COAST WEEKEND: CRAB, SEAFOOD & WINE FESTIVAL INSIDE
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018
145TH YEAR, NO. 213
ONE DOLLAR
County manager strikes back
over commissioner comments
New examples
of infighting
revealed
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County Man-
ager Cameron Moore will not
attend Board of Commission-
Kathleen
Sullivan
Lianne
Thompson
ers meetings, citing repeated
public criticism from Commis-
sioners Lianne Thompson and
Kathleen Sullivan.
The county manager has
also threatened legal action,
according to sources familiar
with the issue.
Moore was not at Wednes-
day’s meeting. Commissioner
Scott Lee, the board’s chair-
man, read aloud correspon-
dence between Moore and
commissioners in which the
county manager said he would
not attend “for the foreseeable
future.”
“As we discussed last
Thursday I unfortunately
find myself in the position of
having to take steps to pro-
tect myself from the abusive
and hostile work environ-
ment being imposed upon me
by Commissioners Thompson
and Sullivan. One of the pri-
Seaside quarry changes hands
mary weapons that they use
against me is to make me their
verbal punching bag at board
of county commissioner meet-
ings,” the email sent Wednes-
day morning and addressed to
Lee and other county officials
read. “It is extremely unfortu-
nate that this is the situation
that I find myself in but based
on our discussion I know that
you understand my need to
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A $5 million deal
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
EASIDE — The Teevin &
Fischer Quarry in Seaside
has been sold to North Dako-
ta-based Knife River Corp. for $5
million.
“We are excited to expand into
the Northwest Oregon market and
S
are happy to welcome Teevin &
Fischer to Knife River,” David C.
Barney, Knife River’s president
and CEO, said in a release. “We
have extensive operations in Ore-
gon, and this acquisition is a great
strategic fit for us. It also signals
that Knife River is in growth mode.
Our company was built on strate-
gic acquisitions, and we are look-
ing forward to completing more
deals in the right markets.”
Knife River, one of the largest
construction material producers in
the United States, is a subsidiary
of publicly traded MDU Resources
Group Inc., based in North Dakota.
The company has numerous loca-
tions throughout Oregon, including
nearly 10 other quarries.
Local timber and mining
magnate Shawn Teevin and
See QUARRY, Page 7A
Jacob Magley, a construc-
tion worker injured in an
explosion and fire at an Asto-
ria marijuana production
facility in 2016, has settled a
lawsuit over the blast.
Jonah Flynn, an attorney
from Atlanta hired to repre-
sent Magley, said the par-
ties reached a confidential
settlement.
Magley was a contrac-
tor working in the basement
of a building leased by Wil-
liam “Chris” West and Jason
Oei for growing marijuana
and manufacturing butane
hash oil at the corner of Port-
way and Industry streets
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
The Daily Astorian
See MOORE, Page 7A
in Uniontown. A flash fire
ignited from odorless butane
gas in the air blew him back-
wards and badly burned his
hands and face, Magley’s
attorneys claimed.
Magley sued Oei, West
and three of their companies
in Multnomah County Cir-
cuit Court for $8.9 million.
He claimed the two had been
dabbing, a method of vapor-
izing concentrated marijuana
with an open heat source,
while making hash oil in an
open-ended system.
Magley’s suit named sev-
eral others involved in the
property. The building, still
a burned-out shell, is owned
by Richard Delphia, who
was named a co-defendant
along with several of his
companies. Sweet Relief, a
downtown Astoria marijuana
store, subleased space in the
upstairs of the building for a
See LAWSUIT, Page 7A
Astoria parks budget
on stronger ground
Spending plan
a ‘truth check’
The 45-acre quarry south of Seaside has been sold to Knife River Corp.
take whatever actions are nec-
essary to protect myself from
further damage.”
Lawsuit settled
over explosion
at pot processor
Attorney
knocks state
regulators
A Knife River Corp. truck sits in front of a gravel pile at
the newly acquired Teevin & Fischer Quarry in Seaside.
Cameron Moore
Last year, the Astoria
Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment was in trouble.
Programs were slashed.
City leaders worried about
losing key staff. There were
even talks about closing the
Astoria Aquatic Center.
This year, some pro-
grams that were cut to save
money are still off the table,
but community groups have
stepped up to fund events.
There are agreements in
place, or in process, with
volunteers to take over
maintenance at several city
parks. A City Council deci-
sion to increase the lodging
tax and funnel the money
to parks provided room to
breathe.
On Tuesday, city staff pre-
sented the budget committee
with what they believe is the
first parks budget to repre-
sent the true costs of running
the department.
See PARKS, Page 5A
Raising the Lihue II
Tuna troller
exhumed from
watery grave
By NATALIE ST. JOHN
Chinook Observer
ILWACO, Wash. — It takes
a village to raise a boat.
Last week, dozens of work-
ers arrived by truck, boat and
barge to help remove a derelict
79-year-old tuna troller from
the Port of Ilwaco marina.
The Lihue II was more
or less an orphan. The owner
abandoned it at the port, where
it sank during a Novem-
ber storm. Fast action by port
employees, the Coast Guard
and environmental agencies
kept the boat from spilling
much oil, but Port Manager
Guy Glenn Jr. still had to fig-
ure out what to do.
With help from the state
Department
of
Natural
Resources derelict vessel pro-
gram, Glenn gained legal cus-
tody of the boat, and arranged
to have Global Diving and Sal-
vage, a Seattle company that
has done a lot of work for the
state, remove it.
Getting rid of an old boat
isn’t cheap — Glenn said it
cost about $188,000. While the
derelict vessel program will
See LIHUE II, Page 5A
Natalie St. John/Chinook Observer
Workers supervised as a crane operator lowered the Lihue onto the barge. Global Diving
and Salvage checked the boat for toxic waste, salvaged steel components and then sent
the rest of the boat to a landfill.