The Astoria Parks and Recrea-tion Department hosted the annual Regatta Softball Tourna-ment Aug. 10- 12. The tourna-ment was well attended with 9 women’s teams and 18 men’s teams attending. In total, nine of these teams were local teams from the Astoria and Warrenton area and 18 of these teams came from out of town, primarily the Portland and Vancouver areas. The tourna-ment used five fields through-out Astoria, the Columbia Field, Niemi Field, Tapiola Field, and the two Evergreen Fields at the Astoria Middle School.

The men’s tournament was won for the first time in several years by a local Astoria team. Lektro/ Nygaard Logging took first place in the men’s tournament coming out of the “loser’s bracket” and beating the undefeated team, PDR from the Vancouver twice to win first place in the men’s tournament.

The women’s tournament also

had a special honor this year in hosting the ASA (amateur soft-ball association) Women’s State tournament. Representa-tives from the association were present throughout the week-end for the women’s tourna-ment. The winning team from the women’s tournament was a team from Vancouver, Washing-ton. Of the local women’s teams, the Victorians made it the farthest in the tournament taking fourth place.

 

R E G A T T A S O F T B A L L T O U R N E Y H I T S I T O U T O F T H E P A R K !

K . V L A U N T R I A T H L O N & D U A T H L O N

On September 8, we held our sec-

ond annual K. Vlaun Triathlon &

Duathlon. With 33 participants, it all

played out to be a great competition.

Competitors couldn’t have asked for

a better morning!

The race consisted of a 400 yard

swim, 10 mile bike course, and 2.6

mile trail run at Fort Stevens. While

the participants were primarily indi-

viduals, we did have a few teams

compete, as well as individuals that

EN

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R E C R E A T I O N A L R E A D E R

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L E T T E R F R O M P A R K S D I R E C T O R

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A Q U A T I C C E N T E R C L O S U R E

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P A R K S A D V I S O R Y B O A R D H I G H L I G H T : G R A C E L A M A N

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S T A F F H I G H L I G H T S

B A T H R O O M B U S I -N E S S

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F U N F A C T

Did you know the Astoria Parks & Recreation is looking for volunteers like YOU to help

with various different pro-jects, events and classes?

Visit our

chose to do two out of the three

events.

This year, our overall winner was

Joe Dominey, with a time of 57

minutes, and 5 seconds. The

top female finisher was Haley

Esplund, with a time of 59 min-

utes, 31 seconds. We also had

one of our youngest competi-

tors, Joshua Shipley, age 11,

finishing with a time of 1 hour,

20 minutes and 53 seconds.

TRIATHLON RESULTS

Joe Dominey, 57:05 Allen Tweedell, 57:23

Eric Gotting, 57:27 Miguel Velasco, 57:57 Hayley Esplund, 59:31 John Stokel, 1:01:10

Andrew Wiegart, 1:01:21 Curt Rogers, 1:01:28

Kristopher Hayne, 1:01:36 Ryan Larsen, 1:02:41

Mike Rudolph, 1:04:52 Team Honeypots, 1:04:57

Ani Graves, 1:07:37 Jessica Gill, 1:08:00

Team Icecreamed, 1:12:04 Jim Holen, 1:12:24

Laura Snyder, 1:14:23 Tim Lusk-Vanderbeck, 1:15:11

Seana Fields, 1:18:05 Dodo Boisvert, 1:18:44 Angela Nairn, 1:20:38

Joshua Shipley, 1:20:53 Bryce Nurding, 1:21:03 (Duathalon)

Jon Williams, 1:22:01 Mary Bess Gloria, 1:22:41 Catherine Carey, 1:23:43

Dena Stock-Marquez, 1:23:49 Tonya Lempea, 1:24:39, (Duathalon)

Jackie Napper, 1:26:38 Candi Vanderburg, 1:26:51

(Duathlon) Michellel Judson, 1:57:23

Jane Wilborn, 1:57:24 Evan Judson, 1:57:25

Change is in the air!

Changes can bring exciting growth and challenge all at the same time. I hope you take a moment to read through this newsletter to see what an exciting and fun filled summer Astoria Parks and Recreation pro-vided for our community.

