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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2022
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The state hopes to remove the Tourist No. 2 from the Columbia River by early September.
Ferry: No damage to Sixth Street viewing platform
Continued from Page A1
said the ferry will be crushed in
place, pulled from the water and
set on a barge. Barriers will catch
fl oating debris.
Hansen said the state antici-
pates the emergency removal will
be completed by Sept. 5.
The pieces of the ferry will be
taken to land and disposed.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday,
Mayor Bruce Jones thanked the
state for acting promptly to remove
the vessel .
“A sad ending to a historic ves-
sel, but unfortunately, her fate was
sealed many years ago when the
extensive, expensive hull mainte-
nance that old wooden boats require
was not performed regularly,” he
said.
Earlier this month, the state
announced it would seize the Tour-
ist No. 2 and pursue enforcement
action against the ferry’s owner to
try to recover some of the costs.
Hansen said the estimated cost of
removal is over $1 million, which
the state anticipates will increase.
After the ferry partially sank,
cleaning up the subsequent fuel
spill took priority.
Global Diving & Salvage led
cleanup eff orts with the U.S. Coast
Guard and recovered about 525
gallons of diesel and 5 cubic yards
of hazardous material.
Earlier this week, the city tem-
porarily closed the Sixth Street
viewing platform after the ferry
shifted and came to a rest against
the base of the platform.
Astoria offi cials said the platform
was closed as a precaution while the
city ensured no damage was caused
and no hazards were present.
The city said Thursday that it
did not observe any damage to the
platform.
Land: Eight surplus properties in Astoria Flagged: ‘Supremely
inappropriate and
unprofessional’
Continued from Page A1
Two surplus lots in Seaside
present wetlands challenges. In its
expressions of interest, the city said
the properties could be converted
into green space or exchanged for
other land that is a better fi t for
housing and social services.
Eight surplus properties are in
Astoria, and three are in Warrenton.
Seaside City Councilor Steve
Wright, who is running for mayor
in the November election, was
in the audience as county com-
missioners discussed the trans-
fer. Mark Kujala, the board chair-
man, asked him if he had anything
to add.
“Not really,” Wright said, “other
than, when you say ‘yes,’ I’ll say
‘thank you.’”
Continued from Page A1
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
Seaside could pursue aff ordable housing on land north of the former high school.
Outbreak: Care home is under a corrective action plan
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A routine state relicen-
sure survey at Avamere in
late June revealed numer-
ous defi ciencies in adminis-
trative oversight that posed
a risk of harm to residents.
The care home is under a
corrective action plan.
The federal Centers for
Disease Control and Pre-
vention cautioned early
in the pandemic that care
homes, with communal liv-
ing and close quarters, were
especially vulnerable to
COVID-19 outbreaks. Res-
idents’ age-related underly-
ing health conditions render
them vulnerable to severe,
possibly fatal infections.
Earlier this year, Ava-
mere experienced an out-
break of 10 virus cases,
and Neawanna By The Sea
had an outbreak of eight
virus cases, according to the
health authority.
Last summer, Neawanna
had an outbreak of four virus
cases that included a death.
Gray: Plans to tour district, make his case for a third party
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He is inspired by Austra-
lia’s “teal independents” —
a cohort of candidates from
diff erent parties that has
made addressing climate
change a top priority.
“I’ve devoted the last
six months of my life to
this campaign, and — for
the most part — it’s been
a lot of fun,” he said in a
statement. “I’ve met hun-
dreds of people, and got-
ten to know some of them
pretty well. I’ve learned a
lot about what Oregonians
— especially on the North
Coast — are concerned
about. And I’m delighted
to say that the climate crisis
has fi nally broken through
as a major issue with many
citizens.”
He made many mistakes
of a fi rst-time candidate, he
said.
His decision to run came
fairly late — in February.
Without party infrastructure,
he said, he had to assemble a
team from scratch.
His biggest problem, he
said, was fi nding a cam-
paign manager — a role he
essentially ended up fi ll-
ing himself, while doing the
candidate work of gather-
ing signatures, writing posi-
tion papers and other tasks,
he said.
A campaign needed to be
“fi ring on all cylinders” by
Labor Day, he said. “Oth-
erwise, you’re just wasting
your own time — and the
time and money of the peo-
ple who support you.”
Gray’s initial goal was to
run in 2022 and, if he lost,
run again in 2024, having
established name recogni-
tion and credibility for his
cause. He said his plan to run
again in two years has not
changed. He said he would
start searching for a cam-
paign manager this winter
and have a full-scale oper-
ation — website, funding,
volunteers and so on — in
place for the next campaign.
Gray hails from Virginia,
where he served as secretary
of the commonwealth under
Gov. John Dalton from 1978
to 1981. He taught history in
the state’s high schools, wrote
a local newspaper column
and toured as a professional
actor. On the North Coast, he
has appeared in community
theater productions.
After November’s elec-
tion, he plans to tour the dis-
trict, and the state, to make
his case for a third party, he
said.
Gray’s party does not
have a name, he said, but he
believes he has found a sym-
bol: the hummingbird.
“We’ll be small — at least
to start with — but we’ll be
active, aggressive, agile,
audacious — and green,” he
said.
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City staff said Newton,
who is white, used a racial
slur — the N-word — in a
statement about rap lyrics
and culture. City staff said
the slur was not directed at
anyone or intended as dis-
paraging , but that it was
“nonetheless unnecessary
and unprofessional.”
Later in the interaction,
city staff wrote , Newton
suggested in a “jokingly
manner ” that an employee
was looking at pornogra-
phy on the computer.
After Newton left,
city staff wrote, staff
conferred and agreed
that the interaction was
“supremely inappropriate
and unprofessional.”
“I want it known that my
words absolutely were not
intended to off end any of
the c ity employees,” New-
ton said in an email to The
Astorian. “ … I was the
only Warrenton c ity c om-
missioner to attend the
d iversity class sponsored
by our l ibrary; I attended
to try to understand peoples
problems so I might be of
assistance in the future.
“I tease people I like,
and I like most of our c ity
employees … I promise
to you, I will not do either
thing again.”
Last year, Newton was
asked to resign by fellow
commissioners following a
controversy with infi ll that
Newton accepted on his
property. The infi ll dispute
also led to a state ethics
investigation into Newton’s
actions, which ended with a
letter of education in May.
The same three — Mayor
Henry Balensifer, Commis-
sioner Mark Baldwin and
Commissioner Gerald Poe
— asked Newton to step
down again in April when
he lashed out at Balensifer
during a meeting.
Newton, a former NAPA
Auto Parts store owner, has
announced plans to run for
mayor against Balensifer
in the November election
instead of seeking a third,
four-year term on the City
Commission.
On Thursday, New-
ton said via text that he’s
unsure if he still plans to
run for mayor, but added he
“absolutely will not serve
another term under Mayor
Henry.”
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