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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017 Chamber of Commerce to change directors Hauke to retire next year By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian A two-car collision north of Gearhart Wednesday after- noon closed U.S. Highway 101. Astoria teenager killed in crash north of Gearhart By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian An Astoria teenager was killed Wednesday afternoon when he lost control of his car on a curve on U.S. High- way 101 north of Gearhart and collided with another vehicle. Broderick Danielson, 18, was driving his black Honda Civic northbound near mile- post 14 at about 2 p.m. when he skidded into the south- bound lanes, according to the Oregon State Police. His car collided with a Toyota 4Run- ner driven by Melany Bloom, 38, of Rosburg, Washington. Bloom was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. The highway opened to both lanes of traffic around 5 p.m. Skip Hauke, the direc- tor of the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce, will retire next year and hand the reins to David Reid. Hauke has been direc- tor since January 2005, tak- ing over after the retire- ments of then-Director Roger Rocka and Associate Direc- tor John Compere. He joined the chamber after selling the property of his family’s gro- cery store, Hauke’s Sentry Market, to Safeway. The chamber was estab- lished in 1873 and has a mis- sion to create a strong local economy, promote the com- munity and represent the interests of business with government. Skip Hauke David Reid Hauke plans to phase him- self out of the position by late spring. He will retire around his 75th birthday in May after helping with the Crab, Sea- food and Wine Festival, the chamber’s largest fundraiser, in April. “I will miss the job, there’s no doubt about it,” Hauke said. “But there comes a time when you have to let go. I’ve got a good sense of accomplishment, basically with all the credit going to a great staff. But we’ve accom- plished a lot.” He pointed to the region’s increased lodging taxes from visitors and a growing mem- bership of more than 640 as signs of a job well done by the chamber. Hauke is one of only two people to twice win the chamber’s George Award, Astoria’s citizen-of-the-year honor, along with former Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen. Reid won the award in 2014. Hauke said he first talked to Reid two years ago during one of the chamber’s Busi- ness After Hours networking events about being his succes- sor. Reid’s name was brought to the chamber’s board of directors, who selected him, Hauke said. Reid and his wife, Lisa, moved to Astoria in 2002 when he took a job as a sales coordinator with insur- ance company Aflac Inc. He has been a chamber member since 2003 and has served on its board since 2011. His term expires at the end of the year, he said, in time for the tran- sition. He has also been with the Astoria Rotary Club since 2003. “The chamber for me has always been the place where all the things I love about this community come together,” Reid said. The role of the chamber is both as an advocate for local businesses and as a visitor’s bureau, he said. Reid has been working part time for Aflac while also being a lead adviser with the Small Business Development Center. He will not continue with either position. Reid also serves on the Astoria Down- town Historic District Asso- ciation’s Business Develop- ment Committee, a role he said he hopes to continue, time permitting. “Their missions are aligned but not identical,” he said of the chamber and downtown association. “I look at them as concentric circles.” Feds threaten state’s criminal justice funds By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened to end millions of dollars in criminal jus- tice grant funding to Oregon over the state’s sanctuary policies that prohibit the use of state and local resources to enforce federal immigra- tion law. In a letter Wednesday, Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson asked the Oregon Criminal Jus- tice Commission to address whether Oregon’s policies violate federal statute. The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grants are a primary source of federal funding for state and local law enforcement, including police and sher- iff’s departments. Oregon receives about $4 million of the grant money every two years, said Bryan Hockaday, a press secretary to Gov. Kate Brown. Former Gov. Kitzhaber agrees to $1,000 fine to settle ethics complaint By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau EO Media Group Former Gov. John Kitzhaber has agreed to pay a $1,000 fine to settle ethic complaints against himself and former first lady Cylvia Hayes that al- leged they used their offic- es for personal benefit. SALEM — Former Gov. John Kitzhaber has agreed to pay $1,000 to settle an eth- ics complaint related to accu- sations he and first lady Cyl- via Hayes used their public offices for profit, had conflicts of interest and inappropriately accepted gifts. The Oregon Ethics Com- mission is scheduled to con- sider the settlement agreement Friday in Salem. “Dr. Kitzhaber, through his attorney, indicated that he wishes to conclude this matter by agreeing to the terms and conditions in this order with- out completing the investiga- tion phase,” the order states. The settlement would not have an impact on a pending ethics investigation into the former first lady. Ron Bersin, the commis- sion’s executive director, was not immediately available for comment on his staff’s rec- ommendation to approve the settlement. The agreement asserts that Kitzhaber violated state law by benefiting from frequent flier miles he accrued