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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2018)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager OUR VIEW Do we need a replica Goonies house? W hat does Astoria’s Goonies house is located. Many of Astoria’s house have in common with steep old streets only barely manage Abe Lincoln’s boyhood to accommodate the access and park- cabin? Both are examples of humble ing needs of residents. When Steven dwellings that have taken on outsized Spielberg made “The Goonies,” produc- tion activities were a short-term novelty symbolic importance. and inconvenience. Unlike the Lincoln Little did Spielberg cabin in Illinois, which ‘It is or the neighborhood is a replica — the orig- remarkable that realize the story of a inal is said to have plucky band of trea- been used for firewood entrepreneurs sure-hunting kids after being displayed haven’t would spark a play- at the 1893 World’s ful decades-long love Columbian Exposition recreated the affair between fans and in Chicago — the actual Goonies house all things Goonie. Goonies movie setting set in a more While it may seem continues to attract vis- to Astorians that this itors to the site it occu- convenient phenomenon must pied long before the location, stocking surely someday run filming of the 1985 cult its course, “The classic. it with photo Goonies” has amaz- In fact, we don’t need backdrops, fake ing staying power. to look all the way east doubloons, an Daily Astorian reporter to Honest Abe’s cabin to Katie Frankowicz’s find a close corollary to actor costumed story last week about the Goonies house. Just as Sloth, and continuing efforts a few miles away from to resolve conflicts it, the replica of Fort belly-revealing between fans and res- Clatsop — or perhaps T-shirts.’ idents quickly became actually a replica of our most-viewed arti- the replica that burned cle of the month. On a more positive down in 2005 — attracts thousands of note, Astoria’s popular Oregon Film visitors. Even closer at hand, the far Museum really owes its existence to less-famous Astoria Customs House is this one movie — more than to all a replica of the actual structure, which the others, including “Free Willy” and was built in 1852. “Kindergarten Cop.” “The Goonies” These comparisons are relevant in plays a significant role in Astoria’s econ- light of perennial complaints about omy and mystique. Goonies fans intruding into the 38th As our story indicated, manag- Street neighborhood where the movie Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Blue tarps cover the face of the Goonies house in 2015. ing friction between fans and residents depends in part on consistent patrols and enforcement of parking restrictions. If a Goonies sequel is ever made — and Hollywood loves trying to capitalize on proven successes — much thought will have to be devoted to planning not only for filming impacts, but for an inevitable resurgence of attention for the story’s original settings around Clatsop County. Returning to the subject of replicas, it is remarkable that entrepreneurs hav- en’t recreated the Goonies house set in a more convenient location, stocking it with photo backdrops, fake doubloons, an actor costumed as Sloth, and bel- ly-revealing T-shirts. Negotiating licensing agreements would take some creative legal foot- work, but fortunes have been made on smaller premises than this. And if private industry can’t manage it, per- haps the envisioned expanded film museum will incorporate a convincing house replica, luring fans away from the original where they are less than welcome. For all of its well-earned reputa- tion as a place with a commitment to remaining genuine and connected to its hardworking roots, Astoria remains more than a little starstruck. It’s fun for such a small city to have such a big con- nection to the movies. We must continue exploring ways to make the most of this linkage, while finding better ways to politely play host to new generations of movie fans. cheated by enhancing their chances of per- forming better than nature would have dic- tated, any prize won is awarded to the next finisher. Let’s be clear. In the Olympic Games, the world’s biggest, brightest stage — and that involves nearly every country on the planet — when the first-prize winner is proven to have won by violating the rules, the gold medal is then awarded to the second-place finisher, no matter how long it takes to prove the cheating. Duh, sort of makes sense. This is not theory, or “next time.” It has happened repeatedly, and with increasing fre- quency in Olympic history. Recently, most of one country’s athletes were banned from even participating in the Summer Olympics for breaking the rules. Isn’t it ironic today, that country was Russia. The Electoral College is, in reality, the opinion of a small number of people, since the delegates can mostly vote however they want, despite the will of the majority of vot- ers. Huh? Legal, but nonsensical. Maybe it’s time to start applying some sense, and go back and present the Oval Office to the second-place finisher from 2016. That is, if it’s proved that the apparent winner acted illegally. You might find out who your Congress person is. Just in case. CARL DOMINEY Astoria LETTERS Astoria is natural habitat for deer T he “grumpy old man” (his words, not mine), who wrote the opinion piece suggesting that we relocate Astoria’s deer, omits some incon- venient facts (“Deer belong in the wild, not in Astoria,” The Daily Astorian, Aug. 22). Lewis and Clark chose to winter on the south side of the Columbia River because the area had abundant deer and elk they could hunt. This is their natural habitat. Settlement of the area, and no doubt years of indiscrim- inate poaching (even within the city limits of Astoria) eventually drove deer out of their preferred territory. The deer have returned to Astoria because once again, we have driven them from their habitat. The vast majority of Clatsop Coun- ty’s forests are in the hands of timber corpo- rations that clearcut and spray with toxic her- bicides. The relative toxicity of garden and lawn chemicals doesn’t come close to the tox- icity level of the chemicals they spray. Deer and elk are in municipalities along the North Coast by virtue of their own survival instinct. My wife and I don’t use chemicals on our plants, and use only organic fertilizers. We have found that inexpensive bird netting keeps the deer from eating our roses and other flowers. This year a doe gave birth to twins in our back yard, and a few years back another doe spent her last few days in our yard before dying there. Maybe the writer could try the bird net- ting, and show some compassion for wild- life humans have robbed of their natural environment. ROGER DORBAND Astoria Citizens deserve voice in county decisions A s a candidate for District 3 county com- missioner, I would like to see a more robust citizen participation process in county government. Citizen input should be early and often in forming county policies and deliver- ing programs. Recent Clatsop County initia- tives in two areas illustrate my point. There is no more important function of government than to formulate its budget. Government budgets are complicated. Reve- nue comes from various sources, often with tight strings attached. Citizens are skeptical when the budget process includes only staff analysis and input. The county’s 2018-2019 budget was brought to the commission with exactly one day of citizen input, one eight-hour day, where the appointed budget committee mem- bers were asked to review the entire bud- get with little opportunity to have meaning- ful input. The county missed another opportunity to engage citizens in the design and operation of a new jail. Although I support the need for a new jail, when the jail proposal was unveiled to county commissioners last spring, there had been no citizen input. Such engagement would have benefited from citizen ideas and would have made the proposal a stronger sell on the November ballot. Citizens deserve an earlier voice in county decisions. PAMELA WEV Astoria Award Oval Office to 2016’s second-place finisher I solemnly swear this letter is intended to be bipartisan, written by a political indepen- dent and lifelong sports fan. In the world of sports, which most Amer- icans follow to some degree, if not idol- ize, when the race winner is proved to have Show same respect to Drafall as Jones T he editor’s biases are showing. On Aug. 16, The Daily Astorian ran two headlines on the front page: “Jones enters Astoria may- or’s race” and under it, “Hairdresser to run for Astoria City Council.” The first headline used a widely known candidate’s last name; the second merely used a possibly less well- known candidate’s occupation. The juxtaposi- tion is telling. David Drafall was extremely candid about his personal life. Show him the same respect shown to Bruce Jones. RALPH E. McNEES Astoria