Our maintenance division had an unbelievable summer of successes and accomplishments. They were able to upgrade and repair many parts of our parks system. I hope you will check out our maintenance ac-complishment list featured in this newsletter. We are currently undergo-ing a big transition in our division and are very excited to take our Parks Department to the next level. The next level means being equipped as a department to handle and complete big projects, not just the small ones that help us maintain what we have.

Our recreation and aquatics division also had a fantastic summer serving our community. We had a record number of free special events and a record number of children joining our programs throughout our Recreation and Aquatics Divisions.

Fall is here and we look forward to many exciting activities over the next

few months. We continue to hire and train amazing staff that you have hopefully been able to meet and get to know. Our staff are the foundation of our great programs in Parks and Recreation.

If you have any questions at any time, you are welcome to call my personal cell phone at (503) 810-9401. I am also willing to meet with any citizens to discuss ideas, improvements and even sugges-tions you might have about our department. If you have any imme-diate needs feel free to call our Parks and Recreation general num-ber (503) 325-7275 or our mainte-nance number at (503)861-1332.

Thank you again for your support, involvement, and continued inter-est in becoming better!

Sincerely,

JP Moss

Parks & Recreation Director

L E T T E R F R O M P A R K S D I R E C T O R , J P M O S S

C O L U M N M A I N T E N A N C E

mulch, electrical improve-ments and fixes, and sea-sonal flowers were added. The front door of the column was repaired, and the lower cube off the landing at the top was painted, which was a very difficult task. Approxi-mately 200 hours were spent cleaning all paver cracks, and all property was power washed. A timer was added to the front door, along with a garbage can. Some items were removed from the grounds, per police sugges-tions to make the grounds more safe. Space was cleared near the canoe area

to make that 30% larger, and two picnic tables in the meadow were repaired, and all were freshly painted. The Column caretaker was removed, along with all of his stuff, and with that the garage was cleaned and lighting was added. And as part of a three year approach, a great deal of scotch broom was re-moved.

With the Column being one of the busiest destination spots in Astoria, and especially in the summer, the Friends of the Col-umn group saw a need for con-sistent maintenance and upkeep of the Column grounds. They decided to meet that need by paying for a seasonal staff mem-ber to work solely up at the Col-umn for 40 hours a week during the summer.

Overall, it was a great addition, and many major improvements were made. The meadow was mowed 8-10 times, when tradi-tionally after July 4th, it is not maintained. There was major care for landscaping and bark

Page 2 R E C R E A T I O N A L R E A D E R

Astoria Parks & Recreation

MISSION

Astoria Parks & Recreation provides life-long learning,

wellness, and well-being through recreational oppor-

tunities and is dedicated to the preservation of natu-

ral resources, open spaces, and facilities that inspire

and bring neighbors together.

Vanessa is 21 years old, and lives here in Astoria. She has a younger brother Merrick, who has participated in various Parks & Recreation programs. Vanessa said she really enjoys getting to see the kids when she comes in to Port of Play to Volunteer.

Thank you Vanessa, for all your hard work, and for always helping with a smile!

Vanessa has been volunteering at Port of Play 3 days a week, for the last 3 years. She comes in every Monday/Wednesday/Friday and helps with cleaning, sanitizing and organizing toys and equipment.

Vanessa always has a cheerful spirit, and the kids really enjoy getting to know her. She rarely misses a day of volunteering, and for that we are very thankful!

Her positive attitude and willing-ness to help wherever needed has made an enormous difference in the cleanliness and the overall appearance of Port of Play. She takes pride in the work she does, and it shows.

V A L U A B L E V O L U N T E E R — - V A N E S S A

This Fall we are excited to offer more fitness classes! Studio cycling is coming back all week in the 5:30am-6:30am time slot as well as the 5:45pm-6:45pm. This is still one our popular fit-ness classes. We now offer a class, Core Strength, and this class will focus on building your core muscles using weights, balls, bands, or BOSU balls. This is a great class to take to round out your fitness regime. Another great class for beginners and

advanced. This class is de-signed for people who want a strong and healthy sweat but no dancing. Back-to-back basic movement patterns, cardio interval drills, and muscle endurance weight training produce an effective, calorie-burning workout. Par-ticipants are instructed on how to modify exercises up or down to meet their fitness level. Look for other new classes coming this January!

