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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2017)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper December 1, 2017 503-861-3331 Vol. 1, Issue 48 Make way for the king, expected here Dec. 3 Stores crack down as thieves get more brazen The Columbia Press The king is coming. And in these parts, “king” means the state’s highest tides of the year. It’s the eighth year that Oregon will participate in what’s become an international citizen-science effort. Volunteer photographers are being recruited to document the event. The set of extreme high tides –- known as “king tides” – will be here Dec. 3, 4 and 5. They’re caused by a stronger than normal gravitational pull when the sun, moon and earth are in alignment. The international project start- ed in Australia and, in Oregon, is sponsored by the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, the state Department of Land Conservation and Development, and the Surfrider Foundation. It’s helpful to the state and other agencies to see the extent of flood- ing and erosion and the impacts they have on infrastructure and property. “Higher than normal high tides alone do not necessarily cause coastal flooding,” according to a spokesman See ‘King tide’ on Page 5 B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press Above: Tracks along South First Street in Coos Bay flooded during a recent king tide. Photo by Robert More Right: The Peter Ire- dale shipwreck on the beach in Fort Stevens is swamped by the tide. Courtesy Oregon King Tides Photo Initiative County gets business park street plans in order The Columbia Press The county is doing some clean- up in preparation for additional de- velopment at North Coast Business Park. The area was platted more than a century ago and those plans don’t mesh with today’s plans. Several streets were laid out – at least on paper – in the 1890s and again in 1903. They’re in all the wrong places and the county wants to remove them from the books, a legal action called “vacating.” “This is just a housekeeping thing,” said Michael Summers, Clatsop County’s public works director. “Me and the county surveyor, we are just trying to make it easier in the future when we divide land.” For instance, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office sits on half of a large parcel of land in the business park. “We’re dividing it so that the sher- iff’s office has its own land and then the other will be vacant land,” Sum- mers said. “This lines it up to be more advantageous to the county. We’re never going to sell the piece of land the sheriff’s office is on, but this will give us a remaining 10 ½ acres that we can sell.” Because it’s publically owned land and because it sits within War- renton’s city limits, the public gets to have a say. On Tuesday night, Warrenton City Commission set a public hear- ing on the street vacation issue for Jan. 8. See ‘Business’ on Page 6 Thieves are getting bold and brazen. One stole groceries from Fred Mey- er and then rode his bicycle through the store from the grocery side out the mer- chandise entrance. A second thief left the store without pay- ing for items, grabbed another customer’s bicycle and used it as a get-away vehicle. A third fought so hard with a loss-pre- vention officer that his shoplifting charge was upgraded to strong-arm robbery. A fourth changed into stolen clothes in Fred Meyer’s bathroom and left behind a bag with a job application for a nearby restaurant with her name and address. “A lot of them mostly are drug-related, and when it gets close to the holidays we get more,” said Summer, a loss-preven- tion officer at the store. Her last name is being withheld for her protection. “Fred Meyer does take pride in its secu- rity team,” she said. “We watch the cam- eras. We have a team out on the floor as well. We want to make it a safe place to shop for everyone else.” The above incidents all occurred at Fred Meyer during the past two weeks. There were additional shoplifters caught who were turned over to police without inci- dent. While most shoplifters who are spotted get arrested, the crime doesn’t usually land someone in jail. Shoplifters do have to go to court, pay fines and live with a criminal record. However, those who use force while attempting to get away, those who insti- gate a police chase or search, those found to have drugs on them and those with $1,000 or more in stolen merchandise See ‘Shoplifting’ on Page 3
