WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2022
150TH YEAR, NO. 16
$1.50
VACATION RENTALS
Challenges
emerge to
ballot title
Language criticized
by both sides
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Supporters and opponents of a pro-
spective ballot measure that could decide
the fate of vacation rentals in unincorpo-
rated Clatsop County are petitioning to
get the ballot title changed.
In June, the county Board of Commis-
sioners passed an ordinance that makes
vacation rentals of 30 or fewer days an
outright use in 16 unincorporated zones,
both commercial and residential, in the
development code. About 180 units are
already licensed to operate in unincor-
porated areas. The county currently has a
moratorium on new licenses.
A referendum to repeal the ordinance is
underway, which could lead to the disap-
pearance of more than 100 vacation rentals
as licenses expire, according to the county.
It is the latest move in a contest over
who gets to enjoy the Oregon Coast, and
where, and how. Short-term rentals offer
getaways to tourists, who put money into
the local economy and lodging tax rev-
enue in county coffers. But some resi-
dents worry that the growth of the tour-
ism industry is eroding the quality of life
in their neighborhoods and straining the
coastal environment.
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Amy Baker, the executive director of Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for a new pharmacy.
Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare
debuts new pharmacy
An important step in the
agency’s evolution
See Ballot title, Page A6
Port ends tie
to CREST
A tide gate project
among the concerns
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
The Port of Astoria Commission has
opted to end membership with the Colum-
bia River Estuary Study Taskforce.
Commissioners made the decision at
a meeting in July, questioning the task
force’s service to the agency and cit-
ing the importance of how the Port uses
resources. The membership cost the Port
$2,000 a year.
The commission revisited the topic
on Tuesday after Commissioner Frank
Spence, who also serves as chairman of
the task force’s board, requested they
remain a member at $500 a year. But no
other commissioner supported the move,
and the vote failed 4 to 1.
The Port is a founding member of the
task force, which was developed in 1974.
The organization’s council of govern-
ments includes representatives from Clat-
sop County and several North Coast cit-
ies, along with Wahkiakum County and
Ilwaco in Washington state.
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
new pharmacy designed for
Clatsop Behavioral Health-
care has opened at the agency’s
rapid access center in Astoria.
Representatives from the agency
and Genoa Healthcare, which oper-
ates the pharmacy, held a ribbon-cut-
ting ceremony Thursday afternoon
to mark the grand opening on Bond
Street.
Amy Baker, the executive direc-
tor of Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare,
Clatsop County’s mental health and
substance abuse treatment provider,
said the agency pursued the partner-
ship because they needed more assis-
tance, down to making sure their med-
ications were bubble packed correctly.
She said that while it may seem
small, it is important that people get
the right number of medications at the
right time. She said that because the
pharmacy is integrated with the other
services Clatsop Behavioral Health-
care provides, it helps provide more
curated care.
Baker shared an example of a
woman who is partially deaf and blind
and takes various medications for her
A
Mohamed Khalil, the pharmacy site manager for Genoa Healthcare, cuts the ribbon
for a new pharmacy for Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare.
physical and mental health.
Baker said the woman used to have
to walk to different pharmacies to get
her prescriptions filled. When Genoa
Healthcare opened, she said the phar-
macist tracked down all of the wom-
an’s doctors and pharmacies and got
everything transferred. She said the
pharmacist drove the medications
to the woman’s home and arranged
to have them mailed to her going
forward.
Baker likened Genoa Healthcare to
Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare.
“Genoa is not just a pharmacy,”
she said. “They’re a pharmacy with a
heart. And that’s the thing about CBH
that I love about CBH. I think some of
the most important work that we do
— that I’m so proud of our staff — is
we see people. We see them as human
beings.
See Pharmacy, Page A2
‘GENOA IS NOT JUST A PHARMACY. THEY’RE A PHARMACY WITH A HEART.
AND THAT’S THE THING ABOUT CBH THAT I LOVE ABOUT CBH. I THINK
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK THAT WE DO — THAT I’M SO PROUD
OF OUR STAFF — IS WE SEE PEOPLE. WE SEE THEM AS HUMAN BEINGS.’
Amy Baker | executive director of Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare
See Port, Page A6
Bonamici hosts field hearing on climate change Columbia Senior Diners
Testimony on fishing
and conservation
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
Witnesses at a congres-
sional field hearing in Asto-
ria on Wednesday described
the impacts of climate
change on the ecosystems
and industries of the Colum-
bia River and Pacific Ocean
and asked Congress to take
action.
U.S.
Rep.
Suzanne
Bonamici hosted the hearing
Abbey McDonald/The Astorian
Members of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
came to Astoria on Wednesday to hear from climate experts.
of the House Select Com-
mittee on the Climate Cri-
sis at Clatsop Community
College’s Patriot Hall. The
Oregon Democrat, who rep-
resents the North Coast, was
joined by U.S. Rep. Kathy
Castor, a Florida Demo-
crat who chairs the commit-
tee, and U.S. Rep. Earl L.
“Buddy” Carter, a Georgia
Republican.
They heard from people
working in fishing, research
and conservation.
“For all that was taken or
lost, especially for Native
Americans, our relation-
ship to the land and water
remains. And so our natu-
ral resources are our cultural
and community resources,”
said Aja DeCoteau, the exec-
utive director of the Colum-
bia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission.
She said climate change
especially impacts First
Foods, which include water,
salmon, game, roots and
berries.
Forty-two percent of
the Snake River spring
and summer Chinook pop-
ulations
have
reached
See Hearing, Page A6
to end meal gatherings
Home delivery
program to continue
By ABBEY
McDONALD
The Astorian
Columbia Senior Din-
ers, which serves low-
cost lunches to seniors,
will close at the end of the
month.
For nearly 50 years,
the nonprofit has provided
seniors with a space to
socialize over a meal on
weekdays. Since the coro-
navirus pandemic, the ser-
vice has had difficulty
maintaining revenue.
The final plate will be
served on Aug. 31, but the
home delivery program
will continue through a
partnership with North-
West Senior and Disability
Services.
The program’s in-per-
son dining served nearly
6,000 meals at the Astoria
Senior Center in 2019.
Many of their diners
switched to home delivery
during the pandemic, said
Becky Johnson, the pro-
gram’s board director. She
said they’ve gone from
serving up to 25 diners a
day to around five.
See Gatherings, Page A2