149TH YEAR, NO. 57
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021
$1.50
GEARHART
State zeroes
in on highway
improvements
A final facility plan is
expected next year
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Astoria High School senior Chris Sanchez scrapes lichen off a gravestone at Greenwood Cemetery.
Astoria students tackle
cemetery restoration
The gravestones at
Greenwood can bring
history back to life
See Highway, Page A2
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
SEASIDE
O
n a rainy afternoon in Green-
wood Cemetery, Astoria High
School senior Bailey Temple-
ton tends to a gravestone.
The monument is dark brown
and black, its edges worn. What-
ever shape it once was, and what-
ever name is engraved, are difficult to
make out, as time and weather have
taken a toll.
A closer look reveals an intricate
design of a dove, constructed with
white marble.
With the help of Templeton and
two classmates — Chris Sanchez and
Aidyn Noah — this gravestone and
many others will soon resemble their
old forms.
The students have teamed up to
make the restoration of Greenwood
Cemetery their senior projects. The
trio typically spends two afternoons
a week, for around an hour each time,
following the guidance of cemetery
owner Mike Leamy.
They scrape, scrub and clean the
moss, lichen and dirt that have built
up over time. They also edge the
perimeter of the gravestones to main-
tain their shape and spray a biolog-
ical solution to improve the coat —
the stuff that makes white marble
look white again.
“They keep everlastingly at it, and
that’s the way it is with a perpetual
care cemetery,” Leamy said. “You
keep going, start at one point and
keep working through, knowing that
the maintenance requirement will be
following you up the hill.”
GEARHART — A three-lane road-
way, access to public transit, sidewalks,
safer crossings and a possible roundabout
at Gearhart Lane are among the options
being considered by the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation to improve U.S.
Highway 101.
The multiyear process will culminate
with delivery of a final facility plan at the
end of 2022.
“All of our solutions were built off that
2017 transportation system plan that was
adopted by the city, really focusing on this
three-lane cross section that provides traf-
fic calming and then access to the resi-
dences and businesses in the corridor by
creating a continuous center turn lane
throughout the corridor,” Kenneth Shonk-
wiler, a regional traffic planner with the
Department of Transportation, said at an
update for the City Council last week.
Cost for lane reconfiguration, a 12-foot
multiuse path on the east side of the high-
way and a 6-foot sidewalk on the west,
along with bicycle lanes, curb and land-
scape buffer, is estimated at $14 million.
An alternative using a barrier to separate
north and southbound traffic is estimated
at $6.9 million.
Hotelier
buys historic
building
Khan is planning
a second-floor hotel
Astoria High School senior Bailey Templeton sprays a gravestone with a stain remover.
Mike Leamy is the owner of Greenwood
Cemetery.
Gratifying work
Senior projects typically involve
20 hours of community service. Tem-
pleton and Sanchez got a jump over
the summer and have exceeded their
required hours. Noah, who just began
at Astoria High School, is nearing 20
hours, as well. The task of maintaining
the cemetery became such gratifying
work for the trio, that Templeton said
they almost think of it like an extracur-
ricular activity.
Templeton, who Leamy refers to as
the “field commander” because of her
leadership and initiative, was the mas-
termind behind the idea. For her, the
project is both personal and a passion.
“For me, I have been around death
a lot, and I want people to be able to
remember the ones they’ve lost,” said
Templeton, who has several family
members buried in the cemetery.
Her appreciation for art and work-
ing with her hands has kept Templeton
returning, and since she lives next to
the cemetery, she can be found scrap-
ing, scrubbing and spraying more than
just twice a week.
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — Hotelier Masudur Khan
has purchased the Gilbert Block Building
downtown and plans to renovate its sec-
ond floor into a hotel.
The two-story building, on a little
more than three-quarters of an acre, sold
to Seaside LLC in October for $3.1 mil-
lion. The sale includes the 38,000-square-
foot building, including riverfront prop-
erty, and a parking lot on the east side of
N. Holladay Drive.
The ground floor will continue to be
rented as stores.
Khan helms Seaside Lodging and
owns and manages hotels and restaurants
in the Pacific Northwest, including the Inn
at Seaside, the River Inn, the Coast River
Inn and the 65-room SaltLine Hotel. His
wife operates the Gilbert Inn and the Inn
at Haystack Rock. Khan is the past chair-
man for the Oregon Restaurant and Lodg-
ing Association.
See Cemetery, Page A3
See Hotelier, Page A2
Marathon runner overcomes hurdles
Spear won the
Portland Marathon
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
EASIDE — When people
see Matt Spear running, they
sometimes yell, “Run, Forrest,
run!”
While Spear didn’t run across
the country like Forrest Gump,
S
the character in the classic Tom
Hanks film, the Seaside resident
ran and won this year’s Portland
Marathon.
Spear first entered the event
in 2015. His most disappoint-
ing moment came in 2019 when
he was part of the group of
runners that went off course
after following a biker who
wasn’t part of the race about
10 miles in.
“There wasn’t someone saying,
‘Go this way,’” he said.
By the time they stopped, turned
around and got back on course,
they had added several miles to the
run. “We did the scenic route,” he
said.
While his chances for a win that
year were gone, he still finished in
the race’s top 10 and eyed future
marathons. “I felt a little disap-
pointed, but it happens,” he said.
“You just kind of get ready for the
next one.”
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
See Spear, Page A3
Matt Spear, a Seaside resident, is setting his sights on the 100K Black Canyon Ultras.