A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2022
IN BRIEF
Astoria Middle School track
closes for project
The Astoria Middle School track will be closed for
school and public use starting Wednesday to begin
resurfacing and improvement work.
The project is part of the school district’s facility
bond that was approved by voters in 2018.
The school district will announce an expected open-
ing date at a later time.
Lumber truck rolls over on Highway 30
A lumber truck rolled over on the side of U.S. High-
way 30 while traveling east of Astoria on Tuesday.
Emergency responders took the driver to Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital, Knappa Fire Chief Kurt Don-
aldson said.
One lane was closed and traffi c was diverted
through Burnside while the truck and lumber were
removed. The entire load of wood was spilled, Don-
aldson said.
Seaside fi ned for wastewater violations
SEASIDE — The state has assessed nearly $13,000
in civil penalties against the city for wastewater
violations.
According to the Oregon Department of Environ-
mental Quality, the city discharged untreated sew-
age into the Neawanna River and adjacent wetlands
fi ve times in 2021, with spills ranging from 900 gal-
lons in early January to more than 10,000 gallons in
mid-November.
The state assessed a $9,750 civil penalty for the vio-
lations. An additional $3,150 civil penalty was issued
for sewage overfl ows on Avenue D and on Pine Street
in January 2021.
State seeks applications for
commercial fi sheries permit board
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is
seeking 19 new members for its Commercial Fisheries
Permit Review Board.
The board evaluates denials and transfers of com-
mercial fi shery permits for a variety of fi sheries. Appli-
cants must hold a valid commercial fi shing permit for
the fi shery they are applying for.
Members have three-year terms, and may serve up
to two terms.
The open positions and applications are available
on the department’s website and are due on April 25.
Interested candidates should submit their applica-
tion to Jeannine.c.smith@odfw.oregon.gov or mail
to Jeannine Smith, ODFW Licensing, 4034 Fairview
Industrial Drive SE, Salem, OR., 97302 or fax to
503-947-6117.
— The Astorian
Pacifi c County reaches vaccination
milestone against virus
LONG BEACH, Wash. — Pacifi c County hit a vac-
cination milestone on March 26, as more than 60% of
residents were considered fully vaccinated against
COVID-19.
— Chinook Observer
DEATHS
April 1, 2022
In SHAUCK,
Brief
Pamela
J., 92, of Astoria, died
in Astoria. Caldwell’s
Deaths
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
March 31, 2022
GRIFFIN,
Michael
Dennis, 63, of Asto-
ria, died in Astoria.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
HUNTINGTON,
Susan LaRee, 68, of War-
renton, died in Warren-
ton. Ocean View Funeral
& Cremation Service of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
March 30, 2022
BOLING, Margaret
May, 93, of Gresham,
formerly of Astoria, died
in Gresham. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
MEMORIALS
Saturday, April 9
Memorial
LEONHARDT, Viola — Celebration of life from
noon to 3 p.m., Suomi Hall (United Finnish Kaleva
Brothers & Sisters, Astoria Lodge No. 2), 244 W.
Marine Drive.
ON THE RECORD
On the Record
Theft
• Clayton C. Huff man, 31, of Astoria, was arrested
on Sunday at Walmart in Warrenton for second-degree
theft and third-degree criminal mischief. He was also
trespassed from the location.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Oregon Transportation Commission
OKs spending plan for federal money
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
The Oregon Transpor-
tation Commission has
approved how it should spend
$412 million in federal fl exi-
ble funds to help people and
goods move around safely
and with less damage to the
environment.
In a vote Wednesday, the
commission added a new
pilot project to help people
without cars to get around —
particularly in low income
and minority households —
but also restored $50 million
to complete two big highway
projects.
Both projects were autho-
rized but not fully funded by
the 2017 Legislature in its
state package. They are the
Bend North corridor, which
involves multiple improve-
ments on U.S. Highway 97
and U.S. Highway 20, and the
Aurora-Donald interchange
on Interstate 5 just south of
Wilsonville and the Willa-
mette River.
