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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2016)
GULLS SWEEP THE CLASH SPORTS • 7A DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 69 ONE DOLLAR Local area chambers are against Measure 97 Projected to raise $3 billion By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Randy Roden walks into the courtroom Tuesday at Clatsop County Circuit Court in Astoria. CONFLICTING CLAIMS ON TODDLER MURDER Lawyers make opening statements in ‘gruesome’ Seaside case See MEASURE 97, Page 10A Gearhart barn owner fi res back By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian P rosecutors described Randy Lee Roden as someone with a violent his- tory who grew frustrated watching after his girlfriend’s toddler daughter and her two sons. The state is accusing Roden of murder- ing 2-year-old Evangelina Wing and abus- ing her brothers in the Seaside apartment he shared with their mother, Dorothy Ann Wing. Roden’s defense lawyers, however, say the focus on Roden is a rush to judgment. The defense claims the toddler was killed by the abusive actions of her mother combined with a dangerous fl esh-eating virus found on the girl. Opening arguments began Tuesday in Clatsop County Circuit Court in the death penalty trial of Roden. The crimes are con- sidered among the worst child-abuse cases in the county. Gruesome evidence Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Brown gave a detailed description of the gruesome evidence . The three children were tortured, burned, bitten and caged in the apartment. All three children were the vic- tims of child abuse. The older brother, now The Astoria-Warrenton and Seaside chambers of commerce have joined more than 40 others in oppo- sition to Measure 97, the corpo- rate sales tax on the November ballot . The measure would impose a 2.5 percent gross receipts tax on corporations that have at least $25 million in Oregon sales. State economists have estimated the measure would create about $3 billion in new revenue annually. Skip Hauke “We did our homework, and it’s a very, very bad bill for busi- ness,” said Skip Hauke, execu- tive director of the Astoria-War- renton Chamber of Commerce. Hauke said supporters of the measure are kidding them- selves if they don’t think the tax on corporations will result in an increase in costs for everyday citizens, a primary argument of the opposition. Brian Owen, t he Brian Owen Seaside chamber’s e xecutive d irector, had a similar view. Smith issues 32-item request By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian found in almost every corner, including on holiday decorations and the wall behind a Christmas tree. Most of the blood spatter was found in the bathroom and was 3 feet or lower on the walls. “There was way more blood in that bath- room than there ever should have been,” Brown said. The state’s theory is that Dorothy Wing aided and abetted Roden by allowing him to live with her children and take care of them while she worked. She was responsible for Roden’s actions, the state claims, but was not the one who murdered the toddler. GEARHART — Shannon Smith, the owner of Neacoxie Creek Barn, has fi red back against the city with a 32-item request for email records and fi les from the last three city administrations. Smith, who has clashed with the city over events at the barn, requested correspon- dence between current and Shannon Smith former city councilors, city engineering and building staff and c ounty building offi cials, seeking “every communication” regarding use of the barn. Gearhart offi cials want to prohibit the barn from holding weddings and special events until Smith can produce a certifi cate of occupancy. See RODEN, Page 10A See SMITH, Page 10A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Randy Roden, left, talks with his lawyer Conor Huseby before the start of open- ing statements on Tuesday at Clatsop County Circuit Court . 7, is one of the most traumatized children his pediatric doctor has seen. The boy will not testify at trial due to the trauma, Brown said. The younger brother, now 3, had a bro- ken bone in his pelvic region and extensive bruising. An autopsy found Evangelina Wing apparently died of battered child syndrome with blunt force trauma to her head. Doctors and nurses will testify for the state about the extensive injuries to the three children. “All of these injuries were not acciden- tal,” Brown said. Inside the apartment, blood spatter was Long Beach council votes to relax pot buffers Ordinance could entice more retail ‘bud’ businesses By DAVID PLECHL EO Media Group LONG BEACH, Wash. — Call it the greening of the Wash- ington coast. Freedom Market, a new retail pot shop just opened in Ilwaco Oct. 1, and the town already hosts one licensed grower — Van- couver Weed Co . Seaview will see its fi rst retail weed business, Mr. Doobies, open in November. Long Beach, by contrast, remains barren of bud. The owner of the new Seaview ‘Even though we allowed them, it was really tough to fi nd any place to put one.’ Long Beach Mayor Jerry Phillips store, H.J. Norris, said he would have preferred to open in Long Beach, but couldn’t fi nd a suitable location, partially because he was hindered by the city’s strict buffer ordinances. A little easier Things may have just gotten a little easier for Norris and others like him who dream of locating a pot businesses in Long Beach, now that city council has voted to relax its stringent buffer policies, a move likely to pave the way for prospective marijuana shops, pro- cessors or producers. “Even though we allowed them, it was really tough to fi nd any place to put one,” Long Beach Mayor Jerry Phillips said . On Monday, the City Coun- cil voted to relax the stringent cit- ing guidelines, by several hundred feet in some cases, to now fall in line with the minimum restrictions required by state law. The ordi- nance relaxes buffers in all cases, except near schools and play- grounds, to the 100-foot minimum required by the state. State law also restricts Pacifi c County to three allotments for retail marijuana businesses, which are all currently in use elsewhere. But no such equivalent restriction exists for producers and proces- sors, including medical coopera- tives, sometimes called “collective gardens,” so changes to local laws may entice more non-retail mar- ijuana businesses, along with the taxes they provide, to fi nd a home within the Long Beach business community. Nevertheless, the pot See POT, Page 10A Jerry Phillips Ariel Smith
