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INSIDE
FRIDAY EXTRA • 2 & 3C
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
142nd YEAR, No. 153
ONE DOLLAR
NFL’s Poyer brings message to hometown
Astorian returns
to talk to students
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
If he had a choice, Jordan Poyer
probably would have traded places
with members of the New England
Patriots yesterday, as the AFC cham-
pions prepare to play the Seattle
Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl
XLIX.
But the season’s over for the
Cleveland Browns, Poyer’s current
team.
So instead of answering ques-
tions from the media throng in Ar-
izona, Poyer found himself talking
to hundreds of grade school, middle
school and high school students in
Astoria.
The former Clatsop County res-
ident and current defensive back
for the Browns returned for a visit
and offered up some of his best ad-
vice to area kids, as he made a tour
through the Astoria School District
Thursday.
Believe it or not, speaking to
young kids is just as rewarding for
Poyer as playing the game.
Besides, the Browns will get their
shot at the Seahawks next season.
Poyer’s visit was well-received at
the high school, and “I heard it was
really well-received at the middle
school,” said Astoria High Principal
Lynn Jackson. “They were still try-
ing to get kids to wind down a little.
“It was nice to see Jordan not
forgetting Astoria,” he said. “It’s
just cool to see him maintaining his
roots, and acknowledging the teach-
ers and coaches who have worked
with him and made a difference in
his life.”
Poyer said, “It was unreal …
coach (Howard) Rub announced my
name and kids started screaming my
name … it was pretty cool.”
See POYER, Page 8A
Numbers
Homeless connect at annual event shed light
on DUII
outcomes
Circuit Court,
Municipal Court
data provide context
to lengthy debate
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Data compiled by the Clatsop
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and Astoria on drunken-driving
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provide a new window into the long
simmering dispute over whether the
city should assign the cases to Cir-
cuit Court or Municipal Court.
MORE INSIDE
See a graphic detailing data
on DUII prosecutions in
Clatsop County from 2010 to
2014 on Page 7A.
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Kallie Linder, from Salon Boheme, cuts Mark Jenkin’s hair during the Project Homeless Connect event at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center
Thursday. Services at the event included free health checks, haircuts, help with housing and obtaining identification, such as birth certificates.
Haircuts, health
checks, housing
help offered
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
S
EASIDE — More than 100 of Clatsop
County’s homeless and near homeless
population wove through rows of service
booths set up in the Seaside Civic and Conven-
tion Center Thursday for the sixth annual Proj-
ect Homeless Connect.
Volunteers for Homeless Connect, sponsored
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guided each person through color-coordinated
areas of the convention center.
Red-colored booths were for health services;
yellow booths were for family and education;
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cation, legal and transportation assistance; blue
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
was for food and haircuts. A total of 52 agencies
People are led by yellow-shirt clad volunteers as they visit booths in the housing and em-
attended the event.
See HOMELESS, Page 10A
ployment section of the Project Homeless Connect event in Seaside Thursday. More than
100 people came to the event, down from 200 last year.
The Astoria City Council voted
earlier this month to shift misde-
meanor DUII prosecutions to Cir-
cuit Court, like other cities in Clat-
sop County. District Attorney Josh
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against the city to claim jurisdic-
tion, but the debate, which bubbled
up as a policy question for more
than a decade, was often shaped by
anecdotal examples of how cases
fared in Circuit Court and Munici-
pal Court.
The Daily Astorian, through pub-
lic-records requests, asked the dis-
trict attorney and the city this month
to document DUII prosecutions from
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tracked the district attorney’s legal
clash with the city.
Of the 1,152 DUII cases in Cir-
cuit Court that ended in conviction,
dismissal or diversion, 504 (44 per-
cent) were convictions; 166 (14 per-
cent) were dismissals; and 482 (42
percent) were diversions.
Of the 146 DUII cases in Mu-
nicipal Court that ended in convic-
tion, dismissal or diversion, 41 (28
percent ) were convictions; 25 (17
percent) were dismissals; and 80 (55
percent) were diversions.
See DUII, Page 7A
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Only Seaside
and Jewell
exceed state
graduation rate
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Oregon had nowhere to
go but up after posting the
nation’s worst four-year grad-
uation rate (68.7 percent) for
the class of 2013, according
to the U.S. Department of
Education. It ranked 49th, as
Idaho was unable to report its
graduation rate.
The 2014 national com-
parison hasn’t been published
yet, but Oregon improved its
Clatsop County high school
completion rates, 2013-14 *
Students who earned a diploma, extended diploma or GED equivalent.
School
General
Economically Underserved
district
public
disadvantaged race/ethnicity
Astoria
111 or 68.1%
41 or 53.3%
7 or 58.3%
Seaside
91 or 77.1%
42 or 76.4%
14 or 70%
Warrenton-
49 or 74.2%
24 or 66.7%
4 or 66.7%
Hammond
Knappa
28 or 68.3%
2 or 50%
1 or 25%
Jewell
11 or 100%
—
—
*Cohort population adjusted for transfers.
Source: Oregon Dept. of Education
four-year graduation rate to
72 percent, according to data
released Thursday by the Ore-
gon Department of Education.
In Clatsop County, only Jew-
ell and Seaside schools — the
Daily Astorian graphic
two schools that don’t rely on
state funding — posted higher
graduation rates than the state
average.
The state also measures
high school completion, in-
FOXGLQJUHJXODUPRGL¿HGDQG
extended diplomas; and GED
FHUWL¿FDWHV7KHVWDWHSRVWHGD
76.4 percent completion rate
for the class of 2014. Only
Warrenton-Hammond School
District posted a higher com-
pletion rate than the state av-
erage.
Local results included:
• A 65.64 percent gradua-
tion rate for students in Asto-
ria School District. Its com-
pletion rate was 68.1 percent,
with four students earning
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• A 76.27 percent gradua-
tion rate for students in Sea-
side School District. The dis-
trict also had one student earn
D *(' FHUWL¿FDWH LQFUHDVLQJ
its completion rate for the
same year to 77.1 percent.
• A 66.67 percent grad-
uation rate in the Warren-
ton-Hammond School Dis-
WULFW:LWK¿YHRILWVVWXGHQWV
HDUQLQJ *(' FHUWL¿FDWHV
Warrenton’s completion rate
was 74.2 percent.
• A 65.9 percent graduation
rate in Knappa School Dis-
trict. With one student earning
D *(' FHUWL¿FDWH .QDSSD¶V
completion rate was 68.3 per-
cent.
• A 100 percent graduation
rate in Jewell School District,
where the class of 2014 in-
cluded 11 students.
Moving up
The rosy 3.3 percent in-
crease in the state’s graduation
See GRADS, Page 7A