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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2015)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 NORTH COAST 3A Criminal case closed in Astoria crash turned fatal Melissa Yowell died Jan. 20 in the hospital By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian Astoria Police recently closed its criminal investigation into a January crash that turned fatal. Police cited Robert Carroll, 43, Milwaukie, for failure to REH\DWUDI¿FFRQWUROGHYLFHDI- ter he failed to stop at a red light and collided with a 2011 Kia Soul, driven by Melissa Yowell of Astoria. <RZHOOODWHUGLHGDW&R- lumbia Memorial Hospital the same day of the crash, Jan. 20. Carroll faces no other charges. “He did cause a crash, but there is no indication his activity was reckless or criminal in caus- ing her death,” Astoria Police Chief Brad Johnston said. Carroll, who was driving D)RUG)ZDVRULJL- nally cited and released at the scene of the crash, which was the intersection of West Marine Drive and Portway Street in Astoria. However, Johnston said, the citation was voided shortly after to avoid a theoretical legal bar- rier. Had Carroll pleaded guilty to the traffic viola- tion, no further prosecution ‘The result of the autopsy is quite incriminating, but not for the person driving the car.’ — Joann Guiliani Clatsop County medical examiner Astoria Police decided to cite Carroll for the original charge of Melissa Yowell IDLOXUHWR REH\DWUDI¿FFRQWURO device. No other charges were would have been possible. added. ³$IWHU ZH ZHUH QRWL¿HG Yowell, who was driving Yowell passed away we moved home from a bridge game at to dismiss that citation to pre- 4:26 p.m., attempted to turn left serve all options in charging,” onto West Marine Drive, when Johnston said. she was struck by the Ford Upon further investigation, ) Another whooping cough case in Ilwaco By KATIE WILSON EO Media Group ILWACO, Wash. — Health officials confirmed another case of pertussis, or whooping cough, at Ilwaco High School in late March. That brings the official count to two cases, but there were likely many people who were ill or treated but never tested for pertussis, said Mary Goelz, Pacific County’s director of public health and human services. “I believe there were oth- er people who probably had it,” Goelz said. With two confirmed cases at the high school, the illness was cer- tainly in the community, she added. The second case at IHS was confirmed about a week after an IHS teacher was found to have pertussis. The teacher had been potentially contagious between Feb. 19 and March 12. The community was told that if anyone had been at the school on or between those dates, they should contact their healthcare provider and tell them of a possible exposure if they began to experience the onset of the illness: severe coughing spells, runny nose, fever. With the first case, ex- posure was possible up un- til April 2. With the second case, that date has been pushed farther into April. “We still have a couple weeks to go before we’re feeling good,” Goelz said. The second person had been immunized. However, immunization doesn’t pre- vent someone from getting sick, but it can keep them from getting as sick as they otherwise might. Pertussis can be especially deadly for young children and ba- bies, causing pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and even death. No record of immunization could be found for the high school teacher. Nearly a dozen high school students had to miss school after the first case of whooping cough was con- firmed. These were students who either had not been im- munized or had no record of immunization. Many of them were later able to sup- ply a record of immuniza- tion and returned to school, Tobin said. For the rest, they could choose to undergo a round of antibiotics and obtain a doctor’s note saying they are symptom free, which would return them to school in a handful of days, or they’d have to wait out the full ex- posure period at home. IHS Principal Dave To- bin said Wednesday that all the students who were im- pacted by the first pertussis case now are back in school. He added the new case has not resulted in additional students being temporarily excluded from classes due to lack of immunization re- cords. Yowell was treated at the scene by Medix Ambulance Service and the Astoria Fire De- partment and transported with general complaints of pain and nausea to Columbia Memorial Hospital. “At the time they cleared the crash, nobody believed it was a serious injury crash, much less a fatal,” Johnston said at the time. “She had been up moving around and was alert. Then we ZHUHQRWL¿HGE\&0+WKDWVKH had passed away at the hospi- tal.” The Daily Astorian request- ed that the state medical exam- iner release the results of Yow- ell’s autopsy. That request was denied. The newspaper is ap- pealing that decision to the state attorney general. County Medical Examiner Joann Guiliani said she agrees with the police investigation, concluding