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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2021)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 2021 IN BRIEF County seeks applicants for budget committees Clatsop County has openings on several local bud- get committees. The Clatsop County Budget Committee has seats open for District 3, which covers the central Asto- ria region, and District 4, which covers the eastern Astoria region. The District 3 term runs until Febru- ary 2024. The District 4 term runs through February 2022. Two seats are also open on Road District 1 Bud- get Committee, two seats are open on the Westport Sewer Service District Budget Committee and three seats are open on the 4-H & Extension District Bud- get Committee. The county Board of Commissioners makes the appointments. Applications will be accepted through Feb. 8. More information is available on the coun- ty’s website. Edward Stratton/The Astorian The Astorian A geotechnical consultant for Astoria said several homes on Floral Street are at moderate risk of impact from a landslide Wednesday. Record rainfall in January 1982 uprooted a house on Alameda Avenue and pushed it over the sidewalk, similar to another slide that occurred Wednesday. Hillside off Alameda Avenue ‘marginally stable’ By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Warrenton Library hosts interest session The Warrenton Community Library is holding a virtual group interest session at 6 p.m. on Thurs- day to discuss the creation of a Friends of Libraries organization. The nonprofi t groups support libraries in their communities. The groups generally handle fi nances and work closely with library management. Anyone interested in getting involved can call the library at 503-861-8156 or visit the library’s website to get information about the Zoom meeting. Posalski sworn in to Seaside City Council SEASIDE — David Posalski, a businessman, was sworn in on Monday to the Seaside City Council. Posalski defeated Kathy Kleczek and Adam Wood in the November election in Ward 4. Offi ces close for Martin Luther King Jr. Day In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, all federal, state, county and city offi ces and services, including Astoria, Warrenton, Gear- hart, Seaside and Cannon Beach city halls, are closed. All U.S. post offi ces are closed, and there is no mail delivery. Astoria, Jewell, Knappa, Warrenton/Hammond and Seaside (including Cannon Beach and Gearhart) school district schools, and Clatsop Community Col- lege, are closed. The Astoria Library, Seaside Library and Warren- ton Library are closed. The Port of Astoria offi ces and services are closed. Garbage collection through Recology Western Oregon and the city of Warrenton garbage collection are not affected by the holiday. Recology Western Oregon’s transfer station is open. The Sunset Pool in Seaside is closed. The Astoria Aquatic Center is still closed. The Clatsop County Heritage Museum and Fla- vel House are closed. The Oregon Film Museum and Carriage House — gift shops only — are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Uppertown Firefi ghters’ Museum is closed for the winter. Lil’ Sprouts is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fort Clatsop is closed, but the trails are open. The Columbia River Maritime Museum is closed. The Seaside Museum is closed. Sunset Empire Transportation (“The Bus”) is running. — The Astorian A geotechnical consul- tant concluded there is no indication of larger-scale movement beyond the land- slide that uprooted a house on Alameda Avenue on Wednesday, cautioning the city to monitor the hillside . “The key fi ndings there are that this slide was kind of a small slide within a much larger slide block. That whole hillside … I consider it marginally sta- ble,” said Gerry Heslin, the vice president of Cornforth Consultants. The slide that uprooted the home of Cati Foss was a surfi cial slough — or skin slide — involving about 3 to 6 feet of soil that slid off a steep, dipping bedrock face, Heslin said. “I don’t see any evidence right now of large-scale movement, although you’ve got to keep your eyes on it just to make sure that the initial conclusions are borne out by further observations,” he said. The slide left the back- yards of several homes on Floral Street precariously close to the edge, including the deck of one home . Hes- lin warned that those homes were at moderate risk of being impacted by future sliding. “But based on the site observations I made while I was out there, I think there’s enough of what we call col- luvium — the soil bedrock — to where that house … should be fi ne,” he said. Cindy Moore, the assis- tant city engineer, said city staff has advised homeown- ers above the slide on Flo- ral Street to cover the slide zone with tarps. Staff has marked cracks in a driveway between two homes. “We’re taking measure- ments daily, and those hav- en’t changed since Wednes- day afternoon,” Moore said. “And then just visual inspec- tions of the hillside.” Most hillsides in Astoria are at moderate to high risk of landslides. After record rainfall in January 1982, a home two lots east of Foss’s home was similarly uprooted and pushed onto the sidewalk. Foss said her family is working with insurers and a contractor to determine whether her house, slumped over the sidewalk on Ala- meda Avenue, can be sal- vaged. But her family faces challenges in getting cover- age for a landslide. “If we had the insurance that was actually going to cover the slide itself, we’d need earthquake insurance or the equivalent of that,” Foss said. “And because of our location in Astoria, it’s like tens of thousands of dollars a year. I think the lowest quote they gave me was $30,000 a year. It was insane. And the deductible was close to $200,000 or $300,000.” Kujala chosen as chairman of county commission By NICOLE BALES The Astorian Commissioner Mark Kujala was selected Wednes- day night as the new chair- man of the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, part of a shift in the ideolog- ical balance of the board in a more conservative direction. Kujala, who was elected in 2018, represents District 1, which covers Warrenton, Hammond and the west- ern portion of Astoria. He works as the director of the Columbia Memorial Hospi- tal Foundation. Kujala said the board’s priorities this year will be guiding the county through the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery. “Our immediate goals really this year are pretty clear — continue to work on containing the spread of COVID in the county, dis- economic development; tribute the vaccine equitably environmental quality and and effi ciently, focus on