Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 Deviney: ‘I just really want to say how sorry I am’ Dam: Board members Continued from Page 1A will likely look to city night, the girl allegedly left her for any new research house and entered a 2004 Nis- san pickup driven by Deviney, who had encouraged her to do so through the social media app. “I suffered and was tor- tured mentally,” the girl said in a statement read today in court by Clastop County Deputy District Attorney Ron Brown. “No child should have to con- sider the question, ‘How do I kill this guy so I can go free?’” Deviney, authorities say, drove north without letting the girl leave the car. He raped her at a rest stop somewhere in Oregon and took pictures of her performing sex acts. He then parked at McDonald’s in Astoria, which police said was not his final intended destina- tion, and left the girl behind and fled. Police arrested him south of Cannon Beach later that week. The plea agreement included a presumed sentence ranging from more than eight years to more than 33 years in prison — or exactly 400 months. Following statements by Brown, the girl, her mother Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Russell Wayne Deviney, center, was sentenced today in Clatsop County Circuit Court for the 2015 abduction and sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl from California he met online. and Sanger Police Detective Romero Garcia, Circuit Court Judge Dawn McIntosh’s inten- tions were clear. “How do I get to 400?” the judge asked Brown. Legally, though, she concluded she could only sentence Deviney to 370 months. In testimony before the court, Deviney described his past life as a married man with eight children, a job as a com- puter programmer and no prior convictions. “I just really want to say how sorry I am,” Deviney said. “I am a father and I do under- stand this situation was a bad situation. This situation esca- lated into something I had never intended.” But McIntosh found the rest of his statement to be too cen- tered on self pity rather than remorse for the victim. “I’m not going to lecture you because, frankly, I don’t think it will make much of a difference,” McIntosh said. The two-year legal battle before the guilty pleas involved multiple motions that included requests for text messages on Deviney’s phone and video surveillance from a Walmart in Salem. Federal prosecutors, who considered charges stem- ming from the FBI’s involve- ment in the investigation, agreed not to pursue further charges. Brown, Garcia and the girl’s mother all noted that the young woman went missing on Moth- er’s Day. “I celebrate Mother’s Day every day because I have her,” the girl’s mother said. Library: Tax would take effect next July Continued from Page 1A location on Main Avenue since the end of June, but City Man- ager Linda Engbretson said discussions about increas- ing the operations levy would have likely come up, move or no move. The existing levy, unchanged for so many years, is not enough to cover the library’s costs anymore, City Commissioner Rick Newton said. And the new location has proven popular. Last July, when the library was still in Hammond, nine people signed up for library cards. This July, the number of new cards issued hit 42. “If you look at the num- bers alone, our library, just with the new location, has increased in usage and mem- bership,” Mayor Henry Bal- ensifer said. Library Board Chair- woman Kelsey Balensifer and the other board members believe the library’s move from the cramped and hazardous building in Hammond to a much more spacious, “beau- tiful” building on Main Ave- nue represents an opportunity to offer “a higher quality of services.” “Warrenton’s a growing community and likewise our community library needs to grow to meet the needs of our populace,” Kelsey Balensifer said. “We as the board are excited about the future of the Warrenton Community Library,” she added. “We believe our fel- low Warrenton residents support that future and will demonstrate that support in November.” “We’re not here to sit there with attorneys. We’re not out to sue. What we’re trying to do is have a ‘come to Jesus’ moment,” the mayor said. In a potential thaw in the dispute, Tessa Scheller, the chairwoman of the water dis- trict’s board, said she had sent an email to Balensifer invit- ing a discussion. “I regret that somehow we got sideways with the city. I’m sorry for those devel- opments,” Scheller said. “But here we are now, and I think making the best of this is probably useful for both entities.” She said she was delighted to hear the city is willing to talk. “We might as well get something done for the peo- ple, really, instead of throw- ing money at lawyers.” The water district operated the dam with the tide gates up after 2012 and removed the tide gates in 2015. Scheller has said the water district did not believe it needed a permit to remove the tide gates, and does not believe the removal led to increased flooding for property owners. “Goodness, no,” Scheller said. Anecdotal accounts by some property owners of higher water levels since the tide gates were removed have motivated city commission- ers to seek answers. The dam was originally built with the help of the federal govern- ment in 1963 as protection for a 10-year flood, but the government later said it is likely only useful in a less-se- vere two-year flood. Expert advice Warrenton will likely ask an expert from the Army Corps to appear at a City Commission meet- ing and walk commissioners through some of the techni- cal, land use and levee issues involved. One question that has surfaced several times during the dispute is how the dam relates to the city’s levees, which the city wants to certify with the federal government. Scheller thinks the water district is the rightful owner of the dam, but the water dis- trict does not hold title, leav- ing the dam and two other flood-control structures the district manages on the river under a cloud. “We’re very happy if the city wants to expend resources, or the Corps wants to expend resources, or NRCS wants to expend resources to get a further study of the flood plain. The city needs it anyway,” she