146TH YEAR, NO. 225
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2019
Subdivision
in Warrenton
faces challenge
A 15-lot project
near Clear Lake
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
WARRENTON — A 15-lot subdi-
vision planned near Clear Lake faces a
challenge .
Will Caplinger, a former planning
manager for Clatsop County, has fi led an
appeal to the City Commission on behalf
of Rod Gramson against the developer,
Gramson’s brother and former Warrenton
mayor, Gil Gramson. The brothers have
battled over land use and development
issues before.
In his notice of appeal, Caplinger con-
tends there are a number of issues with
the project : potential damage to wetlands
the city has deemed “locally signifi cant;”
impacts to wildlife on land Rod Gramson
sold to the North Coast Land Conser-
vancy; and determinations the P lan-
ning C ommission made in approving the
application that appear to run counter to
the city’s own rules and standards.
P roperty owners at the nearby Smith
Lake subdivision have their own con-
cerns if development goes forward at
Clear Lake, including possible impacts
on drainage. But they were located out-
side of the city’s required notice area and
did not participate in public hearings in
front of the Planning Commission.
Representatives of the group met with
Kevin Cronin, the city’s community and
economic development director, on Mon-
day to discuss their concerns . Cronin does
not expect Caplinger’s appeal to reach the
City Commission until mid-June, but if
commissioners decide to open up a fresh
Colin Murphey/The Astorian
The tract of land seen in the foreground of this photo near the Warrenton
Waterfront Trail was recently purchased by the Chinook Indian Nation.
CHINOOK BUY AN
OREGON FOOTHOLD
Tribe has plans for property along Tansy Creek
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
H
See Subdivision, Page A8
Woman
accused of
murder takes
the stand
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
Tony Johnson, chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation, sees the purchase of
property near the mouth of Tansy Creek as one of the best chances to help keep his
tribe’s heritage alive.
Blamed in death
of Newport man
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
The defense attorney for Adeena
Copell, the woman accused of helping
her boyfriend kill a Newport man , painted
her on Friday as a victim trapped between
the killing of a friend and the love for his
murderer.
P rosecutors, however, detailed her
complicity and lack of initial effort to
report the crime.
Copell faces charges of murder, sec-
ond-degree abuse of a corpse and two
counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Christian Wilkins, her boyfriend, pleaded
guilty to the same charges earlier this
month .
$1.50
The Chinook Indian Nation is planning a cultural center near Tansy Point similar to
the Cathlapotle Plankhouse the tribe built at Ridgefi eld National Wildlife Refuge on
the site of a former Chinookan village.
AMMOND — Chinook vil-
lages once fl ourished along
the creeks running into the
Columbia River. One village
spread out along Tansy Creek near
the foot of 13th Street along the War-
renton Waterfront Trail.
The Chinook Indian Nation, with
the support of a local family, recently
bought about 10 acres at the site,
where they hope to create a cultural
foothold for the largely disenfran-
chised tribe.
The heavily forested tract,
home to elk, deer, otters, coyote,
waterfowl and other wildlife, is
divided between two lots arrayed
around Tansy Creek . The village
historically located there was one
of many on prime land where Chi-
nookan tribes — Clatsop, Cathlamet,
Lower Chinook Wahkiakum and Wil-
lapa — were pushed off , said Tony
Johnson, the c hairman of the Chinook
Indian Nation .
“The Clatsop folks covered this
whole south shore of the Colum-
bia, really, from around Astoria itself
heading west, and then of course
down the adjacent seashore all the
way down to Tillamook Head, that
country,” Johnson said. “But all the
main country people think about here
in terms of Hammond, Gearhart, Sea-
side — that’s all Clatsop territory.”
The property near Tansy Point is
near where, in the summer of 1851,
members of all fi ve Chinookan tribes
gathered to negotiate with Anson
Dart, the fi rst superintendent of
Indian Affairs for the Oregon Terri-
tory, to avoid relocation east of the
Cascade Mountains. It is the only
known instance when all tribal ances-
tors were gathered in one place, John-
son said.
See Chinook, Page A8
See Trial, Page A8
College board needs a couple of good people
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
As of Friday afternoon, nobody
had announced their candidacy
for the Clatsop Community Col-
lege Board positions represent-
ing Warrenton and South County,
leaving the spots likely be chosen
by appointment after Tuesday’s
election.
Outgoing board members Esther
Moberg, of Seaside, and Tessa
Scheller, of Warrenton, decided not
to run . Both encouraged others to
consider applying.
Moberg, the director of the Sea-
side Public Library
who was appointed
to Zone 3, Posi-
tion 7 represent-
ing South County
in 2015, said she
was too stretched
for time between Esther Moberg
a full-time job and
all her other obligations. She is
president of the Oregon Library
Association and involved with the
Oregon Complete Count Commit-
tee working on the c ensus, along
with numerous other state and Sea-
side committees.
“I feel like someone with a lot
more time could do a lot more,” she
said.
Scheller, appointed to Zone 3,
Position 6 representing Warrenton
in 2010 and elected in 2011 and
2015, said she had
been hearing peo-
ple’s
comments
about term limits
and thought it was
time for someone
else to contribute.
Tessa Scheller
During her time on
the board, Scheller
has focused on supporting diversity
and health on campus. She helped
push for a tobacco-free campus and
punch in a trail uphill to the Asto-
ria Column.
Both candidates reached out
to potential replacements, but
couldn’t fi nd any takers. As of Fri-
day, the county c lerk’s o ffi ce had
not heard from any candidates
mounting a write-in campaign.
The college is a rarity among many
smaller sanitary, water and rural
fi re protection districts that regu-
larly have no candidates.
A write-in candidate would
need at least half of all write-in
votes to win. Many of the districts
dependent on write-ins will end
up appointing candidates after the
election.
Both Scheller and Moberg
admitted that the time commitment
can scare many people away .
“I wouldn’t discourage some-
one who works full-time from serv-
ing, but they need to understand the
time commitment,” Moberg said.
Andrea Mazzarella, appointed to
the college board in January 2018
and running for election against
former college board member Sara
Meyer, commented at a recent can-
didate forum on her hesitancy to
contribute, having not taken the tra-
ELECTION DAY
While it is too late for mail, voters
can drop off their ballots at 820
Exchange St. until 8 p.m. on Tues-
day. A full list of locations is avail-
able online at bit.ly/2W5sei5
ditional academic route or earned a
degree. But other board members
assured Mazzarella of the value of
her contributions, she said.
Anyone who’s tried to enrich
their professional or personal lives
at the college knows what it’s
about, Moberg said.
“I hope there isn’t any sense
of elitism, like you need a college
education,” Scheller said. “I would
think that being a board member
requires that they care about their
community and care about the col-
lege. There’s no degree in caring
that I know of. It’s not over any-
body’s head, really.”