The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, October 10, 2020, Image 2

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The daily Astorian., October 10, 2020, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextA2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2020 IN BRIEF New round of virus relief business grants available Another round of coronavirus business relief grants with expanded eligibility has been made available by Clatsop Economic Development Resources. State grants worth $5,000 and more are now available to small businesses that have received less than $100,000 in federal relief through programs like the Paycheck Pro- tection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees are eligible if they were either forced to shut down by a state order or can demonstrate a 25% drop in gross revenue in a given month between March and August, compared to the same month in 2019. Recipients of previous state relief grants are also eli- gible for the same amount, subject to a random selection process, and can ﬁ ll out a short-form application. The grant application is online at clatsopcc.edu/cedr and due by 5 p.m. on Friday. If the total amount of grant funds requested exceeds the available funds, a random selection process will be used. For more information, contact cedr@clatsopcc.edu Crash delayed trafﬁ c on Highway 101 near Gearhart Coast Guard cutter Steadfast returns The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast returned to Astoria on Sunday after a 57-day counternarcotics patrol to the eastern Paciﬁ c Ocean. The crew boarded ﬁ ve suspected smuggling ves- sels, detained eight suspected drug trafﬁ ckers and seized 3,905 pounds of pure cocaine, worth about $67 million, according to the Coast Guard. Astoria police officer promoted to sergeant Astoria police ofﬁ cer Thomas Litwin was promoted to sergeant, replacing Brian Aydt, who retired in August. Litwin has been with the Astoria Police Department for a decade, and has served as an ofﬁ cer and as a detec- tive. He also represents the Astoria Police Department on the major crimes team. — The Astorian ON THE RECORD Assault of theft in the ﬁ rst degree, On the • Monica Lynn Record Terrell, 14 counts of identity theft, nine counts of theft in the second degree and ﬁ ve counts of forgery in the second degree. Meth possession • William Berk- ley Waddell, 51, was arraigned Wednesday for unlawful possession of methamphetamine. Disorderly conduct • James Robert Kieweg, 29, was arrested Thursday on Ninth and Astor Street in Astoria for disorderly conduct in the second degree. • Kevin Coats, 55, was arrested Wednesday on the New Youngs Bay Bridge for disorderly conduct and giving a false name to a police ofﬁ cer. Unlawful entry • Olavi Nauha, 25, of Astoria, was arrested Wednesday on Eighth Street and Astor Street in Astoria for unlawful entry into a motor vehicle. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Youngs River Lewis & Clark Water District Board, 6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway. TUESDAY Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (elec- tronic meeting). Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., main ﬁ re station, 34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business. PUBLIC MEETINGS 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 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, 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Park district to buy Broadway Middle School Potential for recreation and community events By R.J. MARX The Astorian Trafﬁ c was delayed Thursday afternoon on U.S. Highway 101 near Gearhart due to a crash. Ofﬁ cials say a Jeep Cherokee was rear-ended by the driver of a Chevy Tahoe while stopped on the highway southbound waiting to turn left onto Dellmoor Loop. The Jeep Cherokee spun out into the northbound lane and caught on ﬁ re. The driver was able to get out and away from the ﬁ re. The driver of a Toyota Sienna was heading north- bound on the highway and reportedly swerved to try to avoid the Jeep Cherokee, but they still collided. The drivers of the Chevy Tahoe and Jeep Cherokee were taken to local hospitals. 58, was arraigned Wednes- day for assault in the fourth degree and harassment. Attempted assault • Scott Martin Laforce, 40, of Warrenton, was arraigned Wednesday for attempted assault in the second degree, unlawful use of a weapon, criminal mischief in the ﬁ rst degree, two counts of menacing and disorderly conduct in the second degree. Robbery • Timothy Tylor Sco- vill, 27, of Astoria, was arraigned Wednesday for robbery in the third degree, interfering with a police ofﬁ cer, escape in the third degree and theft in the sec- ond degree. Computer crime • Anthony James Wag- ner, 26, was arraigned Wednesday for 14 counts of computer crime, ﬁ ve counts of forgery in the ﬁ rst degree, ﬁ ve counts Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Broadway Middle School in Seaside. 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 Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 SEASIDE — The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District will purchase Broad- way Middle School from the Seaside School District. While the purchase price is undisclosed, park district board members approved a resolution to seek ﬁ nancing for up to $2.5 million in a spe- cial meeting on Thursday. “I think this is a really good opportunity and hope- fully we’ll be able to program recreational and community opportunities for people that live here,” Skyler Archibald, the executive director of the park district, said. “It comes at a much more affordable price tag than the previous bond and (the cost of) new construction would be at any point.” Broadway Middle School, located off of U.S. Highway 101 and Broadway, is among school properties relocating this fall to a new Spruce Drive location outside of the tsu- nami inundation zone. WHILE THE PURCHASE PRICE IS UNDISCLOSED, PARK DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS APPROVED A RESOLUTION TO SEEK FINANCING FOR UP TO $2.5 MILLION IN A SPECIAL MEETING ON THURSDAY. Marketed at $2.9 million, 3 acres are zoned residential and 2.4 acres are zoned for com- mercial use of the 5.4-acre property. The 73,000-square- foot building includes the school with two gyms, cafete- ria and kitchen. In seeking tax-exempt debt ﬁ nancing, the park district is represented by a member of the Special Districts Associ- ation of Oregon, Archibald said, using ﬁ nancing options the district has used in the past to expand the Sunset Pool and acquire park district property. A portion of funds will cover an undisclosed amount of earnest money to the school district and inspection costs, which are already underway. The park district has 45 days to