T he C olumbia P ress
November 1, 2019
Mayor’s Message
by Henry Balensifer III
Third quarter was a great
addition to Warrenton’s year
Wow! What an end to the
quarter.
Warrenton had a lot of great
things happening. First, we
hired two new police officers.
Then we took ownership of
the Hammond Boat Basin and
had a really great transfer cer-
emony with the Army Corps of
Engineers (the prior owners).
Finally, we had our first an-
nual Warrenton Fall Festival.
The conveyance of the Ham-
mond Boat Basin to the City of
Warrenton has been actively
in process since 2013, but the
effort to get Congress to au-
thorize the Corps of Engineers
to transfer it has been under-
way for about 30 years.
This is a major accomplish-
ment and a major responsibil-
ity.
As the transfer process be-
gan six years ago, our lease
terms with the Corps became
more onerous. This resulted
in difficulties doing repairs
and maintenance, let alone
leasing space at the basin.
Now that we own it, it is all
on us to chart the future. Well,
with one caveat. The basin, by
federal law, must always be in
public ownership. Similar to
an airport, we cannot sell the
land—only lease it. I person-
ally think this is a good thing
because it ensures the marina
stays a public asset in the fu-
ture.
The Warrenton Fall Festi-
val was originally envisioned
about a year ago and I want
to give the full credit to both
the vision, organization and,
frankly, most of the work to
put it on, to Jeanne Smith.
You may know her as
co-owner of Main Street Mar-
ket. She did an absolutely fan-
tastic job of organizing, fund-
raising, and putting on this
event.
Despite competing events
going on during the same day,
the event was super busy from
start to finish. The food was
good, the games were great
fun, and the community was
able to mingle.
Proceeds of the games went
to nonprofits in the area, and
there was no entrance fee.
Pumpkins, picture stands, a
petting zoo, trunk or treating,
and hay rides were all free.
It was fun for all the ages.
The Fall Festival, and events
like it, are what the City Com-
mission has made a priority
for our city boards to put on.
I want to thank Jeanne Smith
for all her work to make this
event what I’m sure will be-
come a Warrenton tradition.
Teen arrested in sex-abuse case
A teenage boy was arrested
last week for committing sex
crimes against other juve-
niles and police want to know
if there are more victims.
The 15-year-old was ar-
rested Oct. 22 after police
received reports that he’d
sexually abused three chil-
dren living in the Forest Rim
neighborhood in southeast
Warrenton. The criminal ac-
tivity began in June.
He was taken into custo-
dy and placed in the Clatsop
County Juvenile Department
system. His name was with-
held because of his age.
Anyone with information or
any other victims are asked
to contact Warrenton Police
Detective Tyler Johnston at
503-861-2235 or email him at
tjohnston@ci.warrenton.or.us.
3
‘Work Spaces’ features sites throughout county
An art exhibit about the
places people work can be
viewed through Nov. 27 in the
Royal Nebeker Art Gallery at
Clatsop Community College.
“Work Spaces” features
more than 100 photographs
by Astoria-based artist Mi-
chael Mathers.
“This show is the result of
two years of knocking on
doors of different kinds of
work spaces,” Mathers said.
“Everyone photographed got
a print in exchange for a re-
ferral to another work space.”
Once the project was un-
derway, Mathers would show
samples to prospective sub-
jects, offering them a free
meal anywhere in Astoria if
they could identify more than
half the work spaces. No one
could, he said.
“(That) says so much about
the unusual makeup of this
historic town at the mouth of
Coastal cuisine
Iron Chef tested
Iron Chef Goes Coastal,
which features the best lo-
cal chefs in a competition,
is from 6 to 10 p.m. Tues-
day, Nov. 5, at the Seaside
Civic & Convention Cen-
ter, 415 First Ave.
The 12th annual event is
a fund-raiser for United
Way of Clatsop County.
Tickets are $40 to $85
and available online at
clatsopunitedway.org.
Chefs Jeff Martin of Sil-
ver Salmon Grille and Brad
Dodson of Maggie’s on the
Prom will attempt to de-
fend their titles against
2018 People’s Choice win-
ners Josh Archibald of the
Wayfarer Restaurant and
Chef Indus Johnston of
The Cove.
Participants will get to
dine on dishes cooked by
20 top coastal restaurants
and vote for their favorites.
Courtesy Clatsop Community College
An employee perfects a propeller at North Coast Propeller and
Shaft on Harbor Drive in Warrenton.
the Columbia,” he said. “This
is my thanks for the privilege
to be part of this community.”
Mathers has taken photos
of city workers and made a
short movie of the Sunday
Market and the Astoria Music
Festival.
A reception for the artist is
at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7.
The gallery at 1799 Lexing-
ton Ave., Astoria, is accessi-
ble to those with disabilities.
Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. weekdays. There is no
charge.