»INSIDE
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2022
150TH YEAR, NO. 25
$1.50
County
transfers
land to
Seaside
Surplus property could
provide housing
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Workers have started to remove the Tourist No. 2.
State starts to dismantle
historic ferry Tourist No. 2
Vessel will be
crushed in place
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
he state has started work to dis-
mantle and remove the Tourist
No. 2, a historic ferry that par-
tially sank at a fl oating dock on the
Columbia River in late July.
Global Diving & Salvage, a Seat-
tle-based company the state contracted
to deconstruct the vessel, has moved
equipment into the area near the Sixth
Street viewing platform.
Ali Ryan Hansen, a spokesperson
for the Department of State Lands,
T
See Ferry, Page A6
A pair of adjoining lots in n orth Sea-
side could become the site of aff ordable
housing or social services facilities.
On Wednesday, the Clatsop County
Board of Commissioners authorized the
transfer of a combined 1.85 acres of sur-
plus county land to the city .
The property transfer was signed on
Thursday, Patty Jo Angelini, a county
public aff airs offi cer, said in an email.
In April, the county put up 15 proper-
ties in Astoria, Warrenton and Seaside for
expressions of interest from cities, dis-
tricts and nonprofi ts seeking to develop
housing, child care or social services.
The transfer of the two tax lots marks
the fi rst in this undertaking.
The North Coast faces a scarcity of
housing at all income levels. The coun-
ty’s 2019 housing study predicted a need
for more than 1,500 new housing units to
meet demand in the years ahead.
The county is handing the property
over — for free — through a quitclaim
deed. If Seaside or future owner fails to
use the land for housing, child care or
social services, the land will revert back
to county ownership.
A zone change may be required to
use the parcels for housing, Jon Rahl, the
assistant city manager , noted in a letter
to the county. However, a new state law
requiring local governments to permit
types of aff ordable housing development
on non residentially zoned land could
make a rezone unnecessary, the letter said.
The site, located near the old Seaside
High School, could yield 18 aff ordable
housing units, the letter said.
The remaining 13 surplus proper-
ties the county off ered up are still avail-
able. Although agencies are taking a look,
no other transfers have been requested,
Angelini said.
The Tourist No. 2 capsized and partially sank in late July.
See Land, Page A6
Gray withdraws from
state House campaign
mook, and Democrat Logan
Laity, a community organizer
also from Tillamook.
The North Coast district’s
state representative, Suzanne
By ERICK BENGEL
Weber, a Tillamook Repub-
The Astorian
lican, is giving up her seat to
run for state Senate District
Frederick “’Rick” T. Gray 16. The Senate seat’s long-
Jr., the nonaffi liated state time occupant, Betsy John-
House District 32 candidate son, resigned last year to cam-
who hoped his run contained paign for governor, quitting
the seed of an eventual third the Democratic Party and, like
party, has withdrawn from the Gray, going the nonaffi liated
race.
route.
The Cannon Beach
Gray had been
resident
said
on
endorsed by Debo-
Wednesday he believed
rah Boone, a Demo-
he could not build a
crat who represented
competitive campaign
the House district for
in time for the Novem-
14 years.
ber election.
His goal was to
‘Rick Gray
Gray had gathered
show that a political
enough signatures in
party that does not cater
July to qualify for the
to the two major parties’
ballot.
extremes — the anti-de-
“It’s hard to fi nd the
mocracy movement on
people to run a suc-
the right, identity poli-
cessful campaign. It’s
tics on the left — could
hard to get on the ballot by the bring moderates together and
signature method. It’s hard to appeal to a large swath of the
persuade the media that you’re electorate.
credible. Everything builds on
A centrist political party,
everything else, and you’re Gray believes, could tackle an
just running to catch up,” Gray urgent moral issue: preventing
said in an email.
ecological disaster and build-
He would have competed ing a sustainable economy.
against Republican Cyrus
See Gray, Page A6
Javadi, a dentist from Tilla-
Cannon Beach
man qualifi ed
as nonaffi liated
SEASIDE CARE HOMES
Virus outbreak, death, disclosed
Details in state’s
biweekly report
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
The Oregon Health Authority
has disclosed a coronavirus out-
break at one Seaside care home
and a virus death at another.
In Wednesday’s biweekly
report tracking COVID-19 out-
breaks at care homes, the health
authority reported that Neawa-
nna By The Sea experienced an
outbreak among 10 people.
The virus cases were among
fi ve residents and fi ve staff ,
according to Shawna Weist, the
facility’s executive director.
All fi ve residents had been
vaccinated against the virus,
The Oregon Health Authority
continues to publicly disclose
COVID-19 outbreaks at care homes
in biweekly reports.
Weist said.
Of the infected staff , three
had been fully vaccinated, one
had received the initial series,
and one had a vaccine exemp-
tion, she said.
The outbreak was fi rst
reported on Aug. 8. Weist said
that the last round of tests had
cleared everyone who had the
virus.
“We’ve kept it pretty con-
tained, considering we have
about 30 staff and about 60 resi-
dents,” she said.
She said no one was hospital-
ized as a result of the outbreak.
“This week, all of our tests
are coming back negative,”
Weist said.
At Avamere at Seaside , a sec-
ond death has been attributed to
an outbreak of 14 people fi rst
reported to the state on June 27,
the health authority disclosed .
A leader at Avamere’s Wilson-
ville -based headquarters could
not be reached to provide more
information .
See Outbreak, Page A6
City Commission fl ags commissioner
Newton said he did
not intend to off end after
inappropriate comments
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
WARRENTON — City Com-
missioner Rick Newton will
receive a letter of education after
city staff complained that he used
a racial slur and joked about por-
nography during a rambling dia-
logue at City Hall this month .
After an executive session on
Tuesday night, the City Commis-
sion voted to appoint Commissioner
Tom Dyer to work with the city
attorney to draft the letter to Newton .
The City Commission did not
publicly discuss the details of
Newton’s behavior, but The Asto-
rian obtained city staff ’s written
account of the interaction.
In a discussion that began on
sign permits, city staff wrote,
Newton “rambled into the topic
of feminism and racism.”
See Flagged, Page A6