing through the area,”
according to county code.
The developer will go
before the Planning Commis-
sion on Sept. 11. Julia Decker,
the county’s planning man-
ager, said the commission
will make a recommenda-
tion to the county Board of
Commissioners.
Cross Development was
recently approved for a store
along U.S. Highway 101 in
Gearhart after adding more
parking. A grand opening is
planned today.
The Astoria
Design
Review Committee last year
rejected the design for a pro-
posed Dollar General in the
Mill Pond neighborhood.
Mike Stults, of Cross Devel-
opment, said the company is
still interested in opening a
location in Astoria. City Plan-
ner Nancy Ferber said no new
proposal has been submitted
since the denial.
Amid the upheavals and
closures of other national
retailers, Dollar General is in
expansion mode, focusing on
smaller, less-expensive stores
and expanding its grocery
selection.
“The ability to offer pro-
duce, particularly in areas
with limited grocery avail-
ability, represents an attractive
growth opportunity for Dollar
General in the years ahead,”
Todd Vasos, CEO of Dollar
General, said in a recent con-
ference call with analysts.
The retailer, now with
about 15,000 locations, has
opened nearly 3,000 new
stores over the past three
years, while remodeling or
relocating more than 2,500
others, according to Zacks
Equity Research. The com-
pany plans to open 900 new
stores this year, remodel 1,000
and relocate 100.
Samuel McDaniel, owner
of Astoria Downtown Market,
studies sustainability at Lin-
field College. He took over the
small grocery last year after
working as a manager. The
store recently stopped offer-
ing plastic bags, handing out its
last one earlier this month.
“We have enough plastics
as it is. I wanted to get rid of
plastic bags, but I was worried
about it, you know, hurting my
sales because maybe people
are going to go to the compe-
tition,” McDaniel said. “Ulti-
mately I just said I’m going
to do away with the bag and
whatever happens, happens.”
His decision has created
challenges, though. The store
now must purchase six dif-
ferent sizes of paper bags, as
opposed to two for plastic.
“I mean, I can see where
business is going to, especially
small businesses, are going
to not be so acceptable to the
ban,” McDaniel said.
Some shoppers reuse plas-
tic bags after placing grocer-
ies in refrigerators and cabi-
nets. McDaniel said customers
can still bring their own plas-
tic bags to the store. He rec-
ognized that people who ride
bikes or walk long distances to
and from the store often prefer
to carry their items with plas-
tic handles.
“It’s like, ‘Good for you.
You don’t need a plastic bag.
Well, you’re driving a car that’s
pumping emissions, so there’s
other environmental aspects,’”
McDaniel said. “Now peo-
ple that are walking and riding
their bikes are being punished
because they don’t have a plas-
tic bag.”
In addition to clogging land-
fills, the bags can cause issues
when they end up in recycling
centers.
“We don’t have a market for
them,” said Rhonda Green, a
specialist with Recology West-
ern Oregon. “What happens
is they get caught in the teeth
of the conveyor system at the
recycling center.”
Some people who oppose
bans describe the utility of plas-
tic bags in situations besides
shopping, including cleaning
up pet waste. LaMear said she
would not propose eliminating
plastic dog waste bags offered
in public places.
Her goal, rather, is to elim-
inate single-use plastic bags in
grocery stores. The mayor sug-
gested that reusable bags are
inexpensive and available at
large grocery stores.
LaMear likened her idea
to an ordinance passed in Port
Angeles, Washington, earlier
this year that — after months
of debate, three public hear-
ings and a 4-3 vote by the
Port Angeles City Council —
banned thin plastic carry-out
bags at stores. The ordinance
also requires stores to charge
a minimum of 5 cents for any
bag handed out, not including
for customers on food assis-
tance programs. Stores that
violate the law are required
to pay a $250 fine. The Asto-
ria City Council has sched-
uled a work session for Sept.
12 to discuss the topic. Gear-
hart and the county commis-
sion have yet to pencil in simi-
lar meetings.
LaMear approached the
county hoping that it could
lead the effort. Whether that
could be one countywide ordi-
nance or a template for cities to
follow is unclear. After LaMear
reached out to Moore, county
commissioners directed staff at
a meeting last week to schedule
a work session.
“Instead of having a piece-
meal from city to city, it would
make sense to have one ordi-
nance that everyone can follow
and get behind,” Lee said.
Warrenton is key
LaMear pointed to the
importance of Warrenton’s
support for such a ban as key. A
number of grocers — including
Fred Meyer, Walmart and Nat-
ural Grocers — are located in
Warrenton.
“Unless they joined us, it
would make it more difficult,”
she said.
Warrenton Mayor Henry
Balensifer said that, while he
wants to have a discussion
about how to tackle the issue,
he is not necessarily in favor of
a ban.
Balensifer pointed to the
fact that different types and
sizes of plastic bags exist.
Other questions, such as how to
carry out wet produce if a paper
bag is the only option, should
also be discussed, he said.
“The concept is something I
support, but the devil is in the
details,” he said. “The market
tends to work itself out better
than if a piece of legislation
forces it.”
For McDaniel, a nuanced
approach to a plastic bag ban
would make the most sense.
“There needs to be more
than just a ban,” he said. “There
needs to be a system set up so
that it’s successful.”