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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2018 Deer: City can’t do much about population Store: Location could open in the fall of next year Continued from Page 1A Halverson once found him- self prying a wooden fence board loose trying to free a deer that had caught its hoof between the boards when it tried to jump the fence. The deer had been hanging nearly upside down when Halverson arrived. After hearing from peo- ple in her downtown ward about deer-related encoun- ters over the years, City Coun- cilor Cindy Price told the City Council in June: “At some point, it would probably be useful for us to have a con- versation about that just to say whether we love them or hate them.” “Some people, like me, feel like we’re lucky to live in a town, an actual town, with an abundance of wildlife on land and in the rivers,” Price said Thursday. “Others wish one could shoot firearms within the city limits and get rid of them.” In 2012, the City Coun- cil consulted with state wild- life biologist Herman Bieder- beck about deer and potential problems that arise when peo- ple feed them. Biederbeck has been consulted frequently over the years regarding elk problems in Warrenton and Gearhart. At the time, Astoria had only one oddly specific ordi- nance on the books about Continued from Page 1A Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian A deer walks through a backyard in Astoria. feeding wildlife. The ordi- nance dated from 1985 and forbade the feeding of pigeons in Uniontown. The city would later amend the ordinance to also prohibit the feeding of deer, elk, raccoons, opossums, seagulls, bears, cougars and coyotes in city limits. City councilors worried about the size of the local deer population in 2012, too, and asked Biederbeck about a variety of options to control the herds that included dart- ing deer with contraceptives or trapping and relocating the animals. None of these solu- tions was ever pursued. Remember the raccoons? Ultimately, Price doesn’t think the city can do much about the deer, except perhaps be lenient when people erect temporary fencing without a permit to keep deer out of vege- table gardens. If deer populations are growing in town, Price isn’t worried. Remember all the rac- coons Astoria used to have? Price does. For a while their bandit-masked faces seemed to peer around every corner. But in 2010, an outbreak of distemper, a highly contagious disease, ravaged the local rac- coon population. People called Astoria 911 Dispatch report- ing raccoons that were acting strange and looking ill. Police officers killed at least eight sick animals at one point. Deer have their own diseases to wrestle with. There is deer hair loss syndrome, caused by a louse. Deer scratch at and rub affected areas and the disease can lead to death when coupled with pneumonia or other para- site issues, Biederbeck told the City Council in 2012. So when it comes to the deer, Price reasons now, “there’s a natural phenomenon that will take care of the population if it gets too large.” Center: Klean has rented for nearly two years Continued from Page 1A Klean is also behind on rent at the downtown office it has rented for more than three years and has been locked out, but still has furniture and other equipment inside, Fitzpatrick said. “If they get caught up, they are welcome to continue busi- ness there,” he said. “Other- wise, I’ll put the space up for lease or figure out a new use.” Based in Los Angeles, Klean has locations in Asto- ria, Portland, Bend, La Pine and Long Beach, Washington, where it runs an inpatient treat- ment center. The company’s possible departure puts into jeopardy the region’s only out- patient treatment center with a dedicated sober living facility. Earlier this year, Sun- spire Health closed the two drug treatment centers it oper- ated at Astoria Pointe above Uniontown and the Rosebriar, a female-only facility on 14th Street. The closure left Clatsop County with no inpatient treat- ment options. Other outpatient drug and alcohol treatment centers include North Coast Recovery on 30th Street, Potentials on Pier 39, Choices Counseling in the Red Building and Awaken- ings by the Sea in Seaside. The treatment options are slimmer for low-income patients on the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s version of Medicaid, with Clatsop Behav- ioral Healthcare and Choices the main avenues for drug and alcohol treatment. Wendy Hemsley, the CEO of North Coast Recovery and the neighboring North Coast Medical Clinic, said she only knows of one other sober living facility in the county, the inde- pendently run Oxford House in Warrenton. “I would love to do an inpa- tient center,” she said. “We need the services. I just don’t have the financial ability to do it.” Alan Evans, the CEO of social service group Helping Hands, said the issues faced by struggling treatment centers boil down to health insurance companies. “The struggle is it becomes about money and it becomes about survival,” he said. “It changes from serving the peo- ple to keeping our doors open.” The issue is nationwide and part of why organizations like his avoid dealing with private health insurers when possible. “Our organizations can’t count on them,” Evans said. Hemsley echoed Evans’ comments about how subjec- tive and erratic health insurers can be when reimbursing for treatment. Patients also often can’t afford the out-of-pocket deductibles to pay for treat- ment, she said. Evans lauded the work done by Clatsop Behavioral Health- care and Choices, which is partnering to provide treatment while Helping Hands will pro- vide housing at a new homeless facility in Uniontown, he said. District: ‘This is not a unique problem’ Continued from Page 1A Zone 1, for instance, has been particularly hard to fill. The zone that represents the southwest portion of the county was vacant well before this month’s election. “That is not a unique prob- lem,” said John Byers, agri- cultural water quality pro- gram director for the state Department of Agriculture. Conservation districts emerged in the fallout of the 1930s Dust Bowl, which featured dust storms that destroyed crops and led to mass farmer migrations out of the Midwest. Clatsop County grappled with its own set of challenges in that period, as strong gusts blew sand from the coast as a result of unre- stricted livestock grazing on dune grasses. Today, the conservation district largely