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OUR ANNUAL MAGAZINE SHINES A LIGHT ON THE COLUMBIA-PACIFIC REGION YOUR COPY IS INSIDE » DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017 144TH YEAR, NO. 189 ONE DOLLAR JUSTICE REINVESTMENT Airport ‘Man Cave’ invites scrutiny County to look at prison use Clatsop high for drug and property crimes By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian ARRENTON — For nearly a decade, retired den- tist and Air National Guard a viator Philip Bales has invited people into a fl ight-themed, conserva- tive-tinged clubhouse — dubbed the Man Cave — at his hangar next to the main terminal at Astoria Regional Airport. Inside the 5,000-square-foot hangar, along with a few airplanes, is a motley collection of recliners and couches arranged like theater seating under a large projection screen. A stocked bar sits in the corner under its own deco- rative awning, with taps fed from a kegerator and a portrait of movie star John Wayne greeting visitors. “It just makes it a place to come and gather, and it pro- motes the airport,” Bales said. He and others have been perplexed by Port of Astoria Commissioner Stephen Fulton’s decision to make the Man Cave a political issue in the May special district election . Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Judge Paula Brownhill on Tuesday said she will assign a work group to look at whether Clatsop County is sending too many felons convicted of drug and property crimes to prison. The county is among the top fi ve in prison use for drug and property crimes since the state began tracking data under the jus- tice reinvestment initiative. The work group, with representatives from the District Attor- ney’s Offi ce, the Parole and Probation Divi- sion and the defense bar, will examine sen- tencing orders and pro- bation and determine whether improvements are necessary. The state has awarded nearly $54 million in grants to counties since 2013 to supervise felons locally and reduce Judge more costly prison Paula Brownhill use. Clatsop County has received more than $600,000. At a meeting in Brownhill’s court- room Tuesday after- noon among judges, prosecutors, probation offi cers and defense attorneys, the presid- ing judge of the Circuit Court asked whether Sheriff the county is at risk Tom Bergin of losing state grant money. “It’s possible that they’ll take the money back from the counties that aren’t per- forming,” said Lt. Kristen Hanthorn of the Sheriff’s Offi ce Parole and Probation Division. Sheriff Tom Bergin said it is unlikely the county will lose state grant money in the next two-year budget cycle, but could later. The sheriff also said some counties, “and we might be one of them,” could withdraw from justice reinvestment if the state applies pressure. See ‘MAN CAVE’, Page 9A The entrance to Philip Bales’ Man Cave at the Astoria Regional Air- port is marked by a collection of conservative stickers. See PRISON USE, Page 9A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Philip Bales at his airplane hangar, known as the Man Cave, Monday at the Astoria Regional Airport. Fulton makes clubhouse a political issue in Port campaign By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian W Costs of managing pot taxes get high By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — The costs of administering Oregon’s rec- reational marijuana tax have escalated since initial esti- mates in 2015, and may be poised to increase again. In part, that’s because it’s not yet clear just how much it will cost to build a secure, fi ve-station payment area in the Oregon Department of Revenue. The project, department offi cials say, is intended to accommodate the cash tax payments characteristic of the marijuana industry, which due to federal law is largely excluded from mainstream banking services. Many retail- ers make their monthly pay- ments in cash and in person, and right now they use another area of the revenue building that was renovated for tempo- rary cash handling. The tax has proven a con- siderable windfall for the state, See POT TAXES, Page 9A Smaller schools, seismic worries Bill seeks funds for quake check By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Department of Revenue The temporary marijuana payment station at the De- partment of Revenue in Sa- lem. The costs associated with collecting marijuana taxes have been more than originally estimated. SALEM — The tiny Alsea school district is asking state lawmakers to approve fund- ing for a seismic needs assess- ment in small school districts that were excluded from a statewide seismic survey in 2007. The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries conducted the sur- vey to determine how many schools would need retrofi ts to withstand a catastrophic earthquake, which are esti- mated to strike the coast- line an average of every 300 years. A bill sponsored by state Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn, would appropriate $1 million to assess seismic needs at those schools that were excluded. “Given the state of our See BILL, Page 9A
