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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2015)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 Few challengers for May 19 special election 3RVLWLRQ WR ¿OO %ODQG¶V UH- maining year, is also running unopposed. Clatsop County’s May Two initiatives were gather- 19 Special District Election ing signatures to make it on the is shaping up to be a mostly May 19 ballot and ask voters one-sided affair. whether to remake how Port 7KH GHDGOLQH WR ¿OH IRU commissioners are selected. candidacy was Thursday, and One was to make them locally most positions are unopposed recommended, vetted and gov- contests. ernor-appointed; another was The three Port of Astoria recall the Port Commission in commissioners up for election 2017 and make them all re- or re-election face no compe- gionally elected, like Clatsop tition. County commissioners. Nei- Bill Hunsinger of Astoria, ther initiative appears on the D FRPPHUFLDO ¿VKHUPDQ DQG May 19 election web page and longtime longshoreman, is will not be on the ballot. the sole candidate for Position Old guard leaves 3. He’s running for his third college board elected term since defeating Clatsop Community Col- Oregon State University Ex- tension Sea Grant agent Jim lege’s Board of Directors is entering a new era. Paul Gil- Bergeron in 2007. In May, Ric Gerttula re- lum, its longest-tenured mem- signed from Position 5 of the EHU KDV QRW ¿OHG IRU UHHOHF- Port Commission, and Jack tion. Gillum joined the college Bland resigned from Position board in Zone 2, Position 4 in 1999. 4. Five-sevenths of the Clat- Former sheriff and Clatsop County Commissioner John sop Community College Raichl of Astoria, appointed Board of Directors is running WR 3RVLWLRQ LQ WR ¿OO unopposed for re-election, in- Gerttula’s remaining year, is cluding: • Karen Burke of Knap- running unopposed. Robert Mushen of Cannon Beach, pa, the retired head of CCC’s a retired doctor appointed to nursing program, appointed in By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian $SULO WR ¿OO WKH UHPDLQ- der of Clatsop County Com- missioner Dirk Rohne’s term in Zone 1, Position 1. Rohne, a Brownsmead resident elected in 2007 to the college board, said he asked Burke to replace him. • Robert Duehmig of Asto- ria, appointed in December to replace Frank Satterwhite in Zone 2, Position 3. Satterwhite resigned after 16 years on the board. • Tessa James Scheller of Warrenton, appointed to Zone 3, Position 6 in 2010 and elect- ed in 2011. • Anne Teaford-Cantor of Astoria, who is running for Gillum’s position. Tea- ford-Cantor is a member of the steering committee for the Lower Columbia Diversity Project. • Seaside Public Library di- rector Esther Moberg, running for Zone 3, Position 7. Moberg was appointed in December to replace Larry McKinley, who was appointed in April to replace Kirsten Ayles of Warrenton. Ayles, an accoun- tant for Warrenton, resigned after taking similar job in Se- attle for King County, Wash. McKinley, the Northwest Area focus more on his priorities as a high-ranking member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints. Warren, a retired teach- er, was elected in 2007 to the Warrenton-Hammond School K-12 Schools Board and retired. In 2011, he Astoria and Warrenton’s GLGQ¶W ¿OH IRU UHHOHFWLRQ DQG school boards each feature one was replaced by Isaac Ander- contested race. son. In Astoria, Janice Horning Board Chairwoman Debbie is challenging incumbent Jen- Morrow, who was appointed to na Rickenbach for Position 5. the board in 2010 and elected Horning ran in 2013 and lost in 2011, is running unopposed. to Grace Laman. On March But two other board mem- 31, Rickenbach was appointed bers on the Warrenton-Ham- to complete the term of Laurie mond School Board will be Choate, who took a position new. with South Puget Sound Com- Dalan Moss of Coast Reha- munity College’s nursing pro- bilitation Services is running gram in Olympia, Wash. for Position 5. Former Major Martin Dursse is running League Baseball player Brian unopposed for re-election in Bruney had been appointed to Position 2, as is Shawn Hellig- the position to replace former so in Position 3. Astoria Finance