The city celebrated its 121st birthday Tuesday with cake, coffee and a massive history display set up by Diane Collier, Carol Snell, Terry Arnall and others. Warrenton was incorporated on Feb. 11, 1899. Dozens of people visited the commission chambers, with many taking home party favors (old buttons and copies of C.S. Welborn’s 2011 book “Warrenton’s Frog Pond”). The afternoon provided a chance to enjoy Warrenton’s past and raise a toast to the city’s future, city leaders said. The (continued)
Warrenton’s fine for falling short on health and safety rules in the fire department is $4,100, less than half of what initially had been assessed. The fine is reasonable, City Manager Linda Engbretson said. “While 4100 dollars is still 4100 dollars, I believe this process has been a great learning experience and we’ve come out the other side with positive changes,” she said. The state’s Occupational Safety and Health Division received an anonymous complaint in August, alleging a (continued)
More than $92 million will be spent in Clatsop County during the next four years
Oregon Department of Transportation has released its 2021-24 project list, which includes signals on Highway 101, Astoria-Megler Bridge paving and more. More than $92 million is earmarked for Clatsop County during the next four years. The Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP, is a list of state and federally funded projects. The list has been released for public review and won’t be final until formal approval in September. However, most of the projects have had prior approval (continued)
Linda Polaski opened a dog-themed business
“The greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them.” – Stanley Coren, psychologist and author Sometimes it’s nice to be in the doghouse. Just ask John Eder, who em-barked on finding the city’s newest coffee hut, Doghouse Coffee Company, and found it had gone to the dogs. “It’s nice to have a drive-through coffee that is dog oriented and reading the menu gives you such a big smile,” he said. His dogs Bowie and Widget enjoy (continued)
** Take my farmhouse, please ** The Clatsop County Fair board of directors and the fair manager are in a bit of a quandary over what to do with a stately old farmhouse on the fairgrounds. They held an auction in September, but no one other than a couple historians attended. Neither made a bid. The county first acquired the 50 acres that includes the farmhouse in 1912 with plans for an experimental agriculture station or a poor farm for homeless residents. The Lower Columbia Preservation Society (continued)
The Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce has completed a series of video shorts highlighting the people and places that make our region such an exceptional place to visit -- particularly in the fall, winter and spring. The effort was spearheaded by the Lower Columbia Tourism Committee, which consists of 15 volunteers representing Astoria and Warrenton’s tourism industry. The homepage at travelastoria.com features a minute-long compilation video with plenty of Warrenton highlights thrown (continued)
WHS dedicates new career, vocational technology building
The building is a testament to the trades, a place for teaching lucrative job skills and generating a trained workforce for the business community. Warrenton High School’s new Career and Technical Education (CTE) center was dedicated Jan. 30 during an open house designed for those who demanded more vo-tech classes and helped make it possible. “I think it’s awesome. It’s got so much stuff in it. It’s really going to be useful,” said Isaac Betts, a WHS junior. When asked what job he (continued)
A homeless man with a meat cleaver is accused of throwing items at passing cars on Highway 101 and, later that night, threatening Walmart employees and customers. Brian Quaschnick, 48, a man who has become well known to local authorities, was booked at Clatsop County Jail in connection with the episodes Jan. 27 and Jan. 28. Officers responding to a call for help from two drivers on Highway 101 south of Warrenton Kia spotted Quaschnick standing in the woods near the vehicles holding a larg (continued)
