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‘COASTING ON’
THURSDAY
FEB. 17
2022
TRE TURNS 50
COASTER THEA
PAGE 6
149TH YEAR, NO. 99
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2022
$1.50
Port expects
a record
cruise ship
season
Forty-two cruise ships
are booked to dock
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A Red Bull can is partially buried in underbrush at Fort Stevens State Park.
On the North Coast, a nudge
toward sustainable tourism
The city is testing out the program
for the rest of the year .
Heineman is expecting more busi-
nesses to join . He said sustainable
tourism projects will likely grow in
popularity along the coast.
“I just think it’s kind of a beautiful
idea, and I think that it’s one that —
after all this stress everybody’s kind
of been through — we’re all looking
for ways to go back to that carefree
life, but at the same time doing things
that make it better for us and everyone
else,” he said.
Programs steer visitors
to be more responsible
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
EASIDE — Joshua Heineman,
the city’s director of tourism
marketing, thinks about trash
while on beach walks with his fam-
ily. In the past few years, takeout con-
tainers, masks and even human waste
have piled up on the North Coast’s
trails and beaches.
“Ever since the pandemic hap-
pened, I don’t know if it’s a mass psy-
chology thing, I don’t know if it’s dif-
ferent people visiting that don’t usually
come out,” he said. “It was very, very
evident there’s people out there that
just didn’t know how to look out for
other people.”
Seaside already has monthly trash
cleanups, along with a few larger-scale
ones throughout the year. Heineman
wanted to do more.
“It was just putting together that
idea that if everybody just did a lit-
tle bit to not only pick up after them-
selves, but pick up after the people that
aren’t behaving, crowdsourcing that
eff ort could really go a long way,” he
said.
The idea of having visitors contrib-
ute to improving natural sites and com-
munity spaces follows the idea of sus-
tainable tourism, a concept that North
Coast business, government and tour-
ism management leaders will empha-
size in the coming months.
S
A pledge
The Coff enbury Lake Loop Trail in Fort
Stevens State Park.
Earlier this month , Seaside launched
its “Coff ee for Clean Beaches” pro-
gram. Participants pick up bags and
gloves at the Seaside Aquarium, then
leave them — fi lled with trash — for
pickup on the P romenade. They can
then bring a selfi e with their handiwork
to the visitor’s bureau in exchange for
$5 worth of wooden coins to spend at
participating coff ee shops.
Over its fi rst two weekends, people
picked up around $45 worth of coins.
Seaside has only recently started
advertising the program, and intends
to market it to Portland with radio ads.
David Reid, the executive director
of the Astoria-Warrenton Area Cham-
ber of Commerce, presented poten-
tial sustainable tourism programs to
the Clatsop County Board of Commis-
sioners earlier this month.
The chamber has been working
with state and local organizations,
including the North Coast Tourism
Management Network, to come up
with solutions to issues such as waste
removal and traffi c.
Reid, too, said the pandemic
brought a particularly low point for
visitor treatment of parks.
“There sort of became this under-
standing that we needed to really be
very clear in communication before
they got here, as to how best to interact
with the environment that they’re in,”
he said . “Sustainable tourism is not a
new concept, it has certainly become
more of a buzzword.”
As cruise ship season gets closer, the
Port of Astoria is expecting a record num-
ber of visits from oceangoing vessels.
Bruce Conner, who manages cruise
ship marketing for the Port, gave an
update to the Port Commission on Tues-
day, breaking down each cruise compa-
ny’s expectations and how the cruises
will handle coronavirus protocols.
Forty-two cruise ships are booked to
dock in Astoria in 2022 .
“It is pretty amazing in the midst of
COVID,” Conner said. “42 is shocking.”
Visits are starting earlier and lasting
later than a typical year, Conner said,
making way for more inventory. The fi rst
vessel is planning to dock on March 25.
Conner said the Port has seen very few
cancellations, even through the spike in
virus cases from the omicron variant.
“I think just that bookings have not
changed is a great sign that they’re com-
mitted to coming into Astoria and going
on up to Alaska,” Conner said in an
interview.
Several cruise lines are planning to
require vaccinations and booster shots for
passengers, Conner said.
See Cruise ships, Page A6
Local man gets
probation in
Salem protest
Lyles said he used
bear spray during fray
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
SALEM — A Svensen man has
pleaded guilty to charges related to a far-
right protest at the Oregon State Capitol
in December 2020 that police declared an
unlawful assembly.
Ryan Ernie Lyles, 43, pleaded guilty in
Marion County Circuit Court on Monday
to three counts of unlawful use of a chem-
ical irritant and to being a felon in posses-
sion of body armor.
Lyles was sentenced to three years of
probation, will have to perform 120 hours
of community service, pay a $2,000
fi ne and have no contact with the Cap-
itol building or with other individuals
charged in the protest.
See Tourism, Page A6
See Protest, Page A6
Bonamici visits remotely with students
Congresswoman
talks about the high
cost of college
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
WARRENTON — On Oregon’s
163rd birthday, U.S. Rep. Suzanne
Bonamici fi elded questions on top-
ics ranging from the arts and school
lunch to sex education and mask
mandates at a virtual meeting with
Warrenton High School students.
The Oregon Democrat , who
represents the 1st Congressional
D istrict, which includes the North
Coast, also discussed her hobbies
outside of work, the legislation she
has helped pass and the Build Back
Better plan with history teacher
Trent Klebe’s class via Zoom on
Monday .
One emphasis during the con-
gresswoman’s talk was the cost
of higher education and how it
aff ects high school students after
graduation.
“With a high school class, I
really want to hear from you about
— what do you think about the cost
of going to college?” Bonamici
said. “ ... Because in the United
States of America, we should have
a higher education system where
everyone can make a choice about
what they want to do without regard
to how much it’s going to cost.”
James Mickelson, a student
on the wrestling team , wondered
“why, as a junior in high school, we
get fed the same amount of food at
lunch as kindergarteners do?”
See Bonamici, Page A6
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat, represents the 1st Congressional
District.
Feb 19th & 20th
Saturday: 9 am- 3 pm ◆ Sunday: 10 am- 3 pm
Seaside Convention Center
You Never Know What You’ll Find At
A Collectors West Gun & Knife Show!
415 1st Avenue, Seaside
collectorswest.com
$
ADM
8
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