works with agriculture producers on water quality issues, Ogier said. “Water quality seems to be OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER Get the inside scoop on state government and politics! We’re investing in Salem coverage when other news organizations are cutting back. OregonCapitalInsider.com the one the state is more con- cerned with,” she said. “Mak- ing sure erosion doesn’t get into the runoff is our main issue.” If eligible candidates apply for the two open positions on the board, they likely would be appointed at a meeting next year. Fitzpatrick has rented the Alameda complex to Klean for nearly two years, after three years of renting to Asto- ria Pointe. Tenants in the apart- ments have mostly been good neighbors and have not caused many issues, he said. “In general, I am open to renting to people in recovery,” he said. While he didn’t want to sue the company and endanger the sober living space, Klean left him no choice, Fitzpatrick said. Planning commissioners agreed with developer Wes Giesbricht and John Nygaard Jr., of Warrenton Fiber, that the commission had leeway in interpreting city codes that ask for three different materials on storefront facades and screen- ing for outdoor storage. Gies- bricht and Warrenton Fiber are partners in Trondheim Acres LLC, which owns the roughly 17-acre property behind Les Schwab Tire Center off U.S. Highway 101 where Tractor Supply Co. — a national chain — plans to build. But Cronin maintained that the code is very clear and that ignoring these two items leaves the project open for appeal. “This is a perfect test case for how Warrenton manages growth over time and what that growth looks like,” Cronin said afterward. City staff is upholding development standards as writ- ten in city code. The Planning Commission can decide differ- ently, but deviation from the code makes the city’s decisions vulnerable to appeals, he said. Sticking by the sections of the code — even if they seem like minor points — was Cro- nin’s attempt to “put in a line in the sand,” he told the Planning Commission. Giesbricht and Nygaard argued that the chances of appeal are low. Only one per- son is on the record in opposi- tion to the project — Warren- ton resident Henry Willener — and he now supports it after receiving guarantees from the developers. Planning commissioners did stand by Cronin on another condition, though: To mark a future sidewalk and plant- ing strip on a platted but not yet constructed road as “future improvement” on developers’ plans. To Cronin, this put an intention in writing. Giesbricht argued that any future development would come in front of the Plan- ning Commission again and commissioners could require improvements. Nygaard noted the makeup of the commission might be very different at that point. “Why tie the hands of the future?” Giesbricht asked. The Planning Commis- sion wants the Tractor Supply Co. project to go forward, but Warrenton has been bitten by developers in the past, Com- missioners Ryan Lampi and Mike Moha replied. Moha ref- erenced a project where the developer had promised to put in streetlights as a future improvement, but, when it came down to it, refused because there was nothing in writing. The developers are not being required to make the improvements now and Trac- tor Supply Co. is not being asked to pay for them, Lampi said. The commission just wanted something put on the record. Giesbricht said he did not want the entire project to hinge on this one point and accepted the condition. Tractor Supply Co., founded in 1938 and based in Tennessee, plans to build a 19,097 square-foot building and hopes to be open in the fall of next year. The store, as well as a storage area and park- ing lot, will be built on about 3 acres. The Planning Commission discussed the Tractor Supply application at a meeting last week, but continued the pub- lic hearing to Thursday after a standoff between the devel- opers and Cronin. The com- missioners instructed Cronin to work with developers on a solution. 2019 Master Gardener Volunteer Training Program January 10 - March 16, 2019 Classes will be held: Thursdays (6pm-9pm) Saturdays (9am-12pm) Social time 5:30 - 6pm Thursdays Clatsop Community College, Astoria WANTED CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED, SO PLEASE GAME MEAT PROCESSING REGISTER SOON ! Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Debbie D’s will be at Cash & Carry in Warrenton at 10:00 a.m. every Saturday to pick up and deliver meat for processing. 20 lb. min • Each batch individual Please call or leave message by Friday so we know to expect you! DEBBIE D’S Jerky & Sausage Factory 2210 Main Avenue N. • Tillamook, OR • 503-842-2622 MU S IC F E S T & AUCTI O N FUNDRAISER Saturday, November 17 th • 5:15 to 7:30pm Star of the Sea School Auditorium Corner of Grand & 14th in Astoria ENJOY A FREE FAMILY NIGHT OF FUN Free music, Free Munchies, Free Drinks & laughs. While bidding on many, many great auction item. MUSIC PROVIDED BY: BARBIE G. Accoustic Folk ED CHASE Music Machine Inc. The Best DJ in Town! Cash & local checks only Admission: 2 Cans of Food or a Donation for St. Vincent De Paul Food Bank Sponsored by Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court 151 Proceeds going to Local Astoria Charities For more information and to register go to: extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/clatsop/how-join Contact: Linda Jones OSU Clatsop County Extension 2001 Marine Drive Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-8573 linda.jones@oregonstate.edu Deadline is December 14, 2018 Master Gardeners are trained by the best……OSU instructors, Extension faculty and local experts. Classroom training (20 classes) is combined with 55 hours of required volunteer time working with veteran Master Gardeners in the field. Interns will graduate and become certified as Master Gardeners with an exceptional knowledge base of gardening in our challenging coastal climate. Certified Master Gardeners can remain active by joining the local MG chapter, and volunteering on projects such as demo gardens, horticulture related community outreach, plant clinics, and events. Continuing education is made available by the OSU Extension MG Program Coordinator. Successful gardening is a lifelong educational process. Join other folks who have the same interests, and enjoy working together as liaison between Oregon State University and the home gardeners of Clatsop County.
