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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2019)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper www.thecolumbiapress.com November 1, 2019 Vol. 3, Issue 44 Tourist spending Have fish hatchery; rose to highest Astoria company develops level last year innovative hatchery in a box The Columbia Press The amount tourists spend in Northwest Oregon rose to its highest level last year, according to an Ore- gon Employment Department report released Wednesday. Visitors spent $1.56 billion here in 2018. The previous record was $1.32 billion in 2006 (the amount is adjust- ed for inflation to be comparable). Five northwest counties are includ- ed in the tally: Clatsop, Tillamook, Columbia, Lincoln and Benton. “Complete records aren’t available for 2019 yet, but preliminary esti- mates indicate that about 380 more jobs are being added this year in lei- sure and hospitality in the five coun- ties,” writes Erik Knoder, a regional economist with the Employment De- partment. “This matches the slow- er employment growth experienced overall in the economy in 2019.” Of the five counties, Clatsop County had added the most leisure/hospital- ity jobs in 2018. The 2018 spending increase was a jump of 1.4 percent over the previous year. Visitor spending has been in- creasing since 2011. Last year’s growth was more than in 2017 but slower than in preceding years. Slower growth in an industry is typical as an economic expansion matures, and growth in visitor spend- ing has been slowing since 2014. Obviously, leisure and hospitality is affected the most in Clatsop County, but it also is the largest industry sec- tor throughout Northwest Oregon. It provided nearly 16,700 payroll jobs on an annual average basis in 2018, or about 17 percent of all jobs. “The industry’s health depends in large part on spending by visitors,” Knoder said. See ‘Tourism’ on Page 5 B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press An Astoria company has developed a fish hatchery in a box. Redd Zone made its first Instant Hatchery sale last week to the Skokomish In- dian Tribe in Washington state. The Instant Hatchery is a self-contained unit filled with innovative upgrades to traditional hatchery equipment. The entire hatchery is built within a Conex box, or intermodal shipping container. “What usually happens today when a hatchery wins a grant to upgrade is they build a fancy new building and fill it with 100-year-old technology,” said Tod Jones, president of Redd Zone. He and his partner, Rog- will travel er Warren, have decades of experience in the fisheries industry as well as several patents each on inventions that improve fish-planting and conditions at hatcher- ies. Before retiring, Warren was manager of the state’s Gnat Creek Hatchery on See ‘In a box’ on Page 4 Courtesy Redd Zone Richard and Jenna Adams, Skokomish Tribe hatchery technicians, tour the tribe’s new Instant Hatchery on Oct. 25 in Jeffers Gardens. With them is Tod Jones of Redd Zone, right. Everyone has a reason to vote, say three teen essay winners A teen from Long Beach, Wash., and two brothers from Warrenton won top honors in a high school essay contest, “I Will Always Vote.” The contest was sponsored by Indi- visible North Coast Oregon and the Astoria branch of the American Asso- ciation of University Women. “All the essays showed that the stu- dents are passionate about staying informed and that they understand the importance of participating in the democratic process,” said INCO mem- ber Eric Halperin, one of the contest’s organizers. your convictions firmly into account. … (V)oting carries with it an inherent responsibility, almost a duty, to be in- formed, but you must also consider the impact your vote could have on the peo- ple around you.” Erik Cooley and Forrest Cooley, who both are home-schooled, won the sec- Tristan Erik Forrest ond and third prizes, respectively, of Tristan Trudell of Long Beach, a se- $150 and $100. Erik is in 10th grade, nior at Ilwaco High School, won the and Forrest in 11th. $250 first place prize. Erik Cooley, the second-place winner, “A vote is a voice, and with a voice, one took an activity from his own life – he has the power to enact change,” Trudell and four friends deciding where to eat wrote. “To vote is to take yourself and See ‘Vote’ on Page 4