A5
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
Eastern Oregon town turns
to 3D printing for housing
OBITUARIES
Ernestine Joyce (Joy) Roehr
Astoria
July 22, 1944 — April 7, 2022
Ernestine Joyce (Joy) Roehr lived a beau- cated 20 years to working in these canner-
tiful, dignifi ed life. A sensitive and loving ies, establishing friendships that lasted a
wife, mother, grandmother and great-grand- lifetime.
mother to many, biological and
Joy met local fi reman James
adopted, she leaves a lasting
(Jim) Allen Roehr in 1987, and
impact on all who knew her.
fell in love, a love that blossomed
To know Joy was to love her.
into the happiest of marriages,
She was lost too soon on April 7,
lasting over 32 years.
2022, after a long battle with Par-
Joy loved to travel and see
kinson’s disease.
new places and people, but most
Summing up such a wonderful
of all, she loved connecting with
person in words is an impossible
old friends and making new ones.
task. Nonetheless. Joy was born
Spending time RVing was one of
on July 22, 1944, in Hallock, Min-
her favorite pastimes.
Ernestine (Joy)
nesota, to Ernest and Joyce John-
While she vigorously opposed
Roehr
son, before the family moved west
her daughter ever riding on the
to Oregon in 1956.
back of a motorcycle, this became
The eldest daughter of six siblings, Orson, her favorite mode of travel, in no small part
Edi, Sam, Jim and Kathi, Joy assumed a pro- because she got to do so with the love of her
tective role following the untimely death life, Jim. The experiences, hours and miles
of her father when she was only 18. This of road they covered together are innumer-
unimaginable loss cemented her enduring able, and the sights and feelings only truly
approach to life, always putting the welfare known by the two of them. However, that
of others above her own, while asking little these were some of the happiest times of her
in return.
life was a secret to no one.
After graduating from Knappa High
Joy loved all her grandchildren, Haley
School in 1963, Joy left home for beauty (David) Galaktionoff , Sarah Crider, Luke
school in Portland, a decision that set in Crider, James Roehr, Kilee (Kyle) Dixson,
motion several moves around the U.S. In Lani Meyer, Nic Morris and Adrienne Mor-
her early 20s she moved to Tucson, Arizona, ris; and great-grandchildren, Josiah Galak-
where she gave birth to her beloved daugh- tionoff and Finnick Dixson.
ter, Kristine (Kris), in 1969.
Joy was preceded in death by her siblings,
After the birth of Kris, Joy and fam- Sam, Orson and Jim; and is survived by her
ily moved to New York City in 1970. Joy adoring husband, James Roehr; daughter,
was drawn back to her family and friends in Kristine (Mike) Crider; son, Paul Roehr;
Astoria in 1974, where she would live the stepdaughter, Traci (Travis) Hankins; step-
rest of her life.
son, Larry Morris; and sisters, Edi (Joe)
Life was far from easy for Joy; as a sin- Roshau and Kathi Johnson.
gle mother, she worked long hours at local
A celebration of life will be planned for
canneries to sustain her family. She dedi- this summer.
John Fredrick Olson
Warrenton
Sept. 14, 1939 — April 12, 2022
John Fredrick Olson, 82, passed away enjoyed a good cookie.
peacefully in his home, in the presence of
He is survived by his wife, Beverly; a
loved ones, on April 12, 2022.
daughter, Jana Koskela-Campbell, of Day-
On Sept. 14, 1939, John was
ton; a son, Mark Olson, of Great
born to Stanley and Marion (née
Falls; a daughter, Stacee (Mike)
Major) Olson in Helena, Mon-
Donovan, of Warrenton; a sister,
tana. He was raised in Hel-
Marcia (John) Cobb, of Fort Wal-
ena until 1951, when the family
ton Beach, Florida; a granddaugh-
moved to Great Falls, Montana,
ter, Amanda Donovan, of War-
after his parents purchased Lit-
renton; a granddaughter, Sarah
tle’s Lanes Bowling Center. John
(Lupe) Rendon, of Beaverton;
graduated from Great Falls High
a grandson, William (Michelle)
School in 1957.
