A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
SCALING A
SHIPWRECK
IN BRIEF
Astoria to host
listening sessions on housing
Astoria has planned four listening sessions on
housing development over the next month.
The fi rst session is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on
Thursday at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites.
On May 4, there will be a noon session at the Bar-
bey Maritime Center and a session at 5:30 p.m. at
Astoria Middle School.
A session is also scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 14
at the Barbey Maritime Center.
Astoria Nordic Heritage Park
on track to open
The Astoria Nordic Heritage Park is on track
for completion, with a celebratory dedication to
follow.
The park, located at 16th Street and Marine Drive,
is being built by the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage
Association.
The association will hold a dedication at
10:30 a.m. on June 17, immediately preceding the
Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival at the
Clatsop County Fairgrounds.
Karl Marlantes, the author of “Deep River,” a
novel which details the lives of Nordic immigrants
to the region, will speak at the dedication.
Lewis and Clark Timberlands
recognized for stewardship
The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife has selected Lewis and Clark Timberlands
for the Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Award for For-
est Lands.
The Seaside-based company will be awarded
in the 2019 Industrial Forest Landowner category
during a virtual ceremony on Friday. The 2019
awards were postponed due to the pandemic, and
2020 awards were canceled.
Lewis and Clark Timberlands was chosen for
its work in habitat protection measures, includ-
ing stream protection and enhancement, garbage
cleanup and creating snags for wildlife shelter and
food.
— The Astorian
In Brief
DEATH
March 26, 2022
Death
MENDENHALL, Joel Eric, 48, of New York City,
formerly of Astoria and Warrenton, died in New York
City. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service of
Astoria is in charge of the arrangements.
MEMORIALS
Saturday, April 23
Memorial
DARNELL, DeWayne Curtis — Graveside ser-
vice with military honors at 11 a.m., Ocean View
Cemetery, 575 S.W. 18th St. in Warrenton. Recep-
tion follows at the Svensen Grange, 92683 Svensen
Market Road.
ON THE RECORD
Theft
• Brook A. White,
On
the
• Jimmie
Allen Record
Clair, 25, of Raymond, Wash-
53, of Lakebay, Washing-
ton, was indicted on Fri-
day for fi rst-degree theft.
The crime is alleged to
have occurred in June
2020 at Home Depot in
Warrenton.
ington, was arrested
on Friday at Walmart
in Warrenton for sec-
ond-degree
theft,
third-degree
criminal
mischief and fi rst-de-
gree criminal trespass.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., 10 Pier 1, Suite 209.
Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission, 5:30 p.m., City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Cannon Beach City Council, Design Review Board and
Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower Ave.
Gearhart City Council, 6 p.m., special meeting on parks
master plan, (electronic meeting).
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10 a.m., work
session, (electronic meeting).
Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Warrenton Urban Renewal Advisory Committee, 4 p.m.,
City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Knappa School District Board, 6:30 p.m., Knappa High
School library, 41535 Old U.S. Highway 30.
THURSDAY
Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
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Democrat-backed committee plans to
highlight Johnson’s conservative record
By DIRK
VANDERHART
Oregon Public Broadcasting
As she runs for gover-
nor as a nonaffi liated can-
didate, former state Sen.
Betsy Johnson has been able
to stay above the fray of a
heated May primary battle.
That placidity might soon
be over.
A new Democrat-backed
political action committee
says it’s teeing up a messag-
ing strategy against John-
son, a former Democrat
who some in the party worry
could siphon needed votes
from their eventual nominee
come November. The PAC,
Oregonians for Ethics, says
it’s going to explain to vot-
ers that Johnson’s record is
more conservative than they
might be comfortable with.
“Former s tate Sen. John-
son will not tell Oregonians
about her positions against
the environment and the
fi ght against climate change,
her working to thwart com-
mon-sense gun safety mea-
sures, her attacking the
interests and well-being of
working families and more,”
said Debby Garman, a Hill-
sboro resident who is listed
as the committee’s director.
“We believe that for democ-
racy to work, it is vital that
voters have the facts. Over
the course of the election, we
will work to provide those
facts to Oregon voters.”
Bradley W. Parks/Oregon Public Broadcasting
State Sen. Betsy Johnson held up a wood cutting depicting
the statehouse at a #TimberUnity rally in front of the Oregon
State Capitol in Salem in February 2020.
Oregonians for Ethics
was formed in February and
to date has reported a sin-
gle contribution: $49,500
worth of polling donated
by the national Democratic
Governors Association. His-
tory suggests much more
money could be on the way.
The Democratic Governors
Association kicked in more
than $2 million helping Gov.
Kate Brown fend off a chal-
lenge in 2018.
Sam Newton, a spokes-
man for the governors’ orga-
nization, declined to answer
questions last week , refer-
ring an inquiry to Garman.
