CLATSOP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, March 17th Regular Meeting

Enforcement action approved

The board of commissioners voted 4-0, with Commissioner Sarah Nebeker absent, to direct county counsel to file suit against the owner of the Sunset Lake Resort and RV Park for failing to comply with a county order to address numerous code violations at the site, located on the shore of Sunset Lake south of Warrenton.

A county hearings officer originally issued a compliance order against the property’s owners, Ken Hick and Resources Northwest, in October 2011 for allowing more units than allowed, inadequate utility connections and other violations.

CLATSOP COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONDS TO NOROVIRUS AT LOCAL FACILITY

   Norovirus was confirmed on Friday, March 22 by Clatsop County Public Health as the cause of an increased rate of acute gastrointestinal illness occurring at an Astoria care facility. Public Health has been working with the facility on measures to control the spread of the illness.

In addition to other control measures, the Oregon Public Health Division requires facilities to discontinue admissions or transfers during an outbreak until patients are symptom free for 48 hours. As of Thursday, March 28 the outbreak is considered over.

Bonamici Announces Spring Town Hall Meeting Schedule

Events in Seaside, Warrenton, Beaverton, Forest Grove,

Columbia City, Portland, Sherwood & McMinnville

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) has announced her spring town hall meeting schedule. The public events will occur throughout April around the 1st congressional district. The schedule includes meetings in Seaside, Warrenton, Beaverton, Forest Grove, Columbia City, Portland, Sherwood, and McMinnville.

“I understand how important it is to listen to the people I represent and to take their ideas back to Washington,” said Bonamici. “These events offer a great opportunity for me to answer questions, get feedback, and listen to the concerns of Oregonians throughout the district.”

Schedule details follow:

Seaside Town Hall Meeting

Date: April 1, 2013

Time: 10:00-11:00am

Location: Seaside City Hall, 989 Broadway, Seaside, OR 97138

Warrenton Town Hall Meeting

Date: April 1, 2013
Time: 6:00-7:00pm
Location: Warrenton Community Center, 225 South Main Avenue, Warrenton, OR 97146

ASTORIA TO RECEIVE LARGEST GRANT EVER

Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen, and the Astoria City Council will make a joint outdoor announcement on Wednesday to release details about a 10 million dollar grant opportunity from the Oregon Department of Transportation.  In a press release, the city said the mayor and city council will make the formal announcement on Wednesday (3/27) at 1:30pm at the foot of 11th Street in downtown Astoria by the Riverview Buffet Restaurant.  City Manager Paul Benoit says this is double the size of any previous grant made to the City

Astoria Police Investigate Vandalism at Astoria Middle School

On March 16, 2013 Astoria Police Department responded to a report of vandalism at the Astoria Middle School. They found a significant amount of damage to the school. There were:

• Comments relating to drug use, sexual orientation of staff and students, descriptions of sexual acts and drawings of genitals on walls, floors, cloth bulletin boards, and on instruments;
• Fire extinguishers discharged in the band room and several instruments damaged;
• Packing peanuts, reams of paper, shredding, and unknown fluids spread across the floor in several parts of the building;
• Posters that were student art projects were vandalized with additional writing on them or ripped and thrown on the floor.
• Doors were broken and bent;
• The school food cart had been broken into and food stolen;
• Lockers were broken into; and
• Garbage was dumped into the hallways;
• Someone had ridden a bicycle inside the halls of the schools leaving the floors marred.

A damage total has not yet been obtained but is expected to be significant. Many surfaces written on require replacement or refurbishment.

FILING DEADLINE FOR MAY ELECTION IS MARCH 21

The deadline to file as a candidate in the May 21 Special District Election is Thursday, March 21.

Up for election are positions on the boards of more than three dozen service districts around Clatsop County, including the Port of Astoria, Clatsop Community College and Sunset Empire Transportation District, as well as area school districts, rural fire districts, water and sewer districts and other entities.

Candidates can file to run by fee or petition.

For a complete list of all seats up for election, the requirements for each office and other information, go to www.co.clatsop.or.us.

The last day to register to vote in the May 21 election is April 30; more voter registration information is also available on the county website. People can also check their voter registration status online by going to https://secure.sos.state.or.us/eim/vr/showVoterSearch.do

CLATSOP COUNTY APPLICANTS SOUGHT FOR COL-PAC BOARD

   Clatsop County is seeking applicants for representatives on the Columbia-Pacific Economic Development District Board of Directors.