A D U L T F I T N E S S

Page 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

K I D S Z O N E ! A F T E R S C H O O L P R O G R A M

Looking for a great place to leave your children after school? Look no further than Kids Zone. We now proudly serve Astoria, Warrenton, and Knappa schools. This year we will have monthly themes, special speak-ers, and birthday celebrations. The Astoria students meet at the ARC, Warrenton students meet at the War-renton Grade School cafeteria and

the Knappa students meet at Hilda Lahti in the cafeteria. We also feature home work help which is a great benefit to work-ing parents! For more informa-tion please call the ARC 503-741-3035.

Did you know...

At least 8 million

“latchkey” children

are left alone and

unsupervised after

school?

PROVIDE RECREATION OPPORTU-

NITIES FOR A CHILD IN NEED!

Every child should benefit from public

recreation. Unfortunately, sometimes

families cannot financially support extra-

curricular activities. Can you help to pro-

vide a recreation experience that can

benefit a child for life?

Your sponsorship dollars will directly al-

low a child to participate in any recrea-

tional opportunity that we offer. When

you open your arms the benefits are end-

less! Call 503.325.7275 or visit astori-

aparks.com

Every year in September, the Astoria Aquatic Center closes for two weeks of cleaning and mainte-nance. This is a yearly routine that ensures the safety, cleanliness and overall upkeep of the facil-ity. The following is a list of everything that was accomplished during this year’s closure.

Sand filter for hot tub was overhauled (replaced all sand and laterals in system)

Old pool vacuums removed and mainte-nance on current vac-uum

Paint was touched-up throughout the build-ing

16 pipes repaired and replaced

Cleaning and organiz-ing of offices

Small misc. plumbing fixes including shower leaks and small pipe sections

Pool pump replaced for lap pool, new pump ordered as buck up

Pools drained and all drain covers removed & cleaned

All pool tiles cleaned and sanded to remove all grime

Pool internal hooks fixed

Light switch repairs

Computer system for HVAC and pool tem-perature improved

Back maintenance area: safety repairs made

Dark marks on bottom of pool reduced

Calcium deposits re-duced throughout facility

Caulking of bottom of both pools (major pro-ject)

Caulking around pool deck

Heavy cleaning of lane tile on bottom of deep pool

Waxing of slides

Repainted all caution lines throughout AAC

AED serviced

New equipment or-dered for pool pro-grams and lifeguard equipment

Major cleaning of fit-ness equipment and fitness room

Repairs throughout fitness room including wire replacement for weights

New barbells for free weights

Vents cleaned throughout systems

HVAC repairs com-plete including re-placement of 3 mo-tors & 5 other system repairs

Heating system ser-viced

New handicap lift in-stalled for hot tub

Jets in hot tub re-paired

Chemical control sys-tem completed phase 2

All filters in motors replaced and greased

Main pumps greased to protect impellers

All stainless steel thoroughly cleaned throughout

Front counter system overhaul

New display system to enhance goggle sales

All concessions equip-ment and kitchen deeply cleaned

New benches placed in

the walkway to the

locker room

New carpet in the walk-

way to the locker room

Deep carpet cleaning

throughout

Heating controls re-

paired and replaced

Painting of showers in

men’s & women’s show-

ers

Painting of family

change rooms

A Q U A T I C C E N T E R C L E A N I N G A N D M A I N T E N A N C E

Page 4 R E C R E A T I O N A L R E A D E R

Parking lot painting & clean-

ing

All windows cleaned inside

and outside of facility

Facility deep cleaned

throughout.

Parks Office Moved to the

Astoria Recreation Center

Transition of Recreation Co-

ordinators: Terra moved to

the ARC and Pam to the AAC.

Items To be Completed Over

Next 3 Months:

Family Change Room Fixture

Improvements

High Level Bulbs Replaced

Calcium reduction on kiddie

pool tile

Clean roof gutter

Cement repair around deck

Drain repair around deck

ADA Button for internal door

Gating system for locker

rooms

“It was two long, arduous

weeks of work and clean-

ing, but we finally fin-

ished at press time, 3am

Monday before the pool

reopened! We look for-

ward to next year’s major

improvements.”

It was a pretty spectacular

setting, and an incredible

venue to enjoy some quality

Northwest Music. Let the

Music Play took place on

Saturday Aug. 18 and Sunday

Aug. 19, and was a benefit

for the Astoria Band Boosters

as well as youth recreation

scholarships.

