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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2019)
GOING TO THE DOGS INSIDE 147TH YEAR, NO. 24 WEEKEND EDITION // SATuRdAY, AuguST 24, 2019 $1.50 Peter Pan Market going up for sale By EDWARD STATTON The Astorian Astoria’s Peter Pan Market is going up for sale and could close in the com- ing weeks as owners Pat and Jim Radich, both 71 and looking to retire, try to hand off the venerated grocery and deli to a new owner. “We’ve had medical issues,” Pat Radich said. “It has turned out we can’t seem to hire anybody, and we can’t do it any more.” She took over the operation in 1981 at the age of 34 from BernaDean and Gary Lenhard, who relocated to Bend. Her hus- band joined her after retiring from Geor- gia-Pacific Wauna Mill a decade ago. The store was purchased by J.C. McIrvin in 1928 and transformed from a confectionary shop to a grocery store, according to historical newspaper arti- cles. Beezley’s Store, located at Seventh Street and Niagara Avenue, moved to a downtown location in 1931. Peter Pan Market opened in the location in 1939. “With Gary Lenhard, it was a going grocery store,” Pat Radich said. “He had a meat market, had lockers, would pro- cess people’s game animals.” She added a deli that has become widely popular for its sandwiches, soups and desserts. Peter Pan is one of the only indepen- dent markets left in Astoria, along with Astor Court Grocery, owned by Flora and Gustavo Velazquez on Alameda Ave- nue, and the Astoria Downtown Market owned by Sam McDaniel on Commer- cial Street. “We’re a real solid business,” Pat Radich said. “We’re not downtown, but all of the things that have happened downtown have not affected us. We’ve gotten busier every year.” The business has largely been a fami- ly-run operation. But Pat Radich said her daughter, Becky Radich, is not interested in taking the business over. The business would stay closed until the couple can find a new operator. “We would like to have it stay what it is, kind of,” Patricia Radich said. “Because the neighborhood really needs it.” Knappa board votes to pursue school-based health center Will apply for $60,000 grant from state By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian KNAPPA — The Knappa School Board has given the nod to pursue a school-based health center, a controver- sial step that failed to take hold in Asto- ria but has slowly moved forward in Jewell. The school board voted 3-2 to apply for a $60,000 grant from the Oregon Health Authority. The money helps establish an in-house health center that can provide primary care ser- vices such as general exams, sick visits, treatment of minor injuries and vaccina- tions for students regardless of ability to pay. The health centers have shown to improve attendance by providing stu- dents more convenient access to health care, especially in rural, medically underserved areas. The state provides $60,000 a year for operations. See Knappa schools, Page A6 Photos by Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian Amid peeling wallpaper and creaking floorboards, locals explore the hallways and peek into the decrepit rooms. Waldorf Hotel opens its doors to visitors The Astorian A David Oser looks at aging walls, scratched floors and rubble from years of neglect. A flashlight illuminates piles of debris in an old room of the Waldorf Hotel. Jenn Benoit explores an old kitchen on the third floor. storians braved dead rats and darkness to take advantage of a rare opportunity to tour the long-neglected former Waldorf Hotel next to City Hall. The property owner, Port- land-based nonprofit Innovative Housing Inc, briefly opened the building to visitors and discussed the changes to come during a series of tours Thursday and Friday. The nonprofit plans to renovate the hotel — also known as the Mer- wyn — into 40 affordable and work- force apartments. Major construc- tion work is slated to begin after Labor Day and the $6.7 million project will be completed in late 2020. Julie Garver, the housing devel- opment director for Innovative Housing, said the nonprofit plans to begin keeping a waiting list for apartments in June 2020. In preparation for the renovation work, Innovative Housing will hold a subcontractor open house and pre- bid meeting from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sept. 5 at 1063 Duane Street in Astoria. The nonprofit wants to encourage local subcontractors in particular to attend, Garver said. They will have a chance to tour the building and talk with the gen- eral contractor, Silco Commercial Construction. Former Sunset Empire employee raises red flags about buses Claims that some buses are unsafe By LUCY KLEINER The Astorian A former Sunset Empire Trans- portation District employee has raised questions about the safety of buses. A number of the transit dis- trict’s buses have maintenance flaws that make them unsafe for the road, Shawn Lines, the former employee, told the district’s board on Thursday. “Most of the buses have seri- ous mechanical issues,” said Lines, who said he worked for Sunset Empire from late May until early August. The list of problems, he claimed, included “faulty brakes … fuel tanks literally leaking fuel all over the road and side of the bus right next to the passenger loading and unloading door … broken instrument panels, lights Colin Murphey/The Astorian A former employee has concerns about buses at the Sunset Empire Transportation District. and switches not working ...” Lines provided photos to The Astorian of what he described as a leaking fuel tank. He claimed to have compiled photo evidence of all of the issues he relayed to the board. “What they did was wrong,” Lines said in an interview. “I couldn’t put myself in buses that were unsafe any longer.” Lines had prepared an eight-minute statement for the board meeting, but his testimony was stopped after three minutes, the maximum time allotted for public comments. “He’s bringing up things that we’re unaware of,” Jeff Hazen, the transit district’s executive direc- tor, said. He declined to comment further until he receives a written copy of Lines’ full statement. Sunset Empire buses were towed 15 times in 2018, accord- ing to the dispatcher’s log at Astoria-based Classic Towing. To compare, the combined Asto- ria and Warrenton school districts required just two tows during the same year, said Alysha Mair, a dispatcher. So far this year, Sunset Empire has been towed six times, she said. “We have a good maintenance program,” Hazen said. Every year, he said, an inde- pendent organization inspects Sunset Empire’s vehicles. “All of our buses passed and were certi- fied” and every bus is inspected, See Buses, Page A6
