INSIDE
147TH YEAR, NO. 27
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2019
$1.50
WATERFRONT BRIDGE PROJECT
New credit union branch brings
cross-laminated timber to county
Fibre Federal uses
CLT on new roof
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
A sea lion scratches its face with a rear fl ipper
while resting on the structure beneath Buoy
Beer Co. off Eighth Street on Friday.
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
ARRENTON — The new
Fibre Federal Credit Union
branch at the North Coast
Retail Center uses a cross-lami-
nated Douglas fi r roof, one of the fi rst
commercial structures in Clatsop
County to incorporate the timber
technology.
The roof, however, comes from
Austria, an example of the evolving
nature of what many in the U.S. see
as the new frontier for timber.
The Longview, Washington-based
Fibre Federal wanted an affordable
way to use exposed wood for a more
Pacifi c Northwest feel, said Chris
Bradberry, the president of the credit
union. A rchitects recommended
cross-laminated timber, a wood panel
made from gluing layers of lumber
together .
The technology has been used in
thousands of buildings across Europe
and has recently taken root in the U.S.
Portland, for example, is home to
Carbon12, an 85-foot condominium
and retail tower that is the tallest
cross-laminated timber building in
the country.
“It gave us that ability to have
the architectural design we wanted,”
Bradberry said of the technology.
“It’s also quicker on the build.”
Crews under general contractor
Momentum, Inc., are building out the
interior of the new branch, expected
to open late this year as TLC Federal
Credit Union, acquired as a division
of Fibre Federal.
Watching
for sea lions
W
See Roof, Page A6
Workers tracked more
than 4,000 encounters
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
From the roof of the unfi nished building, Mike Clizbe, the site supervisor for
Momentum, Inc., points out cross-laminated timber in the new Fibre Federal
branch in Warrenton.
A short list of issues that held up work
on three waterfront bridges downtown
includes snowstorms
that shut down suppli-
ers, emergency road
MORE
repairs and more than
INSIDE
4,000 encounters with
Public
sea lions.
comment
The bridges at the
open on
base of Seventh, Ninth
killing sea
and 11th s treets offi cially
lions
reopened on Thursday.
Page A3
The work to replace
them closed street ends
for months and hit busi-
nesses that rely on foot traffi c hard.
See Sea lions, Page A6
Fibre Federal Credit Union
Longview, Washington-based Fibre Federal Credit Union is building a new branch
of its subsidiary TLC Federal Credit Union in Warrenton using a cross-laminated
timber roof.
‘IT’S KIND OF LIKE HOW GLUE-LAMINATED TIMBER STARTED
IN THE 1940s WITH A COUPLE PRODUCERS. NOW THERE ARE
20 TO 30. I THINK THE U.S. INDUSTRY IS GOING TO CATCH UP
WITH THE EUROPEAN INDUSTRY PRETTY QUICKLY.’
Tom Williamson | wood technology expert based in Vancouver, Washington
The roof of a new Fibre Federal building is being constructed with CLT off of U.S. Highway 101 and Ensign Lane.
Three sick
by parasite
at county fair
An outbreak of ‘crypto’
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
An adult and two children were
infected by cryptosporidium, a micro-
scopic parasite, at the Clatsop County
F air.
The Oregon Health Authority is lead-
ing an investigation into the cause of the
outbreak.
The county has notifi ed health care
providers and asked for reports of other
suspected cases. The fair was held from
late July to early August.
According to the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, cryp-
tosporidium, known as “crypto,” causes
watery diarrhea. The parasite spreads
most commonly by water, the CDC said,
and is a leading cause of waterborne
disease among people in the United
States.
Symptoms often show within two to
10 days, although some people have no
symptoms at all.
See Parasite, Page A6
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
At Pier 39, the second coming of El Primero
An old yacht
returns to Astoria
By LUCY KLEINER
The Astorian
INSIDE
With the smell of fi sh wafting
from the kitchen and the sound of
sea lions barking in the distance,
a walk down historic Pier 39 is
timeless. But nothing takes visi-
tors back like the maritime oddity
anchored nearby.
For the fi rst time in 113 years,
El Primero has returned to Asto-
ria. The 137-foot ship’s white paint
and rustic wood stretches along-
side the pier, and its long, narrow
shape attracts the eyes of locals
and tourists alike. Last time the
yacht crossed the bar, it was 1906.
The El Primero, one of the
oldest luxury yachts still sailing
today, returned to the mouth of the
Columbia River earlier this month .
The yacht was built in San
Francisco in 1893 by Union Iron
Works. The original construction
cost just under $250,000. After
infl ation, that is roughly $7 million
today.
But the investment paid off .
“This boat is one of the most
important remaining yachts in the
world,” said Capt. Christian Lint,
who owns the El Primero and the
Astoria Ferry . “It exemplifi es the
transition of sail to steam and of
wood to steel.”
In 1906, El Primero passed
through Astoria on its way north
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
See El Primero, Page A6
The old luxury yacht, El Primero, is anchored at Pier 39.