4 October 13, 2017 T he C olumbia P ress Bulb-outs: Main Avenue beautification in works Continued from Page 1 13-foot statue and base from the VFW – will be at the four- way stop and is the group’s first project during this sec- ond decade. Next is a way to fix the pow- er pole bulb-outs. “This is one of the proj- ects that was identified in the (agency’s) plan and, 10 years in, I think we’re hap- py to move forward in the downtown area and make an impact,” City Manager Linda Engbretson said. On Tuesday, landscape de- sign consultant Beth Hol- land presented plans to city commissioners, who also act Plants would go in bulb-outs. as the Urban Renewal Agen- cy. They’ll dig out the con- crete around the bulb-outs, enhance the soil, and add small crabapple trees and low-maintenance shrubbery. The reflective posts could be painted green to fade into the shrubbery. While some agency mem- bers were skeptical, most were enthusiastic. Holland’s third proposal is to turn an area north of the high school into a pocket park. The intersection of Main Avenue with Alternate High- way 101 would be plant- ed with grass, trees and shrubbery with a half-dozen benches added and sidewalk improvements. “That’s what urban renew- al funds are meant to do; they’re meant to rejuvenate,” Engbretson said. “To see peo- ple using the downtown area, well, it will be real nice to do it right.” Restaurants: Pizza restaurant under construction Continued from Page 1 a lounge. They won’t be open 24 hours initially, although it may evolve into that, Lounsbury said. She closed her Seaside restaurant, Guido & Vito’s Italian Cuisine, a month and a half ago. Raniero worked for her there as a cook. As the official owner of Jim’s Place, Raniero said he will be in charge and his mom will work for him. In some ways, opening a restaurant in Warrenton is like coming home, Lounsbury said. She graduated from Warrenton High School and her son was born in Warren- ton. There’s more news among Warrenton’s dining estab- lishments. • Domino’s Pizza is under construction next to Panda Express in the North Coast Business Park. This week, plumbing and other infra- structure improvements were going in. A timeline for com- pletion wasn’t available. • Katrina and Ronald Hunt are taking over operations at Rod’s Bar & Grill, purchasing the lounge and eatery from her father, Rod Mullins. They plan to change the name to Trina & Ron’s Place. • Tacos El Catrin in the Pre- marq Center has changed its name to El Catrin Mexican Cuisine. The restaurant, known for its authentic Michoacan, or Central Mexican cuisine, has added a business partner, Li- brado Perez Gutierrez. El Catrin expanded recent- ly, adding a larger lounge and a few more seats in the former hair salon next door. Emiliano Alvarez, also a part- ner at El Catrin, moved his hair salon to the other end of the center. • And, of course, Uptown Café has changed hands. New owners have remodeled the 4-year-old restaurant and moved the lounge into the former community room, making room for more tables. Intersection: Bottleneck near school to be widened Continued from Page 1 Tem Rick Newton urged fel- low commissioners. “I’d like to move forward on that.” The four-member panel, with Mayor Henry Balensifer absent, unanimously ap- proved the plan. “That’s really good news,” Warrenton-Hammond School District Superin- tendent Mark Jeffery said Wednesday morning. “It’s a busy intersection, particular- ly from our perspective, and tight for buses getting in and out of there.” Last school year, a student was struck by a car in the crosswalk there. “It’s one of two major inter- sections we impact – the oth- er is Ninth and Cedar – and it’s a challenge for everybody, even me in my pickup from time to time,” Jeffery said. City Engineer Collin Stelzig, who is also interim Public Works director since the de- parture of Jim Dunn, said his department has done some property surveys to find out where the right of way is so corrections can be made. Work would be done during the summer so it doesn’t con- flict with school.