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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 136 ONE DOLLAR Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Wade Tucker and Kelly Anderson prepare their trucks for a night of spraying de-icer on area roads. SPRAYING IT SAFE IN WINTER Transportation crews fight against frosty roadways renton. They load large yellow tanker trucks with up to 1,600 gallons of the de-icer at a time and fan out on loops along U.S. Highway 30 east to West- port, U.S. Highway 26 east to the Elderberry Inn and U.S. Highway 101 south to the Tillamook County line, along with state highways snak- ing through the forests. Spraying at a rate of 20 to 30 gallons per mile from a line of sprinklers near the rear bumper, they can put out up to 6,000 gallons in one night. “We apply mag chloride as a pre- treatment to keep ice from form- ing on the highway due to wet pave- ment falling below 32 degrees, frost, freezing fog, and in cases, freezing rain,” said Mark Buffington, District 1 manager for the state transportation department. By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian W hile many were rest- ing up the night before New Year’s Eve, state Department of Transportation work- ers Wade Tucker and Kelly Anderson were on the road, spraying down the region’s highways with magnesium chloride to prevent roads from freez- ing amid a forecasted frost. The two maintenance technicians are part of the crews who spend win- ter nights de-icing roads before the morning commute. Their main tool is magnesium chloride, a mix of chem- ical salt and water that quickly melts through ice. The de-icer is purchased in bulk and stored at stations along the state’s highways. Tucker and Anderson begin their nights at a maintenance yard in War- INSIDE BUNDYS GO FREE IN NEVADA — and dismissal reverberates across Oregon READ MORE ON PAGE 4A Kelly Anderson drives a de-icing truck throughout the region for the Oregon Department of Transportation. See SPRAYING, Page 4A Uppertown couple stunned Walla Walla man arrested following by an attempted arson downtown dust-up No suspect identified Harvey, 35, allegedly fought with police By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian An Uppertown couple awoke to a potentially dan- gerous scene late Saturday night when someone tried to burn their house down. Mari Inaba, 31, and Ben Crockett, 32, heard creak- ing noises at their 38th Street house around midnight. The house is roughly a century old, so they didn’t think much of it at first. They heard the noise again, and their dog began to bark. “That is highly unusual,” Inaba said. Crockett checked a side room and walked downstairs before seeing flames near the front door. “It was very apparent that someone left something there to start the fire,” Inaba said. After extinguishing small fires on their front porch and By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Damage to the front porch of a home on 38th Street in Astoria can be seen after a suspected arson attempt Saturday night. the side of their house, the couple found a burned shirt in one spot, a burned worker’s glove in another and a melted gas meter that smelled of per- fume or some sort of accel- erator. The side of the house sustained some fire damage. The couple was perplexed, unsure of who would want to damage their home. “I have no idea,” Inaba said. “My husband and I racked our brains thinking, ‘Why?’” The couple has since pur- chased motion-sensing lights and a security camera. Astoria police have not identified a suspect. “It was a little odd,” Interim Police Chief Geoff Spalding said. A Walla Walla, Washing- ton, man was arrested Sat- urday after allegedly caus- ing disturbances at downtown businesses and then fighting with police. Just after 4:15 p.m., Asto- ria police responded to reports of a man who had thrown produce around at the Asto- ria Co-op grocery store, stole a cellphone from owners of the Mai Tong Thai food cart across the street and poured hot sauce on a black Cadillac Escalade nearby. A witness also told police that the man had shattered a piece of glass in the area. When officers arrived, they located James Clive Alfred Harvey, 35. He allegedly struggled for several minutes as officers attempted to arrest him. During the tussle, two Astoria police officers used a stun gun to try to subdue Har- vey, listed as 6 feet 4 inches tall and 230 pounds. A Warren- ton police officer and a Clat- sop County Sheriff’s Office deputy were called to provide backup, and an onlooker also provided assistance before he was finally arrested. One of several onlookers recorded the scene with an officer’s body camera after it fell off, Interim Police Chief Geoff Spalding said. Harvey pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of assaulting a public safety officer, harassment, aggra- vated harassment, resisting arrest, second-degree disor- derly conduct, second-de- gree theft, third-degree theft and third-degree criminal mischief.