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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2020)
The Columbia Press Merry Christmas www.thecolumbiapress.com 1 Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly December 18, 2020 Vol. 4, Issue 51 School district on a high as final beam placed By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press Despite the rain and gloomy skies, Wednes- day was an exhilarating day for school leaders. They and construc- tion workers signed and wrote well wishes on the final steel support beam to be placed in the Warrenton-Ham- mond School District’s middle school, now un- der construction off Dolphin Road. “It makes me feel good that we’re starting to see the fruits of our work on the bond,” school board member Dalan Moss said. “We’re fulfilling our promise.” In November 2018, voters ap- proved a $38.5 million bond mea- sure to finance the new campus and make other improvements. Taxpay- ers will repay the bonds over the next three decades through their property taxes. The new school is expected to be complete by fall 2021, when sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders will Planners reject marijuana idea west of Hwy 101 By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press Above: School board member Darlene Warren, right, looks for a spot to sign. Right, top to bottom: The beam is moved by forklift, then by huge crane to the southeast corner of the mid- dle school support frame, where it is eased into place by construction workers. move there from Warrenton Grade School, freeing up space on the over- crowded campus. After the beam is in place, construc- tion of the walls and other parts of the “exterior envelope” will begin, said See ‘Beam’ on Page 3 Police officer knocked unconscious after DUI arrest The Columbia Press A Warrenton police officer is recov- ering after he was kicked unconscious by a combative woman being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. Bailey Marie Enloe, 24, of Astoria was arrested on several charges after she drove her white Ford F350 into a ditch on Northwest 13th Place some- times before 11:19 p.m. Dec. 11. Police who went to the accident scene found Enloe unresponsive and slumped against the driver’s side window, which was on its side in the ditch, according to a police report. When officers and Medix personnel 50 ¢ attempted to get Enloe out of the ve- hicle, she became very combative, the report states. “Enloe continued to assault officers, causing injuries to an officer,” accord- ing to the report. “Officers deployed a Taser to attempt to overcome Enloe’s assault and resistance.” She eventually was taken into cus- tody and put in an ambulance so she could be taken to Columbia Memori- al Hospital for clearance before being booked at Clatsop County Jail. A Warrenton police officer rode in the ambulance because of her earlier combativeness. “During the transport, … Enloe kicked the officer on board, causing him to lose consciousness,” according to police. The ambulance stopped and other officers and sheriff’s deputies secured the woman. The injured officer was taken to the hospital in a second am- bulance and was treated for his inju- ries. “The officer is doing fine, was not kept at the hospital, and is cleared to return to work (Tuesday),” Police Chief Matt Workman said. His first day back is today, Friday. See ‘DUII’ on Page 6 A proposal to change Warrenton laws to make way for a marijuana processing facility north of down- town was rejected by the Warrenton Planning Commission. Jason Palmberg and business part- ners Jeff and Jenn Canessa had re- quested an amendment to the mu- nicipal code to allow marijuana businesses as a conditional use in any industrial zone. “To us, just logically it makes sense to have the facility approved for that area,” Palmberg told commissioners at their Dec. 10 meeting. Warrenton has several areas set aside for industry. The vast majority of industrial property is on the east side of Highway 101 near Costco and the airport. But two industrial areas are on the west side: one that includes Hampton Lumber, Pacific Seafood and the proposed marijuana facility, and one along Alternate Highway 101 near Smart Foods/Cash and Carry. Oregon voters legalized the recre- ational use of marijuana in Novem- See ‘Marijuana’ on Page 6