that Carroll should not be charged with any crime related to Yowell’s death. “The result of the autopsy is quite incriminating, but not for the person driving the car,” she said. Man dies after crash in Tillamook County Oregon State Police troopers are continuing to TILLAMOOK — A investigate the single ve- \HDUROG /LQFROQ &LW\ hicle crash. resident died after a sin- Early information sug- gle-vehicle crash on U.S. gests Kyte was not wear- Highway 101 in Tilla- ing a seatbelt, according mook County Wednesday to OSP. Heavy rain and morning. speed are also being in- David Kyte was driv- vestigated as additional ing a silver Pontiac Sun- contributing factors in fire northbound on U.S. this crash. Highway 101 at about OSP was assisted at 6 a.m. when the vehicle the scene by the Oregon struck a guardrail and Department of Transpor- rolled over on the road- tation, Nestucca Fire De- ZD\ QHDU PLOHSRVW partment, Tillamook Po- in Tillamook County, lice Department and the according to the Oregon Tillamook County Medi- State Police. cal Examiners Office. By The Daily Astorian National Park Service launches new educational website By The Daily Astorian The National Park Ser- vice and the National Park Foundation launched a new educational website, www. FindYourPark.com. The website is a public aware- ness and education cam- paign celebrating the centen- nial anniversary of the NPS next year. The online campaign highlights historical, ur- ban, and cultural parks, as well as the National Park Service programs that pro- tect, preserve and share na- ture, culture, and history in communities nationwide, Master Gardeners offer free soil testing Saturday WARRENTON — Clat- sop County Master Garden- ers are conducting a free Ph Test Soil Clinic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot in Warrenton. Bring one cup of garden soil placed into a clean glass jar with lid, or double bagged in a ziplock plastic bag, for analysis. Allow one hour for the test. Directions for obtaining a proper soil sample can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ chksoil For information, call the Oregon State University Ex- WHQVLRQ 2I¿FH DW W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 according to the NPS. “Find Your Park” is also the theme for this year’s National Park Week, April 18 to 26. Entrance fees will be waived April 18 and 19, the opening weekend of National Park Week, at all National Park Service sites, including Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. LCNHP Superintendent Scott Tucker said there are endless ways to “Find Your Park.” Locally, the public can visit Fort Clatsop, hike a trail, come to a lecture, be- come a Junior Ranger, kayak or canoe on the Lewis and Clark River, visit Middle Village or the Salt Works or have a picnic at Netul Land- ing, Tucker said. One opportunity at this SDUN LV D OHFWXUH RQ 3DFL¿F Northwest Foraging present- ed by lifetime Northwest for- ager Dr. Douglas Deur at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 19 in the Netul River Room of the Fort Clatsop visitor center. Deur, A research professor at Portland State University and specialist in American Indian plant traditions, will share some of his insights and experiences, including what to look for, when and where to look, and how to gather in a responsible way. C elebra te w ith G ra ce the Joy of Easter Easter Sunday April 5th 8 am & 10 am Grace Episcopal Church SINCE 1886 1545 FRANKLIN AVE., ASTORIA • 503-325-4691 F IRST L UTHERAN C HURCH H O L Y W EEK SC H ED U L E M aun dy T hursday 7pm at First Lutheran G ood F riday 7pm at First Lutheran E aster B reakfast 9:00am to 10:30am E aster E gg H un t 9:15am (2yrs - 6th Grade) Friday A pril 3 rd CO A ST G U A R D BEA N SO U P 5 $ .0 0 4 pm ‘til gone Sunday A pril 5th EA STER SU N D AY H A M D IN N ER 12(noon) - 2PM R egular Bingo at 3PM ASTORIA Clatsop Post 12 & Unit 12 AMERICAN LEGION 1132 Exchange Street • 325-5771 B arbie is retiring B B I A R I S E R E T I R I N G MARCH N JOI ! US 6 3- M P Ba rb ie Jen kin s ha s b een a n o p ticia n fo r the p a s t 20 yea rs here in As to ria . S he s ta rted her ca reer w ith Dr. K u m p u la in 1994, co n tin u ed o n a s it b eca m e No rth Co a s t Vis io n Cen ter, a n d s in ce 2011 ha s b een vita l in help in g Co a s ta l E ye Ca re b eco m e the thrivin g clin ic it is to d a y! As the p ra ctice cha n ged ha n d s s evera l tim es o ver the yea rs Ba rb ie ha s rem a in ed the co n s ta n t fo rce. S he ha s b een d ed ica ted to her p a tien ts fo r a ll this tim e w ith her co m p a s s io n a te w a ys a n d s tea d fa s t s ervice. Barbie will be greatly missed. C om e help us celebrate! Coastal Eye Care 553 18th St., Astoria! E aster F estiv al W orship 8am and 11am 725 33rd St., Astoria • 503-325-6252 www.astoriafirstlutheran.com C A LVA R Y E P ISC O PA L C H U R C H 503 N . H ollad ay, S easid e • 503-738-5773 Holy Week Services Good Friday: Stations of the cross at 3:00 Saturday: Easter Vigil at 5:00 Sunday: Easter Eucharist at 9:30