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DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2019
146TH YEAR, NO. 235
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Airport committee recommends
separation from Port
An airport authority
in Warrenton
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorain
T
Oregon State Police
Authorities relocated an aggressive elk
and her calf from Hammond in May.
State
looks at
new path
for elk
A strategy for
problem animals
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
State wildlife managers plan to stream-
line policies to address problem elk fol-
lowing a run-in with an aggressive elk in
Hammond .
Any guidance the state develops will
likely be folded into a larger elk manage-
ment strategy for North Coast cities grap-
pling with growing confl icts between
people and elk .
In late May , an elk who was protect-
ing her newborn calf and charging at peo-
ple and cars had to be tranquilized and
relocated.
Local and state law enforcement shut
down Seventh Street and agents from the
Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area darted the
animal. They loaded her and her calf into
a trailer with the help of several residents.
he Port of Astoria’s Airport
Advisory Committee has rec-
ommended spinning off the
Astoria Regional Airport and the
agency’s other holdings along the
Warrenton waterfront into a separate
authority.
The committee also recommended
several short-term ventures to gener-
ate money, including ministorage, a
water sports park and a food cart pod.
The Port Commission asked the
airport committee last year to look
at how the airport might make more
money to support operations.
The committee found that while
the Port has kept up with local
matches for Federal Aviation Admin-
istration grants to maintain the run-
ways, the agency cannot keep up
the surrounding roads, buildings and
other infrastructure.
The report cautioned that the Port
“ may reach a point where the airport
becomes beyond repair. ”
Jobs and grants
The airport supports around 400
jobs and more than $20 million in
payroll, but struggles to break even
based on operations and racks up an
estimated $100,000 in deferred main-
tenance each year. It brings in a vast
majority of the Port’s grant revenue
because of military traffi c from the
Coast Guard and Army. But the grants
are tied to runway maintenance.
Spinning off the airport would
allow the Port to focus on the cen-
tral waterfront in Astoria, said War-
renton Mayor Henry Balensifer, who
works for airport tug manufacturer
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
The Port of Astoria’s Airport Advisory Committee recommended ministorage at
the undeveloped Airport Industrial Park.
JBT Lektro and is the chairman of the
airport committee .
“The Port would have a great
opportunity in ensuring the sustain-
ability of the airport,” Balensifer told
the Port Commission last week .
The committee recommended cre-
ation of a task force, including the
Port, other local governments, state
agencies and the FAA. The Port could
and should remain a stakeholder in
the new airport authority, Balensifer
said.
Coupled with the creation of a
new authority, the committee recom-
mended a bond to fi x the most criti-
cal infrastructure issues and provide
local matching dollars for future FAA
grants. Voters rejected a $1.96 mil-
lion bond in 2017 to pave the way
for Life Flight Network’s new han-
gar and other improvements at the
airport.
The Port and tenants have lauded
Gary Kobes, the airport manager, for
his oversight and ability to secure
federal grants .
“The committee recognizes that
when Gary Kobes retires, the airport
may once again be without an on-site
manager for a long time, at which
point the airport is more than likely to
degrade to a level it becomes unsus-
tainable,” the committee’s report
said. “The committee asks the Port to
ponder the long-term implications of
losing an asset by choice and sustain-
ing that asset for the region by spin-
ning it off, or the implication of los-
ing the airport through slow decay.”
Frank Spence, the Port Commis-
sion’s president, said he likes the idea
of exploring an airport authority and
will pursue creating a task force once
the airport committee fi nalizes its
recommendations.
Quick profi ts
Just west of the airfi eld is the Port’s
Airport Industrial Park, an undevel-
oped fi eld grazed by cattle and mostly
designated as wetlands. The commit-
tee recommended a ministorage com-
plex of 60 40-foot storage contain-
ers on the 3 acres of developable
land in the business park, where Jim
Knight, the Port’s executive director,
previously pitched an environmental
research center.
See Port, Page A6
See Elk, Page A6
Nonprofi t
provides dental
treatment for
people in need
The Astorian
The Port of Astoria’s Airport Advisory Committee
recommended spinning off the airfi eld and other Warrenton
properties into a separate authority.
A free clinic at Astoria Armory
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
As hygienist Candace Garber reached
for her cleaning tools, Marlene Gore
leaned back and did what everyone does
when they visit the dentist: She started
thinking of a way to distract herself.
Maybe, the Astoria woman joked, she
could count the light fi xtures high above
her. Like the dozens of other people who
attended a free dental clinic at the Asto-
ria Armory on Sunday, it had been years
since she’d been to the dentist.
The all-day event, hosted by the non-
profi t Caring Hands Worldwide, offi cially
started at 9 a.m., but around 25 people
were already signed up and waiting for
cleanings, fi llings, extractions and other
dental work well before the hour struck.
It was the nonprofi t’s third year host-
ing a one-day clinic in Astoria.
Longtime educator says goodbye
Anderson served
Ocean Beach
for 30 years
By ALYSSA EVANS
Chinook Observer
LWACO, Wash. — Sue
Anderson saw a lot in her
30 years with the Ocean Beach
School District. She watched
some of the nation’s biggest his-
torical moments alongside her
students and fellow teachers.
She helped maintain nor-
malcy throughout numerous dis-
trict reconfi gurations and leader-
ship changes.
She even teaches the children
of students she taught years ago.
I
See Nonprofi t, Page A6
Alyssa Evans/Chinook Observer
Educator Sue Anderson poses in her classroom at Hilltop Middle
School. She will retire this month, ending a 30-year career with Ocean
Beach School District.
Once this school year fi nishes
up, Anderson will say goodbye
to the school district and hello to
a new role: retiree.
“I never thought I would
teach for 30 years,” she said.
“I’ve enjoyed every year.”
Anderson moved to Washing-
ton with her family from Cal-
ifornia, where she taught high
school civics. She wasn’t able
See Anderson, Page A6