said. “But we are decisively in favor of what is our basic document for control of the district, which is the engi- neering plan. We spent years putting it together. It’s a rea- sonable document, and it’s supportable by the facts.” Back to negotiations Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Volunteers and library staff unpacked in May at Warrenton Community Library’s new home. New and old On Monday afternoon, the library was a quiet place. One man sat at a computer. Vol- unteers put away books. The only sounds were the tapping of fingers on the computer keyboard and the whisper of book covers sliding against each other on the shelves. Back in her office, site man- ager Nettie-Lee Calog ate a hasty lunch. The office is a luxury she didn’t have before, and she sings the praises of their book sorting room. At the Ham- mond location, book sort- ing happened at a table near the back, which was also the only table available for library patrons to use. Now, she said, “People can actually get work done and nobody gets disturbed.” She jokes that she’s almost blown through her book-buy- ing budget for this fiscal year. But there’s the euphoria of finally having space to put new books, the ability to flesh out collections and series that were missing volumes. At the old library, such purchases were a constant negotiation: If a new book came in, an old book had to leave. With the library’s higher visibility, more people have been stopping by and Calog has a full roster of volun- teers. The library still oper- ates under limited hours, how- ever. It is open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Fri- day, and 10 a.m. until noon on Saturdays, missing peo- ple who get off work later in the day, Calog said. She, offi- cially, works only part time. Gold versus platinum The proposed levy would go onto the ballot for the Nov. 7 election. If successful, the tax would take effect next July; the money raised can only go toward library operations. City Commissioners Tom Dyer and Pam Ackley said they would have loved to push for the platinum scenario which would have assessed 41 cents per $1,000, raising an estimated $1.1 million over the next five years. But, they said, they worry the ballot will not pass if they go too high. “I don’t know if the voters would go for it,” Dyer said. Mayor Balensifer com- mented that the gold scenario would “get us where we need to be in terms of providing bet- ter services and improving the library in general.” Seaside: Baker designed the room himself Continued from Page 1A The water district is con- vinced the dam is obsolete and a hazard that should be taken out to improve fish pas- sage and water quality on the river. But the water district needs a permit from War- renton to remove the dam, a reality that has slowly moved both sides back toward negotiation. A $1.2 million deal to demolish the dam and build an emergency access bridge for the city over the river imploded last year over flooding concerns. One sticking point in the negotiation could be who Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Warrenton and the Skipanon Water Control District will meet on the Eighth Street Dam. You r Ticket TO THE The Oregon Coast $ 7-Day Pass... ONLY 30 The surreal images hang like a Salvador Dali in cyber- space. The emporium’s Face- book page is filled with children “diving” into a toilet bowl, fam- ilies blown in the wind clinging to bicycle handlebars or hold- ing onto a lamppost in midair. The NW Connector is your ticket to the Oregon Coast. No car, no problem. Bike the coast?...why not! Short stay long stay... okay! Explore the scenic Oregon Coast with the NW Connector’s daily, round trip buses running from Astoria to Yachats. Affordable three and seven-day passes with unlimited FREE transfers all along our beautiful coast. New technology Baker, who lives in Gear- hart, is a fifth-generation North Coast resident. His grandfather was stationed at Camp Rilea, and family members remain. He recalled the memora- ble upside-down Astaire dance scenes and the 1980s Lionel Richie video, “Dancing on the Ceiling.” A Google search revealed a house in Orlando, Florida, made to look like a mansion uprooted by a tornado. Other than those, he said, he hadn’t seen anything like this before. “It’s only come to light in the last four or five years,” Baker said. “Everybody has a camera. You just invert that on your phone. That is the nature would pay to restore the tide gates and conduct the new research. Since the water dis- trict believes it was within its authority to remove the tide gates, and went through the process of approving an engi- neering plan that calls for tak- ing out the dam, board mem- bers will likely look to the city to underwrite any new research. Warrenton has heard that federal money might be available for studies, but there is no guarantee. The city already spent $112,000 on a Portland attorney who at one point argued that the city owned the dam and should sue the water district for con- trol, but ultimately concluded the dam was likely a federal asset. Balensifer and City Man- ager Linda Engbretson have said that the Army Corps and the Natural Resources Conservation Service do not claim ownership of the dam. The city has also softened talk of suing the water district over ownership. Continued from Page 1A Plan your trip at: Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian From left to right: Cooper, Reed and Terie Helvey of St. Louis, Mo., strike a pose against one of the upside down sets at the Inverted Experience in Seaside. of the experience.” Baker designed the room at 111 Broadway himself, and called on friends to help install props. Images include the Prom, a sidewalk, the “inverted saloon” and a vintage kitchen. Baker plans on changing it up this winter and adding a mural. Decor will be changed at Halloween and Christmas- time to reflect holiday themes. He hopes to make it a fami- ly-friendly destination suitable for birthday parties, receptions and reunions. Next door, the Pacific Pearl Coffee Co. sells T-shirts reading “The Inverted Experience” and “Inverted Lives Matter.” www. nwconnector .net (Oh yeah...did we mention we’ve got bike racks?)