A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2019
IN BRIEF
Astoria cancels event with
development director candidates
Fireworks light up the North Coast
A meet-and-greet event with candidates for Asto-
ria’s c ommunity d evelopment d irector job has been
postponed.
The two candidates were scheduled to attend a pub-
lic event Monday evening to introduce themselves and
answer questions from the community. They asked for
more time to gather information about Astoria and pre-
pare for the city’s public interview process, City Man-
ager Brett Estes said.
The city, which has not publicly identifi ed the candi-
dates, has not announced an alternate date.
Astoria police will crack down
on traffi c violations
Astoria police will have extra offi cers on duty Fri-
day enforcing traffi c violations.
Drivers may be cited if they fail to yield to an offi cer
who is acting as a pedestrian and crossing at marked or
unmarked crosswalks. Drivers who pass another vehi-
cle that has stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk may
also be cited.
The fi ne for failing to stop and remain stopped for a
pedestrian or for passing a vehicle that is stopped at a
crosswalk for a pedestrian is $265.
The initiative is part of a pedestrian safety enforce-
ment program in conjunction with Oregon Impact.
For questions about the project, contact Sgt.
Brian Aydt at the Astoria Police Department or call
503-325-4411.
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
Onlookers enjoy a barrage of Fourth of July fi reworks over the Columbia River Maritime Museum on Thursday. See more photos
of the fi reworks online at DailyAstorian.com
Deputy sheriff to graduate
Eric Dotson was promoted to deputy sheriff in
March after nearly six years working for Clatsop Coun-
ty’s Corrections Division.
The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards
and Training graduates Dotson from its 389th Basic
Police Class on Friday.
The class is 16 weeks long and the training includes
survival skills, fi rearms, emergency vehicle operations,
ethics, cultural diversity, problem-solving, community
policing, elder abuse, drug recognition and dozens of
other subjects.
The graduation will be at 11 a.m. at the Oregon Pub-
lic Safety Academy in Salem.
— The Astorian
Oregon’s minimum wage
increases by 50 cents
All minimum wage workers in Oregon got a pay
raise in July.
The minimum wage went up 50 cents per hour for
all counties on Monday, although where you work
affects the total wage.
Workers in the Portland metro area now make a
minimum of $12.50 per hour. The minimum wage in
“standard counties,” including Clatsop County, is now
$11.25, and the minimum wage in rural counties is $11.
The increases are part of a law passed by the
state Legislature in 2016. The law requires annual min-
imum wage increases through 2022. After that, the
minimum wage will be adjusted based on infl ation.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATH
July 3, 2019
BRACHMANN, Carole Norma, 76, of Browns-
mead, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortu-
ary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
DUII
• Daniel Grannis,
25, of Graham, Wash-
ington, was arrested on
Thursday on U.S. High-
way 101 and Westlake
Lane in Gearhart for driv-
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants.
• Andrea Yates, 27,
was arrested on Thursday
for DUII after she drove
off U.S. Highway 30 near
mile post 93. Yates had a
blood alcohol content of
0.15%.
Reckless driving
• Michelle Clemmer,
40, of Portland, was cited
on Thursday after a crash
on U.S. Highway 26 that
caused minor injuries. She
allegedly rear-ended a car,
pushing it into another car
and then fl ed the scene.
Her car was impounded
and she was cited for fail-
ure to perform the duties
of a driver, reckless driv-
ing, driving without insur-
ance and driving while her
license was suspended.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Youngs River Lewis &
Clark Water District Board,
6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway
101 Business.
TUESDAY
Warrenton City Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S.
Main Ave.
Lewis & Clark Rural Fire
Protection District Board,
7 p.m., main fi re station,
34571 U.S. Highway 101
Business.
DOG DAYS
Fourth of July fallout
for man’s best friend
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
The dog bolted up 15th
Street, a brown blur of legs
and pink dangling tongue,
while fi reworks boomed and
blossomed over the Colum-
bia River.
If anybody was yelling
for the dog to come back, the
words were lost in the sound
of explosions from Asto-
ria’s annual Fourth of July
fi reworks display Thursday
night.
Hundreds of people lined
the Astoria Riverwalk to
catch the fi reworks show,
but some of them hurried
away just as it was beginning.
They carried small struggling
dogs in their arms or grasped
tightly onto taut leashes as
larger dogs, wide-eyed and
crazy-legged, dragged their
owners up the sidewalk.
Fireworks had been going
off all day, and for days
before, in North Coast neigh-
borhoods. At the same time,
Facebook posts about lost
dogs started popping up in
earnest across the county.
By the holiday , the Clat-
sop County Animal Shelter
already had at least six stray
dogs under its roof.
Stephen Hildreth, the shel-
ter’s supervisor, expects more
to come in for the next week.