On Saturday, we could have

asked for a little bit better

weather. Drizzly and foggy

wasn’t exactly ideal, but that

didn’t stop people from com-

ing for various groups

throughout the day, and es-

pecially the last three of the

day, Brothers Young, Holiday

Friends, and the Portland

Cello Project.

Visitors and locals alike set-

tled in on the hill with their tasty concessions,

and took in the sights and sounds that Let the

Music Play had to offer.

Sunday, the weather was a little better, and the

music even greater, with country favorites Mich-

ele Drey , and Denver. Let the Music Play ended

on Sunday with Jazz Saxaphonist Patrick Lamb

at sunset.. The culmination of the event couldn’t

have timed out more perfectly.

Although attendance to Let the Music Play, was-

n’t quite what the department had hoped, the

overall experience was truly one of a kind. Op-

erationally, the event was flawless. Bands were

on time, stage transitions went smoothly, parking

and bus transportation went well, and there were

no major emergencies.

We would like to thank Mayor Willis L. Van Dusen, City Manager Paul Benoit, and City Council members for their support. We’d also like to send out a big thank you to our Let the Music Play Sponsors.

The “Let the Music Play” event at the Column was a success due in part to our various spon-sors. Sponsorship was given in both monetary donations and in kind donations of food, ser-vices and equipment for the concert. At the gold sponsorship level of sponsorship, giving upwards of $900 in materials or money were Medix, Riverwalk Inn and Walter E. Nel-son. Giving at the Silver sponsorship level of $600 or more was Western Oregon Waste, Lum’s Auto Center, The Daily Astorian, KMUN radio and Ohana Media. Our Bronze Sponsors giving $300 or more were Fort George, Englund Marine, Geno’s Pizza, J & S Appli-ances and Fultano’s Pizza. Last but not least we want to recognize our Parks Friends whose sponsorship was very important to the event as well. These include Sundial Travel and Columbia Fruit & Produce.

ness Month. The route

starts at the Maritime Me-

morial Park under the As-

toria-Megler Bridge and

follows the Riverwalk for a

flat and scenic out-and-

back. Families and dogs

welcome! Light refresh-

ments will be provided by

local donors including the

North Coast Food Web,

Van Dusen Beverages,

and the Astoria Co-op.

Donations to the Clatsop

County Women’s Resource

Astoria Parks & Recrea-

tion is happy to be team-

ing up with the Clatsop

County Domestic Violence

Council to help spread

awareness this October

through the “Healthy

Homes 5k Fun Run”.

Show your support for

healthy homes and fami-

lies in Clatsop County!

Join your fellow community

members for a FREE 5K

(3.1 miles) Fun Run and

Walk in recognition of Do-

mestic Violence Aware-

Center accepted. For

more information call Erin:

503-325-8669 or visit

astoriaparks.com

A N D T H E M U S I C P L A Y E D . . .

Page 5 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

DID YOU KNOW…

IN 2004, 31% OF

WOMEN IN OREGON

BETWEEN THE AGES OF

20-55, REPORTED AS

HAVING ONE OR

MORE EXPERI-

ENCES WITH

TYPES OF VIOLENT

VICTIMIZATION.

H E A L T H Y H O M E S F U N R U N

The department recently wrapped up the final games of the 2012 coed softball season. This sea-son there were 18 teams participating in the pro-gram, an increase of 3 teams from the previous year’s participation. The program is geared for adults but participants range in age from 16 to 60.

The teams were split in to three leagues and the season lasted six

weeks. These leagues are divided by ability with the top league being very com-petitive and the bottom league being geared to-wards the less experi-enced players who are there for fun, more than competition.

Congratulations to the following teams who took first place in their league: from the top league, the Illwaco team “Church Cen-ter Daycare” placed first with just one loss in the

season; from the middle league going undefeated was Country Market; and in the bottom league loos-ing just one game by de-fault was team “Rec ‘n Balls” com-posed primar-ily of Parks and Recrea-tion staff.

A D U L T C O E D S O F T B A L L

P A R K S A D V I S O R Y B O A R D H I G H L I G H T — - G R A C E L A M A N

community members feel like they are being heard by the City.

