3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017
Local author guilty of
luring former student
Love sentenced
to 30 days in jail
By DERRICK
DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Matt Love, an author and
longtime high-school teacher,
has pleaded guilty to luring an
underage former student for
sex.
Love met the girl when she
was 15 and acted as a father
figure and mentor who encour-
aged her writing. The rela-
tionship took an abrupt turn in
May after Love drove the girl
— then 17 — back to her home
after an event. In Facebook
messages afterward, Love
confided that he had sex with
former students in the past but
thought this pursuit was dif-
ferent, professed his love, and
made clear he wanted to have
sex with her.
Dawn Buzzard, the prose-
cutor, called the messages “a
perfect piece of grooming.”
The victim, now 18, told
the Circuit Court by phone Fri-
day that she had heard rumors
about Love and other students
but never suspected he would
Matt Love
do anything sexual or creepy
to her. “So I don’t want him
ever to be around students ever
again,” she said. “Even though
he’s a wonderful teacher,” she
said, “it’s not OK.”
Love, 52, faced charges
of felony luring and misde-
meanor official misconduct.
He pleaded guilty to mis-
demeanor luring. The offi-
cial misconduct charge was
dismissed.
Judge Dawn McIntosh
sentenced Love to 30 days in
jail — with a minimum of 10
days in custody — and two
years probation. He also has
to register as a sex offender
for 10 years and pay $5,000 in
restitution.
Love, who resigned as a
teacher at Astoria High School
after his arrest last summer,
has to forfeit his teaching cre-
dential. The victim is not a for-
mer Astoria student.
Jack Green, a Vancouver,
Washington, attorney who was
a student of Love’s and repre-
sented him in court, had urged
the judge not to designate the
luring as a sex crime. Green
argued that there was no phys-
ical contact between Love
and the girl and that Love’s
Facebook messages occurred
shortly before the girl turned
18.
McIntosh said Love’s
behavior was not a single lapse
in judgment. The judge said
Love tried to take advantage
of a vulnerable young woman
who looked up to him.
Love has much to offer the
community, McIntosh said,
and could go back to writ-
ing. “But you will never teach
again,” the judge said. “You
gave up the right to do that.”
In a statement to the court,
Love apologized to the victim
for his inexcusable actions. “I
can only imagine the extreme
duress my behavior has caused
her,” he said. “What started
out several years ago as a men-
tor-mentee relationship went
wrong on my part because of
my clouded judgment. I accept
full responsibility for crossing
the line and I am ashamed. I
only hope she can forgive me
and get on with her life and
accomplish the great things
I know she’s capable of. The
only thing I want to make clear
— it’s not her fault.”
Love, the author of more
than a dozen books about Ore-
gon and a frequent contribu-
tor to The Daily Astorian, also
apologized to his family and
friends.
“The narcissism that
affected my character over
the last decade or so has been
obliterated,” Love said. “That
person is gone forever.”
Several former colleagues,
students and friends wrote
letters to the court on Love’s
behalf emphasizing his value
as a teacher and writer. McIn-
tosh said some of the let-
ters characterized the prose-
cution as a “witch hunt” and
the charges as false, and the
judge asked Love, who had
described the experience as a
“crucible,” whether he viewed
it as a witch hunt.
“No, I don’t,” Love said.
Pro-immigration marchers rally against Trump
Rally and march
against the
president-elect
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — About 1,000
demonstrators
marched
around the Oregon Capi-
tol Saturday protesting Pres-
ident-elect Donald Trump’s
positions on immigration.
The more than 90-minute
rally and march on a frigid day
in the capital city drew Orego-
nians from as far as Medford.
Turnout exceeded by a few
hundred the number of RSVPs
listed on the event’s Facebook
page.
Speakers, who included
several lawmakers, blasted
what they called Trump’s
agenda of “xenophobia and
hate.”
“In Oregon, we recognize
the vast contribution made by
undocumented immigrants,”
said state Rep. Teresa Alonso
Leon, D-Woodburn, who in
November became the first
Latina immigrant elected to
the Oregon House. “We stand
with you united against the
hateful rhetoric of Donald
Trump.”
The rally was one of 50
“National Day of Action
Events Against Trump Pol-
icies,” according to the One
Oregon coalition, which orga-
nized the rally in Salem.
Trump has said that he
will seek to deport millions
of undocumented immigrants,
end executive orders by Presi-
dent Barack Obama that shield
certain illegal immigrants
from deportation, and start a
Muslim registry.
The coalition is “deeply
concerned about the impact
this will have on immigrant
and refugee communities, who
are integral to Oregon’s econ-
omy and future,” said Diane
Goodwin, a spokeswoman for
Basic Rights Oregon, a mem-
ber of One Oregon.
Demonstrators
held
signs that read “Immigra-
tion began in 1620” and “We
resist Trump’s hate.” March-
ers chanted slogans in both
English and Spanish, which
included “This is what com-
munity looks like.”
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
and U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader
joined in the rally. Also mak-
ing an appearance were state
legislators Sen. Michael Dem-
brow, D-Portland; Rep. Diego
Hernandez, D-Portland; Rep.
Alyssa Keny-Guyer, D-Port-
land; Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Port-
land; Rep. Karin Power,
D-Milwaukie; and Rep.
Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro.
Wyden declared to immi-
grants that as long as he is in
office, “Your fight will be my
fight.”
