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