TRACK: NORTH COAST ATHLETES DOMINATE BAKER INVITE SPORTS · PAGE 10A
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
144TH YEAR, NO. 222
ONE DOLLAR
Higher Level duo charged with assault, recklessness
Owners of facility that
exploded in October
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County District Attorney Josh
Marquis reads the indictment against Ja-
son Oei, in the background on a television
monitor, on charges related to an explosion
at his cannabis extraction business.
William “Chris” West and Jason Oei, the
owners of the Astoria marijuana processor
that blew up in October, were indicted Friday
in Clatsop County Circuit Court on charges
of felony assault and misdemeanor reckless
endangerment.
District Attorney Josh Marquis said in his
indictment that West and Oei had “unlawfully
and recklessly, under circumstances manifest-
ing extreme indifference to the value of human
life,” caused serious physical injury to Jacob
Magley, a worker at the facility who suffered
burns in the explosion, by means of the danger-
ous weapon butane.
Marquis said the two men also created a sub-
stantial risk of serious injury to others.
West, 41, and Oei, 44, co-own and operate
Higher Level Concentrates, a marijuana proces-
sor in the Uniontown neighborhood. An explo-
sion in October rocked the basement they rent
from Richard Delphia, gutting the facility and
damaging a space rented by Sweet Relief Natu-
ral Medicine upstairs.
Magley was sent to a burn unit in Portland
for multiple weeks and is suing the two men
in Multnomah County Circuit Court for prem-
ises liability and violations of the Oregon Safe
See HIGHER LEVEL, Page 7A
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
William “Chris” West, left in the background
on a television monitor, was indicted Friday
by Clatsop County District Attorney Josh
Marquis on charges related to an explosion at
a business West owned in Astoria in October.
Erosion, storms cause slides at Ecola State Park
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Ecola State Park Ranger Bo Ensign surveys damage caused to parts of the park from landslides due to unusually heavy rainfall earlier in the year.
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
C
ANNON BEACH — Erosion,
winter storms and landslides
have shut down Ecola State
Park multiple times and cut a pop-
ular trail in two in the past year and
a half.
Now, more than 40 years after a
1975 park master plan highlighted
these same problem areas, the Ore-
gon Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment is examining some of the same
solutions proposed back then.
“The problems at the park date
back decades,” said Chris Havel,
associate director for the parks
department, “and the solutions are
really rather difficult if we’re going
to stick with the current entrance.
And that’s where things get sticky.”
To reroute the washed-out trail
between Ecola Point and Indian
Beach is one thing. It will be labor
intensive and require funds the park
hadn’t budgeted for, but at least with
trail-building park management is
on familiar territory. A long-term
fix for the road leading into the park
is another dilemma entirely. Since
2015, the department has spent
over $30,000 on various sections of
Ecola Park Road.
See LANDSLIDES, Page 7A
‘The problems at the park date back decades.’
Chris Havel
associate director for the parks department
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Heavy construction equipment was brought to Ecola
State Park last week to repair damage from a series of
landslides that occurred in multiple locations in the park.
Coffee to French: ‘Simple food done well’
Funky French
cuisine takes
over coffee spot
ANNON BEACH —
At Harding Trading Co.,
every part of the restaurant is
for consumption.
No, it’s not all edible. But
as long as it has a price tag,
a customer can buy one of
the many vintage items that
line the walls and adorn the
tables of the new French rus-
tic-style restaurant — even
some of the tables and chairs
themselves.
Whether it be the color-
ful, antique cookware and
C
Warrenton ponders
mayor appointment
Balensifer and
Newton vie for
top position
glass chandeliers, the cuisine
or a space lighted exclusively
by candlelight, every aspect
of the restaurant is import-
ant together, co-partner Jane
Harding said.
“You are coming for more
than just dinner. You are com-
ing for an experience,” she
said.
The restaurant on Bea-
ver Street transitioned from
Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian
See HARDING, Page 7A
Jane Harding, co-partner of
Harding Trading Co.
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — The
Warrenton City Commission
is expected to select a new
mayor Tuesday night.
The commission will cast
votes for two of its own mem-
bers — Henry Balensifer and
Rick Newton.
Henry
Balensifer
Rick
Newton
“We’ll see what the vote
is,” said Balensifer, who has
been serving as acting mayor
since former Mayor Mark
Kujala resigned in March.
“It is my hope that we can fill
See WARRENTON, Page 7A