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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2019)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2019 ‘Short Circuit’ house for sale in Astoria IN BRIEF Health advisories lifted for several beaches on Oregon Coast Public health advisories were lifted Friday for con- tact with ocean water at Beverly Beach, Agate Beach and Seal Rock State Park Beach in Lincoln County, as well as Neskowin Beach and Rockaway Beach in Tilla- mook County. The Oregon Health Authority issued the advisories on Tuesday and Wednesday after water samples showed higher-than-normal levels of fecal bacteria. Contact with the water no longer poses a high- er-than-normal risk, but offi cials recommend staying out of large pools on the beach that are frequented by birds, and runoff from those pools, because the water may con- tain increased bacteria from fecal matter. Astoria Library closed Monday The Astoria Library will close on Monday for system maintenance in preparation for sharing library catalogs with Seaside and Warrenton. The collaboration will make it easier for library users to borrow items from those locations. AAUW holds panel presentation for girls at library The Astoria branch of the American Association of University Women will hold a panel presentation on the importance of the sciences to women and girls. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Flag Room of the Astoria Library. Middle school panelists Soleil Rathmell-Stokes and Keria Long will recount their recent experiences at a summer Tech Trek camp for girls. Astoria High School senior Rowan Fay will talk about her work to form a robotics club. Educator and librarian Libby Lawrence will discuss the importance of a science-oriented curric- ulum for girls and the careers open to them. — The Astorian Port of Kalama approves dredge disposal site purchase KALAMA, Wash. — Port of Kalama commission- ers Wednesday approved a 20-year agreement with four other ports to purchase an easement for a dredge disposal site on Puget Island. The ports of Portland, Vancouver and Longview chipped in on the $703,000 purchase, and the Port of Woodland is also involved in the channel project. Providing sites for the dredge material is one of the ports’ responsibilities as part of the Columbia River channel maintenance work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. — The Daily News Writer showed some interest on Twitter By JANET EASTMAN The Oregonian Long before Alexa invaded homes, a likable robot yearning for human input arrived at a remote Victorian-era farmhouse in Astoria and was adopted by an animal-loving Ally Sheedy. The robot changed its name to Johnny 5 and earned box offi ce gold star- ring in “Short Circuit” in 1986. Pop culture writer Sean O’Neal, who prefers the sequel, was checking his Instagram feed Monday when an alert on Then & Now Reshoots stopped him from swiping forward: The property where much of the original “Short Circuit” was shot was for sale. He recog- nized it all: The house with a wide deck and views of the Columbia River and steel truss Astoria Bridge. Marketing materials for the fi fth-acre property listed at $344,900 by Bill For- nas of Pete Anderson Realty states: “Here’s your chance to own a piece of Astoria’s rich movie history!” O’Neal, who was the edi- tor in chief of the A.V. Club online entertainment news- paper, dug deeper and found a video that cleverly rolls footage of the old fi lm above present-day environments. Sept. 12, 2019 OLSON, Barbara, 94, of Nehalem, died in Nehalem. MOORE, Dolores, 89, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Sept. 11, 2019 KALLIO, Sisko V., 103, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. CORRECTIONS • Wrong title — Cheryl Storey is the for- mer president of the Mill Pond Homeowners Asso- ciation. She was incor- rectly described as the president in an A1 story on Thursday. Wrong date — The Community Health Fes- tival in Ilwaco, Wash- ington, is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 21. The date was incorrect on page 22 of the Thursday issue of Coast Weekend. ON THE RECORD DUII • Jordan Moore, 21, of Hillsboro, was arrested Wednesday for driving under the infl uence of intox- icants on N. Main Avenue and N.W. First Street in Warrenton. His blood alco- hol content was 0.16%. Eluding police • Kristina Ann Wil- son, 33, of Longview, Washington, was arrested Wednesday off of U.S. Highway 101 in War- renton for two charges of attempting to elude a police offi cer. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Jewell School Board, 6 p.m., Jewell School Library, 83874 Oregon Highway 103. TUESDAY Port of Astoria Commis- sion, 4 p.m., Port offi ces, 10 Pier 1 Suite 209. Astoria Historic Land- marks Commission, 5:15 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Cen- ter, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Seaside School District Board of Directors, 7 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin. Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Hertig Station, 33496 West Lake Lane, Warrenton. Then the Austin resi- dent teased his 13,300 Twit- ter followers with a crazy idea: “Some personal news: I’m moving to Oregon to become caretaker of the Short Circuit house.” O’Neal dreamed of creat- ing a museum. “Over time, I’ll acquire original props and memorabilia and turn it into a Short Circuit museum. My family and I will all live in the back room and tend to tour groups during the day. It will be a fi ne life.” It wouldn’t be the fi rst time a movie fan has remade a fi lm set. Amber Neufeld restored the St. Helens clap- board two-story that stood as Bella Swan’s home in the vampire romance “Twilight” series. Neufeld says it’s sur- real to “sit where Char- lie Swan sat or sleep where Bella Swan slept.” Clearly with time on his hands, O’Neal posted real estate photos and remi- nisced about “Short Circuit” dialogue such as “nice soft- ware” that has stayed with him over the years. He pro- claimed: “We will fi nd joy in the work.” But his hopes were tossed away by his spouse: “UPDATE: it seems my wife is not that big a fan of Short Circuit.” Which prompted Justin Doty as @PdxCowbell to reply: “Johnny 5 is alive. But this marriage? It’s dead.” O’Neal’s fl urry of four Tweets ended. During the silence, The Oregonian reached out to O’Neal to learn more. His response: “Like any ’80s kid who grew up with HBO, I’ve probably seen ‘Short Circuit’ a dozen or so times in lieu of fresh air and exercise. I believe I saw both it and ‘Short Circuit 2’ in the theaters. The sequel is argu- ably the superior fi lm, but I don’t think anyone is sell- ing ‘the streets of Toronto.’ Were we visiting Astoria, and I’d already hit all the Goonies locations, I would absolutely drag my wife and kids to see the ‘Short Cir- cuit’ house.” We’ll be watching, @ seanoneal. Cowlitz County affi rms methanol plant Move follows environmental study By RYAN HAAS and MOLLY SOLOMON Oregon Public Broadcasting DEATHS Realtor.com The house featured in the movie ‘Short Circuit’ is for sale. Cowlitz County offi - cials sent a letter Wednes- day affi rming their decision to approve permits for what would be the nation’s larg- est natural gas-to-methanol refi nery. The decision followed an Aug. 30 environmental impact study by the Port of Kalama that determined the proposed southwest Wash- ington state facility would help reduce global green- house gas emissions by at least 10 million metric tons per year. The company behind the project has said that’s roughly the equivalent of taking more than 2 mil- lion cars off the road. “The document contained a thorough evaluation of the full life cycle of GHG emis- sions from the proposed facility,” wrote E. Elaine Placido, Cowlitz Coun- ty’s director of community services. Placido wrote that the county does not see any “sig- nifi cant unavoidable adverse impacts” with the project and reaffi rms its decision to grant shoreline permits for the proposed facility. The Washington State Department of Ecology has 30 days to approve or deny those permits, or request additional information from the company. Local environmental- ists denounced the county’s decision and reaffi rmed their opposition to the environ- mental impact study by Life Cycle Associates, a Cali- fornia-based company NW Innovation Works hired to complete the analysis. “The Department of Ecology has a really big decision to make,” Colum- bia Riverkeeper conserva- tion director Dan Serres said. “It’s clear to us that this proj- ect directly confl icts with the state’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas pollution, for protecting the shorelines and for producing an analy- sis that’s even in the realm of accurate.” Clatsop Community Action begins search for new director By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian Clatsop Community Action is seeking candidates for executive director. The job will be posted this week and the nonprofi t’s board of directors hopes to fi ll the position soon, Sarah Brown, the board president, announced Thursday. Clatsop Community Action provides critical social service programs for the North Coast, including food and housing assistance. The executive director over- sees the r egional f ood b ank, as well. Former director Elaine Bruce resigned abruptly in June. No reason was given for her departure. Deputy Director Viviana Matthews has fi lled in as interim execu- tive director . “It was very much an internal decision,” Brown said of Bruce’s resignation. Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian The regional food bank is a critical resource for people in need. “It wasn’t pressure.” Matthews is a front-run- ner for the job if she wants to apply , but the board will be looking at other candidates, too, Brown said. The new executive direc- tor will continue to oversee both the social service pro- grams and the r egional f ood b ank. In prior years, the non- profi t had employed two directors, one to oversee the food bank and another to manage other programs. B ut the nonprofi t shifted to an executive director model ahead of former food bank director Marlin Martin’s retirement in 2018. This transition was in pro- cess under Bruce’s leader- ship “and it just wasn’t hap- pening,” Brown said. “It was not anybody’s fault … It just wasn’t a smooth transition.” After Bruce resigned, the board considered switching back to a model that involved two directors, but decided to stick with an executive direc- tor model. Clatsop Community Action has several signifi - cant funding opportunities coming up and the board will be looking for someone with strong leadership skills who can engage the community, Brown said. With Matthews as interim executive director, “the non- profi t is under really good leadership currently,” she said. For fi scal year 2018-19, Clatsop Community Action helped 11,960 people with housing and energy assis- tance and through the non- profi t’s personal care pantry and information and refer- ral services, according to the nonprofi t. Starting Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR Wednesd th ay Sept. 18 6:30-8 ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2019 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. 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