The Columbia Press
1
Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly
www.thecolumbiapress.com
Vol. 5, Issue 44
October 29, 2021
Where to find haunts this Halloween
The Columbia Press
Kids of all ages will find plenty
to do this weekend as Halloween
lands on a Sunday this year. Here’s
a rundown of the weekend of chills,
treats and spooky things.
Friday, Oct. 29
Witches, Wizards and Waf-
fles – Sparrow Dance Company is
sponsoring this free dance, humor
and food event at 6:30 p.m. in the
Garden of Surging Waves in down-
town Astoria.
It is 30 minutes long and most ap-
propriate for preschoolers and early
elementary students. Children are
encouraged to wear costumes and all
those attending must observe CDC
guidelines.
This repeats at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.
on Saturday.
Spooky play -- A haunted house
in rural Ireland is the setting for “The
Weir,” a spooky play presented by
Ten Fifteen Productions.
Performance is at 7:30 p.m. today
and Saturday at the playhouse, 1015
Commercial St., Astoria.
Tickets are $20 and available at
thetenfifteentheater.com/tickets.
Proof of vaccination is required to
enter the theater.
Terror on Turlay – An outdoor
carnival that includes a haunted
trail will be found on Turlay Lane
(left off Highway 101, one turnoff
past Glenwood Village). There’s a
$10 per person suggested donation
and participants should wear appro-
See ‘Haunts’ on Page 8
It’s official. Clatsop County has a new nature preserve
The North Oregon Coast now has
a rain forest that will be protected in
perpetuity.
That’s the vow of the North Coast
Land Conservancy, which kicked off
a fundraising campaign five years ago
to purchase 3,500 acres of temperate
rain forest adjacent to Oswald West
State Park. The group saw its vision
take shape after receiving the last
piece of financing on Tuesday.
“Bringing this land into conservation
allows us to unlock its future,” NCLC
Executive Director Katie Voelke said.
“It is a living, breathing, flowing and
evolving place. Conservation allows it
to live its most dynamic and abundant
life. This is a living museum, a living
laboratory, a globally rare and pre-
cious place, and it’s our community
backdrop. Conserving this land gives
us all a chance to be in the right rela-
tionship with the land and the people
it sustains.”
The Rainforest Reserve sits above
the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, part
of an uninterrupted 32-square-mile
conservation corridor that stretches
from the summits of 3,000-foot peaks
within the Oregon Coast Range to
Short Sand Beach and the sandy sea-
bed and rocky reefs of the coast.
The protected land-to-sea cor-
50 ¢
Goodbye phlox,
hello daffodil
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
Warrenton will soon have a new of-
ficial city flower. But there is no hurry
in naming a successor to phlox, the
current city flower.
In 1927, Warrenton leaders declared
an emergency in order to adopt phlox
as the official flower in time for May
Day.
The delicate little phlox flowers
grow throughout the United States,
are often seen as ground covers in
Clatsop County, and are a favorite
food of deer.
On Tuesday night, Warrenton City
Commissioners voted unanimous-
ly to repeal the ordinance that made
phlox the city flower. A second hear-
See ‘Flower’ on Page 4
Courtesy NCLC
The Rainforest Reserve is part of a vast conservation corridor linking the Cape
Falcon Marine Reserve, the shoreline of Oswald West State Park and the sum-
mits and headwaters above.
ridor
is
unmatched
in
the
state of Oregon, Voelke said.
Creation of the permanent reserve sig-
nificantly benefits the region, said U.S.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore.
“As we address the climate crisis,
strategic, community-driven con-
servation efforts like this project can
help mitigate the most serious risks
to plants, fish and wildlife while pre-
serving the ecosystems we cherish for
future generations,” Bonamici said.
The new reserve contains critical
habitat for an array of wildlife and
plant species. Onion and Angora peaks
are the main fixtures.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled
about this acquisition by our
good friends at North Coast Land
See ‘Reserve’ on Page 4
Phlox, above, and daffodils, below.