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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2016)
144TH YEAR, NO. 71 ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016 CUSTOM CARE AT COLUMBIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL Developer backs away from Miles Crossing Krueger was set to appeal to county commissioners By KYLE SPURR and ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian The developer who wanted to build new apartments in Miles Crossing that could have helped ease the lack of afford- able housing has backed away from the project. Richard Krueger is no lon- ger challenging a Clatsop County Planning Commission decision in July to deny his proposed 48-unit complex. A hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday before the Board of Commissioners has been canceled. Krueger said he withdrew based on negative input he was getting from neighbors, who were concerned with trafic impacts and whether the area Developer Richard Krueger listens during the Clatsop County Planning Commission’s deliberation on his proposed Miles Crossing apartment project in July. has enough water and sewer capacity. “I just got a negative feel- ing,” said Krueger, who had agreed to scale the original project down from 168 units. Danny Miller The Daily Astorian See KRUEGER, Page 7A WARRENTON SCHOOLS SEEK ROOM TO GROW Gov. Kate Brown Bud Pierce Cliff Thomason Governor hopefuls square off Independent candidate joins the third debate By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Photos by Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Each weekday, more than 700 students stream into and out of Warrenton Grade School, which has ballooned in enrollment by nearly a third over the past few years. The Warrenton-Hammond School Board is discussing how to best accommodate the growth, whether that means expanding old schools or building new. More students drives need for more space By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian W ARRENTON — Every week- day morning, more than 700 students stream into Warren- ton Grade School from school buses and idling cars crowding the parking lot. The growing housing developments around Clatsop Plains, so far the region’s best answer to the housing crunch, have been a boon for Warrenton-Hammond School District’s enrollment. While other school districts shrank over the past decade, Warrenton-Hammond has grown by nearly 20 percent, topping 1,000 students for the irst time this year in initial enrollment counts. The growth leaves the Warren- ton-Hammond School Board with some big decisions to make. Does the district build within its existing schools, hedged in by city streets and wetlands? Does it utilize or sell property the district owns in Hammond? Does the district follow Seaside’s example and ask voters to fund a new campus on higher ground? EUGENE — Candidates in the contest for governor faced off in a debate at Churchill High School Thursday, offering their take on how to address the housing crisis, transpor- tation, a revenue shortfall and the state’s low graduation rate. The third of ive debates between Gov. Kate Brown and GOP nominee Dr. William “Bud” Pierce, the event also featured for the irst time Cliff Thomason, Independent Party of Oregon candidate and an industrial hemp farmer from Grants Pass. The candidates are seeking election to complete the last two years of former Gov. John Kitzhaber’s four-year term. As former secretary of state, Brown was next in the line of succession when Kitzhaber resigned in February 2015 amid an inluence-peddling scandal. The debate was hosted by League of Women Voters Oregon and Oregon Public Broadcasting, and moderated by Think Out Loud host David Miller. Talking points Thomason provided a departure from largely partisan talking points by Brown and Pierce. While Brown supports a $3 billion corpo- rate sales tax measure on the November ballot to help fund expansion of the Oregon Health Plan, Pierce said state government could come up with the money for the expansion simply with more eficient operations. Meanwhile, Thomason proposed ditching the corporate tax in favor of passing a gen- eral sales tax, with corresponding reductions in other kinds of taxes, to help pay for health care and other services. Voters have rejected a sales tax 10 times. Asked why voters would approve a sales tax on an 11th try, Thomason responded: “Because I am asking them.” The next ive years Superintendent Mark Jeffery said the grade school has illed nearly every nook and cranny available to pro- vide more educational space and avoid increasing class sizes. Closets and stor- age spaces have been turned into ofices and classrooms; the library has been pared down by two-thirds to make way for a new multipurpose gym; and larger classrooms have been split in two. The school board is poised to approve a $2 million bond Tuesday to cover the district’s needs in the next ive See SCHOOLS, Page 8A Affordable housing Warrenton-Hammond Superintendent Mark Jeffery greets kids as they walk into Warrenton Grade School Thursday morning. The superintendent is overseeing efforts to accommodate an ever-growing number of stu- dents entering the district. More photos online at DailyAstorian.com On affordable housing, Pierce proposed See DEBATE, Page 8A Appeals court to weigh extent of DA’s immunity Marquis froze out ex-Seaside Police detective Barnett By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Did Clatsop County District Attor- ney Josh Marquis have absolute immu- nity when he froze out a Seaside Police detective who criticized him? A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will answer the question after accepting written legal arguments Thursday at Pioneer Court- house in Portland. Steven Barnett, who retired from the Seaside Police earlier this year, claimed Marquis violated his free speech and Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis Former Seaside Police Lt. Steven Barnett due process rights by refusing to vouch for his credibility to work on criminal prosecutions. Marquis made the decision after Bar- nett, who was running against Sheriff Tom Bergin in 2012, wrote a guest col- umn in The Daily Astorian critical of the district attorney, who had endorsed Ber- gin in a newspaper column. Barnett, who was one of four candi- dates to challenge Bergin, inished last in the primary with 7 percent of the vote. U.S. District Judge Marco Hernan- dez in Portland ruled against Barnett in 2014, inding Marquis had absolute immunity because he was acting in his role as prosecutor in the judicial phase of the criminal process. Barnett appealed to the 9th Circuit. The federal appeals court, like Judge Hernandez, will focus on the question of absolute immunity, not Barnett’s under- lying claims that his civil rights were violated. “The only issue on appeal is the question of immunity, not the merits of the underlying claim, which will be for the trial court to resolve if and only if the 9th Circuit concludes that immunity is not available in this case,” state Senior Assistant Attorney General Peenesh Shah, who is representing Marquis, said in an email. Absolute immunity Courts have long recognized abso- lute immunity for government oficials performing their duties, a cover meant to protect the decision-making pro- cess from constant legal second-guess- ing. For prosecutors, courts have distin- guished actions that are judicial in nature from administrative functions. In Barnett’s case, Marquis informed the Seaside Police that the District Attor- ney’s Ofice would not use the detective as a witness in prosecutions or work See COURT, Page 8A