Koskela, of Walla Walla, Wash-
In 1965, John married Bev-
ington; a granddaughter, Stefani
erly Joann Buckley, also of Great
John Olson
Mariano, of Dayton; a grand-
Falls. In 1970, after the couple
daughter, Elizabeth Donovan, of
graduated from Northern Montana College, Salem; a granddaughter, Kimberly Koskela,
John, Bev and their three children moved to of McMinnville; a granddaughter, Madi-
Astoria. For a time, John taught industrial son (Bryan) Bumbarger, of Beaverton; 11
arts for the Astoria School District.
great-grandchildren; two great-great-grand-
John and Bev later settled in Beaver- children; multiple nieces and nephews; and
ton, and lived there for more than 20 years, his faithful dog, “Harrington.”
moving back to Clatsop County in 2019.
A special thank you to Regina Whitaker
An avid fi sherman, John was a Rainland at Lower Columbia Hospice.
Fly Casters club founder, and served as the
There will be a public viewing at Cald-
group’s fi rst president.
well’s Luce-Layton Mortuary from 10 a.m.
John was a collector of many things, see- to noon Thursday, followed by a private
ing the potential in everything. He enjoyed graveside ceremony.
quilting, creating stained glass works, play-
Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary is in
ing mahjong and woodworking. Nick- charge of the arrangements. Please sign our
named Gladys, John liked to know every- online guest book at caldwellsmortuary.
thing going on around him. He also loved a com
good Western movie.
In lieu of fl owers, the family requests
He will be remembered for his gentle that donations be given to a heart or can-
spirit, love for his family and how much he cer-related charity of your choosing.
By KRISTIAN FODEN-VENCIL
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Contractor Josh Walker jumps out of
his rig to survey a hilly and steep 81-acre
parcel of land he recently bought in John
Day for $140,000, a quarter of the price it
sold for 15 years ago.
“There are some fl at spots that are
tucked in throughout the acreage that have
lot sites that won’t take incredible excava-
tion on a steep incline,” he said.
The incline isn’t the only reason the
land was cheap. Many builders don’t want
to take on construction projects in a small
high-desert town like John Day because,
for similar eff ort, they can build homes in
Bend or Portland that sell for two or three
times the price.
But after eight years in the military,
Walker wanted to return to his home-
town, raise a family and run a construc-
tion business.
Initially, he planned to build tradi-
tional wood-framed homes on his new
land. But then he talked to city leaders,
who suggested trying something diff erent
— using 3D technology to print homes
using a computer, a high-tech pump and
quick-setting concrete.
“The thought is that you can come in a
single day and get a structure completely
printed,” Walker said.
So two construction workers might be
able to do in one day what it takes a team
of four a whole week to accomplish with
traditional methods — and for a much
lower price.
So far, builders trying to use the tech-
nology have found problems print-
ing things like corners and roofs. The
3D-printed structures that have been built
tend to be whimsical demonstration proj-
ects — great for Instagram, but not so
good as functional homes.
Indeed, getting planning permission
for such unproven technology is expen-
sive, in the range of $60,000. That’s
another reason 3D-printed homes aren’t
popping up everywhere.
To mitigate the logistical challenges,
John Day applied for and won a grant
from the Oregon Department of Land
Conservation and Development. Now
Walker and the city have $60,000 to
develop plans for a practical 3D-printed
home.
“I mean it’s really a partnership
between us and the city and the state to
try and fi gure all of this out,” Walker said.
He hopes to print four separate struc-
tures on his land with three living units
in each. He’ll then rent them out. The
average rent in John Day is about $700
a month, and Walker is not worried about
fi nding tenants.
“People are always looking for rent-
als,” he said. “When rentals get posted,
they’re usually gone in a day or two.”
The $60,000 will be used up by engi-
A structure printed with concrete and a 3D
printer by manufacturer Alquist.
neers, architects and the like to develop
an acceptable design. The rest of the work
is fi nanced with a construction loan, just
like any other development.
This is very much an experiment, and
3D printing may turn out to be much more
expensive, or ugly, or just plain imprac-
tical given John Day’s weather and the
state’s seismic requirements.
But it’s worth the risk, Walker said.
He’s going to build the fi rst four homes
no matter what.
“There’ll still be buildings stand-
ing there that’ll last for 50 to 100 years
or whatever it is. And people will live in
them and … It’s not for naught.”
If the 3D homes do work out, John Day
City Manager Nick Green said the state
can use the plans to print inexpensive 3D
homes across small-town Oregon, boost-
ing the housing supply. They could even
be used to quickly replace homes burned
in something like a catastrophic wildfi re.
