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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper www.thecolumbiapress.com Vol. 2, Issue 29 July 20, 2018 Dolphin property Clatsop County: the good, the bad and the middle B C y could be site of The Columbia Press school complex Clatsop County residents are 86 per- y The Columbia Press The school district is waiting for traffic studies, appraisals and geo- technical reports to come in before it begins negotiations with the owner of land eyed to become the new multi- school campus. On Wednesday night, the Warren- ton-Hammond School Board voted unanimously to put Superintendent Mark Jeffery in charge of negotia- tions to purchase the property. Last month, the district had nar- rowed its search to three properties, all in the hilly areas southeast of Highway 101 near Costco. On Wednesday, board members agreed to pursue the property that’s the best fit: a site on Southeast Dol- phin Avenue owned by Warrenton Fi- ber and Nygaard Land. Three tax lots would be combined in order to have enough land for an elementary, mid- dle and high school campus. “We’re dealing with time issues and dollar issues,” Jeffery told board mem- bers. “It’s just a really tight market.” See ‘Schools’ on Page 7 Courtesy Clatsop Community College By the numbers, Clatsop County does well in adults with two-year college degrees, fitness level and access to recreation. But violent crimes and property taxes are high. Courtesy Fort Clatsop indy ingst cent white, they earn slightly less than the state’s average income of $53,270 and the top employment industries are food service, accommodations and ed- ucation. The portrait of the county released this month by the Ford Family Foun- dation is largely “middle of the road,” with about half the state’s 36 counties above and half below us on most key measures. Exercise and crime are exceptions. We’re quite high on both counts. “Oregon by the Numbers” was com- piled by the Ford Family Foundation in cooperation with Oregon State Univer- sity Extension Service, both proponents of rural Oregon. It was distributed to community leaders such as elected of- ficials, business groups and planning agencies. “To serve the needs of Oregon, we need to understand the reality of what is happening across all of our commu- nities,” wrote foundation President Anne Kubisch in the book’s forward. “Numbers expose needs. Numbers re- Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press See ‘Numbers’ on Page 6 Fire danger increases throughout the state, including Clatsop County Clatsop County’s fire danger level was raised this week by the state Department of Forestry, most affecting people who live, work and visit the forests. Forecasters predict warmer and drier conditions will continue, making the forests more suscep- tible to wildfires. Firefighters work the Silver Creek Fire in a remote area of Silver Falls State Park. Hot and dry conditions are making the state’s forested areas susceptible to wildfire. Courtesy ODF As a precautionary measure, those engaging in logging, road building and other industrial uses must remain in the work area on fire watch for one to two hours af- ter work has ceased. The Astoria District is in “regu- lated use,” which means the pub- lic also is restricted in what it can do in the forest. Anyone driving on forest roads is required to have a shovel and either a 2.5-pound fire extinguisher or one gallon of water. On private lands under the pro- tection of the Oregon Department of Forestry: • No open debris burning. Burn barrels and residential campfires are allowed with an ODF-issued burn permit and chainsaw use on personal property is allowed only until 10 a.m. daily. • Campfires are allowed only in designated metal fire pits at Spruce Run Campground, Gnat Creek Campground, Northrup Creek Horse Camp and Beaver Eddy dispersed sites in Clatsop County.
