3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
Dune grading appeal denied
Commission
upholds sand
removal permit
By LYRA FONTAINE
The Daily Astorian
CANNON BEACH — The
Cannon Beach Planning Com-
mission rejected an appeal of
an administrative decision to
allow remedial sand removal
at the Breakers Point condo-
minium development.
“I think there are a lot of
erroneous information pieces
in (Oregon Coast Alliance’s)
request to modify the condi-
tions of our permit,” Break-
ers Point Homeowners Asso-
ciation representative Bruce
Francis said at last week’s
public hearing. “I urge you to
uphold it as written.”
In July, the city approved
the homeowners association’s
request for remedial dune
grading from the lawns and
irrigation systems in between
two units.
In August, Oregon Coast
Alliance contested the city’s
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
Bruce Francis, property manager of the Breakers Point
Homeowners Association, tromps through European
dune grass that has trapped windblown sand west of
Breakers Point.
decision to issue the permit.
The nonproit organization
stated that the permit lacked
compliance with zoning
code, sand-inundation proof,
sand-volume estimates, a time
frame and impact on the Ecola
Creek estuary.
Francis said the amount of
sand to be removed is 10 to 20
cubic yards and that he marked
the sand location in the appli-
cation. “I don’t see why that’s
not speciic enough,” he said.
“This is all sand that’s
within the property constraints
of Breakers Point,” property
owner Frank Patrick said. “It
blew all over the lawn and
we’re just trying to ix it.”
According to the staff
report,
municipal
code
includes a time frame for the
project: a development permit
will be null and void if work
has not started within 180 days
of its issuance or if work is
abandoned for more than 180
days after work has started.
“I think some of the ideas
(Oregon Coast Alliance) pre-
sented are good but I don’t
think they necessarily have
to do with this permit,” Plan-
ning Commissioner Lisa
Kerr said.
The remedial dune-grad-
ing permit is a fairly com-
mon permit that many in Can-
non Beach have, City Planner
Mark Barnes said. Some per-
mits are renewed annually
to take sand off porches or
backyards.
The remedial dune-grad-
ing permit states that the sand
will be disposed on an erod-
ing section of the Ecola Creek
shoreline near the southwest
corner of the property. Con-
ditions include that all areas
left bare of vegetation should
be stabilized and revegetated.
The proposal is not expected
to negatively affect adjacent
properties.
The commission could
revisit the issue after the city’s
ongoing
sand-management
plan is inished.
State sued to block placement
of children in hotels, ofices
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A federal law-
suit iled Tuesday to stop the
state Department of Human
Services from placing foster
children temporarily in hotels
and ofices alleges the prac-
tice inlicts emotional trauma
on kids and violates their civil
rights.
The lawsuit, iled in U.S.
District Court in Portland on
behalf of two children repre-
sented by a temporary court
guardian, alleges the depart-
ment denied them due process
and violated both federal and
state civil rights laws.
The plaintiffs seek class
action status for the lawsuit,
which would extend the com-
plaint to similarly placed foster
children.
The lawsuit also criticizes
the evidently recent trend of
the state placing more of its
charges in hotels, and what
plaintiffs characterize as the
department’s broader history
of “placement instability” for
many children in its care.
“The state has removed
these children from their homes
despite not having any home
to move them to,” the law-
suit states in an introduction.
“As experts in the ield agree,
the state’s practice of render-
ing foster children functionally
homeless is unconscionable. It
is also unlawful.”
A Department of Human
Services
spokeswoman,
Andrea Cantu-Schomus, said
in an email Tuesday that the
department does not comment
on pending litigation.
Department oficials have
previously said that the number
of available beds for children
and youth in the substitute care
system has decreased in recent
years.
At least 63 children have
been placed in hotels in 2016,
with the vast majority of them
— 60 — placed since June,
according to the lawsuit.
Obligation to children
The lawsuit claims the
department failed to meet its
obligation to the two children,
who are protected under the
Americans with Disabilities
Act, the Rehabilitation Act and
Oregon’s anti-discrimination
statute because of their respec-
tive mental health diagnoses.
Both Ed Johnson, an attor-
ney for the Oregon Law Center,
and Angela Sherbo, an attor-
ney for Youth Rights Justice
Partnership, referred inquiries
about the lawsuit to Richard
Vangelisti, the plaintiffs’ guard-
ian ad litem.
Vangelisti represents two
children, ages 4 and 6, as a tem-
porary guardian in the civil
rights matters raised in the
lawsuit.
The 4-year-old, who has
been diagnosed with adjust-
ment disorder, was removed
from a foster home after more
than two years there, after she
State of Oregon
Director Clyde Saiki, Oregon Department of Human Services.
had “very severe meltdowns”
or “rages.”
The 6-year-old, who,
according to the lawsuit,
entered state care after repeated
reports of abuse by her mother,
suffers from several disor-
ders, including post-traumatic
stress, anxiety and adjustment
disorders.
She was placed in at least
eight different locations and
had at least 20 caregivers in her
irst two months of state cus-
tody, according to the lawsuit.
Reiterating the claims of the
lawsuit, Vangelisti said Tues-
day that the condition of the
children was likely to be exac-
erbated by the impermanency
of their living arrangements.
“Obviously, children in fos-
ter care are some of the most
vulnerable children in our
society, and it’s likely that per-
haps as much as 75 percent of
children who are not placed
are suffering from some kind
of emotional, behavioral or
cognitive problem,” Vange-
listi said. “And so when DHS
chooses not to put them in
placement with a family mem-
ber, relative, caregiver or cer-
tiied foster home, and then,
in turn, put them in a hotel or
an ofice, it exacerbates those
underlying problems that the
children have.”
Underreported
Vangelisti said that it’s pos-
sible that the number of Ore-
gon children in these short-term
placements is underreported,
based on information the state
has released publicly and on
news reports this summer.
The lawsuit states another
child — not a plaintiff in the
lawsuit — was placed in a
juvenile detention facility in
Deschutes County for almost a
month, despite having no crim-
inal charges, and that the Wash-
ington County DHS branch
converted part of its visita-
tion center in the district ofice
so children could stay there
overnight.
Further, the lawsuit claims
that based on state data, chil-
dren in DHS care have also
stayed in hospitals longer than
they needed to because the
agency could not ind an appro-
priate place for them to stay.
Spaces such as hotels and
DHS ofices are not certiied
by the department, unlike foster
homes, agencies or residential
facilities, and in so doing the
agency “is not holding itself to
the standards it imposes upon
others caring for children,” the
lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also claims that
the plaintiffs approached the
department about the issue and
tried to avoid iling litigation.
An attorney or attorneys
for the children sent a letter
to DHS on Aug. 16 about the
issue, asking to meet to “dis-
cuss possible solutions” before
Aug. 25.
Clyde Saiki, the agency’s
director, responded, but it’s not
clear from the lawsuit what he
said. In turn, plaintiffs’ counsel
wrote to Saiki again, “empha-
sizing the urgency of the
matter.”
A meeting was proposed by
Dr. Reginald Richardson, the
deputy director of the depart-
ment, for Aug. 24, but was can-
celed, according to the lawsuit.
Vangelisti said he was not
present at meetings between the
attorneys and department repre-
sentatives, but that the agency
has been “cooperative.”
“I understand that DHS, in
meeting with the lawyers who
represent me, that DHS has
been cooperative and that those
meetings have been productive,
but that at the end of the day, we
didn’t reach any sort of agree-
ment as to what should be done
in terms of the practice,” Van-
gelisti said.
Intense scrutiny
The department is trying to
turn its child welfare program
around after more than a year
of intense scrutiny, after revela-
tions of abuse in foster care and
agency failures to adequately
respond to allegations of abuse.
Kids in Oregon’s substitute
care systems are abused at rates
higher than many other states,
according to federal data.
Pelican
Brewing
Company is
Consult a
Professional
W ill I have to
Roby’s Q: assem
b le m y
Furniture & Appliance
Store H ours
M on. - Fri. 9:30 to 5:30
Saturday 10:00 to 5:00
M ore Loca tions:
Tillam ook • (503) 842-7111
1126 M ain Ave
Lincoln C ity • (541) 996-2177
6255 SW H w y. 101
N ew port • (541) 265-9520
5111 N . C oast H w y.
Florence • (541)997-8214
18th & H w y. 101
Amanda Cordero
Northwest Wild Products
Fresh Seafood Market
354 Industry St, Astoria
503-791-1907
Daily 9 am- 7 pm
On the docks of the West Mooring
Basin, by the Riverwalk Inn
Q:
astoriasundaymarket.com
Now through Oct.16
12th Street • 10am to 3pm
About seven years
ago, the Market
decided to extend its
season to close on the same
day as the Great Columbia
Crossing. Most years this
lands on the 2nd Sunday
in October. This year, the
Crossing is taking place a
week later than usual so we
decided to extend one more
week to ensure a festive-
looking town for the 2000+
participants! Our last day is
October 16 this season.
Q: How can I best use
the Start window in
Windows 10?
LEO FINZI
Astoria’s
Best
Come check out our
BEAUTIFUL new
locatioån in the
Pier 11 Mall .
M-F 10-6 Sat 12-5
77 11th Street, Suite H
503-325-2300
it up. Right click
A: 1. tiles Clean
you don’t use, & choose
“Unpin from Start.” That will
remove the app from the start
window, but not uninstall it.
2. Add the programs you DO use
often to the Start Menu. Click
“All Apps,” scroll to the app
you use frequently. Right click
the app, and choose “Pin to
Start”
3. Organize the Start Menu. A)
Right click a tile and resize it
to your liking B) Hold down
the left click on your mouse
and drag the tile where you
want it.
Medicare
Q: Does
cover chiropractic
care?
it does!
A : Yes,
Medicare covers
ASTORIA
Tip Share, Medical Benefi ts, 401K Savings Plan
Ba rry S ea rs , D.C .
APPLY IN PERSON ANYTIME AT:
1371 SW Hemlock, Cannon Beach
OR SEND YOUR RESUME TO:
Employment@Pelicanbrewing.com
503 -3 25-3 3 11
2935 M a rin e Drive,
As to ria , Orego n
chiropractic services.
If you have secondary
insurance, that can help as
well!
Call us today for more
information or to schedule
your appointment.
Now accepting new patients.
is Medicare
Q: What
Open Enrollment?
www.yourlittlebeachtown.com/employment
is the period of time
A: This
when anyone with a red,
Stefanie Cao
Medicare
Market Manager
Chris Palmer
503-738-8400 • 1580 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside
Why is Astoria
Sunday Market
running later in
the year?
A:
CHIROPRACT I C
www.campbellpopkin.com
People say this because
shellfish tend to spawn
between May and
August, which can make them
weaker, smaller and less lavorful.
However, it is perfectly safe to
eat shellfish during these warmer
months. Recent developments in
triploid aquaculture have made
oysters an exception to the “R”
rule. Triploid oysters have only
three sets of chromosomes, so
instead of wasting energy trying
to reproduce they grow plump and
meatier. This same technology
is used to bring us seedless
watermelons and bananas.
A:
Dawn McIntosh rejoins Campbell & Popkin
Dawn McIntosh
Most wood furniture
products require
assembly prior to delivery.
Our delivery service at
Roby’s includes assembly of
your furniture prior to
delivery. Our delivery service
also includes complimentary
removal of your old furniture
if necessary.
Why do some
say to only eat
shellish in months
with an “R” in them?
Hosts, Bussers, Servers
Line Cooks & Dishwashers
Judge-elect Dawn McIntosh has rejoined Campbell &
Popkin to work closely with Chris Palmer, in whom
she has great conidence. Dawn and Chris are both
well-known for skillfully representing clients in di-
vorce, seperation, custody and other family law mat-
ters. Campbell & Popkin also provides services in
business law, litigation, real estate, estate planning and
probate. Dawn and Chris are both taking new clients.
A :
Q:
NOW
HIRING
YEAR ROUND POSTIONS
fu rn itu re w hen
it is d elivered ?
A storia • (503)325-1535
1555 C om m ercial Street
www.careoregonadvantage.org
white and blue Medicare
card can shop around for
Medicare coverage. It runs
October 15 to December 7
each year. You can enroll in
a Part D drug plan or Part C
Medicare Advantage plan, or
go back to Original Medicare.
It’s your chance to look at your
plan’s 2017 benefi ts and make
sure your coverage still meets
your health needs and budget.