December 15, 2017
T he C olumbia P ress
Fire destroys Sunset Lake home
Interesting 1854
court case is topic
of Thursday talk
The county’s first known
probate case is the topic of a
free lecture at 7 p.m. Thurs-
day, Dec. 21, in the Lovell
Showroom at Fort George
Brewery.
The lecture is part of the
Clatsop County Historical
Society’s Thursday Night
Talks series.
The
Oregon
Territori-
al Court Journal, recently
found in the basement of the
Astoria Library, sheds new
light on the county’s first
probate case, which was so
controversial it had to be de-
cided by the Oregon Territo-
ry’s Supreme Court in 1854.
In dispute was the inheri-
tance rights of the children
of a Clatsop Indian woman
who had refused to marry her
husband, Calvin Tibbets, in
the “white man’s way.” The
Tibbets’ children had been
denied their right to inherit
their father’s sizeable estate.
Jerry Sutherland, author
of “Calvin Tibbets: Oregon’s
First Pioneer,” will lead the
talk.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for
anyone wanting food or bev-
erages. Minors are welcome
with an accompanying adult.
Three people were left
homeless after a Dec. 8 fire
destroyed a house in the Sun-
set Lake area.
The residents escaped with
their pets after the fire broke
out in a back bedroom short-
ly before 10:30 p.m., Warren-
ton Fire Chief Tim Demers
said.
The home at 90656 Lake
View Road likely will be con-
sidered a total loss, he said.
There was major smoke and
water damage throughout
the 1,500-square-foot house
and portions of the roof and
Courtesy Gateway Lodge
Gateway Lodge officers, left to right in front: Fred Cantrell Jr., junior
warden; Dick Rodlun, master; Archie Cook outgoing master; and
Ronald Atkins, secretary. Back row: Bert Little, junior steward; Nor-
man McLaren, junior deacon; Ronald Collman, marshal; Victor Kee,
senior steward; and Jack Bradbury, treasurer and chaplain.
Masons name leaders for 2018
Dick Rodlun of Ocean Park,
Wash., is the new master of
Gateway Lodge No. 175, An-
cient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons of Oregon.
He took over the gavel from
Archie Cook of Seaside at a
ceremony Dec. 6 at Warren-
ton Masonic Lodge.
In addition to officers in
the photo above, other offi-
cers are Gil Gramson, senior
warden; Lane MacLean,
senior deacon; and Tony
Water: Fixing 89 miles of pipes
Continued from Page 1
ter rates in a stepped fashion
from 4 to 7 percent over the
next five years.
That will help with some
of the needed $25 million,
but the city will have to bor-
row money by issuing reve-
nue bonds over the next five
years, Stangel told commis-
sioners.
The city needs to develop a
program to replace approx-
imately one mile of pipe ev-
ery year, increasing funding
to about $1 million per year
by the end of 20 years. Since
5
pipes have a 100-year life cy-
cle, the program would never
end.
In the next 5 to 10 years, the
city should focus on replac-
ing pipes, replacing the wa-
ter reservoir and addressing
three areas with fire-flow de-
ficiencies, Hammond, Ridge
Road and Harbor Drive.
Mayor Henry Balensifer
asked to have the water plan
come back to the City Com-
mission as an action item in
the spring, when the city is
working on its annual bud-
get.
Qualin, tyler.
Ronald Atkins, in addition
to serving as secretary, also
serves as deputy for District
1.
Warrenton Masons meet
at 7:30 p.m. on the first
Wednesday of each month.
wall were cut out.
The house is in an area with
narrow dirt and gravel roads
served by Warrenton Rural
Fire Protection District.
“The hydrant system there
is not the best,” Demers said.
“One hydrant on my route in
was obscured by a wood pile
and vehicles and I didn’t see
it so we laid hose from anoth-
er one.”
The American Red Cross re-
sponded the following after-
noon to assist the family with
immediate needs as well as
temporary housing.