conduct due dili- gence, at which point the ear- nest money would become nonrefundable. Inspection begins next week, and the park district could close on the property by Dec. 17. “In the agreement, there is an opportunity for us or the school district to adjust the offer,” Archibald said. “We don’t anticipate doing that. We are hopeful we won’t ﬁ nd anything that really changes our mind. But we wanted this longer due diligence so we can see the building with fresh eyes and get into some of the places we haven’t been able to get into and see the condi- tion of those spaces. We know it’s an older building. We still don’t want to ﬁ nd any big hid- den surprises.” A $20 million bond for a renovation and expansion of the Sunset Pool was rejected by voters in 2018. A business plan for the purchase of the middle school by the park district was pre- sented last November. In June, the park district board rejected pursuit of the project, citing potential reme- diation costs, rejection of the 2018 bond and a weak economy. The board reversed its decision last month. Potential partners going forward include the city, which leases portions of the property from the school district. “The city has expressed an interest in maintaining that part of the property for the vis- itors bureau, chamber of com- merce building as well as the public restrooms,” Archibald said. The school district has also shown interest in leasing part of the property as gym over- ﬂ ow and locker rooms for sporting events at Broadway Field. Board members saw potential for commercial ten- ants on the property. “There could be dance stu- dios in there,” board member Michael Hinton said. “There could be a doggie day care. I’m looking forward to seeing this develop. It’s more than a landmark endeavor.” Some Oregon pumpkin patches almost got shut down Johnson intervenes to save hayrides By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press SAUVIE ISLAND — Farmers say a lack of com- munication between gov- ernment agencies and conﬂ icting last-minute guid- ance issued to farms nearly shut down some Oregon pumpkin patch activities. Farm advocates say vis- itors to Oregon pumpkin patches last weekend prob- ably had little idea of the “crazy scramble” that hap- pened behind the scenes to keep fall agritourism open. Since spring, farmers have called the state Depart- ment of Agriculture and other agencies to ask how to safely operate pumpkin patches this fall. Then at around 5 p.m. on Oct. 1, less than 48 hours before many pumpkin patches were set to open, the Oregon Health Authority issued a last-minute change to the Department of Agri- culture ’s guidelines to some farms via email. The health authority’s rule, as interpreted by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which enforces workplace safety, would have disal- lowed hayrides, corn mazes, tractor rides and similar interactive activities for any county still in p hase one of reopening from coronavi- rus restrictions. Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas Kari Egger Pumpkins at The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island. counties in the Portland area are in p hase one , as is Mal- heur County in southeastern Oregon. “ODA’s previous guide for U-pick and pumpkin patch operations came out early this summer. So this OHA document came com- pletely out of the blue,” said Samantha Bayer, pol- icy counsel at the Oregon Farm Bureau. “Why weren’t the agencies coordinated on this?” Emails obtained by the Capital Press show the new guidance was based on a chart from Gov. Kate Brown’s ofﬁ ce that farm groups say had never been released to the public. Aaron Corvin, a spokes- man for OSHA, told the Capital Press his agency has overall been nimble and worked hard to communi- cate clearly, but there have been a few minor hiccups. “Every now and then, like this case demonstrates, you do … you get a situa- tion where there needs to be some clariﬁ cation. But from Please ADOPT A PET! LOLA Lola is a six year old American Staffordshire Terrier mix Lola’s soulful eyes and her sweet face are surely made for the singular purpose of making people melt. If ever there were a people dog, little miss Lola is it. She’s happiest palling around with a human and she deserves nothing more than to have her very own dedicated worshipper - or a household full of them. She prefers to be the only dog and is allergic to chicken and grass but is not on any medication and is happy on pavement walks. No cats please. See more on Petfinder.com CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS 1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm www.dogsncats.org THIS SPACE SPONSORED BY BAY BREEZE BOARDING our end, you know, we’re able to pretty quickly get things ironed out and move forward,” said Corvin, who noted that the agencies cor- rected the miscommunica- tion the next day. Jonathan Modie, a spokesman for the Oregon Health Authority , told the Capital Press his agency works “really closely” with the Department of Agri- culture and OSHA and that communication is “very ﬂ uid and collaborative.” “Oh gosh, we’re work- ing so hard to communi- cate clearly and listen to businesses. We deﬁ nitely want to support our farming industries,” Modie said. The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island, founded in 1967, was one of the farms that would have been impacted. Kari Egger, who co-owns the farm with her husband, Bob, said without a hay- ride option, the farm’s prof- its would have been hurt because the pumpkin patch lies a third of a mile from the main entrance, and the pumpkins are huge and would be difﬁ cult for some visitors to carry. The pumpkin patch brings in about half of the farm’s annual sales. The Eggers had pre- pared for months to open their pumpkin patch with new safety measures. They ditched a tractor-pulled ride for kids. They scrapped the hay maze and hay pyramid. They set up hand sanitizer stations, pre picked pumpkin displays and signs remind- ing visitors that masks are required. They even set up online ticket sales. “We felt like we went over the top,” Egger said. So when Egger got the unexpected guidance on Oct. 1 , she called state Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scap- poose , who took up the farmers’ cause. Because of Johnson’s help, just in time for the weekend, the Oregon Farm Bureau and the agencies crafted new rules for pump- kin patches that farmers say are simpler and more fair. “Betsy Johnson and the f arm b ureau saved our hineys,” said Egger, “and they saved Halloween.” THE ASTORIA FINNISH BROTHERHOOD AUXILIARY presents DRIVE-THRU-PICK UP LAKSLODA LUNCH Thursday, October 15 from 11:30-1:30 $15 per box lunch drive behind Suomi Hall 244 W. Marine Dr. Astoria, Oregon Pre order by calling 503-440-9002