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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress 2 December 21, 2018 County Commission honors outgoing directors election this year. Outgoing county com- “This has been the missioners Lisa Clem- most difficult and the ent and Scott Lee were most rewarding job I’ve honored last week for had,” Lee said. “I’m their service on the proud to have been part Clatsop County Board of this board, and work of Commissioners. with so many wonderful It was the final meet- people.” ing for each. “I’m grateful for this Board Vice Chair Sar- experience of the past ah Nebeker presented few years, and hope the the two with plaques board continues to have recognizing their ser- confidence in the county vice. staff,” Clement said. Lee was elected to Former Warrenton the board in 2009 and Commissioner Sarah Nebeker (left) presents Mayor Mark Kujala was served two terms as plaques to outgoing members Scott Lee and elected to Lee’s seat and commissioner for Dis- Lisa Clement. Pamela Wev of Astoria trict 1, which represents will take over Clement’s Clement was elected in 2013 Warrenton and the seat. They’ll be sworn into western part of Astoria. He to the District 3 seat, which office at the board’s Jan. 9 was chosen board chairman represents much of Astoria. meeting. Both chose not to seek re- for five years. County Commission extends property sale Clatsop County’s Board of Commissioners made a number of decisions last week that af- fected Warrenton projects and residents. The board approved a 120-day extension to the due-diligence period on the sale of 67 acres in the North Coast Business Park to Agile Design LLC. The $1.2 million sale origi- nally was approved in August. Agile Design President Mark Cox plans to develop a technol- ogy center in three-phases. The project would include data cen- ter facilities, a conference cen- ter, a technology incubator, re- C latsop C ounty ’ s only Independent Weekly neWspaper Published by Clatsop County Media Services LLC Send news or address changes to: 5 N Highway 101 #500, Warrenton OR 97146 Cindy Yingst, Publisher/Editor (news@thecolumbiapress.com) 503-861-3331 Peggy Yingst, Advertising Director (ads@thecolumbiapress.com) 503-861-3331 D.B. Lewis, Circulation Director (circulation@thecolumbiapress.com) 503-861-3331 Postage paid at the Warrenton Post Office All content copyrighted by Clatsop County Media Services LLC search and development space and associated uses. n ew jail The board also voted to ap- prove issuing $20 million in general obligation bonds to fund development of a new 148-bed county jail at the former Oregon Youth Authority juvenile deten- tion facility in Warrenton. County voters approved the bond measure for the project in November. R estoRation land Commissioners also approved an ordinance rezoning 193 acres of marshland south of Astoria. The land, located at the conflu- ence of Youngs River and Wall- ooskee River, is the site of a res- toration project undertaken by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. The tribe acquired the former farm tract in 2015 as a way to enhance fish and wildlife habi- tat. The move changes the prop- erty’s plan expectations from rural agricultural to natural and the zoning from exclusive farm use to aquatic natural. The redesignation was re- quired as a condition of the per- mit granted to the Cowlitz tribe for the project in 2015. A Clatsop College automotive student uses diagnostic equip- ment in class. Right: (L-R) Mill manager Jere- my Ness; Kristin Wilkin, CCC’s dean of workforce edu- cation; Kristi Ward, Wauna public affairs; and Thad Nolan, automotive program instructor. Wauna funds automotive program Georgia-Pacific’s Wauna paper mill this month pre- sented Clatsop Communi- ty College with a check for $5,000 to support the col- lege’s Automotive Program and Safety Training. Students in the college’s automotive program learn to use diagnostic tools in class and learn to look at data, interpret it, and then troubleshoot problems, which is what the compa- ny is looking for as their systems become more and more automated, a mill of- ficial said. The technical connection between the college and the mill means promising jobs for automotive graduates. Take homeless survey online Clatsop County, like the rest of Oregon and the na- tion, is grappling with the problem of homelessness. The county Board of Com- missioners, in response, has made housing and home- lessness priority issues and earlier this year voted to es- tablish a fund to support lo- cal efforts to combat home- lessness. In order to identify both the best revenue sources and uses for the fund, the county is encouraging the public to take part in an online poll. The 10-question survey aims to provide insight into the factors that lead people to be homeless, as well as gauge community opinions on potential solutions. The survey asks participants if they’ve been homeless and what services they have used, as well as asks partic- ipants to identify the best ways to help. The survey is available at the Clatsop County website, www.co.clatsop.or.us.