In an email, Garman
described the new group as
a “broad coalition of Ore-
gonians who have come
together to ensure that vot-
ers have an accurate under-
standing of the records of
candidates for governor”
and suggested the PAC
might target more people
than Johnson. She did not
answer questions about how
much the PAC planned to
spend or where it would get
fi nancial backing.
Johnson spent 20 years in
the Oregon Legislature and
was often the most conser-
vative member of the Dem-
ocratic caucus. Her friendly
relationship with timber
groups helped kill a bill to
cap and reduce the state’s
carbon emissions in 2019
– a proposal Garman fer-
vently supported. Johnson
has reliably voted against
gun control proposals, such
as opposing a 2020 bill that
required guns to be stored
securely when not in use and
banned concealed weapons
in the Capitol.
But Johnson is also
against abortion restrictions,
and sided with Democrats
on key votes like a 2019 bill
to create a new tax on Ore-
gon businesses to fund pub-
lic schools. Both of those
stances could cut against her
as she tries to woo the sup-
port of conservative voters.
So far, Johnson’s sales
pitch has resonated with
moneyed Oregonians. The
candidate has raised more
than $6 million in the race,
far more than any of the can-
didates running in the May
primaries. The sum includes
$1 million from Nike
co-founder Phil Knight.
Johnson has said often
that she expected to be
attacked by the major polit-
ical parties, and said last
week she was “not sur-
prised” by the new PAC.
“Both national parties
fear an independent gover-
nor who represents the peo-
ple over entrenched spe-
cial interests,” she said in a
statement. “We need a gov-
ernor loyal only to Orego-
nians and not national politi-
cal interests.”
As an unaffi liated candi-
date, Johnson is taking a rare
path to the November ballot.
Rather than vying for a party
nomination, she plans to col-
lect roughly 23,750 signa-
tures from voters who sup-
port her.
White House study of lower Snake River dams raises farmers’ questions
TUESDAY
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Established July 1, 1873
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A man scaled the Peter Iredale shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park.
Printed on
recycled paper
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
The White House Coun-
cil on Environmental Quality
said in a post on its website
that it is studying the fate of
four lower Snake River dams
— and the rest of the Colum-
bia b asin.
In the March 28 post, the
council outlined eff orts to
study breaching the dams,
including a March 21 “Nation
to Nation” meeting between
federal agencies and leaders
of the t ribes of the b asin.
“We heard calls to sup-
port breaching the four dams
on the lower Snake River to
restore a more natural fl ow,
also about the need to replace
the services provided by
those dams, and recognition
that such a step would require
congressional action,” the
blog post reads. “We were
asked to consider the b asin
holistically because of its
inherent interconnectedness.”
A representative of the
council declined to comment.
According to the blog,
the council last fall con-
vened leaders from the fed-
eral Bureau of Indian Aff airs,
Bureau of Reclamation, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the
Associated Press
The Lower Granite Dam near Pomeroy is one of four dams on
the lower Snake River.
National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration, the
Army Corps of Engineers
and the Bonneville Power
Administration.
The group will “build on
existing analyses to identify
a durable path forward that
ensures a clean energy future,
supports local and regional
economies, and restores eco-
system function, while hon-
oring longstanding commit-
ments to t ribal n ations,” the
blog states.
“We cannot continue
business as usual. Doing the
right thing for salmon, t ribal
n ations, and communities can
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bring us together. It is time
for eff ective, creative solu-
tions,” the blog states.
The Biden administra-
tion is contacting stakehold-
ers to get more information
to understand the system and
process, said Michelle Hen-
nings, the executive director
of the Washington Associa-
tion of Wheat Growers.
“We continue to be
engaged with the adminis-
tration at CEQ,” Hennings
said. “Looking at the blog,
we would have liked to see
more focus on the impact this
would have had on farmers
across the country.”
It’s important for farmers
to remain fully engaged in
educating the decision-mak-
ers, Hennings said.
“We have to keep in
mind that farmers are fac-
ing signifi cant disruptions
already, including drought,
input costs, the supply chain
and rail reliability,” she
said. “This would just cause
another major disruption in
our transportation system,
which would be very harmful
to the wheat farmer.”
The Biden administration
is focused on infrastructure,
Hennings said.
“We appreciate that they
have reached out to stake-
holders to have discussions to
better understand what’s hap-
pening,” she said.
“There are a lot of
unknowns about this CEQ
process but f arm b ureau is
keeping an eye on this pro-
cess,” said Sean Ellis, a
spokesman for the Idaho
Farm Bureau. “CEQ is one
of several conversations tak-
ing place right now on this
issue and we’re continuing to
watch all of these processes.
We continue to monitor
the situation with the lower
Snake River dams and will
respond as necessary.”
Farmers support salmon
recovery, but want a solution
that will benefi t all stakehold-
ers instead of harming one
more than others, Hennings
said.
The wheat industry is con-
cerned, but there are mem-
bers of Congress who under-
stand the importance of the
dams, Hennings said.
“One of the cleanest
modes of transportation is
barging, not putting 150,000
trucks back on the road,” she
said.