Oregon will get at least
$1.2 billion for transporta-
tion over six years from the
Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act, which President Joe
Biden signed in November .
The law earmarks most of the
other $800 million for spe-
cifi c purposes, such as bridge
repairs and electric vehicle
infrastructure. Another $200
million goes directly to transit
agencies such as TriMet. The
law also directs federal money
to broadband expansion,
water and sewer lines, elec-
trical grid upgrades and other
programs outside the Oregon
Department of Transportation.
The next step for the com-
mission is to approve specifi c
projects funded from the vari-
ous pots of money it just cre-
ated, some of them as soon as
its next meeting in May .
Though no public com-
ment was taken at the meet-
ing Wednesday, the commis-
sion heard from people and
organizations at several previ-
ous meetings and open houses
— all online — and received
numerous written statements.
Critics: Too much for
highways
After the commission vote,
the Oregon Environmen-
tal Council criticized the $50
Robert L. Townsend
The Bend North corridor project is among the state’s transportation funding priorities.
million allocation to high-
way enhancements, some-
thing the commission had
tentatively decided against in
March , even though the bulk
of the fl exible funds will go to
purposes other than highway
construction.
“The OTC adopted a
fi nal ‘scenario’ for the fl exi-
ble funds that does recognize
a need for greater investment
in public and active transpor-
tation,” a statement from the
council said.
“However, the scenario
does not go far enough to ful-
fi ll deep community needs.
It also still allocates $50 mil-
lion to the ‘enhance high-
ways’ category of spending,
underlining the missed chance
for OTC to use these one-
time federal funds to make
ground on sorely needed cli-
mate-forward
community
investments.”
But state Department of
Transportation offi cials say
the extra money is needed
for the state’s share of two
projects that the Legislature
authorized in 2017 but did not
fully fund.
The Bend North project
involves two traffi c round-
abouts and multiple-use
paths on Highway 20, plus a
realignment of Highway 97,
for a total cost of $133.4 mil-
lion. A federal grant of $60.4
million will be supplemented
by $73 million from ODOT.
The Highway 20 work is
scheduled to start this fall; the
Highway 97 work in about a
year.
The Aurora-Donald inter-
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Specifi c allocations
Below is the complete list
of how the commission allo-
cated the fl exible funds. Many
of them were unchanged from
an initial proposal back in
March :
• Access for people with
disabilities: $95 million for
ramps and other work on state
highways, as required by a
2017 settlement of a lawsuit
involving the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
• Fix-It: $75 million for a
long list of projects to repair
highways and make them
safer.
• Highway enhance-
ments: $50 million for the
Bend North corridor and the
Interstate 5 Aurora-Donald
interchange.
• Great Streets: $50 mil-
lion for a new program of
pedestrian and other upgrades
to state highways that dou-
ble as main streets through
communities.
• Safe Routes to School:
$30 million for an existing
program to enable safe access
by students to schools.
• Matching fund: $40 mil-
lion for Oregon to tap when it
seeks a share of $100 billion
in competitive federal grants
from the U.S. Department
of Transportation. Among
the potential big projects: A
replacement bridge across
the Columbia River between
Portland and Vancouver,
Washington , and widening of
I-5 at the Rose Quarter inter-
change in Portland.
• Operations and mainte-
nance: $40 million for ODOT
to help keep the agency
running.
• Greenhouse-gas reduc-
tions: $15 million for ODOT
to help local governments
cut transportation emissions
through community planning.
• Mobility pilot project:
$10 million for ODOT to
award grants to organizations
to promote car-free transpor-
tation for people who often
have few alternatives, such
as low-income and minority
households.
