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PAGE 14
149TH YEAR, NO. 93
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022
$1.50
Record
value for
Dungeness
crab hauls
Season off to a strong start
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Cannon Beach hopes to redevelop a former elementary school.
Cannon Beach to borrow to fi nance
redevelopment of former school
Loan would help turn
property into a tourist
destination honoring
tribal history
Oregon’s Dungeness c rab fi shermen
have already hauled in the highest-gross-
ing season on record, with an ex-vessel
value of $78.1 million.
The previous record was $74.2 mil-
lion in ex-vessel value, set in the 2017-
2018 season. The value is calculated by
the average cost fi shermen get per pound,
multiplied by pounds brought in.
This year’s record-breaking value
comes a quarter of the way into the sea-
son, after negotiations, chance and con-
sumer demand increased dockside value.
Last year had a low haul of around
12 million pounds. In comparison, fi sh-
ermen have already brought in 15.3 mil-
lion pounds since this season opened in
December. This caused processors and
restaurants to have lower reserves than
usual, increasing demand.
Tim Novotny, a spokesman for the
Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission,
said anticipation was a major contributor
to this season’s explosive start.
“A lot of people were really getting a
great opportunity to get crab out there to
the consumers who were really clamoring
for it. So they didn’t want to mess around
See Crab, Page A6
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
ANNON BEACH — The city
intends to secure a loan to rede-
velop the former e lementary
s chool into a tourist destination honor-
ing local tribal history.
The City Council, during a meet-
ing Tuesday night, authorized the city
to borrow $4.6 million for the project,
which is expected to cost $5.5 million.
Lodging taxes will be used to pay off
the loan.
To prevent overborrowing, City
Manager Bruce St. Denis said the city
will split the borrowing into two issu-
ances. The second one could be made
as part of the fi nancing for a new City
Hall and police station.
The city-owned property on Beaver
Street — formerly Cannon Beach Ele-
mentary School — is about 1.6 acres.
St. Denis said the goal is to create a
destination that honors the Clatsop-Ne-
halem Confederated Tribes, since the
site was home to the tribes’ ancestors .
“In a lot of ways, we’re trying to
emulate what the tribe did there for a
long time, which is bringing people
together,” he said.
The city issued a request for pro-
posals from design fi rms late last year.
Proposals are due by Feb. 9. T he City
Council expects to select a fi rm by
March.
There are two buildings on the prop-
erty that need to be renovated. One is a
7,500 square-foot gymnasium and the
other is a 5,000 square-foot one-story
building with four classrooms and
C
CANNON BEACH
Cannon Beach has plans for a new City Hall and police station.
THE CITY ALSO HOPES
TO INCORPORATE
WALKING TRAILS,
INTERPRETIVE SIGNS,
DISPLAYS AND
PLANTED AREAS .
offi ce space.
The buildings have not been used
for several years, according to the city,
and have had limited maintenance for
more than a decade.
The city envisions creating meet-
ing places , a garden and spaces that
showcase tribal agriculture practices.
The Cannon Beach Food Pantry will
remain .
The city also hopes to incorporate
walking trails, interpretive signs, dis-
plays and planted areas .
When the property is not being used
for visitors, St. Denis said the space
could be used for community events.
The city manager said the design
fi rm will be expected to meet with
stakeholders and understand the goals
before starting the design process. The
City Council and the public will have
the opportunity to engage throughout
the process.
Meanwhile, St. Denis expects to
issue a request for proposals from
architectural fi rms to build a new City
Hall and police station .
He said the city will likely be ready
to borrow funds for the project next
January. When the city makes that
issuance, St. Denis said it will include
whatever amount is needed to com-
plete the project at the former elemen-
tary school.
City given
state grant
for disaster
preparedness
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
CANNON BEACH — A state grant
will help the city build sites that can turn
into emergency village shelters after a
disaster.
The city was awarded $360,000 from
the state’s c oronavirus fi scal r ecovery
f und to add resources to its safety and
survival cache sites. The City Council
accepted the grant on Tuesday.
Rick Hudson, the city’s emergency
manager, said the grant will help the city
add electricity, sanitation, heat, light-
ing, generators and security to the cache
sites.
He said investing in and maintaining
the sites will help ensure people have a
safe place to temporarily harbor if the
city cannot be reoccupied after a disaster.
See Cannon Beach, Page A6
See Grant, Page A6
Assistance League to donate books to new teachers
Idea to help build
classroom libraries
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
The Assistance League of the
Columbia Pacifi c has helped to pro-
vide resources to students across
Clatsop County.
At the end of February, they have
plans for a new deed.
Local members of the Assis-
tance League, a nationwide non-
profi t that seeks to strengthen the
community through philanthropic
programs , will purchase books
‘GOSH, (TEACHERS) SPEND SO MUCH
MONEY ON EVERYTHING THAT THEY
HAVE TO DO AND IT’S NICE TO HAVE A
LITTLE LIBRARY IN YOUR CLASSROOM.’
Mary Davies | president of the Assistance League .
from local bookstores and donate
them to two dozen new kindergar-
ten-through-fi fth grade teachers .
The donations will help teach-
ers build their personal libraries in
classrooms while they juggle the
other costs and challenges associ-
ated with being new teachers .
“Gosh, (teachers) spend so much
money on everything that they have
to do and it’s nice to have a lit-
tle library in your classroom,” said
Mary Davies, the president of the
Assistance League .
The group will buy books from
Lucy’s Books, in Astoria, and Beach
Books, in Seaside.
After communicating with teach-
ers to fi gure out what books they are
interested in, Davies said, they will
post the lists inside the bookstores to
seek additional donations from peo-
ple in the community. She hopes to
see several hundred books donated.
Lucy’s Books
See Books, Page A6
The Assistance League of the Columbia Pacifi c plans to buy books from
local bookstores and donate them to new teachers.