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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2019)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper www.thecolumbiapress.com May 10, 2019 New ideas for unsafe mix of man and beast B y C indy y ingst Vol. 3, Issue 19 School district hires new-campus manager The Columbia Press Human impacts on elk – and vice versa – have caught the eye of Gov. Kate Brown. “I am designating the Clatsop Plains Elk Collaborative as an Oregon Solutions project and appointing Warrenton May- or Henry Balensifer and Seaside Mayor Jay Barber as the project co-conveners,” Brown wrote to local mayors, including Gearhart Mayor Matty Brown on April 26. Oregon Solutions is a state entity tasked with developing “sustainable solutions to community-based problems” through the collaboration of business, government, and nonprofit groups. Local leaders have been trying to find solutions for the elk problem, which has been growing since there are few preda- tors, plenty of open space and favorable conditions for making more elk. There are so many elk they cause vehi- cle collisions, show aggressive behavior See ‘Elk’ on Page 5 B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press Above: A tourist takes a selfie with a bull elk (posted on the website Reddit). Left: A cow elk and calf walk through Ocean View Ceme- tery in Warrenton. Cindy Yingst Construction of the dis- trict’s new middle school took a leap forward Wednesday night with the hiring of a con- struction management com- pany to oversee the process of building a new middle school. “I think it’s hands down the best process to use for this,” said Greg Morrill, vice chair- man of the Warrenton-Ham- mond School Board and president of Bergerson Con- struction. The board and school admin- istrators will receive a steady flow of information and be in- volved as the ultimate supervi- sors in the process. “There will be a lot of eyes looking at this from at least three different directions,” Superintendent Mark Jeffery told them. “You will be well informed to make decisions throughout this process.” R&C Management Group of Yamhill won the management contract for $947,500, the bid out of three that was most rea- sonable and best-aligned with district goals for the new cam- pus, which will be built south of Walmart. The board also approved a contract with DLR Group of Portland for design services. The company was deemed best of the four design firms that submitted bids. In addition, the board ap- proved issuing requests for proposals from companies to fill five more positions: arbor- See ‘Campus’ on Page 5 In their own words: Sunset Empire Transportation District candidates talk about the issues The Position 1 seat Tracy E. MacDonald Larry Taylor Incumbent, Seaside Astoria Age: 68 Length of time here: 39 years Occupation: Retired med- ical trans- port, Medix, area admin- istrator; PNW Key Club (Ki- wanis); Home Depot, War- renton. Education: Transit plan- ning certificate from San- ta Ana Community College, Santa Ana, Calif.; graduated from Crater High School in Central Point, Ore. Community and politi- Age: 66 Length of time here: 19 years in Astoria, na- tive-born Or- egonian Occupation: Retired, but I work as a parliamentarian Education: master’s de- gree in architecture and ur- ban design, U.C.L.A.; bach- elor’s degree in computer science, U.C. Irvine Community and political involvement: Worked on the restoration of the Fort George mural in 2001, co-founded See ‘MacDonald’ on Page 4 See ‘Taylor’ on Page 4 The May 21 vote The May 21 Special Districts Election includes school districts, water districts, ports and other entities. Last week, The Columbia Press featured contested seats on the Port of Astoria Commission and Clatsop Community College District board. If you missed those profiles, please see them online at thecolumbiapress. com. On page 3 inside is a profile on Clatsop Care Center Health District Position 5 candidate Cyndy Enterline. Her opponent declined to be included. The Position 5 seat Lylla Gaebel, incumbent Debbie Boothe-Schmidt Warrenton Age: 73 Time here: 20-plus years Occupation: Retired Education: PCC Telecom- munications certificate Community involvement and experience: Current- ly serve as a Sunset Empire Transportation District com- missioner; Warrenton City Commission; Clatsop Coun- ty Commission; Volunteer at Columbia River Maritime Museum; Volunteer at Clat- sop County Animal Shelter; Warrenton Age: 64 Time here: 27 years Occupation: Trial assistant for the District Attorney’s Of- fice Education: Associate’s degree, Academy of Business College, Phoenix Community involvement and experience: My hus- band and I have owed a small business in Astoria for 17 years. I know the ups and downs of a business. I know what it is like to deal with em- ployees and budgets, security See ‘Gaebel’ on Page 7 See ‘Boothe-Schmidt’ on Page 7