10 years ago this week — 2015

Wading into the nuts and bolts of governing, Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear sees infrastructure as among the most immediate challenges facing the city.

The new mayor, sworn in to a four-year term Monday, pointed to the potential disruption from the 16th Street sewer improvement project near downtown this spring or summer, the frustration over the complicated brownfield cleanup that has left a gaping hole at Heritage Square, and the long-anticipated renovation of the Astoria Public Library.

LaMear, a former librarian, had made the library’s renovation a theme of her campaign. But she understands that a plan to expand the library into the vacant Waldorf Hotel — also known as the Merwyn — is contentious, since some want to preserve the privately owned building as historically significant.

ILWACO, Wash. — One of the most popular spots at Cape Disappointment State Park, North Head Lighthouse, is also one of its least developed.

But that is changing, said Tom Benenati, ranger and assistant park manager at Cape Disappointment.

Now open is a trail expansion that runs more or less parallel to North Head Lighthouse Road, following a portion of the original historical lighthouse access road, and winds through marbled murrelet nesting habitat.

SEASIDE — More than 50 community members gathered inside the Seaside High School library Tuesday night to officially begin on “The Way to Wellville,” a five-year challenge to promote health across the county.

New York City-based venture capitalist Esther Dyson, the founder of the Health Initiative Coordinating Council (HICCUP), which sponsors “The Way to Wellville,” introduced herself to the crowd. She encouraged the community to focus on itself and on how it can become the healthiest county in the nation.

WESTPORT — Plans to revitalize a well-worn boat launch and park area along the Columbia River estuary recently received a major boost when Georgia-Pacific Wauna Mill completed a 270-acre land donation to Clatsop County’s parks department.

Now that Clatsop County owns the land, it can formally pursue grant funding to complete its Westport Corridor and Community Plan. The county’s proposed plan outlines improvements to the boat launch and park area and access to the Westport ferry landing.

Georgia-Pacific inherited the 27 acres as part of its purchase of the Wauna Mill. The acres in Westport have not been used by Georgia-Pacific and have mostly fallen into disrepair.

The donation hit a roadblock a decade ago when the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality suspected contamination in the area from a sawmill operation in the 1950s.

After a lengthy regulatory process, the department issued a no further action statement, allowing the land to be donated and eventually used by the community, Ward said.

50 years ago — 1975

John Dooley, Clatsop County’s roadmaster, sums it up best: “Keep your ears to the ground, if we have another strong wind, things could happen.”

Dooley referred to the most recent siege of rain, almost 2 inches measured at Clatsop County Airport Sunday and more than an inch expected from midnight to noon today. As of mid-morning, 0.83 of an inch had fallen. Sunday’s total was 1.77 inches.

Dooley, whose road crews reported no washouts or mudslides on any county arterial over the weekend, said the ground was now so waterlogged that streams were in danger of overflowing.

A five-way weekend meet at Astoria High School had all the ingredients of a splashy sports spectacular, complete with coaches wringing their hands over umpires’ calls, but the stars were students instead of athletes, and the game HI-Q instead of an athletic endeavor.

Astoria proved adept at the thinking man’s game, but not as adept as some. The local squad licked Sandy but lost to Canby.

With rigid jail standards and fire safety standards staring them in the face, county commissioners will sit down with Clatsop Sheriff Carl Bondietti and architect Rod Grider this week and decide what to do with the county’s 70-year-old jail.

They must decide whether to attempt to bring the jail up to state standards, build a new one or call it quits and start sending prisoners to jails elsewhere on a contract basis.

The Astoria School Board is considering a plan to partially close the substandard Central Elementary School next year. The plan came up for the first time at a regular meeting Tuesday.

The proposal under review calls for moving Central’s fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders to the more modern and spacious Astor and Gray schools. That would allow the third floor of Central to be sealed off.

The partial closure of Central would save taxpayers some $70,000, school officials estimate, even though transportation costs would rise slightly. They say it also would improve Astoria’s educational program.

WARRENTON — The on-again, off-again Skipanon Bridge replacement may be off again.

The Clatsop-Tillamook Intergovernmental Council attached a negative recommendation to the highway division’s request for a federal grant for the bridge work.

However, Pat Randolph of the state highway division said this morning the state still feels full replacement of the span is necessary and is proceeding on the assumption it will get the federal grant.

He said the state would be in a tough spot if it didn’t get federal funds as it has strict orders to replace the bridge from the U.S. Coast Guard that are being enforced in court and doesn’t have the necessary $2.2 million in its own coffers.

The council made its negative recommendations on the basis of a staff report calling the expense “unjustified.” It was the feeling of staff and membership that the state should bring the bridge up to Coast Guard standards without completely replacing it.

75 years ago — 1950

The lower Columbia awaited more cold weather tonight after one of the severest rain and wind storms of the winter spewed out 54-mph winds in passing over Astoria.

Snow-laden trees were toppled and telephone lines between Astoria and Clatskanie were parted as the southwest Chinook gale melted snow along the estuary.

In higher elevations, including the Clatsop crest of the Columbia highway, heavy snowfalls were reported today by motorists.

The West End Development League voted Tuesday night to ask the city administration either to maintain the Doughboy Monument restroom at Taylor and Columbia, or remove the fixtures and seal up the entrance.

League officials said this is the second request that has been made to the city on the subject, the first request being of a year’s standing now.

Clatsop County had “very unusual weather” Tuesday night, but most residents didn’t appreciate it.

A Northwest storm, which even old-timers said was unique in this land of southwestern and southeasters, brought snow to all local areas again, less than 24 hours after a warm southern wind and rain had cleared the streets.

All roads leading out of Astoria Wednesday morning were “very snowy and slippery,” the state highway department said.

Smelt were available at local fish markets and the first delivery to Portland was made Wednesday. They were coming from Clatskanie, and there weren’t many of them, but the retail price was down from last year’s season-opening 75 cents to 50 and 65 cents.

The smelt run hadn’t really started yet, according to Mr. Edna Bradley, bookkeeper for the Smelt Fishermen’s Association. Cold weather, however, was largely blamed for the poor catch to date.

A bone-chilling Canadian cold wave and an Alaskan blizzard punched Oregon and Washington from the north and west Friday, plunging temperatures below zero as near-hurricane winds beached or swept out to sea a score of small craft.

The north Pacific seaboard was blanketed with up to 8 inches of dry, shifting snow within a few hours. Several coastal cities reported the blizzard was the worst in history.

City police officers were kept busy for over an hour this morning straightening out traffic jams at both ends of town as numerous cars were stalled by the heavy snow.

In the East End, police said a string of cars 2 miles long stretched from Hauke’s grocery to the top of the Tongue Point hill. Cars were piled up about five to the block and stretched the entire length of that street to the summit of the hill.