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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2019)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper www.thecolumbiapress.com August 23, 2019 Em Power ment Above: Valerie Miller of Girls Build supervises Sahalie Heaven- rich, 10, of Astoria as she makes a cut with the skill saw. Looking on are Lydia Johnson, 10, of Seaside, and Teslyn Wintersteen, 10, of Astoria. Left: Brooke Holmes, 9, of Ilwaco, Bristol Long, 8, of Chi- nook, and Eleanor Nye, 9, of Astoria use sanders to finish an inlaid-wood project. Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press Vol. 3, Issue 34 Program offers life lessons via power tools B y C indy y ingst B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press The Columbia Press Not every girl wants a career wield- ing a chain saw or hammer, but those who might are gaining an ex- cellent foundation this week. Girls Build, a Portland-based pro- gram, brought power tools and women with a wealth of construc- tion trades skills to Warrenton Grade School for a weeklong camp. Forty girls, ages 8 to 14, are build- ing a picnic table for the grade school, an airplane play structure for Warrenton Head Start and are completing training exercises in sheet-metal work, solar-panel in- stallation, plumbing, wood-work- ing, and copper pipe soldering. Warrenton’s camp was fully fund- ed by Hampton Lumber. “It’s really important to open the doors to the trades for girls at a young age and also to show them The key to success comes down to a simple formula for Sheriff Tom Ber- gin: attitude and timing. And for him the time is right to leave the county’s top law enforce- ment post. He’ll be one year shy of com- pleting three elected terms when he steps down at the end of the year. “I’m to the point now where it’s time to pull the plug. I’m worn out,” admitted Bergin Bergin, 61. He had surgery for kidney cancer last year, had both knees replaced and went through a divorce. He’d hoped to make it until the end of his term. “But you finally just realize it’s time and there’s much younger and smart- er guys than I’ll ever be,” he said. A cowboy at heart and a gentleman in practice, he parks away from the front door at sheriff’s headquarters, giving the better spots to his staff. His favorite movie is “We Were Sol- diers.” Among the decorations in his office are a Toy Story “Woody” doll, a signed poster of Dwight Yoakam, whom he made an honorary depu- ty during a performance here, and campaign signs from former county sheriffs John Raichl (1987-2004), Al- mond Eastman (1983-1987), and Carl Bondietti (1959-1983). During the 35 years Bergin devoted to law enforcement, he has arrest- ed people, arrested their kids and, years later, their grandkids. But he’s also been able to help people, their See ‘Girls Build’ on Page 5 Warrenton hopes to plump up its housing choices B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press City leaders, hoping to provide more options to more people, are consider- ing changing the housing code to al- low a variety of nontraditional dwell- ings. Changes are in the works after a year of “thinking outside the box” in work sessions, public hearings, surveys and even a charrette (a meeting in which all stakeholders come together to find innovative solutions to problems). The county and the city both con- ducted housing needs assessments this year, which showed plenty of available mid- to large-sized sin- gle-family homes, but a lack of more affordable options. “Warrenton, by far, has the largest youth homeless population” in the county, said Kevin Cronin, Warren- ton’s community development direc- tor. He serves on the board of Clatsop Community Action, a nonprofit agen- cy that specializes in food, housing and energy assistance and believes the city should do everything it can to provide a solution for those who just miss the mark in either buying or renting a home. During an Aug. 15 workshop, he asked Warrenton planning commis- sioners to give him guidance on the Sheriff Bergin to hang up holster, but not the hat types of nontraditional dwelling units they’d find acceptable. “I don’t want to see anyone in War- renton cut out,” said Paul Mitchell, See ‘Housing’ on Page 4 Courtesy city of Warrenton An example of cottage clusters. See ‘Bergin’ on Page 7