eco- social services. nomic recovery for the busi- “But really, the function nesses that have been of public health this hardest hit over these year and the eco- last 10 months,” he nomic recovery are said. “These are huge really going to be pre- tasks. It’s going to dominant,” Kujala take a concerted, said. “And I plan to cooperative effort focus my energies to achieve this. It’s and my efforts to Mark Kujala going to require resil- achieve successes in ience, teamwork and this.” diligence. The election of Courtney “We’ll continue to deliver Bangs, a Knappa preschool the necessary public facilities teacher, and John Toyooka, a and services effectively and manager at Lum’s Auto Cen- effi ciently and equitably. And ter, moves the board to the we’re going to do so in part- political right. nership with the public and Commissioner Lianne private service sectors, just Thompson, who represents as our strategic plan and our District 5 , which covers most mission outline.” of S outh C ounty, was chosen The board has identifi ed to serve as vice chair. fi ve focus areas in a strate- “Commissioner Kujala gic planning process: gov- and I have both been eager to ernance; infrastructure; lead this board in years past, and we haven’t been shy about nominating ourselves,” said Thompson, who was elected in 2014 . “I’m still a hardworking, ambitious per- son because I want to do good and be good and help others do that. I think at this time, in this place with a COVID pandemic, it’s appropriate for me to step back and ask the person who’s working at a hospital in Astoria as being most ideally suited to lead us through this pandemic.” Commissioner Pamela Wev said she would like to see the board continue to rotate the chairmanship every year so every commis- sioner gets a chance. “I certainly admire Com- missioner Thompson’s grace in this very unique situation,” she said. “I think that having Commissioner Kujala on the front lines really is a great asset.” Trump administration slashes habitat for spotted owl DEATHS Jan. 11, 2021 In CARR, Brief Jeffrey Lee, 61, of Svensen, died in Svensen. Caldwell’s Deaths Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. Dec. 12, 2020 ARMENT, George E., 87, of Clatskanie, died in Longview, Washing- ton. Groulx Family Mor- tuary is in charge of the arrangements. CORRECTION Incorrect name — Ott Custer’s body was found Correction near Little Beach in Gearhart on Tuesday. His name was listed incorrectly as Custer Ott in an In Brief item on A2 on Thursday. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY Warrenton City Commission, 4 p.m., work session, (elec- tronic meeting). Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (electronic meeting). Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., (electronic meeting). Seaside School District, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting). Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. 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: 800-781-3214 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, 2021 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper By BRADLEY W. PARKS Oregon Public Broadcasting The Trump administra- tion has cut designated crit- ical habitat for the northern spotted owl by millions of acres in Oregon, Washington state and California. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednes- day that it would remove 3.4 million acres of critical habi- tat for the bird, including all of what’s known as the O&C Lands, which is big timber territory in western Oregon. It’s the latest jab at the northern spotted owl on President Donald Trump’s way out the door. The spotted owl is listed as threatened under the Endan- gered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service has said the bird warrants uplisting to endangered because of con- tinued population declines. The spotted owl population decreased approximately 3.8% annually rangewide from 1985 to 2013. However, the agency refused to uplist the spotted owl at the end of last year, saying other species took higher priority. That decision is facing a legal challenge led by the Center for Biological Diversity. Noah Greenwald, the center’s endangered species Don Ryan/AP Photo A northern spotted owl fl ies after an elusive mouse jumping off the end of a stick in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman. director, called the reduction of critical habitat a “part- ing shot” from the Trump administration. “This is perhaps the nail in the coffi n for the north- ern spotted owl,” Greenwald said, “and really undoes a lot of the great work that’s been accomplished under the Northwest Forest Plan.” The reclusive northern spotted owl became the face of a campaign to save Ore- gon’s old growth forests from rampant logging in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The fi ght over the bird and the forests it inhabits was a watershed moment in Ore- gon history, shaping many of the social, political, envi- ronmental and economic divisions present in the state today. The Fish and Wildlife Service says slashing the owl’s critical habitat satis- fi es a settlement agreement between the agency, the tim- ber industry and counties. Half of all logging revenue from the O&C Lands — for- ests named for the long-de- funct Oregon & California Railroad — goes to counties and schools, by law. “We are delighted to see rational and positive deci- sion-making by the fed- eral government,” said Tim Freeman, a Douglas County commissioner and president of the Association of O&C Counties, in a press release. “It has been a very long pro- cess, and there is still more to do. But this is a major step in the right direction.” The Fish and Wildlife VOLUNTEER PICK OF THE WEEK Radar 2 year old German Shepherd Radar mixes elegant dignity with charming goofiness. His trust, once won, brings deep loyalty. 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The acre- age announced Wednesday is a dramatic departure from its initial proposal. The agency also removed critical habitat designation on 20,000 acres of land recently transferred to the Confed- erated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. The northern spotted owl still has more than 6 million acres of critical habitat. Under the Endangered Species Act, federal land agencies must designate critical habitat that must be maintained for species sur- vival. That can include areas that could sustain protected species even if they don’t currently live there. Sponsored by Bayshore Animal Hospital CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER 1315 SE 19th St., Warrenton • 861- PETS www.dogsncats.org Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat
