Astoria girls
score win
Fishing on the North
Fork Nehalem River
SPORTS • 3A
FRIDAY EXTRA • 1C
143rd YEAR, No. 137
ONE DOLLAR
FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 • WEEKEND EDITION
Oregon LNG refi les case against Army Corps
Company says decision is to ‘maintain its legal options’
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
2regon L1G re¿ led a legal com-
plaint against the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers on Wednesday to se-
cure property on Warrenton’s Ski-
panon Peninsula, where the energy
company wants to build a liTue¿ ed
natural gas facility but where the
Corps holds an easement to deposit
dredging spoils.
Oregon LNG said in a release that
the move is to “maintain its legal op-
tions,” and that the company is “con-
¿ dent we can resolve this issue in a
constructive manner.”
In a modi¿ ed version of the
complaint Oregon LNG withdrew
last week, the company alleges that
around 2002, the Army Corps, “ex-
pressly and unequivocally” relin-
quished the easement property and
any right or title to, or interest in, the
property “as documented by a per-
son with appropriate authority” to
abandon it.
VETERANS ON THE MOVE
The company claims that, from
2004 to 2009, the Army Corps knew
of the energy company’s intention to
develop the facility, participated in
the development process, but did not
reassert its ownership claim on the
property until 2009 .
See LNG, Page 8A
OK to
stand
trial?
Judge postpones
decision on Smith’s
mental state in
toddler murder trial
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Kenneth Lehman drives the Disabled American Veterans van along U.S. H ighway 26 toward the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland
on Wednesday.
Van for veterans with medical appointments needs drivers
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
A
t 7 a.m. almost every weekday morning,
a passenger van streaked with stars and
stripes leaves a parking lot west of the Asto-
ria Burger King to take local veterans to hospitals,
run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, for
much-needed medical treatment.
Driven by volunteers working for Disabled
American Veterans, a veterans advocacy and assis-
tance group, the van picks up anywhere from one to
eight veterans at stops along U.S. highways 101, 26
or 30, en route to Portland, Hillsboro or Vancouver,
Washington. Once there, the veterans — some with
severe physical impairments and psychological is-
sues — receive care for conditions that range from
low-risk to life-threatening.
Because many lack transportation options, the
veterans depend on the free service to see their phy-
sicians.
But van drivers are in short supply.
“The main issue is, most of us that can volun-
teer to work Monday through Friday are older re-
tired people, and we tend to have our own medical
See VETERANS, Page 8A
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Kenneth Lehman, right, a driver of the Disabled American Veterans van, waits in the
parking lot across from Burger King for passengers Wednesday morning. The van can
fit up to nine passengers.
Clatsop County Circuit Court
Judge Cindee Matyas will take a week
to determine if Jessica Smith is men-
tally ¿ t to proceed in her criminal trial.
Smith, 42, is accused of drugging
and murdering her toddler and at-
tempting to kill her teenager in Cannon
Beach in July
2014.
Her defense
lawyers say she
suffers from a
mental disease
and is un¿ t to
move forward.
The defense is
asking the court
for a competen-
cy examination
Jessica
of Smith and
Smith
then a determi-
nation of Smith’s ¿ tness to proceed.
At a court hearing Thursday , Judge
Matyas said she was surprised to see
the defense’s request at such a late
stage in the criminal case. The trial is
scheduled for late June.
She agreed to set another hearing
for Thursday to make her determina-
tion.
In the meantime, Matyas requested
to review a report from the defense’s
psychiatrist, Elizabeth Howell, and
video of the state’s psychologist Paul
Guastadisegni meeting with Smith last
month.
Matyas must agree that Smith’s
mental state has deteriorated to the
point where she is unable to aid and
assist in her own case.
“With all due respect. I don’t know
if I’m there yet,” Matyas said. “I want
some examples or details.”
Defense lawyer Lynne Morgan
and co-counsel William Falls are
planning to use a diminished-capac-
ity defense.
See TRIAL, Page 8A
Developer plans Miles Crossing apartments
Project could include more than 164 units
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Developer Richard Krueger is
planning a large apartment complex
in the Miles Crossing neighborhood
that could help address a lack of af-
fordable rental housing.
The Astoria School Board voted
Wednesday to provide Krueger a
letter of support as he seeks coun-
ty approval for the project between
Lewis and Clark Elementary School
and Lewis and Clark Golf & RV Re-
sort.
“I’m in the preliminary process,”
Krueger said of the project, adding
the proposed apartments could in-
clude between 164 and 168 units
phased in over time.
Krueger is having a community
needs and traf¿ c impact analysis per-
formed, and said he plans on going
in front of the Clatsop County Plan-
ning Commission in the next month
or so to seek approval.
See APARTMENTS, Page 8A
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Developer Richard Krueger is exploring a possible apartment complex on a piece of property in Miles Crossing next to Lewis and Clark Elementary School.