It was a business meeting, a reunion and a retirement party. It was Willis Van Dusen’s last occasion to preside over the Astoria City Council Monday night. The Daily Astorian does not have a precise number of how many meetings he ran as mayor.
But a rough calculation is that he wielded the gavel some 575 times from 1991 through 2014. When combined with his six prior years on the council, he has participated in some 720 night meetings. SEASIDE — Lisamarie Costanzo took the theme to heart when she entered the Ugly Sweater 5K in Seaside Saturday.
Her shirt was adorned with a handmade Christmas tree on the front and a menorah on the back. Costanzo was clearly in the spirit. “I’m an Italian Jew, so I gotta represent.
We’re participating, we’re showing our love,” she said — the “we” referred her little dog, Samantha, also dressed in holiday garb. “She thinks she’s a lion when she’s not dressed up like a reindeer.” The Clatsop County Fairgrounds bustled Tuesday with volunteers and local students cataloging pounds of food and piles of toys in preparation for the Astoria Wishing Tree and Food Basket Program “Pickup Day.
” On Friday, families will visit the fairgrounds to pick up donated items for the holiday season. The Wishing Tree Program will supply nearly 800 children with gifts they have requested, while the Food Basket Program will provide two to three meals for more than 400 families. On a muddy lot at the foot of Pier 3, behind the Best Western L.
