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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper 503-861-3331 April 27, 2018 Vol. 2, Issue 17 Two properties County Commission candidates: In their own words Andy Davis Mark Kujala George McCartin declared public Age: 40 Age: 81 Age: 47 City: Astoria City: Astoria City: War- nuisances B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press A former residence and a former business were declared public nui- sances Tuesday night in the city’s on- going crusade against blight. Owners of the long-abandoned blue house at 925 E. Harbor Drive and a former gas station at 238 S. Main Ave. have 10 days to clear their properties or face further city intervention. “(It) has been five years and we’re finally doing something,” Mark Bald- win said in urging his fellow commis- sioners to act after Mayor Pro Tem Rick Newton suggested the business owner may only need prodding in- stead of such severe legal action. Prodding the done the last time he was on the commission, Baldwin said, and the property directly across from City Hall remained a mess. “So if we wait, are we going to wait another five years?” Commissioner Tom Dyer spent much of the prior week helping the former tenant remove old engines, batteries, metal drums and vehicles off the property, an effort lauded by fellow commissioners. See ‘Nuisances’ on Page 6 Source: City of Warrenton Owners of a deteriorating house on Harbor Drive have 10 days to re- move the nuisance. Years in region: 3 Job: Data an- alyst, GOBHI Education: I studied reli- gion at Wa- bash College and public ad- ministration at Indiana Universi- ty. Community/political in- volvement: Budget committees for Clatsop County and City of Astoria; delegate, Clatsop County Democratic Party; coordinated efforts locally to pass Ballot Mea- sure 101, preserving health care coverage for thousands of Orego- nians; served two years in Bloom- ington, Ind., as a sustainability commissioner. Top three issues: Affordable housing; tight budgets for gov- ernment work, especially public safety and health; demographic renton Years in region: 47 Job: Mem- bership director, As- toria-Warren- ton Chamber of Commerce; owner, Skipanon Brand Seafoods Education: Bachelor’s degree, Oregon State University; Warren- ton High School graduate. Community involvement: Astoria Regatta Festival Associ- ation admiral’s aide, 2016; War- renton Sunrise Rotary president, 2011-12; Salmon for All board member, 2009-11; Liberty Theatre board member, 2009-11; Clatsop Community College Foundation board, 2011-14; Astoria Scandina- vian Midsummer Festival Emcee, 2006-16; Hope House Emcee, 2009-present; Warrenton School District Long-Range Facility Task Years in region: 12 Job: Retired trial lawyer. Education: Juris doctor- ate, master’s degree in edu- cation/theology, bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Community involvement: People’s advocate before local government; volunteer and advi- sor to Astoria Warming Center; programmer/DJ for Coast Com- munity Radio. Political/other experience: Board member and chair of a commission; acting director, San Francisco region Equal Employ- ment Opportunity Commission; served on citizen committees for schools, land-use and city em- ployment. Top three issues: Using the people’s tax dollars for expensive See ‘Davis’ on Page 8 See ‘Kujala’ on Page 11 See ‘McCartin’ on Page 8 Local Red Cross volunteers prepare at grade school B y d.B. L ewis The Columbia Press Eight local volunteer American Red Cross workers met at Warrenton Grade School on Tuesday to practice setting up an emergency shelter. Volunteers refined their skills for various tasks required to get the ball rolling smoothly with supervision from Jenny Carver, regional ARC di- saster program manager, and George Everts, shelter supervisor. Everts, who lives in Astoria, was promoted after deploying in January to California, where he was a shelter worker during the massive wildfires. Shelter supervisor is akin to an assis- tant manager, but with autonomy to adjust an operation to fit local condi- tions. Ideally, Everts would share the hands-on organizational chores with a local shelter manager above him, but in rural areas such as Clatsop County, there may not be enough pre- trained local volunteers available. In a real disaster, Carver or anoth- er Red Cross manager might have to serve as shelter manager – by phone or ham radio - if no one could be brought in by nightfall. The Red Cross used to have full- time employees staffing field offices in most locales nationwide, including one in Astoria. It was funded by dona- tions because the Red Cross receives no taxpayer money. But with the onset of deep reces- sion in 2008, donations dried up and the organization had to radically re- duce overhead to remain functional. Thousands of offices were closed, and the operational model changed from mostly employee-led to mostly volun- teer-led. Carver oversees a five-county team See ‘Red Cross’ on Page 11