AUTHORITIES PIECE TOGETHER ORLANDO KILLER’S MOVEMENTS PAGE 5A
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016
143RD YEAR, NO. 245
ONE DOLLAR
Director resigns from mental health agency
Top administrators
have stepped down
since critical reports
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Sumuer Watkins, the executive direc-
tor of Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, has
resigned, the second top administrator to
step down after an internal investigation
and a state review of the mental health
agency’s management.
The agency’s board of directors did
not offer an explanation for Watkins’
departure but said they hoped to name an
interim director soon. Sources say Wat-
kins, who has led the agency since 2012,
announced her resignation to colleagues
Tuesday and cited personal reasons.
Last week, Michele Crump-Hart, the
agency’s clinical director since 2014,
resigned by mutual agreement with
Watkins.
Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, the
county’s mental health contractor, has
been battered over the past year with crit-
icism about the quality of care and poor
leadership.
Several high-level professionals
resigned amid descriptions of low morale
and bad management. Union workers took
a “no conidence” vote against Crump-
Hart earlier this year and suggested
that the problems extended to other top
administrators.
The indings of an internal investi-
gation into management have not been
released publicly or disclosed to the
county.
See WATKINS, Page 10A
Sumuer Watkins
RESIDENTS DIG IN AGAINST
APARTMENT COMPLEX
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Jessica Smith appeared in Clatsop Coun-
ty Circuit Court with her lawyers for a
hearing Tuesday on her mental fitness.
Judge
rules Smith
competent
for trial
Ruling comes after
state hospital report
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Attorney David Noren, left, chats with his client Richard Krueger after the Clatsop County Planning Commission decided Tues-
day to postpone a decision on Krueger’s proposed Miles Crossing apartment complex.
Miles Crossing
project could
provide affordable
housing
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
R
esidents who live near a pro-
posed 168-unit apartment
complex in Miles Cross-
ing pressed the Clatsop County
Planning Commission Tuesday
to weigh the potential impact on
water, sewer and trafic.
Richard Krueger wants to
develop the Bella Ridge Apart-
ments on 10.4 acres between Lewis
and Clark Elementary School
and the Lewis and Clark Golf &
RV Resort. The project has been
praised as a much-needed source
of affordable housing, but neigh-
bors have objected.
Krueger wants the county to
change the zoning from rural com-
munity residential to rural commu-
nity multifamily residential and
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Bruce Francis, right, chairman of the Clatsop County Planning
Commission, listens to residents speak about the proposed
Miles Crossing development Tuesday at Astoria City Hall.
issue a conditional use permit.
With the Miles Crossing San-
itary Sewer District and Youngs
River Lewis and Clark Water Dis-
trict still gathering information on
the project, the Planning Commis-
sion put off a decision until July,
the second time the commission
has delayed a vote.
The commission also gave
the public an additional week to
comment.
sewer capacity long term for the
development.
David Noren, an attorney
speaking for Krueger, came to
the hearing with a letter to com-
missioners from the sewer dis-
trict’s Superintendent Bill Mitchell.
“There is suficient capacity for the
proposed 168 apartments and for
an additional 80 equivalent dwell-
ing units before the system reaches
the 85,000 (gallon) daily capacity
provided in our inter-governmen-
tal agreement with the city of Asto-
ria,” Mitchell wrote.
Nearby property owner James
Neikes said that by leaving room
for only 80 more housing units, the
development would unduly limit
future building on hundreds of lots.
Elena Miller, another resident,
said the local water district can’t
say how many future residents will
request water hookups and needs
to ensure existing residents have an
adequate water supply.
Enough water?
Chief among the concerns of
the residents who testiied against
the project Tuesday was whether
the region has enough water and
Too many cars, people
Neighbors fretted about the
A Clatsop County Circuit Court judge
determined Tuesday that accused murderer
Jessica Smith is competent to stand trial.
Judge Cindee Matyas accepted an Oregon
State Hospital report that concluded Smith is
able to aid and assist in her defense.
Matyas had said in previous court hearings
she did not observe any unusual behavior from
Smith, but still found reason to doubt her men-
tal itness based on a suicide attempt in jail and
an inconclusive report from court-appointed
psychologist Brooke Howard.
Howard found Smith suffers from post-trau-
matic stress disorder, but could not conclude
whether she is unable or unwilling to aid and
assist in her defense.
The psychologist recommended Smith
be sent to the state hospital, where she was
observed and evaluated in May. The 64-page
report from the state hospital was sent to the
court on Friday.
Based on the state hospital’s indings,
Smith’s defense lawyers Lynne Morgan and
William Falls withdrew their request for a hear-
ing to determine her itness to proceed.
Smith, 42, of Vancouver, Washington, is
accused of murdering her toddler and attempt-
ing to kill her teenager at a Cannon Beach
resort in 2014. She remains in custody in Clat-
sop County Jail, where she is off suicide watch
and in a regular jail cell.
At the court hearing Tuesday, District Attor-
ney Josh Marquis requested Clatsop County
Jail Dr. Roy Little be allowed to review the
reports from the state hospital and court-ap-
pointed psychologist to assist in Smith’s care
while she awaits trial in June 2017.
See COMPLEX, Page 10A
See SMITH, Page 10A
Warrenton Community Library looks for exit plan
Ideas for old
building,
new funding
discussed
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — Talks
have begun over the future of
the Warrenton Community
Library, a treasured place that
has outlived its usefulness and is
becoming a safety hazard.
At a joint work session Tues-
day, the City Commission and
the Library Board discussed a
vision for the library’s future
that may include moving opera-
tions from Hammond to a more
central location.
The board has long known
that the current spot cannot
meet the needs of modern users.
Housed in the former Ham-
mond Town Hall, the quaint,
historic building is a small,
tightly packed space with no
room to expand.
A recent inspection — which
noted the library’s uneven loors
and skewed walls that support a
settling roof — made clear an
exit plan is needed.
“For the most part, the build-
ing is sound,” Jim Byerly, the
city’s chief building oficial,
said. “It’s just not in a conigura-
tion that will stand there for very
much longer.”
In addition, the building has
Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian
The Warrenton Community Library.
substandard wiring in places, he
said. “It hasn’t degraded to the
point that it’s going to catch ire
yet. Yet.”
Byerly said these problems
could be ixed, but the foun-
dation would need to be fully
replaced, an onerous task that
would cost between $80,000
and $90,000, he estimated. “The
building itself is not worth that.”
It’s almost impossible to
know how long the library will
remain safe enough for patrons
to enjoy, he said.
“We could have a wind-
storm, or we could have heavy
rains supersaturate the soil, and
your footing just keeps sinking,”
he said. “It could be this week-
end, or it could be in a year.”
The situation hasn’t become
so dire that the library needs to
cease operations immediately,
he said, but it is time for the city
to consider the next step.
“Come this fall, when we
have our storm season, that’s the
See LIBRARY, Page 10A