Director Mark In Warrenton, Dennis War- Carlson, but did not seek elec- ren is challenging incumbent tion. Joe Talamantez for Position Greg Morrill, president 7DODPDQWH] WKH ¿QDQFH of Bergerson Construction in manager at Management and Astoria, is running unopposed Training Corporation, was in Position 2, for which An- DSSRLQWHG ODVW \HDU WR ¿OO RXW GHUVRQ GLGQ¶W ¿OH UHHOHFWLRQ the term of Len Mossman. One of his employees, Adam $IWHU ¿YH \HDUV RQ WKH :DU- Neahring, was elected to the renton-Hammond School board in 2013. Board, Mossman resigned to For the Seaside School Dis- Manager for the Oregon De- partment of Transportation, resigned after taking a position as Access Management Pro- gram Manager with ODOT in Salem. trict, Chairman Mark Truax is running unopposed for reelec- tion to Zone 4, Position 2; Pat- ULFN 1R¿HOG LV UXQQLQJ XQRS- posed for reelection to Zone 1, Position 1; and Vice-Chairman Steven C. Phillips is running unopposed for Zone 5, Posi- tion 1. For the Knappa School Board, Candi Vanderburg and Ed Johnson are running for unopposed for re-election. In Jewell, Ginger L. Kaczenski is running unopposed for re- election to Position 1; Position 3 has no candidate; and Brian K. Meier, who owns Brian K. Meier Trucking in Seaside, is running unopposed for Posi- tion 5. Most special district elec- tions are unopposed or include no candidates for certain po- sitions, including health, rural ¿UH VDQLWDU\ VHUYLFH ZDWHU Sunset Empire Park and Rec- reation and Clatsop County Rural Law Enforcement dis- tricts. April 28 is the last day to register to vote; ballots are mailed out April 29; and elec- tion day is May 19. For a full run-down of elections and can- didates, visit http://bit.ly/1x- 8VBP5. Statue: ‘This is about making Pendleton more fun’ Continued from Page 1A They graced the bronze with green glasses, an over- sized green top hat sporting a shamrock and banner that said, “Kiss me! I’m Irish.” All of it, they said, was about fun. Saturday afternoon, though, Harmon said she found someone removed the decorations, so they replaced them. Moments later she spied a man yanking them off again. Harmon threw open her window and yelled at the man to stop, she said, and he shouted back the decorations were desecrating the repre- sentation of Sundown. Beck- er made for the downstairs door. “I went down the stairs because he had our hat, the St. Paddy hat, in his hand,” Becker said. “I grabbed the hat and went back into the building.” The man followed Becker inside and grabbed him by the back of the neck. Beck- er said he wore a tank top, and the scar from his neck surgery to remove discs is easy to see. Becker said he reacted. “I used my forearm and pushed him against the mail- boxes ... and opened the door with my other hand,” Beck- er told the East Oregonian. “The guy was in his 60s or 70s.” Becker said he did not want to hurt the man, he only wanted him gone. When Becker returned upstairs, though, Harmon said the man had their other decorations and was heading north on Main. They followed in a car and caught up to the man at the intersection of Northwest Fourth Street and Ellis Av- enue. Becker said Harmon bailed from the car before he stopped and confronted the decoration-taker. “He grabbed her by the wrist and swung her,” Beck- er said, “and hit her with the bag in his left hand.” The im- pact broke blood vessels in her face, he said. The couple called police, EXW RI¿FHUV GLG QRW ¿QG WKH man. Pendleton police Chief Stuart Roberts said the sus- pect was white with short gray hair and a short mus- tache, about 6 feet tall and thin. Roberts also said no one Sign: ‘You can put up any sign you want’ Continued from Page 1A Several people have called City Hall over the past few days to complain about the new sign, while oth- ers have taken to Facebook and The Daily Astorian to comment. Cindy Magie, a stay-at- KRPH PRWKHU DQG ¿VKHULHV biologist, said she is disap- pointed by what she consid- ers a graphic image placed so prominently on Marine Drive. “It is frustrating that after our efforts to shield our kids from inappropriate sexual im- ages on TV and movies, our kids will now be exposed to this very graphic image ev- ery morning riding the school