The period between late
June and early July is one of
the busiest times of the year
for the shelter, on the Fourth
of July itself but also during
the week before and a week
after the holiday.
“As long as fi reworks are
going off, we’ll continue to
get strays,” Hildreth said.
“They just keep coming in.”
On Friday , the shelter had
only just opened and Hildreth
and his staff were already
fi elding phone calls from
anxious pet owners who did
not know where their animals
were following Fourth of July
festivities. They wanted to
know: Had someone brought
their pet to the shelter?
Astoria Police Offi cer
Alex Whitney showed up
right as the doors opened
with a large brown-and-white
husky in the back of his patrol
vehicle: another stray.
“Fireworks, picnics and
other Fourth of July traditions
can be great fun for people,
but all of the festivities can be
frightening and even danger-
ous for animals,” the Astoria
Police Department warned in
a post on its website ahead of
the holiday.
“Loud fi reworks, unfamil-
iar places and crowds can all
be very frightening to pets,
and there’s great risk of pets
becoming spooked and run-
ning away,” the memo con-
tinued. “Consider putting
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your pets in a safe, escape-
proof room or crate during
parties and fi reworks. Keep
your pets inside if you or
your neighbors are setting off
fi reworks.”
Astoria p olice spent much
of Thursday responding to
traffi c violations, reports of
illegal fi reworks and lost
dogs.
Each year, the shelter will
see a mix of out-of-town and
local animals who bolted
during Fourth of July events.
And there are repeat offend-
ers, animals the shelter seems
to see every July.
The holiday can have
even more dire implications
besides runaways. Shelter
staff know dogs who have
died from heart failure during
the Fourth of July, stressed by
the booms and explosions.
“For a lot of older dogs,
it’s too much for them,” Hil-
dreth said. “It’s pure panic.”
Some people coordi-
nate with their veterinarians
ahead of the Fourth of July
to get anti-anxiety or other
types of medication on board
to calm their dogs before the
fi reworks begin. But far too
many people decide to leave
their animals outdoors or
even bring them to events,
Hildreth said.
Hildreth’s advice: Keep
your pets, even indoor-out-
door cats, indoors during
the holiday, and “microchip,
microchip, microchip,” he
said.
Collars can come loose
and be lost, but a microchip,
which is inserted under an
animal’s skin, travels with the
pet and provides veterinary
offi ces and animal shelters
with important identifi cation
information when they need
to track down owners.
Local building restorations receive state money
The Astorian
Three historic building
restorations received money
from Oregon Heritage, a
division of the state Parks
and Recreation Department.
The Astoria Arts and
Movement Center in the Odd
Fellows Building received
$19,999 to go with a $51,546
match. The grant was in the
Preserving Oregon category
for properties listed on the
National Register of Historic
Places.
The arts and movement
center offers dance and exer-
cise classes, along with com-
munity events. The bottom
fl oor houses a coffee shop,
gift store and antique shop.
A local group led by real
estate agent Andrea Mazza-
rella, the center’s board pres-
ident; her mother, Nancy
OREGON RENTAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION
Established July 1, 1873
Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian
Astoria Police Offi cer Alex Whitney brings a stray dog to the
Clatsop County Animal Shelter on Friday.
Mazzarella-Tisch; and Asto-
ria C ity C ouncilor Jessamyn
West,
executive
direc-
tor of the center, purchased
the Odd Fellows Building
last year. They estimated
$260,000 for repairs, includ-
ing replacement of the his-
toric windows.
The Friends of Old Fort
Stevens, a nonprofi t that
raises money and recruits
volunteers for Fort Stevens
State Park, received $20,000
in the Preserving Oregon cat-
egory to go with a $22,548
match to repair and restore
upper fl oor windows and
several panel doors at the
Through an Oregon Housing and Community
Services Grant
Presents:
park’s guard house.
The Union Steam Baths
in Uniontown received
$9,090 in the Diamonds in
the Rough category for his-
toric facade enhancements to
go with an equal match.
The former Union Steam
Baths building, closed for
decades, was purchased by
Eric Bechard, owner of local
restaurant and bar Albatross,
in 2013. He recently began
a GoFundMe page to raise
money for the building’s
restoration. Along with the
baths, Bechard envisions a
cafe with traditional Finnish
appetizers .
Volunteer
Pick of the Week
Earl
FOR RENTERS, THE NEW LAWS (SB608)
Adult Golden Tabby
Enjoy your summer fun
& remember those who
would also like a spot in
the sun.
JULY 8TH
ASTORIA LIBRARY 3-5 PM
Read about Earl on Petfinder.com
GOOD LANDLORDS SUPPORT RENTER KNOWLEDGE
CLATSOP COUNTY RENTAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Sponsored
By
C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER
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Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat