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4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 St. Clare: Remains in jail on a hold from Snohomish County Continued from Page 1A Inside the car were 42 cats, one of which had died two days earlier. Animal control, wear- ing breathing masks because of the overwhelming smell of ammonia, were able to remove the cats from the vehicle. St. Clare is required not to own or possess animals as part of her probation. If she violates probation, the plea agreement stipulates she will serve 20 months in prison. She originally was charged with 40 counts of animal neglect and one count of first-degree animal abuse. Since the arrest, some of the cats have died or have had to be euthanized, while others were born since then. Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian ABOVE: One of the dozens of cats rescued from a local individual’s vehicle gets some attention at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter. LEFT: Kathryn St. Clare, right, pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of second-de- gree animal neglect. History of hoarding St. Clare’s history of keep- ing her cats from authorities dates back to a court case in Snohomish County. She was convicted there last year of hoarding 111 cats in a recreational trailer. The cats were covered in lice and mites, dehydrated and malnourished, covered in urine and feces and had multiple viruses. All 111 cats were euthanized after her arrest in that case. She then skipped a court hearing in April 2016 that determined how much she would pay the county back for its investigation. Instead, St. Clare headed south to Ore- gon, where she believed her cats were safer from Snohom- ish County authorities. “Frankly, that probation failed,” Clatsop County Dis- trict Attorney Josh Marquis said. He said at the sentencing the probation was designed to be straightforward, seeking only a strong incentive for her to no longer own animals. St. Clare revealed she had been trying to find a permanent home for the cats in Clatsop County for roughly a year. She said she worked on a farm for a short period of time, as the cats had room to spread out, but left when she found out the farm owner was a methamphet- amine addict. “I knew they needed to be cleaned, and I knew they needed to be fed,” she said. “I just failed in trying to get them out of the car.” Leukemia problem Marquis presented evi- dence at St. Clare’s arraign- ment in April that she knew one of her cats suffered from leukemia, a potentially lethal virus that is easily transfer- able to other cats. She brought the cat to Columbia Veterinary Hospital, and later, Bayshore Animal Hospital, when she noticed the cat had an upper-re- spiratory issue. She was told there that the cat had leukemia and was warned of its effects. St. Clare said, though, that since the fatality rate of the virus is not 100 percent, she didn’t want to turn the animals over to be euthanized. “In my mind, it was not a death sentence,” St. Clare said. “To euthanize these guys just because they test pos- itive for a virus, I believe, is wrong.” Marquis said the only rea- son he wasn’t seeking prison time for St. Clare was that she agreed to surrender the cats from her possession before the deal was made. Out of the 27 total cats that are tapped as available for adoption from the Clatsop County Animal Shel- ter, 15 are eligible immedi- ately. The shelter will hold an adoption event noon to 4 p.m. Friday. Many of the cats will not be as lucky, though. “I am sure in some way Ms. St. Clare believes she’s saving these animals,” Marquis said. “The irony is that she was con- demning them to a much ear- lier death.” St. Clare remains in the Clatsop County Jail on a hold from Snohomish County. If Snohomish County seeks extradition and further prose- cution, St. Clare may face up to 30 days in jail. Fisheries: Fishing is still lucrative Continued from Page 1A industry provides to the com- munity as a whole, and the well-paying jobs that still exist on boats and in fish processing plants. “It’s organic, it’s free- range … it’s diet-free, what- ever,” joked Scott McMul- len, of the Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee, about rock- fish and how certain stocks like canary rockfish have recently been delisted. Da Yang Seafood Processing Plant Man- ager Chang Lee. right, holds up an example of the product during a tour of the facility. Some troubles But concerns crept in, too. For example, a species like canary rockfish has been off-limits and off the market for so long on the West Coast that fishermen are “fighting to get back into the shelf space,” McMullen said. While they were absent, other markets and countries filled the void. Managers at Da Yang Sea- food and processing giant Pacific Coast Seafood talked about the difficulty of recruit- ing labor to the area. People don’t seem to understand that processing jobs can be well- paid, they said. Pacific Coast Seafood has started to recruit farther afield and made do with fewer employees, while Da Yang has looked into auto- mation. The lack of afford- able, short-term rental housing options for seasonal workers complicates hiring, too, they say. Colin Murphey The Daily Astorian munity College’s Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station. In actuality, however, fish- ermen have to juggle a com- plex mix of regulations and they have to know how to manage a small business in the middle of uncertain ocean, river and market conditions each season. Both the fishermen, repre- sented by groups like the Ore- gon Dungeness Crab Commis- sion and the Oregon Salmon and Albacore Commissions, and the seafood processors are looking at high school job fairs, trying to change the idea, as Antilla put it, that: “Fishing is something you do when you can’t do anything else.” Boat building Still lucrative Fishermen, meanwhile, say fishing is still lucrative. Many fishermen talked about buy- ing or building houses and sending their kids to college on the money they earn fish- ing. But there is still a stereo- type that fishermen are “poorly trained, poorly educated,” said guest speaker Bill Antilla, a former commercial fishermen and instructor at Clatsop Com- Boat builders and fabrica- tors talked about the need for greater infrastructure if busi- nesses like theirs wanted to grow. The two companies the tour visited, WCT Marine & Construction Inc. and J&H Boatworks, are both based at the Port of Astoria’s Tongue Point site. But the Port faces chal- lenges in developing the site due in large part to the costly lease of the land. Astoria City Councilor Bruce Jones asked WCT yard superintendent Willie Toristoja what it would take to get more boat building at Tongue Point. A travel lift, deeper water and facilities out on the pier, Toristoja replied. All big, expensive projects, said Jim Knight, the Port’s executive director. In attendance Representatives from local government, fishing groups and state agencies, as well as people from banks and invest- ment groups, two Oregon fish and wildlife commission- ers and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici attended the tour. Bonamici said she was there to listen to the concerns of the community. After lunch at Englund Marine & Industrial Supply, the Oregon Democrat briefed attendees on several policy issues affecting fishing communities: bills on ocean acidification, tsunami warn- ing and detection systems, research on harmful algal blooms, and climate change. She was critical of Presi- dent Donald Trump’s budget proposal. “The president’s budget does not align with Oregon values,” she said, noting how it would slash at National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Admin- istration funding and infra- structure grants such as the TIGER grants the Port of Astoria contemplates using for future development at Tongue Point. The congresswoman also noted how the budget would completely eliminate Sea Grant. Organizer Amanda Glad- ics, who works in extension fisheries management with Sea Grant, wanted people unfamil- iar with local fishery efforts to walk away with more informa- tion, and to give people in the fishing industry a chance to tell their side of the story. She also hoped the tour would build connections and relationships, “so people have a face and a name to ask the questions they didn’t think about today,” she said. Sea Grant has run similar tours in Newport — “Shop on the Dock” — intended to edu- cate consumers about seafood and guide them along the city’s commercial fishing docks, showing them where they can buy fresh seafood directly from fishermen. Package: Snowstorms helped shape legislation Continued from Page 1A The money for the plan would come from a combina- tion of hikes in the gas tax and registration and license fees, tolls, new taxes on payroll, vehicle dealers and adult bicy- cle purchases. Specific projects The plan identifies a few specific projects to ease con- gestion, but other projects would be prioritized by the Oregon Transportation Com- mission. Specific projects would: • Add lanes on Interstate 5 near Portland’s Rose Quar- ter from Interstate 84 to Inter- state 405. • Add northbound and southbound lanes on High- way 217 through the Portland metro area. • Widen Interstate 205 to six lanes from Oregon City to Stafford Road. • Widen and seismically reinforce Interstate 205’s Abernethy Bridge. The plan raises an average of about $800 million per year in additional transportation funding. The money would come from increases in the gas tax and vehicle fees and a set of new taxes over the next 10 years, including: • Gradual gas tax increase from 30 cents to 42 cents by 2025. • Tiered increases in title and registration fees, depend- ing on type of vehicle. • A surcharge of $100 for electric vehicles and $15 for other vehicles. • Statewide payroll tax of one-tenth of 1 percent to pay for mass transit. • Tolls to be determined. • Bicycle excise tax of 5 percent. • Dealer privilege tax of 0.75 percent on new and used vehicle purchases. The bill also includes sev- eral accountability measures, including: • Giving authority to appoint the director of the Ore- gon Department of Transpor- tation to the Oregon Transpor- tation Commission. • Requiring a website where taxpayers could follow the progress and budgets of projects in their area. • Providing an independent staff for the Oregon Transpor- tation Commission, which sets policy for ODOT. The state’s December and January snowstorms also shaped the package. One provision requires ODOT and cities with a population greater than 160,000 to salt roads when there is more than 2 inches of snow on the ground. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian The Astoria Police Department places notices on vehi- cles that are about to be towed and impounded. Trespass: Study will examine a possible county jail relocation Continued from Page 1A Repeat offenders The Clatsop County Jail has dealt with over- crowding issues for more than a decade, so many who are arrested locally are released from jail during a pending court case with- out posting bail. Because they either can’t afford to pay a fine or know there is a high likelihood they will be released early if arrested, convincing repeat offend- ers to abide by the city code can be a challenge, Halver- son said. “We’re dealing with a small percentage of people repeatedly,” he said. The Clatsop County Sher- iff’s Office can hold up to 70 inmates, 10 of whom could occupy rented jail beds in Tillamook County. Past estimates have indicated the county may need up to 200 beds to fully resolve overcrowding. The county Board of Commissioners authorized a $51,000 study last week that will examine a possible jail relocation to the current site of the North Coast Youth Correctional Facility near the Sheriff’s Office in Warren- ton. State officials have indi- cated the facility likely will close as part of an effort to address a $1.6 billion budget deficit. Abandoned cars Many callers to police dispatchers have also com- plained recently about aban- doned cars. Most of these calls stem from residential neighborhoods, while some are a result of occupied rec- reational vehicles parked for an extended period of time, Halverson said. While the city code restricts parking in one spot on city streets for more than 24 hours, call- ers often will report vehicles abandoned for a couple of weeks. Astoria Police are attempting to curb trespass- ing issues, along with aggres- sive panhandling incidents downtown, through a pro- gram called Property Watch. Since the program was reinstated in March, 11 prop- erty owners have signed a one-year contract allowing police to supervise proper- ties and remove people who engage in disorderly activity after business hours. Busi- ness owners are also encour- aged to post signs warning against unruly behavior and that officers have the right to enforce trespass laws on that property. “I’ve seen a decrease in unruly behavior since I posted that sign,” said Sam- uel McDaniel, manager of Astoria Downtown Market. “My problems have been mitigated substantially.” Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Clatsop County law enforcement officers have seen a rise in the number of vehicles reported by residents to have been abandoned.
