The
Columbia
Press
Celebrating
our
100th year
• 1922-2022
1
50 ¢
503-861-3331
March 25, 2022
Vol. 6, Issue 12
Miss Clatsop is from ... Columbia County
The Columbia Press
A Clatskanie teenager was named Miss Clat-
sop County during the annual pageant Saturday
in Seaside.
Lilly Boothe, 18, will represent the region
during the 2022 Miss Oregon pageant in June
as well as serving as official ambassador for
Clatsop County.
Aliciyah Miguel-Cloninger, 15, of Astoria was
named Outstanding Teen.
Seven youths competed for the titles of Miss
Clatsop County and Miss Clatsop County Out-
standing Teen.
While Clatskanie is in Columbia County, there
is no pageant there associated with Miss Ore-
gon and residents of counties without pageants
are allowed to compete in neighbor counties.
About 375 people attended the 71st annual
pageant at the Seaside Convention & Events
Center.
In addition to the title, Boothe won $1,375
in scholarships. She also received the highest
score in the interview category as well as the
Alexis Mather Service Style Award, established
by Astoria resident Alexis Mather, who was
Miss Oregon 2016.
Boothe attends Oregon State University,
Justin Grafton Studios
where she is working toward a degree in speech
Lilly
Boothe
is
crowned
Miss
Clatsop
County
on
Saturday
by Miss
communications. Her social mission is to bring
Clatsop
2018
Haylie
Moon.
She’s
assisted
by
the
reigning
Miss
awareness to missing indigenous women.
Oregon,
Abigail
Hayes,
left.
See ‘Miss Clatsop’ on Page 4
Explosives team responds to bomb hoax at Home Depot
The Columbia Press
A device made to look like an im-
provised explosive was left in the
parking lot at Home Depot late last
week, forcing the store’s evacuation
and bringing a visit from the Oregon
State Police Explosives Unit.
“It was determined the item was not
an actual improvised explosive de-
vice, but was made to look like one,”
according to Warrenton Police Chief
Matt Workman.
Just before 5 p.m., an employee
found the item, which had wires and
political graffiti written on it, and
brought it into the store to the re-
turns desk, according to police.
A Warrenton officer took photos
and confirmed that it was, indeed, a
possible explosive device. The area
around the item was cleared and pho-
tos sent to the state’s explosives unit
for examination.
“It was agreed that the Explosives
Unit should respond to the location
from Salem and a safety perimeter
should be established around the
item,” Workman said. “Warrenton
Fire Department arrived at the loca-
tion and the entire store was evacu-
ated and all driveway entrances were
barricaded by Warrenton Public
Works.”
The explosives team arrived about 8
p.m., examined the item with special-
ized equipment and eventually used
equipment to remove the device from
the store.
It was then opened and found to be
a ball with tie wires and a damaged
carbon dioxide cartridge -- not an
See ‘Hoax’ on Page 4
City manager
candidate pool
narrowed to 2
The Columbia Press
The city has narrowed its field of
city manager candidates down to two
finalists.
And residents will have an opportu-
nity to help choose Warrenton’s next
top paid employee on April 5.
Separate virtual (live, over the in-
ternet) interviews will be conducted
with members of the community,
city staff, department heads, and city
commissioners throughout the first
full week of April. The commission is
slated to choose the new city manag-
er on Friday, April 8.
City Manager Linda Engbretson an-
nounced last June that she planned to
retire in the fall. She has been work-
ing on an interim basis since Oct. 1.
Engbretson has spent nearly 27
years working for the city, first as city
recorder and as city manager since
2016.
On Tuesday night, commissioners
met with their consultant, Jensen
Strategies, in an executive session,
where they were given an update on
the hiring process. While reporters
are allowed to attend executive ses-
sions in the state of Oregon, they are
restricted on what can be reported
about the details.
A monthlong nationwide search for
Warrenton’s next city manager net-
ted nine applications, which Jensen
whittled down to four. On Tuesday,
commissioners selected the top two,
one from out of state and one from
within the state.
Jensen plans to issue a press release
about the two candidates and how
the public can weigh in in the next
few days.
See ‘Top job’ on Page 6