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Wev, Thompson
retain county
commission seats
The Columbia Press
Incumbents Pamela Wev and Li-
anne Thompson will retain their
seats on the Clatsop County Commis-
sion after receiving large majorities
in their races against political new-
comers.
With just a third of all ballots
counted early Wednesday, Wev and
Thompson each had received more
than 61 percent of the vote against
Nathan Pinkstaff and Steve Dillard,
respectively.
Wev represents county District
3, which includes most of Astoria.
Thompson represents county District
5, which covers the southern portion
of Seaside, Cannon Beach, and Arch
Cape.
Mark Kujala of Hammond ran un-
opposed for his District 1 seat on the
commission, which primarily rep-
resents Warrenton.
In other races, Gearhart’s bond levy
to build a new fire and police station
was losing with just a 34 percent ap-
See ‘Election’ on Page 2
May 20, 2022
Vol. 6, Issue 20
Engineering marvels head to world championships
Editor’s note: This article was written by the
WHS Underwater Robotics Team as a compo-
nent of their recent competition.
Warrenton High School’s Underwater Robot-
ics Team, The Rays, won the regional MATE
ROV competition in Lincoln City on May 7.
The win allows the team to proceed to the
MATE ROV World Championships in Long
Beach, Calif., June 19-26.
ROVs are remotely operated vehicles, and the
ROV built by The Rays is designed to conduct
tasks underwater.
The Rays team consists of students Dwayne
Wallace, chief executive officer, chief software
developer, and tether specialist; Adam Barbic,
design engineer, pilot, and chief safety officer;
Connor Moha, marketing specialist and mathe-
matician on deck; and Jessica Newton, hydraulic
specialist and editor. Coaches are Heidi Lent and
Craig Battles.
At the world championships, The Rays
Above: Dwayne
will compete alongside teams from
Wallace works the
around the world. We understand that
controls for the
we’ll be representing Warrenton High
team’s
remotely
School, our city, Clatsop County, Oregon,
operated
vehicle.
the Pacific Northwest, as well as the Unit-
ed States. We take this responsibility very Right: Team mem-
seriously and are prepared for this part of
bers Dwayne Wal-
the competition.
lace, Adam Barbic,
Annually, the MATE ROV competition Connor Moha, and
challenges the students’ abilities to learn
Jessica Newton.
and apply science, technology, engi-
Warrenton High School
See ‘ROV’ on Page 4
Chance to rehab old gas station will take some thought
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
The property across from City
Hall could have potential. It’s in the
heart of downtown and many hours
have been spent sprucing it up.
But its former usage poses prob-
lems for its future uses.
The old 76 gas station is one of
450,000 so-called brownfield prop-
erties in the United States. The sale
or redevelopment of 238 S. Main
Ave. is complicated by the presence
of underground tanks and probable
soil contamination.
An engineer who specializes in
brownfield properties spoke to city
leaders recently after being contact-
ed by a representative of the prop-
erty owner, the Alice Ann Codd Liv-
ing Trust.
“There is interest in divesting that
property,” Keith Ziobron said. “Is
the city interest in purchasing it or
receiving it as a donation?”
Commissioners were silent, but
pensive.
“I think the thing we have to be
concerned about is any pollution
left there and any liability if we do
take it,” Commissioner Tom Dyer
said Wednesday. “We don’t want
to do something unless it’s got a
signoff from DEQ (Department of
Environmental Quality) or there’s
funds to take care of it.”
Dyer spent many hours gathering
volunteers and leading the effort to
remove abandoned cars and me-
chanical debris scattered through-
out the high-profile property. His
motivation has been to help im-
prove downtown and find a better
See ‘Brownfield’ on Page 5