148TH YEAR, NO. 107
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021
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CORONAVIRUS
VACCINES
County
optimistic
about
rollout
Task force hopes to
catch up after delays
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County’s vaccine task force,
which has fallen behind because of an
inadequate supply of vaccines, expects
to begin vaccinating seniors 70 years and
older against the coronavirus .
The task force is moving down the pri-
ority list after most teachers and seniors
80 and older have been vaccinated. About
1,400 people are expected to receive fi rst
doses at upcoming vaccination events ,
including a large event on Thursday
planned to administer 1,000 doses.
People 65 and older are eligible for the
vaccine in Oregon, but the county will
move to that age group as supplies allow.
See Vaccines, Page A6
Homeless
liaisons
to lead
outreach
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The Shively family has a crypt at Astoria Pioneer Cemetery.
Astoria will consider older
name for historic cemetery
Some unease about the term ‘pioneer’
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
N
Idea grew out of city task force
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County will soon have two liai-
sons dedicated to connecting homeless
people to social services , along with gath-
ering data and addressing gaps in outreach.
The positions, funded by the county and
Clatsop Community Action, grew out of
an Astoria task force on homelessness. The
liaisons will work under Clatsop Commu-
nity Action and the agency is trying to
secure continuous funding into the future.
Viviana Matthews, the agency’s execu-
tive director, said about 20 people applied
for what was initially one position.
The task force envisioned at least two
people serving the homeless throughout
the county, but limited the position to one
due to funding constraints. After securing
additional money , Clatsop Community
Action hired two people .
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
An obelisk for a member of the Warren family is at
Astoria Pioneer Cemetery.
obody knows how many bodies are buried in
the cemetery at the top of the hill in Astoria.
This spring, students and instructors with
Clatsop Community College’s historic preservation
and restoration program are documenting the Asto-
ria Pioneer Cemetery off Niagara Avenue. They plan
to clean and possibly repair the few remaining grave
markers and carve a new entrance sign.
While this work won’t uncover answers to many
questions people have about the property , it will help
inform future decisions about how to enhance visitor
enjoyment and understanding of the cemetery and its
history.
It may also lead to a name change.
There is unease about how the term “pioneer”
— a title applied to the cemetery in the late 1960s
— glosses over a complicated and brutal history
between native tribes and European settlers.
Given the additional uncertainty of who exactly
is still buried at the cemetery, some have suggested
the name is no longer accurate — and may have
never been accurate. They say the carving of the new
entrance sign could be an opportunity to return to the
cemetery’s original name: Hillside.
“It’s really so unclear on who is up there and do
these people even qualify as so-called pioneers? ”
said John Goodenberger, a local historian and
preservationist.
Goodenberger has provided historical documents
and information to city leaders to help them when they
discuss the matter at a C ity C ouncil meeting in April.
The Astorian
See Cemetery, Page A6
Locals erected the Astoria Pioneer Cemetery sign.
See Homeless, Page A6
Astoria, Port partner on master plan for waterfront
A prime location
for development
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
The city and the Port of Asto-
ria have taken the fi rst step
toward a master plan for a swath
of underutilized waterfront
around the West Mooring Basin
between Pier 1 and the Astoria
Bridge.
The Port laid the groundwork
during the coronavirus pandemic,
demolishing the crumbling for-
mer Seafare Restaurant and emp-
A master plan is in the works for the waterfront in Uniontown.
tying the Chinook Building, a
dilapidated commercial complex
overlooking the marina.
The Astoria Development
Commission, an arm of the
City Council that controls urban
renewal funds, on Thursday
approved paying to hire a con-
sultant that will create a plan
by September for a mixed-use
neighborhood around the marina.
The Port’s central waterfront
represents one of the city’s main
areas of vacant and underutilized
land for commercial and resi-
dential development . The area
abuts Uniontown, where the city
recently fi nished a master plan to
revitalize the neighborhood and
preserve views of the Columbia
River.
The Port has contemplated
marketing the area around the
aging Astoria Riverwalk Inn
to private developers. Just east
on Portway Street and Marine
Drive, developer Chester Tra-
bucco is planning a large com-
plex of affordable apartments
made from shipping containers.
Hotelier Mark Hollander leases a
strip of vacant land from the Port
near Maritime Memorial Park,
where he could build a new Mar-
riott hotel.
See Waterfront, Page A3
State sides with
Cannon Beach
on dune grading
No grading to preserve views
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
CANNON BEACH — The state
rejected an appeal from two homeown-
ers associations and will uphold the city’s
new, more restrictive dune management
plan that eliminates the ability to grade to
preserve views.
The Breakers Point and Chapman
Point communities, located at the north
end of the city, fi led an appeal with the
Land Use Board of Appeals last April
after city leaders approved a new dune
See Dunes, Page A6