T he C olumbia P ress
1
50 ¢
C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper
www.thecolumbiapress.com
June 1, 2018
Vol. 2, Issue 22
Dock tour provides stunning look at seafood industry
B y K en C arrell
and J oyCe C arrell
for The Columbia Press
New building official
began work this week
in Warrenton
An abundance of seafood is within our reach,
waiting to be harvested.
But the workers are few and the processing
plants far between.
“There are no young people coming to the fleet,”
said Kevin Dunn, a fisherman and net-maker
working out of Warrenton. “It’s a graying indus-
try and trawl boats are expensive.”
Oregon State University and Sea Grant Oregon
sponsored the second annual Clatsop Commer-
cial Fisheries Tour on Wednesday, taking 100
public officials, reporters and industry special-
ists on a tour of the region’s resources.
A dozen specialists talked about the state of the
local fishing industry, the bright spots and the
hurdles. The overarching theme was the need for
cooperation to build economic sustainability.
“ ‘Fishery’ means the people, fish, businesses
and activities involved in harvesting a particular
type of seafood,” said Sheryl Flores of the Ore-
gon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Astoria-Warrenton’s fisheries include ground-
fish trawl, Dungeness crab, pink shrimp, alba-
core tuna, sardines and anchovies, salmon and
razor clams. The region is the only one to allow
commercial razor clamming.
Astoria-Warrenton is No. 1 in the state for
Above: A worker at the
Bornsteins Seafood
plant prepares rockfish
for market Wednesday.
Left: Harbormaster Jane
Sweet speaks to a group
gathered for a dock tour
at the Warrenton Marina
on Wednesday.
See ‘Dock tour’ on Page 5
Photos by Joyce Carrell
Astoria man killed in Highway 101 head-on crash
Courtesy Oregon State Police
An Astoria man died when his vehicle struck an
oncoming pickup Tuesday evening.
New state rule
won’t affect city
building boom
The Columbia Press
An Astoria man was killed on
Highway 101 Tuesday evening
when his white Ford Escape
crossed the center line and
struck another vehicle head-
on, according to Oregon State
Police.
Dale Larson, 84, was pro-
nounced dead at the scene of
the 5:30 p.m. crash, which oc-
curred near Dellmoor Loop
Road. He was not wearing a
seatbelt.
Larson was headed south
when his vehicle struck the
northbound black GMC pick-
up, which was being driven
by Jesse Taylor, 38, of Sea-
side. Taylor and a passenger
in his pickup were taken to
Columbia Memorial Hospi-
tal for injuries that weren’t
life-threatening, Lt. Andrew
Merila said.
All lanes of the highway were
closed, with a detour in place,
for about three hours while of-
ficers reconstructed the crash
and collected evidence.
The Columbia Press
New state regulations set to begin
July 1 threaten to shut down some
cities’ building programs.
A bipartisan group of legislators that
includes Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scap-
poose, has gone into overdrive, at-
tempting to quash or change the law
before it goes into effect.
“This entire debacle is a clarion call
for legislative engagement in the 2019
session,” Johnson said.
The new regulations – which would
require cities to have building officials
on staff -- were issued on an emergen-
cy basis by the state’s Building Codes
Division. It followed a controversial
Attorney General’s opinion, which
contended cities and counties could
only use public employees to perform
permit and inspection services.
“(Their) actions pose incalculable
risks to local government, jeopar-
dize the construction of badly need-
ed housing, create unnecessary con-
fusion and potential legal liabilities
and/or litigation,” Johnson said.
Warrenton City Manager Linda
Engbretson attended the meeting last
week in Salem.
“We have been following this since
last year,” Engbretson said. “I attend-
ed … even though I believe the city of
Warrenton is in good shape with a ful-
ly certified building official on staff.”
New employee Bob Johnston was to
begin work May 31 as the city’s certi-
fied building official.
Johnson, along with Sen. Chuck
Thomsen, R-Hood River, and Rep.
Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay, have
See ‘Building’ on Page 4