from state travel between 2011 and 2013 and failed to disclose his conflicts of interest related to Hayes’ consulting company in 2013. The company, 3E Strate- gies, received paid consulting contracts from 2011 to 2013. Kitzhaber argued that he received advice from his attor- ney that he did not need to disclose a conflict of inter- est because the consulting company did not shape state policy. The commission voted unanimously in July to pur- Complaint alleges Roseburg senator engaged in repeated unwanted touching at Capitol Gelser wants Kruse expelled By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — State Sen. Sara Gelser Wednesday called for the expulsion of a fellow sen- ator who she says for years subjected her to unwanted touching. Gelser, D-Corvallis, filed a detailed formal complaint against state Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, a move that rep- resents a step up from two sep- arate informal reports she has made about Kruse’s behavior since early 2016. She also alleged Wednes- day that Kruse has inappro- priately touched more than a dozen other women at the Capitol. Kruse declined to comment. “I’m not going to say any- thing to anybody,” Kruse, who has denied allegations of inap- propriate behavior in previous media interviews, said. He added that since a for- mal investigation was ongo- ing, “we need to let the process work.” Gelser’s complaint, pro- vided Wednesday by the Office of Legislative Counsel, says Kruse repeatedly touched her in ways that made her feel uncomfortable. Gelser and another female state senator who has not been identified had previously made informal complaints about Kruse’s behavior to the Legis- lature’s human resources and legal teams. The informal complaint pro- cess is typically confidential. The allegations emerged pub- licly, though, in the past month, as more people who have expe- rienced sexual harassment came forward with their expe- riences in industries ranging from politics to entertainment. Anna Reed/Statesman Journal State Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, on Wednesday filed a formal complaint against Sen. Jeff Kruse, alleging the Roseburg Republican has touched her inappropriately re- peatedly over the years. Until Wednesday, Gelser had been reluctant to publicly describe specifically what she had experienced, saying she did not feel she had to describe salacious details to be believed. In her formal complaint, though, Gelser, who was elected to the Senate in 2014 and served in the House of Representatives prior to that, described multiple incidents where Kruse had touched her in ways that made her feel uncomfortable going back to 2011. She also described avoid- ing meetings with Kruse, tak- Clatsop Post 12 ing the stairs instead of ele- vators to avoid him, and not allowing her staff or interns to meet with him to protect them from harassment. A MIX OF ALL THINGS FESTIVE PIES CRAFTS GIFTS FOOD 18 NOVEMBER 9 TO 3 Oyster Stew with Salad and Garlic-Cheese Bread Friday Nov. 17 th 4-6pm or until gone $ 8. 00 6PM “Karaoke Dave” ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Clatsop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street 325-5771 SEASIDE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 214 N. HOLLADAY • 503.738.7562 Gelser described being “increasingly reluctant” to meet with Kruse because he touched her in “ways that made (her) feel uncomfortable.” “This included hugs in which he pressed his full body against mine, wrapping his arm tightly around me, kissing my cheek, or whispering in my ear,” Gelser wrote. “I would step away from these behav- iors but was concerned that I would offend or embarrass him by discussing the behavior. I simply tried to avoid meet- ing with him unless absolutely necessary.” But, Gelser said, she could not avoid being on the House floor, where she said in 2011 Kruse approached her from behind and ran both of his hands and arms down her shoulders and breasts and “squeezed” her in a hug. sue an official investigation of the former governor and his fiancée. The agency in February 2015 had suspended a pre- liminary review of three com- plaints of alleged ethics vio- lations against the couple, triggered by pending state and federal investigations. Kitzhaber and Hayes had been under criminal inves- tigation for more than two years after Willamette Week reported the first lady may have used her position to win several consulting con- tracts. The scandal eventually prompted Kitzhaber to resign from office in February 2015. The commission resumed the ethics review in late June after the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced no criminal charges would be filed against the couple. The state Depart- ment of Justice abandoned its investigation of the cou- ple because its statute of lim- itation had expired during the federal probe. Under commission rules, ethics investigators must con- duct a preliminary review to determine whether to launch a full investigation. Gloria A. Walker Astoria July 30, 1941 — Nov. 10, 2017 Gloria A. of Louisiana; seven Walker was born grandchildren and July 30, 1941 in one grandchild on Windsor, Connecti- the way; and one cut. She passed step-grandson, Chance Gomez. away Nov. 10, 2017 She was pre- in Astoria, Oregon, ceded in death by at the age of 76. a daughter, Julie She is survived Cozine of Portland, by her husband of 34 years, Larry Gloria and Larry Oregon. Walker A celebration Walker; a sister, of life for Gloria Gwenie Leaham, and a brother, Fuzzy Frew, of A. Walker will be held at the Massachusetts; a son, Clint, Elks Lodge, 453 11th St., in and his wife, Marnee Bates; Astoria, Oregon, at 1 p.m. a stepdaughter, Teri Walker Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
