144TH YEAR, NO. 86
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016
ONE DOLLAR
THE HOUSING CRUNCH
COUNTY SEES BARRIERS
TO HOUSING SOLUTIONS
Leaders view
partnership
with private
sector as key
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Randy Roden listens to the prosecution
deliver closing arguments during his
trial on Thursday at Clatsop County Cir-
cuit Court in Astoria.
PART FIVE OF FIVE
ABOUT
THIS SERIES
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
The housing crunch
is everywhere in
Clatsop County and
impacts all walks of
life.
W
ith the North Coast in
desperate need of hous-
ing, Clatsop County
is seen as a potential leader in
addressing the crunch .
The county partners with the
nonprofi t Northwest Oregon
Housing Authority and oversees
the open land in the unincorpo-
rated regions around cities.
County leaders , however, say
the county faces a variety of barri-
ers . A lack of suitable land, infra-
structure and interested devel-
opers leaves the
county at a loss
to quickly usher
in new projects.
County Com-
missioner Dirk
Rohne said he
believes the cit-
Dirk
ies are actu-
Rohne
ally better posi-
tioned,
since
city lands already have the infra-
structure for water, sewer and
electricity.
“All jurisdictions need to take
a leading role,” Rohne said.
See COUNTY, Page 8A
MORE INSIDE: READ
PROFILES OF LOCALS
AFFECTED BY HOUSING
CRUNCH • PAGE 8A
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
The Yacht Club Apartments located on West Marine Drive in Astoria.
The Yacht Club Apartments were built by developer Richard Krueger,
who proposed another apartment complex in Miles Crossing.
County’s public health
director commutes from
McMinnville every day
Wants to live
in Astoria soon
ichael McNickle wakes
up early every weekday
morning in his McMinnville
home and commutes 100 miles
to his job in the Clatsop County
Public Health Department.
“It’s 200 miles each day. I’m
up at 5 a.m. and on the road by at
least 5:45 a.m.” McNickle said.
The public health director
has been making the long drive
since he was hired two years ago
M
as the county’s environmental
health supervisor. At the time,
McNickle wanted to move to
the Astoria area right away, but
quickly realized the diffi culties
of the Clatsop County housing
market. Only a handful of homes
are for sale at one time, and usu-
ally do not meet the needs of
McNickle and his family.
“Trying to fi nd something
reasonably affordable and what
you want is not real easy,” he
said.
This week, The Daily
Astorian examines
the housing crunch
through the eyes
of elected officials,
economic experts,
real-estate profession-
als, developers, home-
owners and renters.
The series will
explore the forces
driving the issue,
along with what is —
and is not — possible
for the North Coast
to achieve. And, the
coverage does not
end this week, as the
Astorian tracks the
challenges and solu-
tions going forward.
MORE
ONLINE
Catch up on all our
Housing Crunch
stories online at
DailyAstorian.com/
da/housing-crunch
See MCNICKLE, Page 8A
Developer Richard Krueger had proposed an apartment complex on land in Miles Crossing, north of Lewis and Clark
Elementary School. The Clatsop County Planning Commission denied the project after neighbors objected.
Roden:
‘I’m not a
monster’
Interview clips played
as murder trial closes
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
For The Daily Astorian
The trial of a Seaside man accused of
torturing and killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-
old daughter is nearly over — the 12-per-
son jury began deliberations Thursday after-
noon — but Randy Lee Roden, who faces
the death penalty if convicted, has remained
silent.
It is his c onstitutional right not to tes-
tify. However, during closing arguments
on Thursday , jurors heard something like
Roden’s side of the story in his own words.
As defense attorney Conor Huseby laid out
his fi nal argument for Roden’s innocence,
he played clips from various interroga-
tions of Roden conducted by investigating
offi cers.
In one clip, the offi cer, in a low, steady
voice, suggests that maybe Roden just lost
control, he didn’t mean to hurt the toddler,
things happen.
“No, no, sir,” Roden replies. “I’m not a
monster or a demon. I’m not.”
“I understand what you’re saying,” he
says later. “I understand. I did not do it.”
In another clip, a different offi cer says
he, the offi cer, wasn’t there when 2-year-old
Evangelina Wing died and that Roden needs
to explain what happened.
“I want to know as much as you, I
swear,” Roden replies. “… Worse thing that
ever happened is that little girl dying.”
And in another clip, he tells the offi cer,
“I’m still not going to change my story …
because I know I didn’t do it.”
See RODEN, Page 9A
Jury delivers
sharp blow to
government
Protesters cleared
in Malheur standoff
By STEVEN DUBOIS
and GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
sage on the Skipanon River. CREST
withdrew from the project, however,
after the Warrenton City Commis-
sion chose not to renew a $1.2 mil-
lion agreement with CREST and
the water district to remove the dam
and install a single-lane bridge over
the river for the city’s emergency
access. The federal Bonneville
Power Administration was going to
fi nance the project to help restore
salmon habitat.
Akin Blitz, a Portland attorney
who represents Warrenton, issued
a fact-fi nding report in September
that questioned CREST’s assertions
that removing the dam would not
signifi cantly increase fl ooding risk
to upstream property owners. The
PORTLAND — A jury delivered an
extraordinary blow to the government in
a long-running battle over the use of pub-
lic lands when it acquitted all seven defen-
dants involved in the armed occupation of a
national wildlife refuge in rural southeastern
Oregon.
Tumult erupted in the courtroom Thurs-
day after the verdicts were read when an
attorney for group leader Ammon Bundy
demanded his client be immediately released
and repeatedly yelled at the judge. U.S. mar-
shals tackled attorney Marcus Mumford to
the ground, used a stun gun on him several
times and arrested him.
U.S. District Judge Anna Brown said
she could not release Bundy because he still
faces charges in Nevada stemming from an
armed standoff at his father Cliven Bundy’s
ranch two years ago.
The Portland jury acquitted Bundy, his
brother Ryan Bundy and fi ve others of con-
spiring to impede federal workers from their
jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Ref-
uge, 300 miles southeast of Portland. The
jury could not reach a verdict on a single
count of theft for Ryan Bundy.
Even attorneys for the defendants were
surprised by the acquittals.
See CREST, Page 9A
See STANDOFF, Page 7A
CREST leader gets council backing
Agency has been
subject of criticism
from Warrenton
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
The Columbia River Estu-
ary Study Taskforce, under scru-
tiny from Warrenton over a proj-
ect to remove the Eighth Street
Dam, received a vote of confi dence
Thursday.
Scott Lee, the chairman of the
government council that over-
sees CREST, said Denise Lofman,
CREST’s executive director, has
endured “reckless personal attacks.”
“It serves no one,” said Lee,
MORE INSIDE
Port of Astoria mulls leaving
the Columbia River Estuary
Study Taskforce. Page 9A
who is also chairman of the Clatsop
County Board of Commissioners.
“And I think that the question here
is: Are these people working for the
public good or some sort of personal
agenda?
“I have absolute confi dence in
the executive director and her integ-
rity and her professionalism.”
CREST had partnered with the
Skipanon Water Control District
to remove the Eighth Street Dam
in Warrenton as a hazard and to
improve water quality and fi sh pas-