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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2015)
INSIDE coast weekend The Little Ballet Theater presents Astoria Winter Sports Previews The its 41st production of .... Nutcracker PAGES 8A & 9A 143rd YEAR, No. 112 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015 ONE DOLLAR Judge crafts compromise in probation dispute Prosecutors and probation of¿ ce at odds over early release By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian A Clatsop County Circuit Court ruling carves out a compromise for those on felony probation who are eligible for early release from super- vision. Judge Philip Nelson ruled that eli- gible defendants will serve their entire probation sentence, but can be released early from the supervision of Clatsop Community Corrections, the county division that oversees probation. “Defendants are still subject to probation conditions even though they may no longer be required to report to the probation of¿ ce or keep Created as reward a probation of¿ cer aware of their ad- dress and employment,” Nelson con- cluded in his written opinion cover- ing four different cases. The decision is in response to the Clatsop County District Attorney’s Of¿ ce challenging a state law that allows early release for complying with certain conditions. The earned discharge process, created by the state Legislature in 2013, rewards people who have paid their restitution and completed treat- ment programs. If someone meets the require- ments, their probation sentence could be cut in half. For Clatsop County, Nelson ruled that supervision can indeed be cut in half, but not the probation sentence. The District Attorney’s Of¿ ce was the ¿ rst in the state to bring the issue before a court. Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron %rown said the of¿ ce was con- cerned the law gives probation of¿ - cers more authority over sentences than judges or prosecutors. See JUDGE, Page 10A ILWACO 48, WARRENTON 47 SEASON TIPS OFF Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Red Kite Rising founder Jennifer Bou- man-Steagall speaks during her lecture about workplace bullying Wednesday. The lecture covered the differences be- tween bullying and harassment, types of bullies and creating a positive work environment. Beating back the bullies at work Attorney advises business leaders on curbing hurtful employee behavior By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Warrenton’s Tyler Whitaker, No. 4, puts up a shot while being defended by Ilwaco’s Zac Tapio, No. 2, during the first quarter of the basketball game at Ilwaco (Wash.) High School Wednesday. Last-second comeback propels Ilwaco win in basketball opener I The Daily Astorian LWACO, Wash. — Warrenton’s 7-point lead with four minutes left did not stand up Wednesday night at Ilwaco, as the Fishermen rallied from a 7-0 de¿ cit to score a season-opening 48-47 win over the Warriors in nonleague boys basketball. Warrenton missed a shot with 32 seconds left, Ilwaco made a go-ahead free throw with 18 seconds remaining, and the Warriors mis¿ red on a 3-pointer as time ran out. “We played well, we just didn’t ¿ nish,” said Warrenton coach Nate McBride. “We were down 10 points in the ¿ rst See OPENER, Page 10A Ilwaco’s James Schenk, No. 11, passes while colliding with Warrenton’s Tyler Whitaker, No. 4, Wednesday at IHS. At the faintest whiff of bullying in the workplace, a company needs to crack down on the problem before it erodes employee morale, retards staff productivity, under- mines the organization’s values and triggers a lawsuit. That’s the advice Jennifer Bouman-Stea- gall, an employment law defense attorney, gave a roomful of business leaders during a luncheon at Buoy Beer Co . on Wednesday. Presented by Lower Columbia Human Re- sources Management Association, her talk, “Workplace Bullies: Control Them Before They Destroy You!,” examined the many forms that workplace bullying can take, and how it can hurt employee performance and the company’s bottom line. An Oregon bill (which died in commit- tee during the last session de¿ ned bullying as “any persistent verbal or physical act of an employer or employee, unrelated to the employer’s legitimate business interests, that a reasonable person would ¿ nd threat- ening, intimidating, humiliating, hostile or offensive.” Bullying can occur between a superior and a subordinate, between co-workers, and See BULLIES, Page 10A Gearhart to bypass short-term rental survey Rules ahead, just don’t call them ‘restrictions’ By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Councilors Sue Lorain and Dan Jesse at the Gearhart City Council meeting Wednesday. Gearhart councilors reversed course Wednesday night and scrapped plans for a short-term rental survey among residents. The survey, which would have been inserted in wa- ter bills, was to determine the public’s inclina- tion to regulate short-term housing rentals. Of the city’s 1,200 homes with water con- nections, more than 80 are used for short-term rentals, City Manager Chad Sweet said in a 1ovember analysis. Thirty-¿ ve of those allow for occupancy of 10 or more. “I don’t think the poll will do any good at this point,” Mayor Dianne Widdop said. “It’s not going to accomplish anything. People who have vacation rentals in their neighborhood will possibly respond to it. People who don’t have vacation rentals in their neighborhood — I see totally apathy.” Widdop said the poll would likely be inter- preted in different ways without providing real guidance for the council. “Right now it’s more important we go home and start working on regulations, some things we want to do going forward, so we can have things set up for the summer rental season,” Widdop said. North Marion Avenue homeowner Laurie Whittemore asked councilors to adopt educa- tional tools rather than regulation. See RENTAL, Page 10A