149TH YEAR, NO. 2
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2021
$1.50
Hospital,
university
reach a
milestone
Providers transfer under
OHSU umbrella
By EMILY LINDBLOM
The Astorian
At the wildlife
center, an otter
pup fi nds her way
Columbia Memorial Hospital has
reached a milestone in its partnership with
Oregon Health & Science University.
On Thursday , the two partners formed
CMH-OHSU Health, in which 28 pro-
viders in Astoria, Warrenton and Sea-
side transitioned to employment under
OHSU. These providers, who were previ-
ously employed by Columbia Memorial
Hospital, will continue seeing their same
patients.
Seventeen OHSU employees were
already working at the Astoria hospi-
tal, so now they will also work under the
CMH-OHSU Health brand.
Erik Thorsen, the CEO of Columbia
Memorial , said all those providers are
now part of one system.
“We have common practices, it’s effi -
cient and they have a common employer,”
Thorsen said. “They’re now all connected
to their respective department at OHSU.”
See Hospital, Page A6
Deaths
show
ocean
dangers
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Patrick Hogan, the wildlife rehabilitation coordinator at the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, checks on the river otter pup.
Rescued after an accident near Deer Island
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
T
here’s no way around it. The
otter pup has just eaten a her-
ring on her own — gobbled it
up — and now she has that look on
her face, one any parent would recog-
nize, that blend of intense yet Z en-like
concentration.
She’s pooping.
But because she’s a river otter, it’s
a little bit adorable. Maybe.
“She’s just a big baby,” said Pat-
rick Hogan, the wildlife rehabilitation
coordinator at the Wildlife Center of
the North Coast in Olney.
The pup, with her whiskery face
and expressive eyes, combines the
intelligence and curiosity of a rac-
coon with her own growing, slip-
pery strength. She is tiny right now
— Hogan can hold her in two gloved
hands — but she’s already incred-
ibly nimble and strong. The more
she grows, the harder she will be to
handle.
River otters are common in Ore-
gon and Washington state — unlike
their larger cousins, the sea otters,
which were considered locally extinct
in the Pacifi c Northwest for decades
and have not been successfully rein-
troduced to Oregon’s coastal waters.
When visitors to the Lewis and
Clark National Historical Park near
Warrenton tell staff they’ve just seen
a sea otter, they’ve actually seen a
river otter, said Carla Cole, the natural
resources project manager at the park.
Huge crowds expected
on holiday weekend
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
Emergency offi cials refer to them as
the deadliest days of the year.
Hundreds of thousands of people,
including many unfamiliar with the risks,
come to the coast during the summer
months. A historic heat wave and the lift-
ing of COVID-19 restrictions have drawn
huge numbers as the Fourth of July week-
end approaches.
Beachgoers are urged to exercise cau-
tion and be aware of their own limitations
in the water.
“We’re not used to this weather,”
Clatsop County Emergency Manager
See Otter pup, Page A6
See Ocean, Page A6
Hotel’s donation helps Nordic park reach goal
Cannery Pier contributes
$100,000 to project
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
After six years of fundraising,
the Astoria Nordic Heritage Park
has reached its goal of $1.5 million
and will move forward to the con-
struction stage.
“This wouldn’t have happened
without the community and the sup-
port of the city,” said Judi Lampi,
who leads the p ark committee.
A $100,000 donation by Can-
nery Pier Hotel & Spa pushed the
fundraising drive over the top.
Linh DePledge, the hotel’s gen-
eral manager, advocated for the
partnership with the Astoria Scan-
dinavian Heritage Association,
the nonprofi t responsible for over-
seeing the project, because she
believes the park will honor the
city’s roots.
“It’s about remembering Asto-
ria’s heritage and community,”
DePledge said in a statement.
Cannery Pier is owned by Vesta
Hospitality, based in Vancouver,
Washington.
“We wanted to support a local
cause or organization that needs
support and also aligns without our
history,” she said at an event Fri-
day announcing the donation at the
park’s site off Marine Drive between
15th and 16th streets. “Being from
Uniontown and thinking about
the people who helped construct
our building and pass through our
doors, we were happy to help them
get across the fi nish line. ”
The h eritage a ssociation reached
its fundraising goal thanks to a long
list of contributors, including over
400 individual donors, 14 founda-
tions, 11 corporations and two gov-
ernment agencies.
A $250,000 donation from Tony
Larson and Shelly Tack in April
moved the fundraising total close
to the target . Larson and Tack, a
couple from Sweet Home with ties
to Astoria, donated for the right to
a personalized inscription on the
park’s entrance.
Construction on the park will
start this fall and is projected to take
four to six months to complete.
Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association
See Nordic park, Page A6
The Astoria Nordic Heritage Park is planned along Marine Drive downtown.