The Girl Scout Cookie campaign has an uplifting message for 2020. A new cookie, Lemon-Ups, include inspiring messages baked onto the cookies such as “I’m a go-getter” and “I’m an innovator.” The scouts began taking orders last month, but you can find the young entrepreneurs with actual boxes of cookies to sell outside local businesses this month. ** Fred Meyer, 695 S. Highway 101, Warrenton: 5-7 p.m. Feb. 14; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 15; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 16; 5-7 p.m. Feb. 21; 10 (continued)
The state seeks comments on a draft strategy and mapping tool for Oregon’s rocky coastal areas. Comments will be accepted through March 1 at https://OregonOcean.info. Just over 40 percent of Oregon’s 362-mile coastline is made up of rocky habitat, which includes dramatic headlands, tide pools, rocky beaches, cliffs, and offshore rocks. The sites are managed by multiple state and federal agencies using a coordinated framework, known as the Territorial Sea Plan. Part of the plan, the Rocky (continued)
Warrenton native Jack J. Fenton died at his home in Salem, with his family at his side, on Jan. 20. He was 85. Fenton was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Astoria, the second child of Ames and Lulu Fenton. He attended Warrenton schools and graduated from Warrenton High School in 1954. He played baseball, football and basketball in high school and excelled in baseball as a left-handed pitcher. The all-star threw a no-hitter and pitched in the state playoffs. He was drafted into the Army and went (continued)
Columnists & Other Opinions
I want to thank our local stores and businesses that realize they’re serving a community with a large number of seniors. Many stores give us a 10 percent discount on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Some do this every Tuesday or Wednesday, others once a month. We sincerely thank them for their generosity. Especially on those days, we seniors feel we’re really being cared for. However, what about the other days of the week? I have an idea I’d like to share with my senior readers. Most of us are on (continued)
A community such as ours, which I have grown up and old in, has a lot of unique people. Some are referred to as “pillars of the community,” some I refer to as “characters of the community” -- those people go deep in my past and include Slick Hartley, George Riley, Del Body, Jiggs Johnson, and, of course, Clarence Kelson. But we recently lost another great one, Gordon Wahlman, known to most who knew him as “Gordo.” Anybody who didn’t know Gordo really missed out on one of th (continued)
I do not know anything about traffic management. However, I am familiar with the problems at the Ensign Lane exit of Tsunami Plaza directly adjacent to Wendy’s and opposite the southside exit from Home Depot. It seems to me a new exit behind Dollar Tree on the southwest corner emptying onto Dolphin Avenue would offer a new exit for access to Highway 104 going north if you turn right and go toward Warrenton by exiting left onto alternate Highway 104. If Oregon Department of Transportation (continued)
** February 2010 ** ** 10 years ago ** An effort led by the Native American Mascot Advisory Committee and state schools Superintendent Susan Castillo could force Warrenton High School to get rid of its purple warrior statue on the campus lawn if it’s deemed racist or promotes stereotypes. The statue was built by welding students in the 60s. Jo-Ann Fabrics will move into part of the building left vacant by Costco, when the membership store moved to its new location in the North Coast Business (continued)
Sometimes we wake up feeling grumpy and out of sorts. If we live alone, then we scold ourselves and things only get worse. What’s the best solution? Get out of the house. That’s what I did recently. I put on my coat and hat (cold and wet out there) and did a little walking. First thing I noticed was that spring is in the air and my neighbor’s tulips were preparing to burst out in bloom. Spring means “new beginnings” to me. Seeing life renewed caused me to ponder the Maker of that new (continued)
Events
Angora Hiking Club’s first hike of the year is Saturday, Feb. 22, in Cannon Beach.
The easy 3 ½ mile hike includes in-town pocket parks, a spruce reserve, ponds for bird-watching and a “secret” viewpoint of Haystack Rock.
To join, call hike leader June Baumler at 503-368-4323.
The hike will begin about 9:45 a.m. from the free bus parking area in the 1100 block of South Hemlock. There are restrooms adjacent to the lot.