Green’s big hope, of course, is that
John Day will become a center for 3D
home printing — attracting high-paying
jobs and boosting the population.
“We’re looking to leapfrog technolo-
gies,” Green said. “Go from being the last
people to adopt a new innovation, to the
ones that are actually the innovation that
everyone is parroting.”
3D printing homes might seem like
a stretch for a small city. But authori-
ties here are desperate. Over the last two
decades, four out of the fi ve timber mills
that used to operate in Grant County have
closed. That has resulted in a 9% loss in
population. And the people who stayed
are getting older. More than half of Grant
County residents are 55 or older.
“When you’re in last place and win-
ning the race to the bottom in every
socio-economic category, i t’s time to
think bold and to go big,” Green said.
APPLIANCE
PACKAGE DEALS
APPLIANCE
AND HOME
FURNISHINGS
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SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
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REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Seattle
52 42
A little rain
53 43
Rain
55 40
56 43
55 41
54 41
54 42
A shower
Cloudy, showers
around
A little morning
Mostly cloudy Occasional rain
rain
Aberdeen
Olympia
53/42
52/39
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
52/34
ALMANAC
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Sunday
Tonight’s Sky: After sunset,
Hercules climbs the eastern sky
this evening.
Astoria / Port Docks
Temperatures
High/low ................................ 57/35
Normal high/low .................. 56/42
Record high .................. 85 in 2016
Record low .................... 30 in 1967
Precipitation
Sunday ..................................... Trace
Month to date ........................ 3.32”
Normal month to date ......... 3.58”
Year to date .......................... 28.88”
Normal year to date ........... 29.25”
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Time
High (ft.) Time Low (ft.)
3:10 a.m.
4:38 p.m.
9.2 10:16 a.m. -1.0
7.0 10:06 p.m. 2.5
Cape Disappointment
2:49 a.m.
4:10 p.m.
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Hammond
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today .................. 6:22 a.m.
Sunset tonight ............... 8:08 p.m.
Moonrise today ..................... none
Moonset today ............... 8:03 a.m.
Last
New
First
Full
2:59 a.m.
4:21 p.m.
Warrenton
3:05 a.m.
4:33 p.m.
Knappa
3:47 a.m.
5:15 p.m.
Depoe Bay
Apr 23 Apr 30 May 8 May 15
2:00 a.m.
3:25 p.m.
9.1 9:21 a.m. -1.3
7.1 9:11 p.m. 2.7
9.4 9:41 a.m. -1.5
7.3 9:33 p.m. 2.4
9.6 10:00 a.m. -0.9
7.4 9:50 p.m. 2.6
9.4 11:17 a.m. -0.9
7.3 11:07 p.m. 2.1
9.2 8:53 a.m. -1.6
7.1 8:41 p.m. 2.7
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Honolulu
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Wash., DC
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
64/45/s
56/42/r
49/40/pc
76/64/pc
79/42/pc
83/71/r
78/69/pc
74/56/s
86/71/t
53/41/sh
96/65/pc
65/50/c
55/40/pc
71/55/pc
57/41/s
51/47/r
85/69/c
67/40/pc
83/72/c
82/71/c
69/52/s
82/73/s
59/45/s
90/64/s
65/52/r
61/48/s
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy,
c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.
56/37
Hermiston
The Dalles 59/37
Enterprise
Pendleton 45/26
54/36
57/40
La Grande
49/31
52/42
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Hi/Lo/W
48/33
Kennewick Walla Walla
54/38 Lewiston
60/38
53/43
Salem
Pullman
55/30
Longview
52/42 Portland
51/43
50/32
Yakima 57/34
53/36
Astoria
Spokane
53/32
Corvallis
52/39
Albany
54/40
John Day
Eugene
Bend
53/41
50/34
48/30
Ontario
58/37
Caldwell
Burns
48/25
57/36
Medford
55/40
Klamath Falls
47/32
City
Baker City
Brookings
Ilwaco
Newberg
Newport
Today
Hi/Lo/W
49/27/c
51/45/r
52/44/r
52/42/r
51/42/r
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
53/33/c
50/46/r
52/44/r
51/43/r
52/43/r
City
North Bend
Roseburg
Seaside
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Today
Hi/Lo/W
54/46/r
55/42/r
52/43/r
55/41/r
52/43/r
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
55/45/r
54/41/r
53/42/r
58/42/r
55/46/r