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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2020)
The Columbia Press 1 50 ¢ Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly www.thecolumbiapress.com November 13, 2020 Firefighters captivate kids with stories, demonstrations The Columbia Press Dozens of children at- tended a two-day event at Warrenton Fire Depart- ment that included fire- fighters reading stories, kids getting to explore fire equipment, and everyone learning more about fire safety. “It was a creative way to provide fire prevention to children,” Fire Chief Brian Alsbury said. “His- torically, we pro- vide fire prevention at the schools. But with the pandemic, that made us get creative.” Last weekend’s free Fire Safety and Storytime was co-sponsored by the fire department and Warrenton Com- munity Library. Tickets were re- quired to control the number attending, thereby ensuring social distancing and the Vol. 4, Issue 46 It’s deer season at the airport By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press Above: Gabe Byers (Sparky) and a volunteer firefighter read to the crowd a book about working in a firehouse (photo by Cindy Hansen). Left: Chief Brian Alsbury demonstrates how to use a home fire extinguisher (by Cindy Hansen). Top left: A child gets to feel what it’s like to drive a fire truck (photo by Kelly Knudsen). best experience for participants. Five firefighters, children’s library aid Mary Goff, and a library trainee participated. Deer congregating on the runways at Astoria Regional Airport have cre- ated a hazard to the Coast Guard and other airport users. On Tuesday night, Warrenton City Commissioners adopted a resolution allowing the Port of Astoria, which owns the airport, to shoot the deer. Discharging a firearm within the city limits is otherwise prohibited except for a few areas where duck hunting is allowed or there’s an approved shoot- ing range. The port asked city leaders last week to allow the taking of deer on the property to prevent further prop- erty destruction and safety hazards. Airport Director Gary Kobes said he was contacted by the Coast Guard about the problem two weeks ago. He went out at night and spotted 6 to 10 deer grazing on or near the runways. “It’s very dangerous when they’re inside the fence,” Kobes told city commissioners. “My intent is to prob- ably have several hunts out there, Abandoned vehicles cause big problem in Clatsop State Forest Abandoned cars, boats and recre- ational vehicles in the Clatsop State Forest are an increasingly common nuisance, often posing public health risks and costing thousands of dollars each to remove. During the past three years, the Or- egon Department of Forestry’s Astoria District has spent more than $42,000 removing, disposing and cleaning up after discovering and removing vehi- cles left to the elements. A sampling of some of the cases: • A 36-foot motorhome with several hundred syringes and a sawed-off shot- gun found inside, costing $8,575 in la- bor and fees. • An area with a motorhome, two fifth-wheel trailers and a sedan, which cost $12,046 to remove. • A burned-out motorhome, which cost $3,084 to remove. • Another motorhome with several thousand syringes found on site, re- quiring a biohazard company to clean the site, costing $5,780. Other vehicles – boats, cars, and trav- el trailers, often with plenty of trash in- side – await pickup, representing thou- sands of dollars more in cleanup costs. “Unfortunately, when these vehicles See ‘Abandoned’ on Page 4 Disposing of vehicles Three locations accept old autos and recre- ational vehicles. • Astoria Auto Wrecking and Recycling, 34522 Hwy 101 Business, Astoria, 503- 325-8855. • Recology, 1790 Williamsport Road, Astoria, 503-861-0578. • Long Beach Recycling Center, 4404 67th Place, Long Beach, Wash., 360- 642-2541. An abandoned trailer decomposes in the Clat- sop State Forest (courtesy sheriff’s office). See ‘Deer’ on Page 4
