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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018 Lawsuit: ‘No money to collect’ The Teevin & Fischer Quarry was recently sold to North Dakota-based Knife River Corp. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Continued from Page 1A second location — Port Astor- dam — that was damaged and closed by the fire. John Harper, owner of Under the Bridge Cigarettes, helped finance Oei and West’s operation and supplied the butane they used. He in turn filed claims against the dis- tributor and manufacturer of the butane, blaming them for any defects. A mediation in March led to a settlement with Harper, Sweet Relief and the butane’s manufacturer and distribu- tor, Flynn said, and a later settlement was reached with Delphia. Oei and West had already filed for bankruptcy protection during the case. “Because they were bank- rupt, we did a straight dis- missal,” Flynn said. “There was no money to collect.” Oei and West were con- victed last year of felony assault and misdemeanor reckless endangerment and sentenced to three years pro- bation. The state Occupational Safety and Health Admin- Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian An explosion and fire at a Uniontown marijuana proces- sor in 2016 left a trail of legal claims. istration also fined Higher Level $5,300 for workplace safety violations. The criminal prosecu- tion was the first in Oregon resulting from an explosion at a state-licensed butane hash oil facility, District Attorney Josh Marquis said. The dis- trict attorney has criticized the Oregon Health Authority for conditionally approving but not inspecting marijuana manufacturers like Higher Level. Flynn and Marquis agree that the state has done a poor job of regulating the mari- juana industry, and Flynn said he expects more cases like Higher Level’s until oversight improves. “For some reason, I don’t get cases like this in other states,” Flynn said. “They’re prolific in Oregon.” Quarry: ‘This is a long-term deal’ Continued from Page 1A Scappoose-based construc- tion contractor Thomas Fischer purchased the quarry from Howard E. Johnson & Sons Construction Co. in 2006 for $1.6 million. The quarry employs more than 10 people and provides crushed rock and other construction aggregates to regional con- tractors and the state Depart- ment of Transportation, along Henry, the school district’s project manager. Bidding opens today. Knife River spokesman Tony Spilde said the acqui- sition, completed Friday, has been in the works for several months and was not based on a specific project. Knife River intends to rehire the existing employees, he said. “It’s a good strategic fit for us,” Spilde said of the quarry. “This is a long-term deal.” with retail landscaping mate- rials. The quarry recently pro- vided more than $2 million worth of rock for the new Walmart in Warrenton. Teevin Bros. still owns a quarry along U.S. High- way 30 near the Bradley Hill overlook. The Seaside School Dis- trict will need between 50,000 and 80,000 cubic yards of gravel for its new $100 mil- lion, K-12 campus, said Jim Moore: Revelations are the latest in a string of clashes in the past year Continued from Page 1A Moore could not be reached for comment. Other county officials did not publicly con- firm if or why the county man- ager threatened legal action. Sullivan declined to com- ment, while Thompson offered a statement via email. “I’ve seen better setups in a Law & Order rerun than during this week’s board meet- ing. To hurl a bucket of allega- tions at me and a fellow com- missioner, without any prior notice or opportunity for dis- cussion, was the height of irresponsibility and unprofes- sionalism,” Thompson wrote. “I welcome finding better ways to work with the county administrators and my fellow commissioners, but turning board meetings into publicity stunts is not the way to do it.” Earlier this month, a county employee — whom Lee declined to identify — sent an email to Moore regarding a “confusing and also concern- ing” phone call with Thomp- son. Moore forwarded the email to Lee, who read it aloud Wednesday. The employee claims Thompson, after asking that her name not be said out loud, warned her to be care- ful about making certain pub- lic comments. “Nothing was said by either of us that would cause ques- tion or concern. When I asked her where this was going she proceeded to say that she received threatening emails from county management and that it will end up in court and doesn’t want me to have to be in court as she is sure this is my livelihood and even if I was not in this position that I would need a good reference from this job,” the email read. “At that point, I was not only completely confused but also a bit upset by what was said.” Lee said the encounter with Thompson violated a chain of command outlined in the county charter and board pol- icy and that the action could expose the county to legal lia- bility. He threatened to remove Thompson from any liai- son assignments that would require her to interact with county staff who are not in management. “You cannot threaten employees,” Lee said, adding he has not seen any threaten- ing emails from county man- agement to Thompson. “This is unacceptable behavior, and I want it to stop.” Thompson responded to the allegations in part of her written statement to the news- paper. “The suggestion that I am threatening is laugh- able — I am 73 years old and 135 pounds soaking wet. It is clear they are threatened because I believe the manager is accountable to the commis- sioners that were elected to oversee his work.” Wednesday’s revelations are the latest in a string of pri- vate and public clashes involv- ing commissioners and county management in the past year. Sullivan and Thompson have repeatedly criticized Moore, claiming he oversteps his authority. They have often questioned Moore’s state- ments and proposals at meet- ings. Most recently, they voted against a proposal to estab- lish a homelessness fund — an idea the county manager pre- sented to commissioners ear- lier this month. Last year, an independent behavioral investigation ini- tiated by the county found that Thompson acted inap- propriately in an interaction with a county employee. After allegedly placing her hands on the employee, Thomp- son asked in a loud, frustrated tone, “Do you know what he did?” The comment allegedly was a reference to what she believed was Moore’s deci- sion to intentionally schedule a meeting on a date that ensured she couldn’t attend. Thompson said in a state- ment about the investigation that she and county staff were unwilling to share their con- cerns due to fear of retalia- tion. Soon after her statement was publicized, Moore sent an email to commissioners offer- ing to resign. Soon after that, Lee called for Thompson’s resignation. 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