A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021
A FLAVEL
TOUCH-UP
IN BRIEF
Astoria police seeking
information on two burglaries
Astoria police are investigating two early morning
break-ins Wednesday at restaurants.
Police were called at about 3 a.m. to Hong Kong
Restaurant on Marine Drive after a someone reported
hearing a loud crash. Offi cers found that a rock had been
thrown through the glass door. Witnesses say a motor-
cycle was parked out front at the time of the incident
and then drove away.
Just before 4 a.m., police were called to Sahara
Pizza on Astor Street and found that a rock has been
thrown through a glass side door. Police say an ATM
had been tampered with and it is unclear how much, if
any, money was taken.
Witnesses also reported seeing and hearing a motor-
cycle in the area around that time.
Police believe the break-ins are linked and that the
suspect may have been in the area the day before check-
ing out the businesses.
Anyone with information, surveillance photos or
videos that may help with identifying the suspect or the
motorcycle are asked to email Detective Nicole Riley at
nriley@astoria.or.us. People who know the suspect or
their whereabouts are asked to call Astoria 911 Dispatch
at 503-325-4411.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Several people injured
in crash in Warrenton
Workers with Velazquez Painting & Construction prepare to paint the exterior of the Flavel home off of 15th Street.
Several people were injured in a multivehicle crash
Tuesday on U.S. Highway 101 and S.E. Ensign Lane in
Warrenton.
Police say a vehicle heading northbound failed to
yield to the controlled intersection at Ensign Lane and
collided with three other vehicles. One of the vehicles
then collided with a fi fth vehicle.
The driver who failed to yield was cited for reckless
driving.
Survey seeks input on Gearhart fi rehouse site
Astoria Aquatic Center
allows drop-ins again
The Astoria Aquatic Center has stopped requiring
reservations to use the pool as most coronavirus restric-
tions end statewide.
Masks and social distancing will no longer be
required and the facility reopened to drop-in swimmers
Wednesday.
The aquatic center reopened in March, but had asked
patrons to reserve 45-minute time slots in either the rec-
reation pool or the lap lanes. Now the pool will not have
time limits on how long swimmers can stay in the water.
County seeking public input on
regional health equity study
Clatsop County is seeking public comments on a
draft study examining health equity in Clatsop, Colum-
bia and Tillamook counties.
The study was initiated in 2019 as part of the region’s
public health modernization partnership for communi-
cable disease control.
Clatsop County contracted with the Rede Group, a
Portland based consulting company, to collect data and
create the draft plan.
Visit the county’s website for more information on
the plan and to provide feedback. Four online public
forums on the plan are scheduled for July.
— The Astorian
DEATH
June 23, 2021
HERNANDEZ, Linda Marie, 52, of Astoria, died
in Salem. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the arrangements.
In Brief
Death
CORRECTION
Incorrect temperature — Temperatures peaked at
Correction
101 degrees on Sunday afternoon in Astoria, accord-
ing to the National Weather Service. The mark tied a
previous record set on July 1, 1942. An In Brief item
on Tuesday incorrectly said temperatures peaked at
100 degrees in Astoria.
ON THE RECORD
Theft
infl uence of intoxicants,
On
the
Record
• Courtney
Allen,
26, hit and run and reckless
was arrested Tuesday in
Warrenton for theft in the
fi rst degree.
DUII
• Edinelza Conrad,
44, of Hammond, was
arrested Tuesday on S.W.
Cedar Avenue in Warren-
ton for driving under the
endangerment.
• Patricia F. Crago, 33,
of Astoria, was arrested
Tuesday on 22nd Street
and Exchange Street in
Astoria for DUII.
• Ryan Michael Moore,
24, was arrested Monday on
U.S. Highway 101 for DUII.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Astoria Design Review Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall,
1095 Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Property off
Highlands Lane
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
GEARHART — The city
wants to know what residents
think of a new fi rehouse loca-
tion off Highlands Lane .
“An opportunity now
exists for the city to accept a
land donation in a desirable
location,” city staff wrote in a
letter to homeowners accom-
panying the survey.
The survey comes as
Gearhart faces cost and
legal obstacles at the previ-
ously preferred site at North
Marion.
The online survey, pow-
ered by Survey Monkey,
seeks a name; whether the
respondent is a renter, busi-
ness owner or homeowner ;
and to confi rm local vot-
ing eligibility. Respondents
are asked if they agree with
the city’s plan to build the
fi re station on The Cottages
at Gearhart dune near High-
lands Lane and U.S. High-
way 101.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The survey deadline is Aug. 1.
The fi nal survey question
asks if respondents would
support bond fi nancing in
November to pay for the
project .
Along with the online
survey, 1,600 surveys are
expected to be mailed this
week, City Administrator
Chad Sweet said.
The survey deadline is
Aug. 1.
“As the city prepared to
fi nalize the written purchase
agreement and have a vote
to fi nance the purchase/con-
struction at High Point, we
received an email from one
of the property owners stating
the family is no longer inter-
ested in selling their four lots
to the city,” city staff wrote.
“And further, the Palisades
Homeowners
Association
will do everything they can to
block the city’s eff orts to have
the HOA’s road easement
between the lots eliminated.”
The city is working with
planners to bring the 30-acre
Cottages at Gearhart subdi-
vision off of Highlands Lane
into the city’s urban growth
boundary. As long as the land
remains in Clatsop County,
developers are limited to two
lots per acre. If they come
into the urban growth bound-
ary, developers could build
on four lots per acre.
