Sunset Lake
request denied
Cowapa Player
of the Year
NORTH COAST • 3A
SPORTS • 6A
142nd YEAR, No. 246
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015
ONE DOLLAR
THERE ARE MANY PATHS TO
GRADUATION
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Jensen Liu sets up a class selfie on stage during the Seaside High School graduation ceremony at the Seaside Convention Center Monday.
Schools strive
to improve
diploma rates
moving tsunami
edge inland
By ZANE SPARLING
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A proposed redraw-
ing of the tsunami inundation line
on the Oregon Coast increases the
amount of urban land at risk for mas-
VLYH ÀRRGLQJ E\ WR SHUFHQW
according to the state Department of
Geology and Mineral Industries.
(DUWK 6FLHQFH ,QIRUPDWLRQ 2I¿-
cer Ali Ryan said the new tsunami
boundary will place 28,000 struc-
tures on the seaward side of the line,
up from 20,000.
Better technology, better maps
and better risk assessment are spur-
ring the adjustment — not a change
in real danger, scientists say.
In 1995, when the department
¿UVW WULHG WR PRGHO WKH XQGHUVHD
HDUWKTXDNHV WKDW FDXVH GHVWUXFWLYH
tidal waves, computers were unable
to simulate the wave after it reached
the shoreline. In their place, the de-
partment relied on contour maps
from the U.S. Geological Survey in
order to estimate where the water
would stop during a tsunami. Those
maps were accurate only to the near-
est 20, sometimes 40, feet.
See TSUNAMI, Page 10A
College
commences
search for
new leader
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
H
undreds of students around Clatsop
&RXQW\ZHUHKRQRUHGIRU¿QLVKLQJWKHLU
high school education over the past
week.
High schools handed diplomas to 116 stu-
dents in Astoria, 95 in Seaside, 41 in Warren-
ton, 25 in Knappa and nine in Jewell. Clatsop
Community College had the county’s third-larg-
est graduating class, with 58 of its students this
\HDUHDUQLQJWKHLUKLJKVFKRROHTXLYDOHQF\DIWHU
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
passing the General Educational Development
Evan Yokoyama looks out toward the crowd after receiving his diploma at the Seaside High
*('H[DP
School administrators, meanwhile, are rush- School graduation ceremony at the Seaside Convention Center Monday.
LQJ WR KHOS PRUH VHQLRUV ¿QLVK E\ WKH HQG RI
June, before graduation reports go to the state.
Astoria High School Principal Lynn Jackson
said he is optimistic his high school will have
one of its highest four-year cohort graduation
rates in a long time. The state bases the percent-
age on freshmen coming into a high school and
graduating there as seniors, while it uses a com-
SOHWLRQUDWHIRUWKRVHDWWHQGLQJ¿YH\HDUVRUWDN-
ing the GED exam. According to Astoria Regis-
Knappa
trar Sarah Price, 194 of the class of 2015 entered
High School
as freshmen four years ago; 50 transferred out;
graduated
and 104 graduated in four years.
25 students
³,¶YHJRW¿YHVWXGHQWVZKRGLGQRWJUDGXDWH
Saturday.
that we are hoping for them to graduate by the
end of the month,” Jackson said. “Three of them
EDWARD
,¶PFRQ¿GHQWZLOO´
See GRAD RATES, Page 10A
Moving
the
line
State proposes
STRATTON
The Daily
Astorian
Galizio’s last
day is July 8
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop Community College’s
board of directors unanimously ac-
cepted the resignation of President
Lawrence Galizio Tuesday and start-
HGWKHSURFHVVRI¿QGLQJKLVUHSODFH-
ment. His last day is July 8.
$IWHU ¿YH \HDUV DW WKH FROOHJH
Galizio recently accepted a position
as director and CEO of the Commu-
nity College League of California,
where he starts in mid-July.
It was the last regular board meet-
ing for Galizio, who said he will at-
tend the July 14 board meeting as a
past president to honor longstanding
college board members. He will also
preside over the college’s board re-
treat July 2.
Board chairwoman Rosemary
Baker-Monaghan said the college
intends to hire an interim president,
a process the board discussed in a
closed session Tuesday.
See COLLEGE, Page 10A
)RUPHUHOHFWLRQVFOHUN¿OHVPLOOLRQODZVXLW
Fired county clerk alleges
whistleblower retaliation
$8,200,00.” The second mistake gave
Cannon Beach voters incorrect in-
structions in an at-large election for
the City Council.
By KYLE SPURR
As a result of the errors, the Sec-
The Daily Astorian
UHWDU\ RI 6WDWH¶V 2I¿FH UHTXLUHG WKH
county to distribute supplemental bal-
Former Clatsop County Clerk lots, costing about $14,000.
Maeve Kennedy Grimes wants more
The lawsuit claims Kennedy
than $1 million in damages and her Grimes immediately contacted the
job back, claiming she was unlawful- 6HFUHWDU\ RI 6WDWH¶V 2I¿FH ZKLFK
O\ ¿UHG RYHU HUURUV RQ WKH 1RYHPEHU directed her to proceed with the sup-
general election ballot.
plemental ballots. The suit alleges
$ ODZVXLW ¿OHG LQ &ODWVRS &RXQ- Somers, however, ordered her to con-
ty Circuit Court contends the former sider other options.
clerk was dismissed in December due
“Ms. Grimes felt torn between clear
to whistleblower retaliation.
direction she had received from the
County Manager Scott Somers 626 6HFUHWDU\ RI 6WDWH¶V 2I¿FH DQG
placed Kennedy Grimes on paid ad- what she believed to be Somers’ illegal
ministrative leave in October after two demand that she ignore that direction,”
errors were found on the ballot.
Andrew Altschul, Kennedy Grimes’
One mistake left off a zero in the Portland attorney, wrote in the lawsuit.
amount of a Clatsop Community Col-
$OWVFKXOVDLGKH¿UVWFRQWDFWHGWKH
lege bond measure as “not exceeding county in December regarding Ken-
QHG\ *ULPHV +H ¿OHG D WRUWV FODLP
notice on the county in April, before
¿OLQJWKHODZVXLW0D\
The lawsuit includes two claims each
seeking an award of economic losses in
EDFNSD\ORVVRIEHQH¿WVDQGRWKHUH[-
penses to be proven at a jury trial and
$500,000 in noneconomic damages.
Somers said the county’s insurance
agency is handling the lawsuit. The
county manager said he is planning to
meet with an attorney with the insur-
ance company later this week.
“It’s in the insurance company’s
hands,” Somers said. “They are taking
it seriously.”
Somers completed an internal in-
YHVWLJDWLRQ LQ 1RYHPEHU ZKLFK FRQ-
FOXGHG WKDW WKH FOHUN¶V RI¿FH GLG QRW
follow its established protocol for
proofreading the draft ballots before
the election.
+LV¿QGLQJVGHWDLOHGDQLVVXHZLWK
distractions and multitasking. The
Maeve Kennedy
Grimes
Scott
Somers
proofreaders worked individually
rather than following the procedure of
reading out loud while another proof-
reader reads along, Somers said.
Altschul argues in the lawsuit that
Kennedy Grimes had a set protocol
with the election technician to take
turns reviewing each proposed ballot
and initial when the proof was ap-
proved. Somers never asked her to
document, change or update her pro-
cedure, the lawsuit states.
See LAWSUIT, Page 10A