147TH YEAR, NO. 88
DailyAstorian.com // TuEsdAY, JANuARY 21, 2020
$1.50
Domino’s
coming to
Astoria
Space at the former
Life in the Slow Lane
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian
Tiny bits of plastic litter the sand at a beach in Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach.
Researchers examine impacts
of plastic fiber on mole crabs
Health of crabs an
important indicator
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Domino’s is coming to Astoria.
Pat Farmer’s family, including his
father, Jeff, and brother, Chris, owns
nearly 30 Domino’s locations across the
Pacific Northwest. They plan to open an
Astoria location in the spring inside the
former Life in the Slow Lane building at
16th Street and Marine Drive.
They recently purchased the sky blue
building on the edge of downtown from
Tracy and Donna Black. The couple spent
more than two years tearing down a for-
mer laundromat, cleaning the property
and having the structure built for their
short-lived, old-timey hot dog, soda and
gelato restaurant.
Pat and Chris Farmer grew up in
Hoquiam, Washington. The family has
been quickly expanding on the coast,
opening locations in Newport, Seaside
and at the North Coast Retail Center in
Warrenton in 2018.
“We went into Warrenton thinking we
could service both communities well,”
Pat Farmer said. “But we’ve come to the
realization that going over the bridge is
just too long of a drive.”
The company was delivering as far
east as 39th Street, but going farther
meant going outside of the 18 to 22 min-
utes for delivery time they target, he
said. The company also has a contract to
deliver pizzas to the Astoria School Dis-
trict’s food service program.
See Domino’s, Page A6
W
hile North Coast residents
are increasingly aware that
microplastics are a problem,
what the pollution means for wildlife
isn’t always clear.
But a type of plastic fiber now com-
monly found on Oregon’s beaches may
have a big impact on the life cycle
of Pacific sand crabs, according to a
recent study.
The study found that adult Pacific
sand crabs, also called mole crabs,
exposed in a lab to pieces of plas-
tic fiber died sooner than those that
were not exposed. If a crab was car-
rying a clutch of eggs when exposed,
it released the eggs prematurely. For
embryos, exposure to the plastic either
sped up their development or slowed it
down, depending on when they were
exposed.
Small, numerous and, at first glance,
unremarkable, mole crabs are a “bright,
blinking light” for whether or not
there’s a problem in an area, said Dor-
othy Horn, lead author of the study and
a doctoral candidate in Portland State
University’s earth, environment and
society program.
Horn collected sand samples from
19 beaches in Oregon and mole crabs
in Newport. Each sand sample con-
tained some amount of microplastic
fibers and particles. Though research-
Former Jewell
coach faces
harassment
charge
Oregon department of Fish and Wildlife
A new study finds Pacific sand crabs, also known as mole crabs, are impacted by
microplastics in the sand.
ers exposed the crabs in the lab to a
specific type of plastic fiber commonly
found in marine environments and
ingested by a variety of animals, Horn
says it is safe to assume the crabs were
already dealing with, and eating, a vari-
ety of plastic out on the beach.
Mole crabs are a sort of indicator
species, whose presence or absence
can tell researchers a lot about condi-
tions in an area. They have been used
to look for the presence of domoic acid,
a naturally occurring marine toxin that
can shut down popular razor clam fish-
eries and lucrative Dungeness fisheries
if levels spike too high.
“I think people forget the beach is
alive in a lot of ways,” Horn said. “It’s
not just a pile of sand.”
Mole crabs, she says, remind us there
is a whole ecosystem alive between the
rocks and the crashing ocean.
Despite the findings documented
in the study, how much of a problem
plastics are for mole crabs ultimately
remains to be seen.
See Mole crabs, Page A6
‘I THINK PEOPLE FORGET THE BEACH IS ALIVE IN A LOT OF WAYS.
IT’S NOT JUST A PILE OF SAND.’
Samuelson claims the
complaint was retaliation
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
A former boys basketball coach at
Jewell School is facing a harassment
charge for allegedly touching a former
coach for the middle school’s girls team.
Prosecutors filed the misdemeanor
against David Samuelson in Octo-
ber after the woman alleged Samuelson
touched her inappropriately on her but-
tocks over her clothes in January 2019.
In a motion filed in Circuit Court
by Samuelson’s attorney, Samuelson
claims the woman came forward with
the sexual harassment allegation after
he approached the school superintendent
about her conduct with a parent. The fil-
ing also claims that the woman’s bound-
aries with a high school student were
“problematic.”
Dorothy Horn | lead author of the study
See Samuelson, Page A6
Astoria man develops passion for carving
A dedication to ducks
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
A
fter retiring from a career as
an educator in 2013, Rick
Pass has spent the past several
years developing a craft of carving
and sculpting ducks from wood.
Pass, 66, of Astoria, spent 35
years as a high school teacher,
principal and superintendent at
the Knappa, Ilwaco and Naselle
schools districts.
Before retiring, he decided to
take a carving class at Clatsop
Community College, where he
was exposed to the art of carving
waterfowl.
His home and studio in Svensen
sit along the Columbia River,
where ducks congregate and serve
as inspiration for his work.
Although he found it frustrat-
ing to learn in the beginning, Pass
kept coming back, and eventu-
ally became deeply committed to
the craft. He bought books, took
classes and sought out the best
duck carvers in the world.
“I didn’t realize there was this
whole world out there of duck
carvers,” he said. “In order to get
good, I have to find the best and
then I go to them.”
He reached out to a duck carver
in North Carolina and spent 10
days with him learning the basics.
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
See Pass, Page A6
Rick Pass holds a finished mallard duck he hand carved and painted in his
shop at his home in Svensen.