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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 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 Wev for county commissioner T he race for county commissioner between Peter Roscoe and Pamela Wev offers District 3 voters a clear choice in the type of expe- rience they offer. Roscoe, the founder of Fulio’s Pastaria, grew up here. He served on the Astoria City Council and Planning Commission, among other public posi- tions, and is deeply involved with a host of community organizations. He still serves on the Columbia-Pacific Economic Development District board. He knows most of the people he meets in town — and their families, he said. He has held several forums in recent weeks to talk with the public, and describes communication as one of his better skills. “You cannot replace it,” Roscoe said of that local knowledge. “It’s a huge plus. I know the people of the county.” Wev, the daughter of a Coast Guard captain, has lived around the globe. She has resided in Oregon for 30 years and moved here four years ago. She is a land use planner and eco- nomic development consultant whose career has taken her from the White House to the Portland mayor’s office to many different local governments, she said. She is a member of the Astoria chapter of the American Association of University Women and the First Presbyterian Church, and raised two children as a single mother. Wev touts her government experience and says she’d like to bring a different atmosphere to the county commission. “I would like to address the issues facing the county commission kind of the same way I’ve done most of my public service and my parenting,” she said at a candidate forum. “I like to listen.” Aside from a few minor barbs on social media, the campaign has appeared to be civil. At a debate with Wev last week, Roscoe expressed hope about the coun- ty’s direction no matter the results of the Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Peter Roscoe and Pamela Wev answer questions during a candidate forum in Astoria. November election. “I don’t think there’s a lose in this election,” he said. “Either candidate wins, the county’s going to win.” Whoever wins will fill the seat being vacated by Commissioner Lisa Clement. District 3 covers parts of Astoria, Miles Crossing, Jeffers Garden, Lewis and Clark, Youngs River, Olney, Green Mountain and parts of Walluski. Both candidates support local bond issues for a new county jail and schools in Astoria and Warrenton. They agree that the county should take the lead in disaster planning. They have differing perspectives on forestry, housing and development, but agree that those are important issues to tackle. A changing dynamic This particular election is a referen- dum on the way the county is run. This newspaper and many voters are fed up with the drama of the past year and a half. We want to see a more open, transparent county government run by a manager who collaborates in a posi- tive way with others — including the five commissioners to whom he or she reports. County Manager Cameron Moore, who has failed miserably in that regard, is retiring effective Jan. 3. We won’t miss his autocratic, dismissive and divi- sive management style. Two members of the board major- ity who enabled Moore’s behavior — Clement and Board Chairman Scott Lee — chose not to run for re-election. Roscoe’s statements on the issue mirror those of Lee and the board majority — he believes commissioners should not be involved in the day-to- day operations of the county and should have limited interaction with county staff. Water under the bridge The Astoria waterfront along the Columbia River is worth millions of dollars in canneries, docks and business buildings. But the occupants may be squatters with no right to be there. Most of the buildings are on filled-in land. “We can find no convincing evidence that the state has parted with its ownership of the underlying riverbed upon which these fills have been made,” says Dale Mallicoat, state lands director. Mallicoat says the state does not intend to be punitive or to harass those who occupy the land. He says he just wants to set- tle the title, so that all concerned can lay definite plans. “I have never observed a land problem that is quite as com- plex as this one at Astoria,” Mallicoat says. Compiled by Bob Duke From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers 10 years ago this week — 2008 WARRENTON — One year ago today, the Tillamook boys soccer team shocked the Astoria Fishermen with a 0-0 tie. In three games since then, the Fishermen have outscored the Cheesemakers 9-1, including a 2-0 shutout Tuesday night at the Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association