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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 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 43 October 26, 2018 Scarey and fun, there’s lots to do this Halloween The Columbia Press Whether you like to be scared or merely amused, there’s a Hallow- een attraction for you near you. Here’s a list of some of the top Halloween activities. B y C indy y ingSt The Columbia Press H aunted S Hip The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alert recently was brought back after disappearing 50 years ago in the Bermuda Triangle. But the ship is haunted. That’s the story anyway. Tours of the haunted vessel are from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct 26-28 on the 17th Street dock adjacent to the Maritime Museum. Admission is free, but the Lower Columbia Riv- er Petty Officer’s Association will have concessions available for do- nations. H aunted H ouSe Seaside Inverted Experience of- See ‘Halloween’ on Page 8 Commissioner speaks out on bad behavior; woman runs as write-in Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press The D.K. Warren House on Skipanon Drive puts on quite a show. A city commissioner chastised the behavior of fel- low politicians this week and a woman announced her candidacy as a write-in for the commission position. “I went home from the last meet- ing disappointed in myself for not speaking up,” Commissioner Mark Baldwin said at the close of Tues- day’s City Commission meeting. “I don’t like the way the meeting end- ed last session and getting the police involved … is something that never Baldwin should have happened. It lacked good taste. What brought that on lacks good taste also.” Mayoral candidate John Washington and City Commissioner Rick Newton, who is running unop- posed on the ballot for his seat, both engaged in an- See ‘Write-in’ on Page 12 Decision on school bond comes down to safety, expediency and money Warrenton-Hamond School District Superintendent Mark Jeffery answered our ques- tions about the $38.5 million school bond on the November ballot. What are the top three things that will happen if the bond passes? We’ll hire a project manag- er to assist in finalizing the design as well as immediate implementation of school improvements at our grade school and high school. We’ll solicit input from the community and the board will select a Bond Account- ability Committee to oversee bond construction and fi- nancing to inform the board and superintendent on keep- ing the bond projects on time and on budget. We’ll begin preparing the site of the new Warrenton Middle School. How much will it cost the average resident? The total combined rate for the bond should is estimated at $2.68 per $1,000 of as- sessed value, so the cost will vary depending the actual as- sessed value of one’s home. Can’t new construction pay taxes needed to build a new campus? New construction in War- renton School District will ab- solutely assist in keeping our bond rate lower for existing residents. It’s difficult to fore- cast how many new homes A drawing by DLR Group of what a new middle school campus might look like with room for additional grade levels. will be constructed over the 30-year bond repayment timeline. Where will the new campus be built? We are currently pursuing upland property located just east of Dolphin Avenue on the east side of Highway 101. The property is out of the tsu- nami inundation zone. Why put the school on the other side of Highway 101? Won’t that be a bus- ing nightmare? The main reason was the determination that the best long-term use of these tax dollars would be to locate the schools on a single campus on property above the tsunami zone. All the property within the district, city and urban growth boundaries of suit- able size was located east of Highway 101. Of those, there were limited safe options to meet the requirements of the current plan. Part of our due diligence work was an initial traffic as- sessment and we are continu- See ‘School Bond’ on Page 4