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DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019
146TH YEAR, NO. 183
FOR ALL
AGES
ONE DOLLAR
Ban on clearcutting proposed for watersheds
Lawmaker acknowledges
her idea is ‘drastic’
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — A proposed ban on clear-
cutting, pesticide-spraying, road-build-
ing and fertilizing in Oregon’s forested
watersheds is raising fears of severe dis-
ruptions to timber production.
Proponents of House Bill 2656 say
the prohibitions are needed to protect the
quality of drinking water, while oppo-
nents worry they’d effectively eliminate
commercial logging across millions of
acres.
“This bill would cripple our ability to
cost-effectively and competitively man-
age our forestland,” said Doug Cooper,
vice president of resources for Hampton
Lumber.
More than half of the company’s
89,000 forested acres in Oregon are in
watersheds affected by the bill, he said.
During a legislative hearing on Tues-
day, the bill’s chief sponsor — state
Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego
— acknowledged that HB 2656 may
seem “drastic” and said she hoped the
proposal would start a conversation
about the “right solution” for protecting
watersheds.
The bill has alarmed the timber indus-
try because even if the most sweeping
restrictions are pared down, it could still
result in stricter regulations on forestry
practices such as aerial spraying.
Supporters of the bill testifi ed before
the House Committee on Energy and the
Environment that the forestry practices
in question have increased chemicals,
Hampton Lumber
See Clearcutting, Page A5
Hampton Lumber seeded 18 acres of recently
harvested forestland with plants that aid pollinators.
CAP-AND-TRADE BILL
DIVIDES BUSINESSES
Astoria will
clean schools
to fi ght fl u
Students sick at Astor
Elementary
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Steam billows from the Georgia-Pacifi c Wauna Mill.
A balance of climate and industry
The Astoria School District, fac-
ing many students out sick with fl u-like
symptoms at John Jacob Astor Elemen-
tary School, will begin deep cleaning
buildings this weekend.
Kate Gohr, the principal at Astor, said
around 100 students out of more than 440
have been missing class the past three
days.
“I think it’s because we have the
youngest kids,” Gohr said. “We’ve had
a lot of kids out, fevers, a lot of cough-
ing. They’re still building up their
immunities.”
Craig Hoppes, the school superinten-
dent in Astoria, said the number of stu-
dents out with fl u-like symptoms has also
reached about 50 at other campuses.
The school district has been in contact
with the Clatsop County Public Health
Department and other school districts on
how to stem the sickness. District staff
will deep clean Astor on Friday and Sat-
urday evening, wiping every surface from
eye level down, Gohr said.
“We’ll do as many of the schools as we
can this weekend, starting with Astor,”
Hoppes said.
This year’s fl u season has peaked later
than in the past couple of years, with
the percentage of emergency room vis-
its attributable to the disease still increas-
ing. A Warrenton teen died Sunday of
fl u-related complications , likely the fi rst
pediatric death of the season in Oregon
related to the illness.
See Flu, Page A7
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
In the northeastern corner of Clatsop
County, Georgia-Pacifi c’s Wauna Mill
rolls out many of the paper products sold
on the West Coast and employs more
than 700 people .
The mill also emitted more than
250,000 metric tons of anthropogenic —
or human-infl uenced — carbon dioxide
equivalents, the 10th-most of any facil-
ity in the state in 2017, according to the
Department of Environmental Quality.
A cap-and-trade plan under discussion
at the state Legislature could tax emis-
sions from around 100 facilities in Ore-
gon , including Wauna, and has some
hopeful for a new push to fi ght climate
change and expand green industries. But
others are worried the legislation could
cost the state higher-paying industrial
jobs.
House Bill 2020, the Clean Energy
Jobs Bill, aims to reduce Oregon’s green-
house gas emissions to 80 percent below
1990 levels by 2050, in order to com-
ply with the state’s carbon reduction goal
enacted in 2007. The legislation would
cap allowable human-infl uenced emis-
sions at 25,000 metric tons per facility
starting in 2021, with the cap continually
lowering over time to the 2050 goal.
To pollute above the cap, businesses
would need to buy allowances, currently
estimated at $16 per ton of carbon diox-
ide. Over time, the emissions cap will
come down, with fewer pollution per-
mits available. Companies would have
to reduce their emissions, spend more on
permits or buy allowances to offset emis-
sions over the cap.
The state would sell many of the
allowances at auction and invest the rev-
enue in climate-friendly efforts such as
renewable energy, public transit, weath-
erizing homes and thinning forest debris
to lessen the severity of wildfi res. The
bill would also create a market for car-
bon-sequestering projects , such as not
cutting down a forest, from which land-
owners can sell allowances.
The state is widely expected to link its
program with the Western Climate Initia-
tive implementing similar programs in
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Jim Knight is asking for a reset
for the Astoria waterfront.
“There’s been a misstep,” the
Port of Astoria’s executive direc-
tor said during a presentation
at a City Council work session
Wednesday.
This year, the City Council has
recommended amendments to
tighten up height and size require-
ments for new buildings in the
Bridge Vista portion of the Riv-
erfront Vision Plan. The changes
came after a proposal by Hol-
lander
Hospi-
tality to build a
four-story Marri-
ott-brand hotel off
Second Street was
approved by the
city despite com-
Jim Knight
munity outcry.
Residents
opposed to the hotel applauded
the changes. B ut property own-
ers, including Knight on behalf
of the Port, have urged fl exibility,
especially as the City Council and
Planning Commission continue to
develop codes for the fi nal piece
of the riverfront plan, the Urban
Core downtown.
The Port faces serious chal-
lenges and needs to look at ways
to generate revenue, Knight said
Wednesday. Sections of the city’s
Wrong patient was
arrested after fi ght
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
He praised Mark Hollander
and an idea the developer shared
with him about creating a mari-
time village along the waterfront.
This kind of outside investment is
A state investigation found that a
staffer at the crisis respite center in War-
renton did not neglect a patient who
was wrongfully arrested after a fi ght in
December.
An Oregon Health Authority review
of the respite center in January deter-
mined that staff provided false informa-
tion to Warrenton police that led to the
arrest. The fi nding was referred to the
state Offi ce of Training, Investigations
and Safety, known as OTIS, which inves-
tigates abuse allegations.
OTIS concluded that while there may
have been miscommunication, there was
no evidence to support an allegation
the staffer provided false or misleading
information.
The wrongful arrest, which was cor-
rected within a few hours, set off a dam-
aging chain of events for Clatsop Behav-
ioral Healthcare. The private nonprofi t is
Clatsop County’s mental health contrac-
tor and operates the respite center.
Amy Baker, the executive director,
was placed on administrative leave in
late December by the board chairwoman
pending an internal investigation of her
on-call responsibilities at the respite
center. After the internal investigation
See Port, Page A7
See Arrest, Page A5
See Bill, Page A5
Port urges fl exibility on riverfront
Knight said agency
depends on projects
for revenue
State probe
clears respite
center staff
riverfront plan include Port prop-
erties slated for development .
“How do we communally
develop the right waterfront that
can be fi nancially self-supported,
can produce revenue for its prop-
erty owners and produce tax rev-
enue … ? There needs to be com-
promise,” Knight said. “The
potential imposition of building
heights all along our waterfront,
I’m telling you today, will only
further endanger the Port.”
Maritime village