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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2015)
New life for ‘old church’ Friday night football! NORTH COAST • 3A SPORTS • 7A 143rd YEAR, No. 44 MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 ONE DOLLAR Relay racers defy the elements to cross the line Hood to Coast teams battle high winds, rain By. R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Early Saturday af- ternoon, sun tentatively peered out in Seaside after a morning of rain, wind and bluster. The tally of Hood to Coast Relay funds raised to ¿ght cancer was more than $500,000, but only the runners knew how hard those dollars had been earned. “We actually saw a tree crack in half,” runner Travis Huntington said after the race. “The true Oregonian spirit came out.” Teams started at Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood, about 90 miles southeast of Portland. The ¿rst runners hit the gate Friday at 5 a.m., and teams followed until about 4:15 Friday afternoon. Racers headed westward through Portland, Scappoose, St. Helens, Mist and Jewell before heading into the ¿nal legs and ¿nish in Seaside. More than a thousand teams of eight and 12 runners participated in the 198-mile course. Waiting were 3,600 volunteers, merchants, family members and fans. While the beach was closed to runners and spectators because of the day’s high winds, that didn’t bother the ¿nishers. “The winds came up, then the rains started and it became real- ly fun,” Matt Garnett of Madison, Wisc., said after the race. This was the 10th Hood to Coast in a row for Matt Garnett’s group, Smith defense opposes pick By DANI PALMER EO Media Group Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Visitors walk up the hill near the uncovered Astoria Column Sunday. Summer storm blows cover off Astoria Column By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian I Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian A roadblock blocked access to the Astoria Column Sunday. MORE STORM COVERAGE INSIDE Turn to Page 10A to read about how the Coast Guard kept busy as the Saturday storm rushed over the North Coast. The storm packed wind speeds that spiked higher than 80 mph. See STORM, Page 10A See RUN, Page 4A Alleged killer rejects state psychologist GONE WITH THE WIND t looked like a calamity atop Coxcomb Hill Saturday morn- ing as gale-force winds ripped the white cover off the Astoria Column, exposing the scaffolding built for the landmark’s ongoing restoration. But, to the restoration team, the sight meant that everything was going according to plan. In fact, Project Director Marie Laibinis and Safway Services Inc., the scaffolding company, knew the storm was coming — and pre- pared for it. On Friday, Laibinis and her crew secured the scaffolding level by level, adding additional ties to the top area and removing note- books, paint buckets and other materials that could Ày away. Laibinis arrived at the Col- umn at around 6 a.m. Saturday and took wind-velocity measure- ments, which registered only 20 mph at that point. She summoned which included members from Seattle, Portland, Minnesota and Utah. Garnett said during his run he thought about stopping only brieÀy, but then realized “all the cars were going in the same direction. “It was crazy. The winds were insane. Peo- ple were really earning it.” A state-appointed psychologist lacks proper credentials to examine alleged killer Jessica Smith, her at- torney said Fri- day. Smith, of Goldendale, Wash., ap- peared in Clat- sop County Circuit Court shackled and in a blue jumpsuit. She is accused of aggravated Jessica murder and at- Smith tempted aggra- vated murder for allegedly drugging and murdering her daughter, Isabella Smith, 2, and attempting to kill her older daughter, Alana Smith, 13, in a Cannon Beach hotel in July 2014. William Falls, Smith’s attorney, asked the judge to oppose the state’s request for a mental health evalu- ation with Dr. Paul Guastadisegni, a Portland-based psychologist, be- cause he is not quali¿ed under new state standards to evaluate a criminal defendant. “It’s not the evaluation, it’s the evaluator,” Falls told Judge Cindee Matyas. Falls said he is not opposed to a state evaluation as long as the de- fense can participate in the process with a certi¿ed evaluator. In any case, Falls said he would direct Smith not to answer any questions about her state of mind at the time of the murder and attempted murder. The defense has already indicat- ed it may seek to prove Smith acted with diminished capacity as a result of postpartum depression. District Attorney Josh Marquis said he did not believe defense claims applied in this case. Marquis added he was disap- pointed the defense had waited until the appearance date to make an ob- jection. A letter stating the district attorney’s of¿ce expected to call Guastadisegni as an expert witness was sent ¿ve weeks ago, he said. See SMITH, Page 10A Commander works to keep waterways open Firestine ran the effort to remove Fennica protestors A couple weeks into her new job as response chief for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Sector Columbia River, Cmdr. Rosemary Firestine found herself coordinating an oper- ation to remove activists amid one of the higher-pro¿le pro- tests in recent memory. As the incident command- er, Firestine coordinated all levels of government in an effort to clear the Willamette River and St. Johns Bridge of activists protesting the ice- breaker Fennica, which was leaving after being repaired in Portland’s Vigor Shipyards. Fennica was en route to sup- port Shell Oil Co.’s drilling rig Polar Pioneer in its explo- ration for oil in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska. Protesters with Green- peace suspended themselves in climbing harnesses from the St. Johns Bridge late last month in an effort to block the Fennica from leaving. Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian See FIRESTINE, Page 4A Cmdr. Rosemary Firestine is the operations chief for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Sector Co- lumbia River.