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CoastRiverBus
Volume 17 •
FREE
Chronicling
Published Monthly
July 2022
Inside:
Issue 7
bia-Pacific Region
ss in the Colum
the Joy of Busine
to her roots
returns More
eneur Flora
Entrepr
l, Gifts and
s 360 Shops
:
Feature Story
Page 4
Florist open
Design
Harvest Moon Merchant of the Month
Coast River Business
Page 3
Journal’s
Funeral home es
expands servic burials at sea
Several burial options,
Page 6
including
LUKE WHITTAKER
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Kaysea Johnson’
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Help wante struggle
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Local, regional businesses
Pages 8, 10
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022
150TH YEAR, NO. 8
$1.50
Warrenton
names
fi nalists for
city manager
A new search after
contract talks failed
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
WARRENTON — The city has named
three fi nalists for city manager.
Marc Howatt, a project engineer and
senior civil inspector for a design fi rm;
Donald Kewley, most recently a senior
risk manager for a technical consultant;
and Esther Moberg, the library director
and public information offi cer in Seaside,
are the three candidates to take over the
top spot, the city announced on Friday.
Howatt, a former public works direc-
tor in Warrenton, has over fi ve years of
local government management experi-
ence. He previously served as the pub-
lic works director and the interim city
administrator in Molalla.
“It’s an honor to be chosen as a fi nal-
ist for the city manager vacancy,” Howatt
said in a statement. “The North Coast has
always been near and dear to me.”
Kewley has served in a number of roles
— public and private — across the coun-
try, totaling over three years of local gov-
ernment management experience. He
was also a member of the Oregon Army
National Guard.
“I am excited for the opportunity to be
of service and develop community partner-
ships that will shape the landscape of War-
renton for future generations,” Kewley said.
Moberg, who was a fi nalist for the city
manager role in Seaside , has held a num-
ber of library posts on the North Coast.
She has nine years of local government
management experience.
“Warrenton is a wonderful town with
many unique possibilities,” Moberg said.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to work
there.”
The new city manager will replace
Linda Engbretson, who is retiring . Her
last day is Aug. 5.
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Renovating the Astoria Library has been a longtime hope for the city.
Astoria crafts strategy
for $8M library bond
Designs for renovation
are conceptual
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
C
ity leaders are stressing that
designs for a renovated Asto-
ria Library are conceptual and
could change if voters approve an $8
million bond measure in November.
During a City Council work session
Friday morning, interim City Manager
Paul Benoit said the designs by Hen-
nebery Eddy Architects of Portland
helped the city see what is possible for
the space and establish a $10.6 million
budget for a project .
“I think generally we’re going to
shake that clean,” Benoit said, likening
the process to an Etch A Sketch draw-
ing toy. “We know sort of the general
direction, but through working with an
architect, engaging the public — really
now knowing that we have a budget to
do a project — what is it going to look
like? What are we going to achieve?
What does the public want to see?
“I just want to assure the public that
as we go through schematic design, that
there’s going to be tremendous oppor-
tunity for input.”
The City Council will likely approve
a resolution in August to place the
bond measure on the November ballot,
along with the ballot title, question and
summary.
A point of debate
Renovating the 55 -year-old library
on 10th Street has been been a City
Council goal for years, but also a point
of debate.
In 2013, Ruth Metz Associates, a
library consulting fi rm based in Port-
land, conducted a renovation study,
which identifi ed community needs
after seeking public input.
See Library, Page A6
See Warrenton, Page A6
Resident physician gives back to hometown
Nhan grew up in Seaside
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
EASIDE — Bao Tran Nhan is
back in her hometown.
The Seaside High School grad-
uate returns as a resident physician
with Providence .
“My family grew up very poor
in Vietnam and actually emigrated
from Vietnam,” she said. “I came
to Seaside when I was 5. I saw a lot
of poverty.”
Her parents, Ti-Ti Le and Kevin
Nhan, became a success story,
owning and operating A-Nails
Seaside.
Even at a young age, Nhan
wanted to serve the community.
“I wasn’t quite sure how to
help people the best,” she said. “It
wasn’t until my grandma got sick
when I was in high school where
I realized how much health can
impact someone’s life. Her oncolo-
gist was able to treat her with such
compassion and such care. He was
able to kind of lead her through a
really tough time.”
She received experience in
medical and dental clinics and at
the foundation where she worked
on fundraising campaigns. “I was
like, ‘Hey, this is something I
might pursue,’” she said.
Nhan was also a busser at Pig
‘N Pancake, a member of the Sea-
side High School golf team, man-
ager on the swim team and per-
cussionist and pianist for the high
school band. She graduated as
valedictorian and was voted prom
queen in her senior year.
Nhan received her bachelor’s
S
‘Layla,’ a pit bull adopted from a Cowlitz County shelter, killed a cat in
Astoria in June.
Dog owner fi ghts
city euthanasia order
A pit bull killed a cat
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
Bao Tran Nhan on the Prom after medical school graduation.
with a major in biochemistry and a
minor in biology from the Univer-
sity of Portland.
“I actually liked to study,” she said.
“I love school. To be honest, I think it
was something that I really excelled
in. Whenever I studied, I loved kind
of feeding my mind. My curiosity
encouraged me to even study more,
so it was rather easy for me.”
She attended the University of
Colorado School of Medicine near
Denver, where she lived and stud-
ied for four years.
It was more diffi cult than she
thought — even for someone who
likes to study. “It was quite rigor-
ous and tough, but I’m really grate-
ful for the education I got there,”
she said. “There were just so many
nice people. I’d stayed around Ore-
gon for most of my life — nice to
see what’s out there.”
After medical school, Nhan
returned to Portland, where she is
one of 21 physicians participating
in the Providence Oregon Family
Medicine Residency program.
See Nhan, Page A6
Six months after losing his
dog, James Mayer was fi nally
ready to get another one.
A pit bull named “Layla,”
deteriorating at a shelter in
Cowlitz County, caught his eye.
“I was fi nally ready. I thought
I had the capacity to help another
dog,” Mayer recalled . “Layla
came across my feed and I was
like, ‘Oh man, that dog is beau-
tiful and she needs help. This is
the one.’”
Little did Mayer know that
just a few weeks later he would
be fi ghting to keep Layla alive
after she killed a cat in Astoria.
In August, he will go before
the Circuit Court to appeal a
euthanasia order from the city.
Layla was staying with May-
er’s girlfriend, Kristin Hooper,
in Astoria in June. While Mayer
and Hooper are from Portland,
Hooper stays on the North Coast
while she works shifts at Colum-
bia Memorial H ospital as an
emergency department nurse
practitioner.
One morning, Layla bolted
out the door and took off before
Hooper could corral her. Layla
ran several blocks before she
came upon “Jack,” a 12-year-
old cat. The encounter left the cat
with fatal injuries.
Astoria p olice arrived to fi nd
Layla chasing another cat. They
took statements from witnesses
before impounding the dog .
Under city code, animals at
large that kill other animals are
designated level fi ve, the high-
est level of dangerousness.
With some exceptions, the law
also states that animals receiv-
ing that classifi cation shall be
euthanized.
See Dog, Page A6