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ASTORIA WINTER SPORTS PREVIEWS PAGES 11A-12A DISCOVER DOWNTOWN ASTORIA AND UNCOVER YOUR TREASURES SHOP PLAID • INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 109 ONE DOLLAR Boat owners angered by Port’s troubles Fallout from closure of East Mooring Basin By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Photos by Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian Elaine Trucke, executive director of the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum, looks at what could be copies of the original blueprints for the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. ‘Terrible Tilly’ blueprints brought to light Plans dated in 1880 See PORT, Page 8A By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian ANNON BEACH — Despite the fame and numerous books written about her, much is still not known about “Terrible Tilly,” the lighthouse perched precariously on a rock offshore of Tillamook Head. For years, Tilly enthusiasts have debated the ambiguity of certain details, such as the design specifics of the stair- cases, windows and other features. Even confirmation about who designed the lighthouse remained fuzzy. Some of these debates can finally be put to rest by what appears to be recently discovered copies of the original blue- prints for the famous Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. The diagrams, printed on parch- ment paper, are dated April 22, 1880 — a little less than a month before con- struction of the lighthouse began — and signed by George Lewis Gillespie Jr., the man believed to be the head lighthouse engineer. The lighthouse, decommissioned in 1957, was called Terrible Tilly for the stormy conditions of its location and has stood vacant for decades. “This is very exciting for those of us who like to nerd out about the lighthouse,” said Elaine Trucke, executive director of the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum. The commute of Dave Densmore and his partner, Renee Ruscoe, two of the dwindling number of tenants at the East Mooring Basin, has become a bit more challenging. The Port of Astoria last week closed a causeway running through the heart of its marina because of a rotting substructure. Instead of walking, the couple has to board a skiff at a boat ramp next to the causeway. Their live-aboard boat, the Aquarian, is on the opposite side of the causeway from the ramp. At high tide, the couple have to duck into the skiff as they pass under the cause- way before pulling up to the boat. Tenants of the marina have met the Port’s abrupt decision last week to close the cause- way with confusion and anger over the agen- cy’s handling of maintenance. The marina has slowly crumbled over the years, its docks taken over by sea lions following salmon runs and removed as boats continue to move away. C Governor’s budget boosts school funding Proposal marks a record expansion Recently found blueprints of the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse could have been the prints used during construction in 1880. The blueprints were brought to the museum’s attention by Richard Proctor, who found the schematics tucked away in the rafters of his Warrenton home in 1998 — then held onto them for 20 years. “With my career in water work, I thought they were cool,” he said. Proctor worked in marine construction with Bergerson Construction for more than 30 years. “There was a certain sen- timent,” he said. Proctor assumed they were work- ing prints given their tattered condition, but had no sense of their age. Because he knew the previous owner of his home worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers, Proctor thought it was possible they were very old and possibly origi- nal, but ultimately decided to keep them in storage. He didn’t think about them again until about a month ago, after hearing there was a lecture about the lighthouse coming up by Brian Ratty, a local author who recently published “Tillamook Rock Lighthouse: History & Tales of Terrible Tilly.” By AUBREY WIEBER and CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown stood at her lectern in the walnut-paneled ceremonial office Wednesday morning to deliver a symbolic mes- sage as she released a bud- get she characterized as “ambitious.” “Oregon’s motto is not ‘She rests on her laurels.’ It is ‘She flies with her own Kate wings.’ And I think it’s time Brown for Oregon to soar,” Brown told reporters. See BLUEPRINTS, Page 8A See BUDGET, Page 4A New county jail earned broad voter support Outcome was a surprise to some By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian As Clatsop County pushed its third jail bond in 16 years, officials privately offered doubts. Bond measures in 2002 and 2012 earned less than 45 percent support from voters. What would be differ- ent this November? “I, quite frankly, thought it was going to fail,” said Clat- sop County District Attorney Josh Marquis, who supported the bond. MORE INSIDE See a map detailing results of November’s jail bond vote Page 9A In a surprise, 55 percent of voters backed the jail’s relo- cation from Duane Street in Astoria to the shuttered North Coast Youth Correctional Facility in Warrenton. The $20 million bond will help expand jail capacity from 60 inmates to 148 with room for future growth. Voters in only five out of the county’s 33 precincts approved of the 2012 bond. This year, only five precincts disapproved. “I pride myself in my abil- ity to be a political prognos- ticator, and I did not predict this,” Marquis said. “I was pessimistic.” Due to overcrowding at the downtown jail, inmates are routinely released from custody early. Ideally, the jail would typically be only 80 to 85 percent occupied, Marquis said. Sheriff Tom Bergin has been around for all three bonds, the last two as the county’s top cop. He has said Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian See JAIL, Page 9A Voters in Clatsop County supported a jail bond this year after rejecting bond measures in 2012 and 2002.
