The Columbia Press
1
Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly
www.thecolumbiapress.com
Vol. 4, Issue 50
December 11, 2020
History + Preservation = great jobs
College program sees
success locally and
across the nation
Graduates of Clatsop Community
College’s historic preservation and
restoration program can be found
in interesting jobs across the coun-
try.
One graduate restores historic
wood windows in Portland. Anoth-
er works for an architectural con-
servation company in Philadelphia.
One works for FEMA in New York.
Another has started a restoration
company in Astoria.
All learned marketable skills
through the associate’s degree pro-
gram, which teaches students his-
toric preservation theory and trains
them in hands-on building skills
using both traditional and modern
materials and techniques.
“I can honestly say that I consider
attending the historic preservation
and restoration program at CCC to
be one of the best decisions of my
life,” said Sarah Sargent, a historic
preservation specialist for FEMA.
See ‘Preservation’ on Page 4
Camp Kiwanilong
to receive title to
its 185-acre camp
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
Above: A student in the his-
toric preservation and resto-
ration program works on the
windows in the mausoleum
at Oceanview Cemetery in
Warrenton.
Right: CCC graduate Sarah
Sargent on a site visit in New
York City.
Photos courtesy
Clatsop Community College
Warrenton’s marinas to get some oversight
The Columbia Press
A new five-person advisory board
will address issues that crop up at the
city’s marinas.
Mayor Henry Balensifer proposed
the idea during a discussion on uni-
versal committee bylaws at Tuesday
night’s City Commission meeting.
He’d like to see all of the city’s boards
and panels using the same charter
and bylaws.
The items were added to the com-
mission agenda on Tuesday, with no
prior notice. Final approval of the
50 ¢
bylaws and members of the War-
renton Marinas Advisory Committee
would take place at a future meeting,
most likely in January since commis-
sioners voted to cancel their Dec. 22
meeting.
Balensifer’s proposal came with
committee member nominees: Pam
Ackley, Kevin Dunn, Malcolm Cotte,
Lylla Gaebel, and his father, Mike
Balensifer.
“If confirmed and appointed by the
City Commission, these nominees
will serve as the charter members of a
new committee to which I request the
commission further nominate Com-
missioner Ackley to take over as chair
to lead the group in the first year,” the
mayor wrote in his proposal.
“This has been her child, so to
speak,” he said Tuesday. “Her leader-
ship will help ensure its success.”
Ackley led the charge in updating
the Hammond Marina Master Plan
and served on a marina ad hoc com-
mittee as well as a joint committee
working on Hammond’s downtown
See ‘Marinas’ on Page 6
One of the county’s oldest institu-
tions – Camp Kiwanilong – will soon
own its 185-acre property on the north
shore of Warrenton’s Long Lake.
Clatsop County commissioners
Wednesday night voted unanimous-
ly to donate the camp property to the
Camp Kiwanilong Board.
The camp was established during the
Depression to house workers plant-
ing pine trees to stabilize the dunes
in Clatsop Plains. In 1936, Judge Guy
Boyington obtained funds to turn it
into a Girl Scout camp.
The Girl Scouts, who named the
camp for the lake and for Astoria Ki-
wanis Club, which supplied building
materials, leased the property from
the county from 1936 to 1975. The
Camp Kiwanilong Board was formed
in 1978, dedicated to returning the
abandoned camp to its former glory
and open camping to all youth.
Today the camp includes 16 cabins,
hiking trails, an arboretum, swim-
ming and fishing docks, a boathouse,
a lodge/dining hall, and nature and
science buildings. The Summer Youth
See ‘Kiwanilong’ on Page 6
Neal Wallace/Camp Kiwanilong
Campers enjoy Long Lake from a cou-
ple of peddle boats.