While Laman noted that there are a number of great accomplishments that have taken place while she’s been on the board, she said the greatest was the acquisition of the ARC, or Astoria Rec-reation Center. “It’s an amazing space for indoor recreation for young people and adults alike-something that was sorely missing from the community-a place that provides affordable rates for fitness classes, open recreation, day camps, etc. It really is a great accom-plishment.”

Laman stated that her biggest goal for the Parks Board is that they continue to generate quality, affordable program-ming for all members of the community, and really utilize our existing facilities.

She ended by stating, “ The one thing I am most excited about is the potential for an annual Concert at the Column, where tourists and locals alike are able to gather and enjoy the music and the view.”

Grace Laman has been on the Parks Advisory Board for a little over a year. She has lived in As-toria for 6 years with her husband Chris and two sons William and Tommy. They moved here from Utah, because they wanted to be closer to family in Portland, and her husband got a job at Columbia Me-morial Hospital as a pharmacist. Laman stated that on a personal note, “Astoria has afforded me a number of opportunities to use my dietetics degree, and still be home with the boys, which I really enjoy!”

She said her biggest interest in be-ing on the Parks Advisory Board is providing a voice for the consumer of Parks & Recreation programs. “Having two young children who are looking for opportunities to be ac-tive, as well as my husband and myself, I wanted to make sure that Astoria had quality programs avail-able to young families like ours for the long run, and that they were accessible to as many members of the community as possible. ‘

Laman added that Parks & Recrea-tion board members are a sounding board for the average person who isn’t able to express concerns or gratitude. “I appreciate the oppor-tunity to be able to do this and help

Page 6 R E C R E A T I O N A L R E A D E R

We would like to give a special thanks to our

Parks and Recreation Board members!

Ed Overbay (Board Chair)

Norma Hernandez (Vice Chair)

City of Astoria Councilor Arline LaMear

City of Astoria Councilor Karen Melin

Grace Laman

Howard Rub

Ron Williams

Tammy Loughran

Brad Johnston

Thank you for your countless hours of sup-

port , diligent planning, with the hope of

making Parks and Recreation a priority in

Astoria!

KIERSTIN MERILA

Kierstin Merila joined our team November 20122. She works at the Astoria Recrea-tion Department as a Recrea-tion Leader. This spring she graduated from Warrenton High School and is enrolled at Clatsop Community Col-lege. She enjoys working and being with her friends and family. At the Recreation Cen-ter she does a lot of the office work, works with children, and is there for Roller Skating nights. Her hard work and dedication are very obvious and she has a great personal-ity.

During the months of August and Septem-ber, there were 23 rescues. All were guests between the ages 4-7, and were rescued within the E&A 10/20 standard, which is recognizing a guest in distress within 10 seconds,

During the summer, the aquatic center was booming as kids and parents decided to beat the heat with a fun day at the pool. With more guests in the water, it’s inevita-ble that there was a high rate of rescues.

and com-pleting a rescue within 20 seconds.

S T A F F H I G H L I G H T S

S U M M E R A Q U A T I C C E N T E R R E S C U E S

Page 7 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

COME PLAY WITH US AT PORT OF PLAY!!!! 

 

WE ARE NOW ON OUR REGULAR FALL/WINTER HOURS 

OPEN MONDAY‐SATURDAY 10AM‐4PM  

& SUNDAYS 12PM‐4PM 

 

PARENT’S NIGHT OUT 

EVERY SATURDAY 6PM‐9:30 PM! 

TONY POWERS

Tony Powers joined our team in February 2012. He is originally from Portland, Oregon and moved to the coast last fall. His interests include the outdoors, good food, and animals. Origi-nally he was hired as a Rec-reation Leader and worked at the Astoria Recreation Center. This spring he moved to the Parks Mainte-nance Department as a part time staff member. He en-joys working in the outdoors and “making things look pretty”.

Have you seen the old bathrooms at Tapiola Park? They have been completely transformed. The maintenance depart-ment worked extremely hard to make this facility like new! They power washed and painted the inside and outside of the building, they put in new air vents, refurbished the drinking fountain, and put in a new bench and gar-bage receptacle outside.

They also fixed up the electrical hand dryers by sanding them down and painting, and did a deep clean of all toilets, urinals and sinks. This restroom is now fit for a king or queen!