Membership is not a requirement for joining the hike. (continued)
A field trip to the Hatfield Marine Science Center for high school students interested in science careers is being organized by 4-H. “Careers in Science Investigation Day” is from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (plus travel time) April 30. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from researchers about upcoming projects and recent discoveries, explore science through hands-on activities and behind-the-scenes tours, and help researchers collect data. Cost is $35 plus money for two meal stops. (continued)
Artists are invited to compete in one or all three of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 2021 stamp art competitions. The winning artist in each contest receives a $2,000 award. The three categories are: ** Habitat Conservation Stamp, ** art entries must feature an eligible species from the Oregon Conservation Strategy in its natural habitat. ** Upland Game Bird Stamp,** all entries must feature the spruce grouse in its natural habitat setting. ** Waterfowl Stamp,** art entries mus (continued)
Columbia Memorial Hospital’s cancer collaborative has scheduled four lunchtime health chats that are open to the public in February. All presentations are from 11 a.m. to noon in the CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Center’s activity room, 1905 Exchange St., Astoria. Chats are free and refreshments are provided. Feb. 5: Registered dietitian Grace Laman explores the power of nutrition in cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship. Feb. 13: Tips, tools and conversation about eating, memory and (continued)
Police and Public Safety
A Cannon Beach man was arrested on a variety of charges Feb. 14 after his vehicle struck a highway sign and a utility pole before coming to rest in a ditch, according to police. The crash on Alternate Highway 101 near Dolphin Avenue brought down power lines and caused an outage in parts of Warrenton, forcing school closures. Zachary Leray Lyons, 26, was booked at Clatsop County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants-drugs, reckless driving and hit-and run. Lyons was (continued)
Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach is closed until further notice due to a damaged section of the park’s sole entrance road. The affected section, an old repair made from compacted gravel, was damaged again during the weekend by the sliding hillside beneath the road. Efforts to shore up the section failed, and the gravel surface became uneven and unsafe. Park rangers safely escorted all visitors out of the park Sunday afternoon. The sliding hillside also disconnected the park’s main water (continued)
A Washington state woman was killed Thursday when her vehicle struck on oncoming tanker truck on Highway 30. Emilee Elizabeth Mabey, 24, of Ocean Park was headed west on the highway near John Day River Road in a Buick LeSabre when, for an unknown reason, she crossed the centerline into the path of a commercial tanker rig, according to Oregon State Police. The truck’s driver, Ronald Lee Sutter, 53, of Portland, was not injured in the crash, which was reported at 11:18 a.m. Both vehicles had to (continued)
** Thefts and burglaries ** Shoplifting, 7 p.m. Jan. 28, Walmart. Gary Alan Gobin, 39, no known address, was cited for second-degree theft after he allegedly attempted to leave the store without paying for $152 in batteries, propane and a tent. Vehicle burglary, 2:28 p.m. Feb. 5, 1700 block Southeast 12th Street. A man reported $400 in damage to his pickup, including the attempted theft of windshield molding and gasoline. Vehicle burglary, 4:20 p.m. Feb. 6, 1400 block Southeast Anchor Avenue. A (continued)
A Hammond mother and son were jarred from their beds early Jan. 31 to the sounds of a woman they didn’t know screaming inside their house. The woman came inside their home in the 900 block of Fifth Street shortly after 1:30 a.m., according to a police report. While the mother called 911, her 27-year-old son attempted to find out what was wrong. The police dispatcher could hear the woman screaming in the background during the emergency call, according to the report. When Officer Aaron Berndt (continued)
** Warrants ** Warrant service, 5:05 p.m. Feb. 1, Fred Meyer. Daniel Ames Roecker, 59, of Astoria was arrested on a Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office warrant for failure to appear and booked at Clatsop County Jail. ** Drugs ** Welfare check, 11:42 p.m. Jan. 29, 1400 block Southeast Discovery Lane. Lori Suzanne Smith, 58, of Astoria was arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine possession. ** Thefts and burglaries ** Vehicle burglary, 9:16 a.m. Jan. 27, 400 block Alternate Highway 101. Item (continued)
Education
The Warriors advance to the semi-final round in league playoffs after beating Clatskanine 52-48 on Tuesday. The playoff game at Warrenton High School nearly completes the Coastal Range League season. Thursday night’s game at Willamina will decide which team goes to state. Warrenton is 5-5 in league games and Willamina stands at 4-6. The top team, Rainier, is undefeated in league games. Hordie Bodden-Bodden, Dawson Little and Devin Jackson all did well in the third quarter, clinching the (continued)
Warrenton’s boys wrestling team finished third of 18 teams at the 3A Special District 2 Tournament at Amity High School last weekend, besting last year’s fifth-place finish. The top three wrestlers at each weight class qualified for state. The team had five qualifiers, another improvement over last year, when we had three. With the addition of Yamhill-Carlton, the district has become tougher. Still, Warrenton took 20 wrestlers and 16 of them placed. We knew that we had some depth and we (continued)
The girls wrestling team fought hard at last weekend’s North Regional competition, but caught some tough match-ups early on. The regional at Century High School featured teams from Warrenton to Nyssa, and all the way to North Salem. A separate Southern Regional was held at Thurston High School in Springfield. The top four at each regional qualified to create an eight-girl bracket for State. Both the quantity and quality of Warrenton’s girl wrestlers has increased every year. Jade Vollner (continued)