field. Astoria’s Sean Speer scored on a header in the first half, and Zach Norton had a nice goal in the second half for the Fishermen, who were tuning up for a first-place showdown Thursday against Seaside. But a 1-1 tie between Seaside and Scappoose Tuesday night gives Astoria the Cowapa League title, and makes Thursday’s contest meaningless-as far as the standings are concerned. The Astoria bicentennial is approaching quickly. And as Astoria reflects on its history, it is reminded that the city and the little fishing town of Tofino, British Columbia, might be historically linked. Tofino could be the final resting place of the Ton- quin, a 98-foot, three-masted brig which John Jacob Astor sent late in 1810 from New York to estab- lish the Fort Astoria trading post on the Columbia River, trade with the natives and deliver four tons of gunpowder to Sitka, Alaska. David Griffiths, the executive director of the Tonquin Foundation, and Mare’ Dewar, a restau- rant owner from Tofino, came to Astoria Monday to offer their help in coordinating joint efforts to cele- brate the Astoria bicentennial. “The Tonquin is the Holy Grail of British Colum- bia shipwrecks,” Griffiths said. “There’ve been so many expeditions over the years looking for it. “I refer to her as the ‘Mayflower of the West.’” Wev’s statements have resembled the minority — she believes commissioners should play a more active role, work- ing together with the manager. If she wins, she will form a new majority on the issue with Commissioners Kathleen Sullivan and Lianne Thompson. To be fair, that probably oversimpli- fies things. Roscoe would like to see more harmony on the commission too, and believes the county manager should keep commissioners better informed, he said. But in our eyes, Wev is the much more likely of the two candidates to demand transparency and collegial- ity from the county manager. She calls it her No. 1 issue. She has described a forward-thinking plan for a strategic planning process to make it happen. That earns her our endorsement. Vote Wev for Clatsop County Commissioner, District 3. 75 years ago — 1943 1968 — First of a shipment of 113 European-built com- pact cars was lowered over the side of the Danish mo- tor vessel Samoa at Port of Astoria docks. 50 years ago — 1968 Mrs. William Reed of Clatskanie was the recipient of an unexpected gift Monday morning as she drove into the toll gate at the Columbia River bridge. Her car was the one-millionth to cross the structure since it was opened to traffic July 29, 1966. Mrs. Reed received a plaque to mark the event and a pass to return to Oregon. “We just come down to show my uncle the bridge,” Mrs. Reed said. “I didn’t expect this.” The Port of Astoria chalked up another first Wednesday morning when the motor vessel Samoa of the East Asiatic company fleet began discharging a cargo of small European cars at Pier 3. In addition to 60 tons of general cargo, the Samoa had in her hold 113 British- and Swedish-built automobiles destined for Portland dealers. So far as port authorities could determine, this is the first shipment of cars ever unloaded here direct from a foreign country. The shipment was routed here to save time and money, according to company agents. Motorists in the far west felt the impact of the growing Pacific offensive today in an office of price administration order sharply reducing their gasoline allowances. Effective at midnight last night, A, B and C ration coupons were reduced in value from four to three gal- lons in 10 states, including Oregon and Washington. “As the United Nations begin to take the offensive of new world battlefronts it is necessary to deliver ever-increasing quantities of fuel for planes, tanks, trucks and other war vehicles,” OPA said. Many of the smaller craft in the Astoria deepsea fishing fleet were nursing wounds today after a two-day struggle against gales at sea over the weekend which took the lives of at least one fisherman, left uncertain the fate of three more, and threat- ened many others. Two boats washed ashore, one at Nelscott and one off Camp Clatsop. The pilot house and other equipment from a small boat were discovered Monday by the Coast Guard off Camp Clatsop, and the fate of anyone aboard remained a mystery. The Coast Guard motor boat Triumph, with Chief Boatswain’s Mate Alvin Combs in command, hauled the troll boat Tyee from a watery grave in a 20-hour battle against mountainous seas last weekend, in one of the most thrilling rescues of local Coast Guard history. Plans for the biggest Navy day in local history were being whipped into final shape by the Navy day committee here this week, pointing toward the afternoon and evening of October 27, anniversary of the American navy’s birth.