Col-Pac provides its government members and small businesses access to various development services and resources from federal, state and local agencies and private sources. The district covers Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and western Washington counties.

Clatsop County is seeking applicants from the private sector.

CLATSOP COUNTY WELLNESS TEAM SPONSORS BLOOD DRIVE APRIL 2

 Clatsop County’s Wellness Team is sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive in Astoria on Tuesday, April 2 from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria.

Blood donations are a continuing need for area hospitals. Each time you donate blood, your blood is separated into its components, and different products can be made and transfused to more than one patient in need. Accident victims with severe blood loss use red cells, shock and trauma patients often need plasma, and platelets help patients who are undergoing treatment for certain types of cancer.

To schedule a donation, call Susan Farmer at (503) 325-1000 or go online to www.redcrossblood.org, sponsor code “ClatsopWellness.

Public meeting scheduled in Astoria about future Old Youngs Bay and Lewis and Clark River bridge work

The Oregon Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting on Thursday, March 21 to present information on the planned painting and maintenance repairs scheduled in 2014 for the Old Youngs Bay and Lewis and Clark River Bridges. The meeting is set for 5 to 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express, 204 Marine Drive in Astoria.
During the meeting, project team members will: review the proposed painting and repairs; discuss the scope of the work; possible closure duration options; and the benefits of the repairs. The public will have the opportunity to provide input and comments during the meeting.

OREGON TAX FAX WOES

The Oregon Department of Revenue is experiencing an interruption in fax service that has affected taxpayer communications to two of the agency's key return processing units.

Since Friday afternoon, Revenue has received 644 fax submissions to its Electronic Funds Transfer Unit (EFT) and Suspense Unit that were incomplete due to service problems. "Taxpayers sending the faxes would have every reason to think they had a successful transmission, but we received a distorted or partial image," Policy and Systems Manager Megan Denison said.

MAP YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD TO AID IN DISASTER PLANNING

     Astoria residents attended a Map Your Neighborhood Presentation Tuesday night at Astoria High School.  Attendees were told about earthquake and tsunami risks specific to this area, and how neighborhoods can use the Map Your Neighborhood tool for
disaster planning.



     Paula Peek of the Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay explained how the program works.




“Map Your Neighborhood has kind of a curious name but what it means is you get to know your neighbors, you get to know their skills and resources, that’s what they mean by mapping – you’re mapping the skills and resources you have in your own little area, like if you have people who are skilled in first aid, or ham radio operators, or that kind of thing.  Also the resources, like if you have a generator or you have a high ladder, or you’ve got ropes, or extra bedding.  Those types of things.”  

HIGHER CAPACITY TRANSFORMER INCREASES COSTS FOR 17TH STREET PIER

At the March 4th meeting, the Astoria City Council approved a contract adjustment for a higher capacity electrical transformer to service Coast Guard cutters docked at the pier.  City Manager Paul Benoit explained the reason for the change.

 “Instead of 300 it should be 700 and more than twice the size.  The design for the electrical components of this project was flawed, it was a mistake in that it specified the smaller transformer.  The larger one is absolutely needed to accommodate the Coast Guard, the two cutters if they’re both tied up need the 700 amp transformer.”




Counciler Drew Herzig added the design team has agreed to pay 12 thousand dollars in materials costs and staff time to offset the added costs to the city. 

ASTORIA WEAPONS ARREST SUNDAY

On Sunday March 3, 2013 at approximately 9:53pm, deputies from the Clatsop County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at 38410 Hwy 30, Space-15 (John Day Trailer Park) in rural Astoria, OR. The warrant was served pursuant to an ongoing investigation that revealed Eric N. Sharpsteen and Nicholas W. Jones were convicted felons and had possession of multiple firearms.

Astoria Police Respond to Reported Knife Fight

On 02/28/2013 at about 10:02 PM Astoria 911 received a report of a fight at the Desdemona. It was reported that one of the subjects involved had a knife. Officers responded to the area, and when they arrived they saw Dennis Bisbee, age 26, was holding a knife is his hand engaging a person at the bar.
While Ofc. Riley was giving Bisbee verbal commands from the front door of the bar, Ofc. Randall walked in the rear door, unbeknownst to Bisbee, and grabbed the knife out of his hand. Ofc. Randall then detained Bisbee in handcuffs.

“Let’s Talk Tsunamis” Presentations Scheduled

The Pacific County Emergency Management Agency (PCEMA) in Washington has organized five “Let’s Talk Tsunami” presentations with the Timberland Regional Libraries in Pacific County. The presentations are scheduled as follows: