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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 Marine: Moratoriam allows time to study funding, move Local impact Heroin surge Criminal activity related to heroin abuse, in particular, has surged. In southern Oregon’s Jose- phine County, for example, 2010 saw only four heroin-re- lated prosecutions; by 2014 there were 237, the Daily Courier newspaper reported last week. Several efforts are under- way in the county to deal with the problem, including a “sobering center” established in a former warehouse that provides a safe place for peo- ple getting off addictive sub- stances, and a treatment cen- ter that will offer methadone and support programs. The Oregon law enforce- ment groups noted in a state- ment that drug possession often results in felony convic- tions, which “include unin- tended and collateral conse- quences including barriers to housing and employment and a disparate impact on minority communities.” Convicted users should instead be given individual- ized, mandated treatment, the groups said. “Then they drive their students to school, creat- ing more congestion and not allowing kids to walk safely in that trafic around the school,” Fry said. She and McDowell are encouraging Seaside to par- ticipate in the international Walk and Bike to School Day on Wednesday. This will be a way for them to “gauge the interest from the parents in this idea … to see if the Safe Routes to School pro- gram would be viable here,” Fry said. As the program’s funding comes from federal tax dol- lars that are received by each state’s transportation depart- ment, Seaside has contrib- uted over the years to putting in more sidewalks in Hood River, Portland, Eugene, Redmond, Bend and Corval- lis, to name a few, McDow- ell said. “We’ve provided money for them to put sidewalks in their towns,” he added. “I think it’s time we put some sidewalks in our town.” Continued from Page 1A requesting anything from the district at this time, but he eventually will need a school representative to be on the action plan development team. The representative can help identify “where our real problem issues are” and what areas should be the irst to receive sidewalks, McDow- ell said. The team also will include Shasia Fry, the transportation options specialist for North West Transportation Options, who shared with the school board how the Safe Routes to School program promotes healthy lifestyles, environ- mental awareness, safety and trafic relief. Distance, trafic fears In 1969, substantially more students were walking or biking to school than were being driven; now the situ- ation has lip-lopped, she said. Parents identiied dis- tance and fear of trafic as the two main issues. • ES I OR SERVICE • A TV S • Work with governor L EW AN 1035 SE MARLIN WARRENTON (Located next to Les Schwab) (503) 861-2636 | www.LandDRaceTech.com D US E D The groups said that they’re committed to work with Gov. Kate Brown, lawmakers and prosecutors “to craft a more thoughtful approach to drug possession when it is the only crime committed.” The governor’s press sec- retary said Brown is “pursu- ing policy changes to advance equity and fairness in Oregon’s criminal justice system.” “The recommendation made by the Oregon sheriffs N Astoria Police Oficer A.J. Duryea has become a top oficer for drunken-driving arrests. He has made between 15 to 25 arrests per year since joining the department in 2012. Obvious indicators of a drunken driver are when the able to get the treatment they need,” Workman said. Clatsop County Sher- iff Tom Bergin, however, said he does not agree with the recommendation. “If you keep lowering these crimes, pretty soon you are not going to have the accountabil- ity in the system,” Bergin said. “It’s a social experiment that is probably not good for the citi- zens of Oregon.” and police chiefs is the type of innovative approach to crim- inal justice reform that Gov. Brown supports,” press secre- tary Bryan Hockaday said in an email to The Associated Press. The American Civil Lib- erties Union of Oregon also applauded the stance taken by the sheriffs and police chiefs groups. “We are encouraged that Oregon law enforcement rec- ognize that harsh drug laws have been a failure, wasting taxpayer money and dispropor- tionately impacting commu- nities of color,” said Kimberly McCullough, legislative direc- tor at the ACLU of Oregon. David Rogers, executive director at the ACLU of Ore- gon, noted that when someone is charged with a felony drug crime it can prevent access to housing, employment, educa- tion and more. The sheriffs’ and police chiefs’ associations said lim- ited criminal justice resources should be focused on address- ing violent crime and property crime. CYCLES OR OT ‘People make mistakes’ Failure to appear Having so many out-of- county residents charged with drunken driving in Clat- sop County creates a logisti- cal problem of having them appear for their court dates and treatment programs. Marquis said failure to appear rates are high for those from outside the county. In addition, defense lawyers can have a dificult time track- ing down their clients and witnesses. “If someone is local, it’s less of an issue,” Marquis said. After being arrested in Seaside two years ago, Blaine was charged with driving under the inluence of intoxicants, reckless driv- ing and reckless endanger- ing. He was sentenced to pro- bation, which he violated last year for not showing up to an evaluation with a probation oficer. Blaine’s case is typical, Marquis said. Visitors often come to the coast, stay in a hotel, have some drinks and go out on the town. Unlike other tourists, Blaine made the poor choice of driving under the inluence. It was his third arrest in less than three years. “People like to come here and enjoy themselves,” Mar- quis said. “Most people enjoy themselves responsibly.” Continued from Page 1A Seaside: ‘I think it’s time we put some sidewalks in our town’ M Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis said arrested visitors end up using local resources, including police, prosecutors, probation oficers, treatment providers and jail staff. “The citizens of Clat- sop County, who pay taxes, are subsidizing visitors in ways that go beyond just our streets,” Marquis said. The Daily Astorian requested the drunken-driv- ing data to get a snapshot of the caseload at the District Attorney’s Ofice, which has traditionally handled the most serious prosecutions. Mis- demeanor DUIIs in Astoria had been referred to the city’s Municipal Court until last year, when the City Coun- cil transferred the responsi- bility to Marquis and Circuit Court after a protracted pub- lic debate. So far this year, of the 256 drunken-driving cases iled with the District Attor- ney’s Ofice, 40.6 percent are visitors. Astoria had a reputation as a hard-drinking port, and Sea- side and the other beach cities had been a magnet for vaca- tioners, well before the tour- ism boom of the past decade. But some of the ingredi- ents behind the increase in tourism, like the popular- ity of craft beer and stylish new restaurants, are tied to drinking. According to Travel Ore- gon, visitors to Clatsop County spent $539.6 million in 2015. “The very things that have attributed to a renaissance, particularly in Astoria, but also Clatsop County, draw more people here,” Marquis said. vehicle weaves, crosses the centerline or the headlights are off at night. Another sign is when a driver, after being stopped, fumbles with their registration and insurance more than usual or hands over a credit card instead of a driv- er’s license. “That’s some- thing all oficers are trained on. It’s called dificulty pre- senting documents,” Duryea said. Often times, Duryea said, people are cooperative and know they made a mistake. “Most people that get arrested made a mistake and that’s the way it is,” he said. “People make mistakes. It doesn’t mean they are bad people. They just made a mistake and made a bad decision.” Drug rules: Criminal activity related to heroin has surged in Oregon ES S Continued from Page 1A The Daily Astorian/File Photo Representatives from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, its governing body the Environmental Quality Commission and Gov. Kate Brown’s office met in Astoria last year to see the progress on the environmental cleanup of Astoria Marine Construction Company. The company’s large, covered work space could have to be torn down to reach contaminated soils underneath. SALES • A CC DUIIs: So far, 256 drunken-driving cases have been iled this year the Skipanon Peninsula in Warren- ton. Jim Knight, the Port’s execu- tive director, had also sent a white paper detailing the local need for a shipyard like Astoria Marine. Most of the contamination at the site comes from when the 90-year- old shipyard was constructing wooden minesweepers for the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Since then, the com- pany has primarily serviced ish- ing boats. Astoria Marine had faced listing as a federal Superfund cleanup site. Clatsop County Commissioner Dirk Rohne had said the local gov- erning body had worked to get state oversight of the cleanup to have more inluence over the process. In 2012, the U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency transferred cleanup oversight to the state. E Today, Kevin Leahy, the exec- utive director of CEDR, called the state’s letter “huge news.” Tim Fastabend, of Astoria Marine, could not immediately be reached for comment. The approved cleanup plan includes capping contaminated soil at the shipyard and removing con- taminated sediment from the ship- ways at an estimated cost of more than $2 million. Astoria Marine representatives have said the plan will result in the closure of the shipyard, which repairs many of the region’s ishing vessels. Leahy had sent a letter to the state asking for the reprieve, say- ing the shipyard’s closure would be a major blow to the region’s economy. Denise Löfman, director of the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce and a member of the community advisory group over- seeing cleanup options for Astoria Marine, had sent a letter saying the pollution was isolated and does not affect surrounding property or the Lewis and Clark River. Leahy’s letter said a morato- rium on the closure would allow local partners to explore the costs, funding needs and options for mov- ing a service like Astoria Marine to a short-term or permanent loca- tion while the business continues operating. The Port of Astoria has been looking at the feasibility of mov- ing the agency’s Pier 3 boatyard — and potentially the shipyard — to land the agency leases from the Department of State Lands on PARTS • APP AR Continued from Page 1A Mon-Sat 9am-6pm | Sun 9am-3pm http://tonguepoint.jobcorps.gov T hank Y ou to these local dentists who have hosted our students for job shadows and externships. Your generosity has helped produce skilled Dental Assistants! We also invite more dentists to host! Now Hiring! http://mtc.jobs