• Workforce: $7 million for
ODOT to encourage growth
of small businesses and
develop a construction work-
force to counter projected
labor shortages.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Waterfront: ‘It’s been a long time coming’
Continued from Page A1
Moving forward
In order to achieve sev-
eral elements of the water-
front master plan, the Port is
looking to the city to make
code amendments . The nec-
essary changes would include
adjustments to restrictions on
height and uses.
City Manager Brett Estes
indicated that the city’s com-
munity development staff
are prepared to work on the
amendments and will likely
partner with a consultant. The
process would have to clear
a number of hurdles before
being approved.
The Port may also seek
funding from the city through
the Astor West Urban Renewal
District .
During the decadelong
debate over the city’s River-
front Vision Plan, which guides
land use along the river from
Uniontown to Alderbrook,
the city heard public concerns
about new development that
could block views or reduce
access to the river. Poten-
tial code changes that involve
height and uses in Uniontown
will likely receive close pub-
lic scrutiny. Frank Spence, the
president of the Port Commis-
sion, views the collaboration
on the plan as a milestone for
the Port and the city.
“It’s been a long time com-
ing,” Spence said. “ ...We —
meaning the Port and the city
— are committed to imple-
menting (the plan). We have
the right commission and
administration to make it move
forward.”
If the plan gets adopted , the
Port will work toward com-
pleting simpler, more feasible
projects fi rst while analyzing
the longer-term possibilities .
“I, for sure, think it’s a mile-
stone, but in saying that, I don’t
want it to seem like we reached
the end or something because
it’s really one of the fi rst steps
you need to take in order to
achieve some of the goals that
the Port has,” Isom said. “For
me, it’s another check mark as
we move this thing forward.”
Police chief: Spalding praised for his leadership
Continued from Page A1
“I’m looking for someone
who’s a good listener,” Estes
said. “Someone who works
well in the community.”
Spalding, 65, joined the
police department as interim
chief in 2017 after already
retiring twice during his four
decades in law enforcement.
The role was supposed to be
temporary, but after several
months, he agreed to take on
the position permanently.
Spalding has helped guide
the city’s homelessness solu-
tions task force. He has also
led the City Council in taking
steps to address chronic behav-
ioral issues by a small number
of people who account for a
disproportionate share of 911
calls.
During his last meeting as
chairman of the homelessness
solutions task force on Thurs-
day, Spalding was praised for
his leadership.
“In some communi-
ties, I think some organiza-
tions would question having
the chief of police leading a
group like this,” Mayor Bruce
Jones said. “But this group
has always fully supported
the chief because they know
he’s kept that analytical and
methodical and even-handed
approach. Not biased in one
way or the other, just doing
what’s best for our community,
considering all perspectives.
“So we’ve been very for-
tunate to have Chief Spalding
and I just want to personally
thank him.”
Monica Steele, the assis-
tant Clatsop County manager,
highlighted Spalding’s knowl-
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change involves its recon-
struction. Work started on the
fi rst phase in February. The
eventual price tag is pegged at
more than $70 million, some
of which also comes from a
federal grant.
While advocacy groups
criticized the amount for
highway enhancements as too
much, commissioners sought
to add money for the proposed
pilot project for innovative
mobility, intended to focus on
helping people without their
own cars to get around. The
commission increased the
proposed amount from fed-
eral funds from $5 million to
$10 million, to be matched
from state sources yet to be
specifi ed.
edge, communication and
professionalism.
“He works so hard for the
city of Astoria,” she said. “But
what I appreciate as a county
staff person is that coordinated
eff ort that he tries to do with all
of the city law enforcement and
the county law enforcement, so
that way, when we are trying to
fi gure out solutions, we can all
try and be working together so
that it’s not confusing.”
Mike Davis, the deputy
director of Helping Hands
Reentry Outreach Centers,
also thanked Spalding for
his eff orts and collaborative
approach.
“As someone who sits
across multiple counties, I
continue to lift up Clatsop
County as the model of collab-
oration,” Davis said.
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