This change would allow
for greater housing den-
sity, lower home prices and
a greater number of home
sales, the city wrote.
The cost to perform land
improvements and build the
structure on the Highlands
Lane site will be compara-
ble to High Point, approxi-
mately $10.5 million, accord-
ing to city staff . The city will
not need to purchase the land,
which could save $3 million.
This is the second sur-
vey conducted by the city to
determine a fi rehouse site.
A 2019 survey pinpointed
the High Point site on North
Marion as preferable to Gear-
hart Park or the fi rehouse site
on Pacifi c Way.
Of the more than 400 vot-
ers who responded, 52% sup-
ported the High Point site,
compared with 31% at the
Pacifi c Way site and 17% at
Gearhart Park. At the time,
cost was estimated at between
$6 million and $9 million.
In June, the City Coun-
cil approved $80,000 from
the building reserve fund for
due diligence in planning,
architecture and geotechnical
engineering services for the
Highlands Lane site.
A pandemic boom for cabinet business
to the North Coast from
Astoria to Nehalem, Sand-
ersen has established a much
wider service area when it
comes to design.
She’s worked on projects
for clients in Bend, southern
Oregon and even Idaho, pro-
viding design services from
afar and then having materi-
als shipped to them.
The designer
saw demand amid
supply chain issues
By KATHERINE
LACAZE
For The Astorian
GEARHART — Two
weeks after Debbie Sand-
ersen signed a lease on a
showroom for PNW Cab-
inets along U.S. Highway
101, Clatsop County, like the
rest of the world, went into
shutdown mode amid the
pandemic.
Sandersen said the expe-
rience was nerve-wracking
— “wondering how it’s all
going to go, and would you
get enough of a customer
base and everything to keep
going” — but she neverthe-
less plunged forward with
her business plan.
Initially, she took solace,
believing it would give her
more time to set up her show-
room in Gearhart. Instead,
however, the pandemic had
the opposite eff ect, and Sand-
ersen has experienced a non-
stop stream of business for
cabinets, countertops, win-
dow coverings and tiles.
“We’ve been so busy that
there’s not really been much
downtime at all, which has
been fun, because you’ve
always got a project to work
on,” she said.
While cultivating cli-
ents hasn’t been a prob-
lem, the pandemic brought
other challenges. Not only
have raw materials gone up
in price over the past year,
but shipping costs have also
escalated
exponentially.
Meanwhile, a global short-
age of shipping containers
has emerged, leading to fur-
ther infl ation. There are also
long lead times on acquir-
ing certain materials and
products.
Long-distance projects
Katherine Lacaze/For The Astorian
Seaside resident Debbie Sandersen is the owner of PNW Cabinets.
An important part of
dealing with these external
challenges is simply being
upfront with clients to estab-
lish realistic expectations,
Sandersen said.
During her initial consul-
tation, she’ll delve into lead
times and how that can infl u-
ence the timeline and cost of
a project.
If clients aren’t in a rush,
“they can pretty much get
what they want,” she said.
If they are on a particular
timeline, she’ll direct them
toward alternatives.
That sort of insight into
the market is what Sandersen
strives to provide all her cli-
ents when designing residen-
tial and commercial spaces
and helping with product
selection.
“I really focus on listen-
ing to what their needs are
and trying to get them every-
thing they need to make that
particular project come about
in the way that they’re think-
ing,” she said.
‘Raised in the industry’
Sandersen summed up
her experience as being
“raised in the industry,” par-
ticularly the woodworking
end of things.
She’s been designing for
about 18 years, although
it was always under the
umbrella of a larger com-
pany. Eventually, she decided
to branch out on her own.
“Since this was the skill
set I had mostly, we just
decided to go ahead and pull
the trigger on this,” she said.
She felt it was import-
ant to create a showroom,
since there aren’t many local
establishments where people
can look at samples of mate-
rials or diff erent products.
“It seemed like there was
a need out here for people
to have a place to go to see
things and get work done,”
she said.
Sandersen
frequently
works in tandem with her
husband Kurt’s business,
KHS Northwest. She helps
with design and materials
acquisition, while his con-
tracting company provides
installation services for
home and business owners
that need them.
He’s worked in the indus-
try for a long time and in
multiple capacities, from
remediation and restoration
to managing projects and
running a handyman busi-
ness. Now, his main focus
is doing installs alongside
PNW Cabinets.
While they keep their
installation projects focused
Even when designing
remodels or new construc-
tion on the coast, Sander-
sen is no stranger to working
virtually with clients. That’s
due in large part to the abun-
dance of second homes and
vacation rentals in the area.
In fact, long-distance proj-
ects comprise about 50% of
her business.
Recently, Sandersen has
also worked with numer-
ous clients who are mov-
ing to the coast and turning
their second homes into their
primary residences. While
those spaces might have
served them well as tem-
porary vacation homes, they
aren’t suitable for long-term,
daily living — and that’s
where Sandersen steps in.
“Usability and function-
ality — those are two huge
parts of the project,” she
said. “Everybody stores
things diff erently, or has dif-
ferent lifestyle needs. It’s just
fi guring out what those are to
get it right for them.”
When she’s able to
accomplish that for a client,
regardless of the type of proj-
ect and scope of work, she
fi nds it rewarding.
“I like to help people get
what they envision, what
they want, and make it all
work out so they don’t really
have to make sacrifi ces on
quality, or color, or whatever
it is they’re thinking,” she
said. “When they’re happy,
that makes me happy.”