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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2017)
TAGGART LEAVES OREGON TO COACH FLORIDA ST. SPORTS • PAGE 10A DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 113 ONE DOLLAR Warrenton will boost career tech Grant will be coupled with Measure 98 money By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian THEFT WAVE Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Vehicle thefts in the area are most likely committed at night as crimes of opportunity, authorities say. String of thefts leaves Warrenton residents on edge By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian B en Redburn dropped by to visit a friend at a Birch Avenue home in Warrenton a few weeks ago. Leaving his car door unlocked, he knocked on the front door about 7 p.m., well after sunset. “I popped in to see how my friend was doing,” Redburn said. “I didn’t even plan to go in.” But Redburn’s friend invited him inside. When the visit ended around 7:45 p.m., he returned to his car to find his visor down, items scattered about and the glove box open. The thief stole two pocket knives to boot. Redburn’s case was one of about 100 reported to Warrenton police this fall. In what appears to have been a coordinated effort to steal items from cars, the recent spree began a few weeks into October and peaked in the middle of November. The theft wave crashed a few weeks ago after an arrest, and police are working toward potential charges. Warrenton Police Chief Mathew Workman, who has led the department since 2008, said he’s seen theft outbreaks that are similar in nature, but not in scale. “I think this one, by comparison, is a little bit larger,” Workman said. “We’re not even sure we have the full scope of the number of cars and number of peo- ple affected.” Scope Adding to the uncertainty, not every unlawful entry case has been reported. People often alert police only when items of a certain value have been sto- len, Workman said. The department heard anecdotally about other cases where items of lesser value were stolen or a car had obvi- ously been unlawfully entered, but res- idents did not respond when contacted by police. Tony Murray This image captured by a security camera shows someone leaving the scene after attempting to open the door of a vehicle they were not authorized to enter. The Warrenton-Hammond School Dis- trict has received $436,286 in state grants to kick-start the construction of a center at Warrenton High School offering students automotive, welding and other technology programs. The Bureau of Labor and Industries and state Department of Education awarded $10.3 million in career and technical Educa- tion revitalization grants to 101 middle and high schools statewide. Warrenton was tied for the highest award, along with a proposal for new career-technical pathways helping underrepresented minorities in Madras and Warm Springs. Josh Jannusch has been with the school district 15 years as a science and technol- ogy teacher and recently became a vice principal at Warrenton High School. He applied for the state grant to build what he calls the Warrenton Technology Center as an on-campus home for automotive and welding programs, along with technology courses he has helped develop over the past several years. “Obviously, our space has been our No. 1 issue, facilities-wise, just being able to find the space to offer these kinds of classes,” Jannusch said. The school district lacks career-tech- nical educational options beyond sending students several miles to Clatsop Commu- nity College’s Marine and Environmen- tal Research and Training Station campus east of Astoria, a tough fit with class sched- ules. The district also participates in a health occupations class at Columbia Memorial Hospital and nursing assistant courses at the college. See GRANT, Page 7A ‘I THINK THIS ONE, BY COMPARISON, IS A LITTLE BIT LARGER. WE’RE NOT EVEN SURE WE HAVE THE FULL SCOPE OF THE NUMBER OF CARS AND NUMBER OF PEOPLE AFFECTED.’ Mathew Workman | Warrenton police chief Warrenton police upped patrols in November to address the break-ins, which typically took place at night or in the early morning inside unlocked cars. An officer spotted someone rummag- ing through a car early in the morning Nov. 7 near Warrenton City Park. After chasing the suspect on foot and estab- lishing a perimeter for nearly an hour, police lost sight of the person. Less than a week later, Tony Murray received a call from his wife, Shelly. As she was driving to work, Shelly noticed that the glove box in her car had been opened and an expensive flashlight was missing. He reviewed security footage from the eight cameras attached to their home on Cedar Avenue. The couple bought the cameras after someone entered Shelly’s car five years ago. The video showed a man in a light-colored sweatshirt with his hood up approach the driveway. He tried to open the door of Murray’s son’s truck before making his way to Shelly’s car, which was unlocked. As he paced away from the scene 30 seconds later, the man tried to open the door of another car parked on the street before disappearing from view. Murray called police later in the day and found out they already had a poten- tial suspect in custody. He had been arrested on parole violation warrants, though he denies connection to the thefts and charges have not been filed. Police are searching for more evidence and pur- suing leads to others who may have been involved. Tongue Point throws one last headache toward Port Fishing boat abandoned several years ago By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Before the Port of Astoria can get out of North Tongue Point, the agency will have to pay more than $20,000 to clean and demol- ish an abandoned fishing boat left behind. One of the Port’s last pieces of property at North Tongue Point is the run-down 74-foot wooden fishing boat Recruit. The boat has languished the past several years on a col- lection of wooden blocks supported by boat stands outside on the tarmac. See THEFT WAVE, Page 7A See PORT, Page 7A Marijuana retailers get green light in Cannon Beach Attorney finds no conflicts with comprehensive plan By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH – After months of controversy, Cannon Beach found there are no conflicts between the comprehen- sive plan and retail marijuana shops. The city’s land use attorney, Bill Kabeiseman, gave a report to the City Council Tuesday that asserts having marijuana shops downtown is fully con- sistent with the plan, which acts as the city’s constitution for development. A discussion about the comprehen- sive plan and how it relates to mari- juana retailers was prompted by David Frei, the acting spokesman of the Ecola Square Homeowners Association, who for months has objected to the mari- juana retailer Five Zero Trees moving in across the street at 140 S. Hemlock. At previous City Council meetings, Frei has argued allowing Five Zero Trees so close to a residential area would be detrimental to “the unique character of downtown” and out of step with the plan’s goal to provide its residents “the quality of life that they desire.” He also claimed the crime he believes is associ- ated with marijuana retailers would be in conflict with plan’s goal to preserve “a sense of safety.” Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian See MARIJUANA, Page 7A Chris Hess works at the Five Zero Trees store in Cannon Beach in October.
