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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2018)
HONORING OUR LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS INSIDE » 146TH YEAR, NO. 71 DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2018 Local kiln impact spans Pacific Rim ONE DOLLAR Mitchell, Lower compete for House Democrat has the edge in fundraising By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Photos by Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Richard Rowland, a local ceramicist and college instructor, spent two days loading his new anagama kiln. A contingent of Maori helps christen new kiln By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian See ELECTION, Page 4A R ichard Rowland’s Astoria Dragon Kiln, built in 1981, has impacted thousands of people, from local friends and his students at Clatsop Community College to visiting artists from around the world, including indigenous Maori clay workers from New Zealand. When it came time to name and christen the kiln’s new-and-improved successor, built over the past several years, Rowland, who is Native Hawaiian, reached out to his Polyne- sian brethren from across the Pacific Ocean. A contingent of visiting Maori art- ists from the country’s national clay work- ing collective on Sunday named the kiln Ahikaaroa, or long-burning fire, in honor of two of their late founders, before starting the inaugural firing. Anagama, translated to cave kiln, is an ancient method of clay-firing brought to Japan in the fifth century from Korea and China that involves building a kiln cham- ber into a sloping tunnel. A friend origi- nally brought the idea of an anagama kiln to Rowland from Asia, feeling it would fit with the abundance and topography of the North Coast. “We had a lot of wood,” said Rowland, a ceramicist. “The slope was right. It fit the ecological situation.” See KILN, Page 7A With the November election a month away, Democrat Tiffiny Mitchell has the edge over Republican Vineeta Lower in fundraising and name recognition in the state House District 32 race to replace Rep. Deb- orah Boone. Mitchell, a first-time candidate who moved to Oregon several years ago from Utah, scored an upset victory in the Dem- ocratic primary in May over Tim Josi, a Tillamook County commissioner and former state law- maker heavily backed by industry and political incumbents. As of Friday, Mitchell had raised nearly $177,000 in cash, along with more than $95,000 worth of in-kind contributions. Aside from environmental and women’s groups, some of Mitchell’s biggest backers have been public-sector labor unions. “The reason I’ve accepted support from those types of organizations is because they represent values that I already have, and hon- estly I think values that many people in our district have,” she said. “And that is to pro- tect working people and to make sure that people have a voice at the table in terms of what’s fair for their working conditions.” Mitchell, a social worker for the state Department of Human Services, is a mem- ber of the Service Employees Interna- tional Union and a participant in the Pub- Ruri, a Japanese clay artist from Sheridan, helped stick wadding to the bottom of pieces being fired in the anagama kiln. Minimall melds around auto glass shop An eclectic pod emerges in Warrenton By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Wi Taepa, an indigenous artist from New Zealand, carved a dome into a support beam to implant a river rock as part of the kawe mate, a traditional mourning ceremony. WARRENTON — An organically grown minimall with coffee, beer, pastries, Mex- ican food, a bike mechanic and auto glass repair is forming along Marlin Avenue in Warrenton. Don Bacon, who owns Atlantis Auto Glass, has built out a central lounge for peo- ple to hang out in and nicknamed the busi- nesses around it Building 1140 after the address. He has populated the building with Bike Envy; Bohdan’s cafe; and Guadalajara Combo, a food truck parked outside. “It doesn’t seem like it goes together, but people just accept it, like, ‘Aw; that’s cool,’” he said. See BUILDING, Page 7A From Pelican Brewing to prime time Manzanita woman breaks through on TV with her music By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian M ANZANITA — Music was never supposed to be Anica Stemper’s career. Whenever she had a free moment growing up, she was most likely singing, playing around on the piano or pluck- ing at her guitar. She has always loved music, but figured her songwriting would always stay a hobby. So it’s surreal for the Manzanita resi- dent to hear her own music on television shows. “It’s really cool, honestly,” Stemper said. “There’s a sense of accomplish- ment, for sure, knowing I’ve gotten this far.” But before entering the entertainment industry, the Southern California native was set to follow her other passion at San Diego State University: writing. “I thought I’d get sick of (music) if I pursued it as a career,” she said. Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian See EDP, Page 4A Anica Stemper works at Pelican Brewing in Cannon Beach and is a musician.