Unsure about the future
Hernandez, whose fam-
ily immigrated to the United
States from Mexico, said the
lawmakers would make sure
Oregon “stands against xeno-
phobia and hate.”
One of Obama’s execu-
tive orders, known as Deferred
Action for Childhood Arriv-
als, or DACA, protects from
deportation
undocumented
immigrants who were brought
to the United States as chil-
dren. Young people who are
eligible must apply for the pro-
gram every two years, receive
a work permit and may attend
college.
DACA has allowed about
700,000 young people nation-
ally and 15,000 in Oregon to
get driver’s licenses, work
T HE D AILY A STORIAN ’ S
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increasing affordable housing
funding.
Trump ‘nailed it’
Paris Achen/Capital Bureau
Demonstrators
march
around the Oregon Capi-
tol Saturday in opposition
to President-elect Donald
Trump’s positions on immi-
gration.
permits and to attend second-
ary education institutions, said
Andrea Williams, executive
director of Causa, a member of
the One Oregon coalition.
Zaira Flores of Salem is
one of the young people who
has benefited from DACA.
Her mother immigrated to
the United States when she
was 6 and her brother was 3.
Flores, who graduated from
Portland State University, now
works for the state.
Since Trump’s election,
“I’m feeling very unsure about
my future,” Flores said. “If I
didn’t have DACA, I wouldn’t
have a driver’s license, I would
lose my job, I would lose the
roof over my head, all the
basic human needs. It’s really
scary.”
The One Oregon coalition
of 60 organizations opposes
anti-immigrant policies. Immi-
grant rights organizations
Causa, APANO and Unite
Oregon lead the group.
The coalition plans to sup-
port state legislation aimed
at reducing racial profiling
during police stops, expanding
Medicaid to more children and
There were no counter pro-
tests to the event. Oregonians
For Immigration Reform,
which frequently clashes with
Causa on policy proposals, had
scheduled a meeting for later
in the day to discuss the impact
of Trump’s election and state
legislation.
Trump’s immigration pro-
posals have begun to address
many of the frustrations some
Americans have had with
immigration policy and prac-
tices, said Cynthia Kendoll,
the group’s president.
“I think the Trump admin-
istration has nailed it when he
said we need to reassess what
we are doing and why and
how is it benefiting the United
States,” Kendoll said.
She said she supports
Trump’s plan to end the DACA
program. “Those parents made
the choice for their children to
pick them up and bring them
to this country,” Kendoll said.
“I didn’t make that choice for
them.”
The
reform
group
attempted to advance ballot
initiatives last year that would
have made English the official
language of Oregon, required
businesses to use a federal pro-
gram to verify citizenship of
employees and required proof
of citizenship to vote. The ini-
tiatives ultimately were tied up
in court after immigrant rights
organizations and the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union chal-
lenged the ballot titles.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Police blocked Whispering Pines Drive at times during
the standoff.
Seaside standoff
ends peacefully
Man surrenders
after calling
dispatchers
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — A nearly
64-hour standoff between
police and an armed man in
Seaside ended peacefully.
Shortly after 8 a.m. Satur-
day morning, the man, who
placed a call to Seaside Dis-
patch saying he was scared
and wished to step outside,
emerged from the home on
Whispering Pines Drive and
surrendered.
Brian Wallin, 49, was
arrested for reckless endan-
germent, disorderly conduct,
aggravated animal abuse and
possession of a weapon with
intent to use, according to
authorities.
“The use of de-escala-
tion techniques may extend
the length of an incident,
but they are always intended
to reduce confrontations
with people in crisis,” Sea-
side Police Chief Dave
Ham said in a press release.
“Fortunately, for all parties
involved, this ended in the
best way possible — peace-
fully and without incident.”
The standoff began
Wednesday afternoon with
gunshots reported at the
home. Shortly after police
responded to the scene, the
man’s mother came outside
uninjured.
Police had been keeping
watch since then and assured
residents that the only dan-
ger was to the man inside the
home.
Armory basement
closes for lead cleaning
Skate Park
shut down
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Friends of the Asto-
ria Armory have shut down
the building’s basement after
testers found lead residue in
several locations exceeding
federal health thresholds.
A release from the Friends
said testers found traces of
lead above the thresholds
of the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Devel-
opment, with the highest
concentrations in the vicin-
ity of a former firing range
in a corner of the Armory’s
basement.
“As a result, the Armory
basement has been closed to
all guest activity until miti-
gation has been performed
by a licensed contractor,” the
release said. “This includes
the basement (Armory)
Skate Park, which tested
below HUD thresholds. The
recommended mitigation is
cleaning using a wet wipe
method, followed by paint-
ing of affected surfaces.”
The group said samples
taken from the main floor
of the Armory, where most
events are held, came back
below detectable levels and
safe for public use. Unlike
some other buildings where
lead dust was more perva-
sive, the Armory does not
have a forced-air system cir-
culating between the base-
ment and main floor.
Mike Davies, presi-
dent of the Friends, said the
basement will reopen after
cleanup, which the group
hopes to finish within 30
days.
Davies said the Friends
will also hold off on a
$500,000 building and
improvement loan with
Craft3 until after cleanup.
The Friends and lender
Craft3 held off closing on
the loan last month after The
Oregonian released a story
on lead contamination in
armories, and after finding
two abandoned oil tanks on
the property.
The Friends will use
the loan to modernize the
Armory, which used to hold
events with several thousand
people but currently has an
occupancy of 750.
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