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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2020)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly www.thecolumbiapress.com January 3, 2020 Vol. 4, Issue 1 New laws affect Developer plans campground south of marina boaters, drinkers, b c y The Columbia Press hunters, shoppers A large recreational vehicle park and y The Columbia Press See ‘New laws’ on Page 6 ingst campground has been proposed on va- cant land along the Skipanon River. Chinook Village RV Park would have 99 spaces for campers, plus yurts, portable cabins and/or tiny homes, all for short- term stays. In addition, there are two new apart- ment complexes planned in the general vicinity. Both apartment projects are on the Planning Commission’s Jan. 9 agenda for public hearings. The proposed 30-acre campground also will require a public hearing before it can be approved, but that hasn’t yet been scheduled. The project’s developer, Jason Palm- berg, owns individually or with family members about half of the land along the east side of the Skipanon River. “ I’m supportive of the project. There seems to be a demand,” said Mark Kujala, whose family owns the other half of the land. “We are still exploring our options on that property, but we do have inten- tions for some type of residential devel- News laws went into effect this week designed to protect the environment, right some wrongs, and raise money for transportation projects. Following are the main new rules in Oregon that people may notice. P lastic bag ban Grocery stores and restaurants are banned from offering single-use plas- tic bags at checkout lines. Oregon joins California, New York and Hawaii in banning single-use plastic bags. Those who forget to bring a reusable bag will be charged 5 cents for each paper bag or other alterna- tive. Plastic bags used for produce, bulk foods and meat are exempt. P lastic straw ban Restaurants may not offer custom- ers single-use plastic straws (cus- tomers must request one). There is an exemption for customers in drive- through lanes at food-service win- dows – employees can offer, but still can’t automatically include straws in take-out bags. Also exempt are those serving patients at residential care homes and nursing facilities, and con- venience stores, which are allowed to place straws on the counter in an un- attended location, such as a self-serve drink station. Small cocktail straws are included in the restriction, but plastic straws attached to or packaged with an item, such as juice boxes, are OK. n ew bicycling rule Cyclists have been required by law to abide by the same traffic laws as cars. While bicyclists still must yield to foot and vehicle traffic, they’ll be allowed to roll through clear stop-sign inter- sections, rather than come to a full indy See ‘Campground’ on Page 4 Five-car pileup sends nine to area hospitals The Columbia Press Nine people were injured in a five- car pile-up on Highway 101 south of Warrenton. The crash was reported about 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, at Ivyloo Acres Lane in front of Glenwood Vil- lage manufactured home park. Derek Hampton, 73, of Talent was headed north in a Ford Econoline van with Civil Air Patrol markings when, for an unexplained reason, he crossed into oncoming traffic, striking two ve- hicles, according to the Oregon State Police. One of the vehicles that was struck then crashed into a northbound vehi- cle. The driver of the fifth vehicle at- tempted to avoid the crash and drove into a dirt embankment. Nine people were taken to three dif- ferent hospitals and the highway was A van headed north on Highway 101 crossed into the path of oncom- ing vehicles. An Astoria man driving the Toyota was seriously injured and taken by Life Flight to a Portland-area hospital. Lenard Hansen Warrenton Fire Department closed for several hours. Michael Salamunovich, 31, of Asto- ria was driving a silver Toyota Corolla that was struck head-on. He was crit- ically injured and taken by LifeFlight See ‘Pileup’ on Page 2