bus to elementary school,” she wrote the newspaper. “Please consider returning to the previ- ous signage.” The city, through its de- velopment code, can regulate the number, size, placement and physical characteristics of signs, but not the con- tent, which is protected free speech. “We do not, and we cannot, regulate the content of a sign,” said Mike Morgan, the interim city planner. The Oregon Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, has free speech rights that are broader than the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Oregon Supreme Court has interpreted the state Consti- tution to protect all forms of speech equally, while the U.S. Supreme Court has giv- en lesser protection to com- mercial speech, such as ad- vertising. “Part of our open society is having the ability to express all kinds of ideas,” said Jann Carson, the associate director of the American Civil Liber- ties Union of Oregon. “And, I think, civilizations have gen- erally been better when those ideas can be expressed, rather than suppressed. “When we give the gov- ernment the authority to sup- was injured, and police are looking at a potential harass- ment case, not an assault. Becker said if police catch the man, he will press charges. He said his neck has ached since the fracas, but he has not gone to a doctor. The couple said they ZDQWHGWR¿QGDZD\WRPDNH sure that decorating the stat- ues was OK. Becker said he called Pendleton City Manager Robb Corbett over and over Monday until they spoke. Corbett recommended a petition, Becker said. “Within 24 hours we got all those signatures,” Beck- er said. “We are really per- sistent in getting this done.” Several signers work downtown near the statue, in- cluding at Beckman Saddles, )UD]LHU 2I¿FH 6XSSO\ DQG Virgil’s at Cimmiyotti’s. Har- mon said only two people she approached would not sign the petition — one for per- sonal reasons and one who is against signing petitions for religious reasons. Harmon presented the petition Tues- day night to the Pendleton City Council. Harmon said the council gave a positive response. The council did not express op- position to the petition, and councilwoman Becky Marks said she found the decora- tions charming. The coun- cil opted to take more time, though, before taking action on the petition. Chief Roberts added the city does not have an ordi- nance prohibiting the deco- rating of statues, and Corbett plans to allow the decora- tions unless and until the city receives multiple complaints. Harmon and Becker said the statue decorations draw people to Main Street, and plenty of folks enjoy them and even take photos with the dolled-up Sundown. “This is about making Pendleton more fun,” Becker said. Harmon said she hopes the city council sees it the same way. But if not, the cou- ple would cease decorating. Until then, she said, they plan on decorating the statue for Easter. And now that so many business owners and workers on Main Street are aware of the recent incident, she said, perhaps more peo- ple will keep an eye out if someone removes the adorn- ments. CMH Urgent Care in Warrenton Open daily, 9am-6:30pm 1639 SE Ensign Lane (near Staples and Petco) 503-338-4500 t www.cmhurgentcare.org Via Annie’s Saloon Facebook page This new sign went up recently at the Annie’s Saloon, causing quite a stir on social media and an uptick in phone calls to the city. Urgent Care in Warrenton With shorter wait times. We’re here when you need care now When you need healthcare now, come to CMH Urgent Care in Warrenton and Astoria. With onsite x-ray and lab services, you’ll be on the road to recovery soon. $.)6SHFOU$BSF t Works with most insurances, including Medicare and Medicaid. t Provides onsite lab and x-ray services. t Cares for people of all ages. Via Wikimedia Commons The previous sign for Annie’s Saloon. press one idea, then they have the authority to suppress any idea.” Middleton recognizes her free speech rights. “You can put up any sign you want,” she said, “because I’m protected by the First Amendment of the Constitu- tion of the United States of America. And so is the news- paper. And so is Annie’s.” &YDIBOHF4USFFU"TUPSJB0SFHPOt XXXDPMVNCJBNFNPSJBMPSHt"1MBOFUSFF%FTJHOBUFE)PTQJUBM