MUELLER REPORT FINDS NO TRUMP COLLUSION PAGE A4
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019
146TH YEAR, NO. 190
ONE DOLLAR
Sunset
Empire
pitches
bus line to
Portland
A state grant would
help fund the line
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Chelsea Vaughn, curator for the Clatsop County Historical Society, chronicled the county’s medical history into a new exhibit at
the Clatsop County Heritage Museum.
New exhibit explores
county medical care
A deep dive into
hospitals — and some
weird contraptions
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
W
hen Chelsea Vaughn
joined
the
Clatsop
County Historical Soci-
ety as a curator last year, she started
getting acquainted with the collections.
What began as a fascination with
medical oddities — examination
tables with built-in stirrups for high
heels, early electromagnetic diathermy
machines and eye-testing equipment
— led her on a deep dive into the
region’s medical history.
Her first exhibit, “Held for Obser-
vation: The Evolution of Medical Care
in Clatsop County,” will be up through
the end of the year at the Heritage
Museum.
Vaughn’s exhibit, sponsored by
Columbia Memorial Hospital, exam-
ines the history of local hospitals,
starting with a maritime hospital dat-
ing to the mid-19th century.
The exhibit recounts the Sisters
of Charity of Providence, a Catho-
lic organization that in 1880 started
Astoria’s first general hospital in the
converted Arrigoni Hotel at 15th and
Duane streets. St. Mary’s expanded
into a grand Victorian at 16th Street in
1905 and evolved into what is now the
Owens-Adair Apartments by 1931.
The exhibit touches on Colum-
bia Memorial, started by the Finn-
ish Lutheran community in 1927 at
16th Street and Franklin Avenue.
The newer hospital group eventually
bought out St. Mary’s and expanded
See Exhibit, Page A7
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
‘Held for Observation,’ a new medical history exhibit at the Clatsop County Heritage
Museum, includes oddities such as old medicines and machines.
The Sunset Empire Transportation Dis-
trict is trying to run a bus line from Asto-
ria to Union Station in downtown Portland.
The transit district is applying for a two-
year, $738,000 grant from the Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program.
The district would provide a local match of
$82,000.
“The proposal is for three trips a day,”
said Jeff Hazen, the transit district’s exec-
utive director. “I’ve also included in there
the possibility of buying two used motor
coaches to make the ride a little more
comfortable.”
The transit districtruns the Lower
Columbia Connector Route to Rainier,
where riders transfer to a Columbia County
Rider route between Kelso, Washington,
and St. Helens, before transferring to a line
into downtown Portland.
Of the more than 4,100 people who rode
the Columbia Connector Route last year,
Sunset Empire found that 32 percent were
continuing on to Portland.
Sunset Empire has been covering the
cost of the Columbia Connector Route as
Columbia County Rider struggles with
funding. Bypassing Columbia County’s
transit agency will allow the transit district
to focus on improving finances, Hazen said.
Private transit provider MTR Western
provides the other connection between the
North Coast and downtown Portland, run-
ning a twice-daily, state-subsidized bus
route on motor coaches from Astoria to
Union Station via U.S. Highway 26.
The contract for that route is up for bid,
and the state is interested in local transit
agencies like Sunset Empire taking them
on, Hazen said.
The potential expansion of the Colum-
bia Connector Route comes shortly after
Sunset Empire considered axing the route
to save money during a federal government
shutdown that sequestered more than half
of the agency’s operating fund.
But Hazen said the route has enough
riders to warrant the expansion.
“We’ve had good ridership on that route
with the connection” to Columbia County,
Hazen said. “But any time you can make it
a straight shot without transferring, riders
prefer that.”
Sunset Empire’s grant will be reviewed
this spring and summer, with a final deci-
sion in August and potential funding in
October, Hazen said.
Clatsop County Historical Society
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
St. Mary’s Hospital, started in 1880 in a former hotel, moved to a new Victorian
building in 1905, allowing the Sisters of Charity of Providence to add a nursing school.
The Sunset Empire Transportation District
is seeking a state grant for a bus line to
Union Station in downtown Portland.
New York transplant finds passion in policing
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
lex Whitney had two
distinct passions from a
very young age: becoming a
cop, and the state of Oregon.
He isn’t entirely sure what
spurred his passion for law
enforcement — maybe it was
the flashing lights, he joked.
But his passion for Oregon
has a clear beginning. Born
and raised in a suburb three
hours north of New York
City, he first became curious
about the state after playing a
video game that was set in the
Pacific Northwest.
After some research,
A
Whitney determined his des-
tiny by seventh grade: He was
going to be a cop in Oregon.
“I just never strayed from
that,” he said.
Whitney visited the region
for the first time during a fam-
ily vacation to Portland two
years ago. He fell in love with
Astoria after a spontaneous
day trip to the coast, but fig-
ured working in the city was
a long shot given the small
police department.
A little over a year after
the trip, Whitney was back
home when he saw a job
posting for Astoria police.
He decided to apply, despite
being six months shy of the
age requirement.
He was hired in June, five
days after his 21st birthday.
“You know when a sev-
enth-grader says they want
to do something, and then
they change their mind the
next week?” Whitney said.
“I think (my parents) were
shocked that I kept on that for
so long.”
Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian
See Whitney, Page A7
Alex Whitney joined the Astoria Police Department in June.