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 50
December 14, 2018
Officer Al Fontana
retires after 26 years
Steven and Ann Farley pose for pho-
tos at the Liberty Theatre during a past
year’s Downtown Astoria Lighting event.
Couple has spread
Christmas cheer
for many a year
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
Santa Claus carries much responsi-
bility along with his clutch of candy
canes.
Steven and Ann Farley of Warren-
ton take their roles as Santa and Mrs.
Claus quite seriously, knowing chil-
dren come from a variety of homes
and backgrounds.
“Sometimes these kids will tell
you the deep dark secrets they don’t
even tell their parents,” said Steven,
71, who has been Clatsop County’s
main Santa Claus for 35 years. “It’s a
tear-jerker at times.”
He got started while serving as an
officer for Astoria’s American Legion.
Whoever volunteered to play Santa
for the Christmas party usually got
the job.
“Most guys were not Santa materi-
al,” he recalled. “One of the kids said,
‘Santa you smell like beer.’ So I made
a mental note of that. When the next
year rolled around and they were
looking for a Santa, I said ‘I’ll do it.’ I
don’t drink.”
Steven Farley, who retired from the
Port of Astoria and the Army Corps of
Engineers, got his wife involved a few
years later. Ann Farley, 70, works as
See ‘Santa’ on Page 4
The Columbia Press
Warrenton Senior Police Officer Alfonzo
Fontana has retired, but you can still find him
working around town.
On Tuesday night, Police Chief Matt Work-
man, City Manager Linda Engbretson and the
City Commission recognized his 26 years with
the city.
While Dec. 1 was his official retirement date,
Fontana agreed to continue working for the
small department until his departure won’t
cause staffing problems.
His first day of retirement “I worked a 12-
hour shift,” he told those gathered at City Hall,
including many of his fellow officers. “I worked
12-hour shifts two days in a row.”
He was hired in 1992 and is the depart-
ment’s firearms instructor. He’s an avid fish-
erman and snorkeler and has posted dozens
of videos of his hobbies on YouTube. Good or
bad, nearly everyone who has been in town for
any length of time has met him.
His wife, Nadia, said he never takes sick
leave, even when he’s sick. Fontana said that’s
just how he was raised.
The department currently is recruiting for
two officers to fill vacancies, Workman said.
Warrenton Mayor Pro Tem Rick New-
ton reads the city’s proclamation on
a plaque before he gives it to Officer
Alfonzo Fontana.
Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press
Bond money for new school construction expected soon
The Columbia Press
The school board authorized the sale
of $38.5 million in bonds Wednesday
night, the first step in construction of
what will become a new middle school
campus.
The sale became possible after last
month’s 60 percent voter approval of
the bond measure.
“This is what’s going to fund every-
thing else we’re doing,” Superinten-
dent Mark Jeffery told members of the
Warrenton-Hammond School Board.
The new campus on high ground is
necessary as the state will not allow
additional construction at school sites
that are near or within a tsunami in-
undation zone. And the number of stu-
dents in the district is growing.
Business Manager Mike Moha is pre-
paring all the supporting documents
that allows the bond issuing company
to evaluate the district’s credit and set
the bond rate by Jan. 22 or 23. Bonds
are estimated to sell by the end of Jan-
uary.
“We expect a mid-February closing
and that money will be ours,” Jeffery
said.
The district’s property owners will
pay the money back over the next
three decades.
With the school board’s Wednesday
authorization, the district’s bond un-
derwriter, Piper Jaffray & Co., was to
file paperwork Thursday with the state
Municipal Debt Advisory Commission.
Once the money is received, a project
manager will be hired. That person will
oversee the process of getting propos-
als from and selecting architects and
designers, construction superinten-
dents and general contractors.
Board members also reviewed a list
of projects for which the money could
be used. Items further down the list
are unlikely to be funded by the bond
money. In order of priority:
• Purchase land for the school site,
estimated completion by Jan. 30.
• Site preparation and construction
for the grades 6 to 8 middle school,
November 2019 through January 2021
See ‘Schools’ on Page 4