Lighting was replaced, the concrete floors were sealed, and skylights are on order to be replaced.

On the outside of the building, they did an over-haul of the trees and brush so that the facility is more visible.

They also painted a yellow strip along the curb as a safety feature to avoid tripping.

Maintenance didn’t stop at the Tapiola restrooms. The moved on to the restrooms at the Dough Boy statue on the west end of town. They power washed the inside and out, and repainted both roofs. It has been years since the Dough Boy fa-cility has been over-hauled like this.

Keep an eye out, be-cause all City public rest-rooms will be getting a major overhaul and cleaning this Winter.

B A T H R O O M B U S I N E S S

Page 8 R E C R E A T I O N A L R E A D E R

PROVIDE RECREATION

OPPORTUNITIES FOR A

CHILD IN NEED!

Every child should benefit from

public recreation. Unfortu-

nately, sometimes families

cannot financially support extra

-curricular activities. Can you

help to provide a recreation

experience that can benefit a

child for life?

Your sponsorship dollars will

directly allow a child to partici-

pate in any recreational oppor-

tunity that we offer. When you

open your arms the benefits

are endless! Call

503.325.7275 or visit astori-

K E E P I N G O U R P A R K S H E A L T H Y

Did you know that we used to dump thousands of pounds and gallons of pesti-cides and herbicides into our parks every year? It has been a goal of the Parks Maintenance Department to find new, more safe ways to maintain and beautify our parks.

We have now been free of all these kinds of chemicals for the last two summers, which is making an enor-mous impact on the health and safety of our parks. There were only two in-stances where chemicals

needed to be used within the last year, once on the new ball fields, and once at the Column.

The department has found a all natural organic fish pellet that will soon be used to fertilize lawns.

While the Parks Mainte-nance department wants to create beautiful parks and recreational areas, their main goal is to ensure they are safe for children, fami-lies and pets to enjoy.

bags instead of the one they need

4. ADA parking spaces at the Aquatic center fill up during peak usage times, so a new space has been added

5. At our Gray School facil-ity, we expanded Lil’ Sprouts Academy by adding an additional classroom, but by add-ing a classroom, it meant having to take away a room at Port of Play used for crafts and birthday parties.

When problems are pre-sented however, it gives us an opportunity to fix things, and make them better for our

Like any organization that deals with the public, there are always going to be chal-lenges or obstacles, prob-lems that need solutions. Here are some of the things we are currently facing in different areas of Parks & Recreation.

1. Throughout the City, people are vandalizing and destroying our bath-rooms by spreading fe-ces on the wall

2. We are working hard to eliminate weeds in parks and on trails without using harsh chemicals

3. Patrons that utilize the river walk are taking bunches of our Mutt Mitt

patrons. Here are a few of the things we have fixed in the last three months.

1. The new benches at the Aquatic Center make it easier for people to take off their shoes.

2. With the challenges of adult fitness classes, we have added a new class for the Fall, Tai Chi

3. We fixed the sprinkler system at Columbia Field

4. The hot tub sand filter was cleaned and re-paired

5. We are working on put-ting a new well at the cemetery

C H A L L E N G E S & F I X E S

Did you know that that

parks has added 6

“Mutt Mitt” stations for

doggie bags and we

now put out 27,000

bags a year for pet

owners to clean up

after their animals?

Page 9 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

Astoria Parks, Recreation & Community

Foundation

Enhance-Engage– Enrich

Mission:

Enhancing the recreational health and enrich-

ment of our community…

By creating partnerships, charitable opportuni-

ties, and funding for community, parks, open

spaces, and recreational activities.

Visit astoriaparksfoundation.com

M A I N T E N A N C E R E S T R U C T U R E A N D A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S

Page 10 R E C R E A T I O N A L R E A D E R

Cleared sets of steps that have been overgrown for a decade. Within the interior of the building, Shively Hall has been painted, all electrical switches and plugs have been replaced, new lights put in downstairs, and the floor has been cleaned up. Also, the front porch has been rebuilt, all broken glass has been replaced, and the flooring and siding of the picnic shelters have been replaced . The front cement steps have been cleared and cleaned dramati-cally, and brush along the roadway has been cleared and trimmed.

