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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2016)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 103 ONE DOLLAR Rescue swimmer earns high honor for heroism Crew saved two firefighters in Cape Kiwanda Rescue swimmer Chief Petty Officer Michael Spen- cer was awarded the Coast Guard Medal Monday. With him, from left, were his wife Brandy, daughter Ad- dison (not pictured), son Brody, stepmother Sharon, father Mark and mother Susan Self. By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Chief Petty Officer Michael Spencer, a rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard for the past 20 years, said he doesn’t want bad things to happen to people. But if they do, he wants to be on duty. Edward Stratton The Daily Astorian Spencer was honored Monday with the Coast Guard Medal for pull- ing two members of the North Lin- coln County Fire & Rescue out of the Punch Bowl below Cape Kiwanda in February. The medal, one of the Coast Guard’s highest honors, goes to ser- vice members who display heroism JUDGE TO SEASIDE CHILD MURDERER: ‘YOU ARE A CRUEL MAN’ not involving conflict with an enemy. Spencer and his helicopter crew — pilot Lt. Rob McCabe, co-pilot Lt. j.g. Alex Martfeld and hoist oper- ator Petty Officer 1st Class David Corcino — were finishing training with swimmers and boats near Grays See HONOR, Page 7A Needed: Dollars to bankroll marker City seeks corporate help for monument By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Roden sat in a yellow prison uniform throughout the sentenc- ing. Next to him, set at an angle on an easel so he could see them, were large photos of Evangelina and her brothers. In the pictures, the children are happy and healthy, com- pletely different from how they appeared in December when Roden and Dorothy Wing were arrested, Judge Brownhill pointed out. Astoria will look to corporate sponsors to help underwrite maintenance costs for a Scandinavian monument at Peoples Park downtown. City Councilor Cindy Price recom- mended the idea Monday night to bridge a gap between the Astoria Scandinavian Her- itage Association and the city Parks and Recreation Department over upkeep for the monument. The city is interested in a long-term agreement of 10 years or more on main- tenance because of the difficulty in main- taining existing parks. A parks master plan urged the city to focus on park maintenance before adding new responsibilities, and the parks department could have to make cuts in the coming months. The heritage association has offered to powerwash the new monument twice a year for three years and organize the Scandina- vian community around cleanup events, but is unsure about a long-term commitment. A corporate sponsor for the Scandina- vian monument could serve as a benefactor, much like the Friends of the Astoria Col- umn or the Holiday Inn Express at Mari- time Memorial Park. “I just feel strongly that we can make that happen,” Price said. A monument to mark the history of Scandinavian immigration on Astoria was widely praised when announced earlier this year. Private donors would pay for the proj- ect, with the city con- tributing land at the park off Marine Drive between 15th and 16th streets. But maintenance costs and other hic- cups have left the Loran project at a standstill. Mathews The city will have to decide whether the project needs to go through the public bidding process and pay prevailing wages. Loran Mathews, the president of the her- itage association, has not put a price tag on the monument. The group wants a city endorsement, however, to start fundraising for the money to hire an architect. See RODEN, Page 3A See MONUMENT, Page 3A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Randy Roden waits to hear his fate as photos of Dorothy Wing’s children sit on display in the Clatsop County Courthouse. Roden sentenced to more than 35 years in prison Roden was acquitted of four counts of aggravated murder, serious charges that carried the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison. The jury also found him not guilty of charges of sex- ual abuse. Dorothy Wing, Evangeli- na’s mother, is serving 15 years in prison for first-degree man- slaughter and criminal mistreat- ment related to her daughter’s death. She testified against Roden at his trial. By KATIE FRANKOWICZ For The Daily Astorian Seaside man convicted of killing his girlfriend’s2- year-old daughter will spend close to 40 years in prison, the maximum sentence the law allows. “Mr. Roden, you are a cruel man,” Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Paula Brownhill said before reading 28-year-old Randy Roden’s sentence Monday afternoon. “You have an excel- lent legal team who has repre- sented you in the best possible light.” But, she added, he was the one taking care of 2-year-old Evan- gelina Wing “when her arm was broken and her mouth ruined and her hair torn out by the roots.” “If you get out of jail and hurt another child, God have mercy A Further testimony Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Conor Huseby, left, talks with his client Randy Roden after Roden hears his sentence Monday at Clatsop County Circuit Court in Astoria. Roden received the maximum sentence. on your soul.” In October, after several days of deliberation, a 12-person jury found Roden guilty of murder by abuse, felony murder, man- slaughter, criminal mistreat- ment and assault in the death of Evangelina Wing in 2014 and the abuse of her two surviving brothers. For these charges, Judge Brownhill sentenced him to just over 35 years in prison. He is still serving time on a prior coercion conviction which will add to his overall prison time. Bonamici visits Circle Creek, Boneyard Ridge US representative tours floodplain restoration in Seaside By LYRA FONTAINE The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici got a bird’s eye view of the North Coast Land Conservancy’s floodplain restoration project from an area on Boneyard Ridge, over- looking Circle Creek and U.S. Highway 101 and the ocean. Bonamici, D-Ore., visited the land conservancy’s Cir- cle Creek Habitat Reserve and Boneyard Ridge property on Monday to speak with staff and see how the project alleviated yearly flooding. During high tides and heavy rains, Highway 101 would flood every winter and the road would have to close, said Melissa Reich, the orga- nization’s stewardship director. When the highway was impass- able, Cannon Beach residents were unable to get to the hospi- tal by ambulance. The plan To restore the floodplain, the land conservancy and its partners — including Clatsop County and the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation — exca- vated sections of a berm that was built along the Necanicum River, leaving certain areas to maintain older trees. The partial berm removal in 2013 allowed water from the Necanicum River to naturally flood the Circle Creek flood- plain, instead of the adjacent Highway 101, thus prevent- ing unsafe driving conditions, delays and road closures. “If we had come up here in a flood event, you would see that the whole property is underwa- ter,” Reich said. “Everywhere that’s green is underwater.” “Not a lot of properties are excited about having their property flooded, but we are,” See BONAMICI, Page 3A Lyra Fontaine/The Daily Astorian North Coast Land Conservancy Associate Director Jon Wickersham and Stewardship Director Melissa Reich show U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (center) a map of Circle Creek Habitat Reserve.
