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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2015)
Splashing through the weekend Astoria wins Andrew’s Meet PAGE 3A SPORTS • 7A 143rd YEAR, No. 119 MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2015 ONE DOLLAR At an Uppertown adult foster home, a crash course in responsibility Caregivers, police fear for woman’s safety By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Astoria Police are treating it as felony hit-and-run. A dark-colored sedan made a left turn from the Safeway parking lot on a late November afternoon and side- swiped a woman in a motorized wheel- chair who was in the crosswalk. Fortunately, Roberta Morgan survived the crash. Her history is even more re- markable. Morgan, 60, who lives at an Up- pertown adult foster home that nearly lost its state license this year, has been hit DWOHDVWHLJKWWLPHVVLQFH¿YHWLPHV this year alone. Caregivers and police fear for her safety, but Morgan, who is paralyzed on her left side from a stroke, is free to come and go from the adult foster home as she pleases under state rules that emphasize independence. The harrowing number of crashes, however, and reports that Morgan some- times drives her motorized wheelchair recklessly, are prompting questions about See FOSTER HOME, Page 10A Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Crews from Astoria Fire Department and Medix respond to an incident involving Roberta Morgan near Safeway on Friday. Hanukkah lights up the holidays SLIDES RULE Grant to help locals pay for 30-foot slide in McClure Park By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Allie Evans lights an oil candle on a menorah next to her son, Orrick Evans, during a Hanukkah celebration at the Goldeen residence Sunday. Jewish Festival of Lights ends tonight By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian T he growing bank of candlelight cast a warm yellow glow on the faces gathered around the table full of lit menorahs Sun- day night. One by one, people approached the table with their shammes lighting candles in hand. From right to left, like the Hebrew written language, they lit the eight branches of theirmenorahs, let- ting them burn during the second to last night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. The Lower Columbia River’s Jewish com- munity, which recently organized into the Beit Salmon Congregation, has been gathering for Ha- nukkah for more than 20 years. Watching over the lighting from the corner of her living room Sun- day was Ann Goldeen, president of Beit Salmon. McClure Park in Astoria isn’t much to look at: an old sycamore, a pair of picnic tables, a standard-issue double swing set, a better-than-noth- LQJLQ¿HOGIRUNLGV¶EDOOJDPHV²DOO tied together by an unremarkable JUDVV\¿HOG But a group of locals has secured the money to bring back one of the park’s fondly remembered features: DVOLGH²WKH¿UVWRIVHYHUDOFDSLWDO improvements planned for the once and future playground. The Oregon Community Foun- dation recently awarded a $15,000 grant to the Astoria Parks, Recre- ation and Community Foundation for use toward the Friends of Mc- &OXUH3DUNDQRQSUR¿WFRPSRVHGRI about 40 residents working to restore the site to its former glory. The friends group plans to use the entire amount to acquire and install the 30-foot plastic slide into the park’s southwest hillside by the end of July. The group has raised an additional $5,000 and plans to raise $12,000 more in the coming months to pay for stairsteps, landscaping, wood chips and other “safe-landing” components, according to David McElroy, the group’s project man- agement lead. The slide is just the beginning, however. The Friends of McClure Park has devised a project plan that, if com- pleted, will yield a public place that IXO¿OOV WKH ³QDWXUDO SDUN FRQFHSW´ Both the manicured grounds and the play equipment will appear shaped from environmental elements. “We want the local residents to be able to come out there and relieve their stress and relieve their minds in a natural setting,” McElroy said. The plan includes an overhauled ball-game area, an upgraded swing set, soccer nets, a raised-tree deck, log-balance walks and safety fenc- ing. The slide will be the centerpiece. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian See HANUKKAH, Page 10A Children play with dreidels during a Hanukkah celebration Sunday. See GRANT, Page 10A New county inspector enjoying coastal lifestyle After trying for 10 years, Samples is setting sail here T im Samples’ move to Asto- ria has been 10 years in the making. Clatsop County’s new elec- trical inspector sold his house in Salem in 2005 with the intent of moving to Astoria, but every job he accepted over the past decade took him farther east. He worked as an electrician in The Dalles, did inspection work for the city of La Grande and taught electrical appren- ticeship at Blue Mountain Community College in Pend- leton. He joined Clatsop County last month. “It’s the end of a 10-year journey to get here,” Samples said. Samples’ interest in sailing is what drew him to the coast. He recalls watching the movie “Captain Ron,” and wanting to sail. He started sailing in 2004. “I think Astoria is the best sailing location on the West Coast,” Samples said. “You have the Columbia River so you can sail without the ocean waves, but if you want to, you can go out into the ocean.” Samples’ career in electrical work started after he served as an electrician in the U.S. Air )RUFHIRUPRUHWKDQ¿YH\HDUV He went on to own his own business, Maritime Electric, in The Dalles. Having a background in both private and public work is an advantage for Samples, Clatsop County Community Development Director Heather Hanson said. Kyle Spurr/The Daily Astorian See SAMPLES, Page 5A New electrical inspector for Clatsop County, Tim Samples, loves that the job is different every day.