The Maintenance department has also worked hard to update our tennis and basketball courts; painted two tennis courts and bas-ketball court lines, which hasn’t been done for the last eight years. They painted the backboards and hoops, and replaced nets in all courts. Tennis court nets were replaced and poles were repaired and painted, and weeds were removed from all cracks and edges.

Our maintenance department additionally put in some TLC at some of our local neighborhood parks this summer. Several picnic tables were repainted around our parks system and two new picnic tables were installed that our staff built. At Fred Lindstrom Park outdated and worn signs were replaced and a broken bench repaired. At Alderbrook Park, a new tetherball was installed, the picnic area was washed from top to bottom and lighting replacements and improvements were made. At People’s Park major pruning was done to make the college sign easier to see. Two picnic tables were also fixed at People’s Park and a dozen deck boards were replaced that were becoming dangerous. At the Tapiola Skate Park boards were replaced on the bleachers,

Another big job in our department is upkeep and maintenance of area bathrooms. Our maintenance department took on the main-tenance of a new set of bathrooms at Tapiola Park. The exhaust fans and toilets at the downtown bathrooms were also re-paired. Throughout all of our bathrooms, toilet paper holders, pa-per towel dispensers and soap dispensers were replaced in order to be more efficient in the ordering of these products.

Our staff were also cross trained to work at the Ocean View Ceme-tery and several projects completed at the cemetery. The front of the chapel received a complete makeover with new doors, win-dows, siding, reframed front wall and resheeted rock inside the building. Minor electrical improvements were made and the inside was repainted. This was a very effective but also efficient pro-ject. Supplies for the project totaled $2,400 but if this project had been contracted out it would have cost closer to $15,000.

Many people are probably wondering about the restructuring of the parks maintenance department. With having to lay off employees, it doesn’t necessarily look like the most positive business practice. But in actuality, the restructuring of the department will strengthen the department, enhance their capabilities, and will increase their overall efficiency. The department will be able to do their job better, create stronger facilities and more beautiful places to play and recreate.

With the restructure comes two highly focused positions. The first is a Facility Coordinator, who would be responsible for all parks facilities and rental halls. The second position is a Grounds Coordinator, who will be focused primarily on our parks through landscaping efforts

All that to say though, the Parks Maintenance department has accomplished an incredible amount of projects. While most summers are spent maintaining ball fields, mowing and cleaning restrooms, they have gone above and beyond year to make Astoria a more beautiful place.

One of their big accomplishments was a complete overhaul of McClure park. They did a major clean up of the hillsides and raised tree branches off the ground for safety. They have also improved trailheads off of Shively, cut trees off of the Cathedral tree trail and removed three large trees that were blocking the trail. Safety is always their number one priority.

They have done major pruning of the natural area behind Safeway on the River Walk, have done a complete overhaul of Smith Point, as well as Alderbrook and Laplante parks. The hill behind the Aquatic Center has been cleaned up with the removal of dead trees, and the 11th street walkway and 18th street landscape have both seen great improvements.

Some other projects include pruning and removing boulders at Tapiola Park, an overhaul of both the upper and lower evergreen fields and surrounding areas, power washing all wood including benches on the River Walk, and the replace-ment of volleyball nets at the new court that was built last year.

One of the biggest projects the maintenance department has been working on is a complete overhaul of Shively Hall and park. The exterior part of this overhaul has been with land-scaping, and although there is a lot more work to do, they have

Other areas of major repair included the Yacht Club. The parking lot was repaired, landscape around the building overhauled, trees were pruned, the picnic shelters were repaired and painted and the front porch of the building was power washed and sealed. The floating dock was also repaired and new railings were installed. The riverbank was cleared and the docks were power washed and sealed.

In the Uniontown area, the Doughboy Monument was power washed on the exterior and the roof of the bathrooms was painted. Down the street at the Maritime Memorial Park, the ce-ment walls were all thoroughly cleaned and power washed. Staff spent one and a half weeks at the park assist with irrigation and landscaping.

Our doggy bags or “mutt mitts” were increased with 6 new loca-tions at the Maritime Memorial, the McClure park, and Shively park.

At the Gray school maintenance staff assisted with the opening of the community gardens. A waterline was put in and temporary fencing installed. Additionally at this location, the ball field was overhauled as well as the hillside at the beginning of the summer.

