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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2019)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Celebrating culture IN BRIEF Master Sgt. John Hughel Oregon National Guard Lt. Col. Wesley Risher and members of the squadron salute during a mobilization ceremony at Astoria High School. Air control squadron to deploy to Asia Family and friends gathered at Astoria High School on Sunday for a mobilization ceremony for the Ore- gon Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Squadron. More than 100 airmen are deploying to Southwest Asia. The squadron is based at Camp Rilea in Warrenton. Seaside approves new fee on vacation rentals SEASIDE — The City Council has approved a new $400 fee on vacation rentals. The fee will be added to the three-tiered license structure for the city’s 275 vacation rental properties. The cost is $75 for one to fi ve occupants, $100 for six to 10 occupants and $150 for 11 or more occupants. Money from the fee will be used to fi nance a code enforcement offi cer. But the increase could lead to further discussion about how funds are distributed. Currently, the fi rst $100,000 collected will go toward a code enforcement offi cer to monitor local rentals, City Manager Mark Winstanley said. The next $65,000 is distributed to the Seaside Chamber of Commerce and the Seaside Downtown Development Association. — The Astorian DEATHS Nov. 3, 2019 BERGSTROM, Donna Dean, 90, of Astoria, died in Seaside. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Ser- vice of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. SLOTTE, Dar- lene J., 72, of Seaside, died in Astoria. Ocean View Funeral & Cre- mation Service of Asto- ria is in charge of the arrangements. Nov. 2, 2019 STULTZ, Carl, 71, of Astoria, died in Portland. Hughes-Ransom Mor- tuary is in charge of the arrangements. Oct. 31, 2019 OLIVER, Annie, 69, of Astoria, died in Asto- ria. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIALS Saturday, Nov. 9 HAGNAS, Carl Axel — Memorial and open house from 2 to 4 p.m., Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 350 Niagara Ave. Hagnas, 70, of Ontario, formerly of Warrenton, died Thursday in Ontario. HAWKINS, Bart Alan — Celebration of life at 1 p.m., Seaside Assem- bly of God Church, 540 S. Holla day Drive in Seaside. Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Cristal García-Álvarez, 8, performs with Mi Cultura, a Latino folkloric dance group, at the Día de los muertos celebration Saturday at the Barbey Maritime Center. Día de los muertos is a holiday originating in Mexico and Central America that celebrates the spiritual journey of family and community members who have passed. The event was hosted by Lower Columbia Hispanic Council. Woman leads police on wild chase on the peninsula By JEFF CLEMENS For the Chinook Observer ILWACO, Wash. — A California motorist who fl ed from a traffi c stop in Ray- mond on Sunday morning was arrested in Ilwaco fol- lowing a lengthy chase on U.S. Highway 101. Gina Marie Garcia, 49, of Sacramento, faces a charge of felony eluding, which car- ries a maximum sentence of fi ve years in prison and up to a $10,000 fi ne. Raymond police requested aid from surround- ing agencies after the driver of a yellow and white 2014 Fiat 500L sped out of Ray- mond just before 9 a.m. Police initiated the stop after the vehicle was allegedly clocked going 20 mph over the speed limit in the south- bound lane of the highway . The vehicle continued southbound , reaching speeds of 90 mph toward South Bend. In South Bend, the vehi- cle swerved around a South Bend police vehicle and con- tinued to fl ee southbound. Pacifi c County Sheriff’s Offi ce deputies and Wash- ington State Patrol joined the pursuit. Units attempted a spike strip near m ilepost 42 that was unsuccessful, before another attempt at m ilepost 30 that took out the driv- er-side tires. Units tried again near m ilepost 17 and took out the passenger-side tires. A California woman who led police on a high-speed chase crashed in Ilwaco. The vehicle contin- ued southbound on High- way 101, reaching speeds near 100 mph on bare rims, before being pitted in Ilwaco by a Ford Explorer driven by a state t rooper . The Fiat col- lided into a 2000 Ford F-350 pickup owned by an Astoria man and crashed up onto a curb and into an apartment complex yard . The pursuit intervention technique consists of bump- ing a vehicle from the side near the rear wheel, causing the vehicle to spin out. Garcia was apprehended at the scene. There were no injuries during the chase or the stop, Washington State Patrol Sgt. Brad Moon said. The highway just east of Ilwaco’s main intersec- tion was closed, with a short detour in place, while authorities concluded their investigation. ON THE RECORD Strangulation • Richard Ellis Ken- drick, 44, of Seaside, was arrested Sunday on Avenue U in Seaside for strangulation. Menacing • Joseph Ontario Haynes, 30, of Warrenton, was arrested Saturday at Sunset Lake Campground & RV Park for menacing and harassment. DUII • Eric Thor Nyman, 56, of Astoria, was arrested Saturday on the 300 block of W. Grand Avenue for driving under the infl u- ence of intoxicants. His blood alcohol content was 0.22%. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Seaside Community Center Commission, 10:30 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A. Port of Astoria Commis- sion, 4 p.m., Port offi ces, 10 Pier 1 Suite 209. Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m., Seaside Public Library, 1131 Broadway. Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, 5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A. Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer District Board, 6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business. WEDNESDAY Seaside Improvement Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 698 Pacifi c Way. THURSDAY Northwest Oregon Hous- ing Authority, 10 a.m., 147 S. Main Ave., Warren- ton. Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 12:30 p.m., work session, 800 Exchange St., Astoria. Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Established July 1, 1873 Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR (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 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. Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eff ective May 1, 2019 MAIL (IN COUNTY) EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 Oregon poplar acreage headed for auction By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press More than 3,000 acres of farmland along the Columbia River in Oregon will be auc- tioned off as a timber invest- ment fi rm discontinues grow- ing poplar trees. Greenwood Resources, an investment company that owns and manages forest- land, is selling off the fi nal 12 parcels of what was once part of a much larger 31,000-acre poplar operation in Oregon and Washington state. “This was the last asset in this investment,” said John Rosenthal, president of Realty Marketing/Northwest, a real estate company that’s handling the auction. The minimum bid for all the Columbia County prop- erties combined is nearly $8 million, but potential buyers may also bid on individual parcels ranging in price from about $100,000 to $2.6 mil- lion each. Sealed bids are due by Nov. 13. Roughly 2,000 acres still have poplar trees growing on them, more than 500 acres GeoTerra, Inc. Poplar tree farm in Columbia County. are fallow farmland and the remaining acreage is consid- ered “non-commercial” land that can be dedicated to wild- life habitat and recreation. Nearly 1,400 acres have water rights for irrigation and the parcels are located near the Port Westward Industrial Park, Rosenthal said. “It’s an interesting collec- tion,” he said. “It’s an unusual asset.” Representatives of Green- wood Resources did not respond to request for com- ment, but timber industry experts say the company’s withdrawal from poplar pro- duction was likely motivated by the tough economics of Accepting Donations for our Rummage Sale November 11-14 • 10 am-4 pm New & used clothing, household items, furniture, toys, and more. No dirty or broken items please. No fridges or freezers. Questions? Call Barb at 503-791-6613 or Jerry at 503-791-1770 Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 Sponsored by Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court 151 AND Star of the Sea Knights of Columbus. All proceeds go to scholarship fund for both groups. DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 14th & Grand, Astoria growing pulpwood for a U.S. paper industry facing stiff international competition. The low profi t margins of producing poplar proba- bly weren’t enough to justify growing the trees on irrigated land in a desirable climate, said Gordon Culbertson, director of international busi- ness for the Forest2Market timber industry consulting fi rm. “I think the owners of the timber came to the conclu- sion it was more valuable as ag land,” he said. Poplar plantations arose in the aftermath of steep logging declines on federal land in the Northwest, when paper com- panies worried about acquir- ing suffi cient wood chips to run their plants, Culbertson said. However, the anticipated wood chip shortage never materialized, he said. Using the trees as biomass for energy production also encountered economic prob- lems, since such feedstocks must necessarily be inex- pensive, said Richard Zabel, executive director of the Western Forestry and Con- servation Association. “The price they’re paying for biomass is so low, it’s not worth the time and expense to harvest your trees,” he said. Since transporting cheap wood chips over long dis- tances is fi nancially unfeasi- ble, pulpwood producers are dependent on the fortunes and demand of nearby mills, Zabel said. “You need someone close by who’s going to buy it,” he said. “That’s always been the weak link. You just can’t afford to haul it very far.” The economic problem becomes worse during down- turns in the market, and the U.S. paper industry faces strong headwinds, said Todd Hansen, fuel procurement manager for the Biomass One energy company. “For years, the pulp and paper business has been shrinking across the U.S., he said. “Other places produce it cheaper.” Efforts to grow poplars to a larger size so they could be milled for hardwood furniture were complicated by compe- tition from alder trees, which are highly valued in the furni- ture industry, Zabel said. Alder trees grow natu- rally as volunteers amid the Northwest’s Douglas fi rs and they’ve been able to satisfy the furniture market with- out having to be managed as plantations, he said. “It’s an aggressive plant that comes in after a clear- cut,” Zabel said. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500