147TH YEAR, NO. 81
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020
$1.50
Big RV park,
apartments on
tap in Warrenton
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden promoted his belief in ‘the Oregon
way’ during a town hall meeting at the Clatsop Community
College Performing Arts Center.
Wyden talks
health care,
infrastructure
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
ABOVE: The northern side of the RV park would expand to Seventh Street. BELOW: A portion
of the Chinook Village RV Park would be off the eastern bank of the Skipanon River.
Projects under review by the city
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
W
ARRENTON — Developer
Jason Palmberg is proposing a
30-acre campground and RV
park .
The Chinook Village RV Park would
include tents, yurts, cabins and a small
hotel or lodge spread out along Hill’s
Slough, an offshoot on the eastern banks
of the Skipanon River, according to appli-
cation documents.
“All that was was an idea I’ve had for
fi ve years,” Palmberg said.
A map of the proposed RV park shows
a main entrance road off of state High-
way 104 snaking north through the prop-
erty to an emergency access lane on Sev-
enth Street.
Palmberg and his family own about half
the land along the east bank of the Ski-
panon between Highway 104 and where
the river crosses under Harbor Drive. The
Kujala family owns most of the rest.
City offi cials declined to comment, and
Palmberg was hesitant to talk. The detailed
proposal was required for him to get a pre-
application sit-down last month with the
city Planning Department to talk about his
ideas, Palmberg said.
“There’s not really a story there yet,” he
said of the RV park. “It really may not
even end up being one.”
See Warrenton, Page A6
Senator held
a town hall
in Astoria
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Astorian
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
is the ranking member on
the Senate Finance Com-
mittee. If Democrats win
control of the Senate in the
2020 elections, the Oregon
Democrat would become
chairman of the commit-
tee, one of the most power-
ful posts in Congress.
During a town hall
at the Clatsop Commu-
nity College Perform-
ing Arts Center in Astoria
on Thursday, Wyden said
he would use that post to
tackle tax breaks for fossil
fuels, health care costs and
infrastructure in what he
has often termed “the Ore-
gon way,” his moniker for
bipartisanship.
Wyden called on Sen-
ate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Kentucky,
and
Senate
Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer,
D-New York, to reach an
agreement on how to con-
duct the impeachment
trial of President Donald
Trump . Republicans and
Democrats have been at
odds over whether to allow
documents and witnesses
in the trial.
“I want a just outcome,
not a political outcome,”
Wyden said.
One of the most divisive
issues in rural Oregon last
year was state House Bill
2020, which would have
created the nation’s third
carbon cap-and-trade sys-
tem after California and
the Northeast. The bill
spawned a backlash in the
form of advocacy group
#TimberUnity and ulti-
mately fell short of passing
the state Senate.
Without mentioning the
bill or the backlash , Wyden
said he heard from rural
Oregonians who seemed
to think the legislation
would put the state at a
disadvantage.
See Wyden, Page A6
Westport Fire hires
fi rst paid staffer
Brody named
assistant chief
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Phillips sworn in as interim sheriff
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Matt Phillips was sworn in Fri-
day afternoon as the interim Clatsop
County sheriff.
Judge Paula Brownhill administered
the oath of offi ce in front of nearly 200
people at the installation ceremony at
the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.
Phillips, who has served as the jail
commander, replaces Tom Bergin,
who is retiring. Phillips will run in the
election to succeed Bergin in May.
Prior to being sworn in, Phillips
held his radio to the microphone and
surprised Bergin by having him dis-
patched for the last time.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Matt Phillips, the newly-appointed interim sheriff of Clatsop County, has the sheriff
star pinned to his shirt by his daughter, Jane Phillips, 11, at his installation ceremony
at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds on Friday. Phillips succeeds Tom Bergin.
After more than 50
years as a completely vol-
unteer-run fi re district,
Westport Fire & Rescue
District hired its fi rst paid
staff .
Greg Brody, of Clats-
kanie, started Wednesday
as assistant fi re chief.
Keith Walling, West-
port’s fi re chief for the past
18 years, said the decision
to hire a staff member is a
big step .
“We were one of the last
districts in the county to
not have any paid staff and
it’s been something we’ve
needed for a while,” Wall-
ing said. “I’m excited to
see where it can take us.”
As the assistant fi re
chief, Brody will run the
day-to-day operations of
the fi re district and be a
point of contact for ven-
Nicole Bales/The Astorian
Greg Brody is the new
assistant fi re chief in
Westport.
dors, contractors and out-
side agencies .
Although the position
is only part time right now,
Brody said his long-term
goal is to fi nd ways to cre-
atively fund the position
for more hours through
federal grants or through
partnerships with local
industry.
See Brody, Page A6