At the Astoria Senior Center, additional lighting was added as well as a new ADA drinking fountain. New exhaust fans in both bath-rooms were added and a railing on an old set of stairs in-stalled. Assistance was also given in installing a new front door.

Our maintenance supervisor also engaged in management of new

projects this summer including the following items: assistance in

the Garden Surging Waves project, #10 6th Street Dock, Young’s

River Falls Deck project, planning for the Frisbee Golf course,

meetings on potential bike track, worked to define troubled trees,

met with Public Works about new ball fields, trail extension pro-

ject participation, and meetings about the new sport complex.

Additionally, the Parks Maintenance Supervisor attended all parks

board meetings to address any questions or maintenance con-

cerns the board .

In addition, our maintenance supervisor worked with outside

groups such as churches, teens, MTC ,Coastguard, both youth

and adult jail crews to find new volunteer and labor sources. He

also went through a course this summer to become certified as a

playground inspector.

Other miscellaneous projects that our maintenance crew tackled

included a major cleaning of the Westside of the river trail on the

port end; overhauls of the general park area were done at the

Post Office site and Fort George park; planting of new flowers and

plants at the 15th Street triangle; shrub removal at 9th Street; Tidal

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Rock Park was cleaned; a major overhaul of Portal Park property hap-pened; the shooting range was cleared out for the Police Department; and the hedge was cleared at People’s Park.

Last, but certainly not least was the maintenance departments’ ever present support for aquatics and recreation programs and the three buildings that house those programs. The maintenance staff had a hand in assisting in 20 concerts and 15 movies as well as huge amount of support at the Let the Music Play event at the Col-umn. They were also instrumental in the smooth operation of the three summer softball tournaments, summer kick off party, and the triathlon.

F A L L C A L E N D A R

S E P T E M B E R

O C T O B E R

N O V E M B E R

E V E N T S P R O G R A M S

E V E N T S P R O G R A M S

P R O G R A M S E V E N T S

Sept. 4, 11, 18 & 25: Ballroom Danc-

ing

Wednesdays: International Folkdance,

7-8:30pm

Kids Zone: M-F, After School (Astoria,

Warrenton & Knappa)

Taekwondo: Mondays/Wednesdays:

5:30pm-7:30pm at Port of Play

Nov. 5-11, Harvest Food Drive at Port

of Play, 10am-4pm

Nov. 16, Free Family Game Night,

6:30-9:30pm at Port of Play

November 22: Gobbler Gallop: 9am at

the Maritime Memorial Park

Nov. 23, Black Friday Special at Port

of Play

November 6, 13, 20, 27: Ballroom

Dancing

Wednesdays: International Folkdance,

7-8:30pm

Kids Zone: M-F, After School (Astoria,

Warrenton & Knappa)

Taekwondo: Mondays/Wednesdays

5:30pm-7:30pm at Port of Play

Nov. 5-8: Lil’ Dribblers at Port of

Play, 4pm-5pm

Sept. 8: K. Vlaun Triathlon &

Duatholon

Sept. 28: Free Family Game Night,

6:30pm-9:30pm at Port of Play

Oct. 13: Healthy Homes 5k Fun Run/

Walk for Domestic Violence Aware-

ness, 10am at Maritime Memorial

Park

Oct. 14: Fall Into Safety, 4pm-6pm at

AAC

Oct. 26: Family Pumpkin Carving, 6pm

-8pm at Port of Play

Oct. 31: Monster Bash, 5pm-8pm at

ARC

October 2, 9, 16, 23: Ballroom Danc-

ing

Wednesdays: International Folkdance,

7-8:30pm

Kids Zone: M-F, After School (Astoria,

Warrenton & Knappa)

Taekwondo: Mondays/Wednesdays:

5:30pm-7:30pm at Port of Play

Oct. 8-11: Lil’ Dribblers at Port of Play,

4pm-5pm

Oct. 15-18: Lil’ Kickers at Port of play,

Astoria Aquatic Center: 1997 Marine Dr. 503.325.7027

Astoria Parks & Recreation Office: 1997 Marine Dr. 503.325.7275

Astoria Recreation Center: 1411 Grand Ave. 503.741.3035

Port of Play & Lil’ Sprouts Academy: 785 Alameda Ave. 503.325-8669

www.astoriaparks.com