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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 18 ONE DOLLAR Man shot by Seaside police Initial disturbance was reportedly over a dog By BRENNA VISSER and JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian Witnesses heard gunshots near an RV park and the Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant. SEASIDE — Police are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting Tuesday after- noon at the Seasider RV Park. Officers responded to a 911 call of an armed individual about 1:40 p.m. After a con- frontation and gunfire, a man was shot and killed. No police were injured. Authorities have not released the name of the man who was killed because his next of kin has not been reached. Warming center gets approval for another season The police officer involved in the shooting has been placed on leave, which is standard procedure. “This is not a reflection of what he did,” District Attorney Josh Marquis said. Jenessa Edwards, who lives at the RV park, said she heard the initial disturbance was prompted by a dispute between neigh- bors over a dog. Marquis confirmed that the conflict was over a dog bite. “A dog allegedly bit somebody, people got upset and the police got called,” he said. Edwards described the dead man as “a very good person. He has issues, but we all do. No one deserves this.” Ken Johnson, who lives at the RV park, said the man was a “friendly guy ... But he could get hyped up. He was easily agitated,” he said. Gerardo Ramirez, the RV park manager, who also manages the nearby Mazatlan Mex- ican Restaurant, said the man had lived at the RV park for about eight months and had not caused any issues as a tenant. “I’m very shocked and concerned this hap- pened,” he said. Dustin Billings, who was about eight blocks away from the scene, was planning to take his 3-year-old son, Samuel, to his birth- day party when he heard gunshots. “It was just, ‘pop, pop, pop,’” Billings said. Moments later, he noticed police cars whizzing down Holladay Drive at high speed. The Oregon State Police is leading the investigation. Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Brown has also been assigned to the case. MOVIE NIGHT City requires annual permit extension By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian An emergency shelter for the homeless landed city approval to operate for another season. The Astoria Planning Commission voted unan- imously Tuesday night in favor of extending the Astoria Warming Center’s permit. Sean Fitzpatrick, the commission’s president, voted to approve the permit extension, but had recused himself from discussions and voting when the warming center pursued a conditional use per- mit last year. While he said he supported the warm- ing center’s mission to provide a meal and a bed for people on the coldest nights of the year, he spoke against the center’s location at the time, citing issues from garbage to public safety con- cerns. Those issues were resolved last year, he said Tuesday. Nothing about the warming center’s operations will change, said city staff and warming center board members. It will continue to use the basement of the First United Methodist Church on the corner of Frank- lin Avenue and 11th Street. A good-neighbor agree- ment developed during lengthy meetings last year will remain in place. The agreement outlines the warming center’s responsibilities and promises to residents of the neighborhood around the church. In order for the warming center to get the permit extension, the city required center staff and board members to look at and evaluate alternative sites. Board President Dan Parkison said board mem- bers looked at buildings for sale and for rent and met with Clatsop Community College, Columbia Memorial Hospital, the Astoria Armory and other organizations in search of another location. They found nothing that suited the warming center’s par- ticular needs and budget. No other churches had space that was available or met the warming center’s requirements, Park- ison said. The warming center’s season runs from mid-November through mid-March, but the center can only be open for a total of 90 days on nights when temperatures and other weather factors hit established thresholds. The Planning Commission’s approval is a huge victory, Parkison said. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Young people choose a perch high above McClure Park for a showing of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ as part of the ‘Parks After Dark’ program. Family movie showings back in Astoria after budget cuts By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian t will cost $1,300 to make you cry in public when the Astoria Parks and Recreation Department projects the movie “Coco” on an inflatable silver screen in August. The showing of “Coco” — an ani- mated tearjerker about a young boy in rural Mexico with dreams of becoming a musician — comes courtesy of Recol- ogy Western Oregon. Arbor Care, a local tree service company, is sponsoring “A Wrinkle in Time” earlier in the month. Clatsop Power Equipment, Gimre’s Shoe Store, Aquafina and the Mini Mart have also chipped in for a third movie. The private sponsorships are the only I way the free summer movie program at Fred Lindstrom Memorial Park is possi- ble right now. Two years ago, the Parks and Rec- reation Department cut all free family and community events due to budget constraints — a situation that also led to other cuts, shifts and changes as the department struggled to match the true costs of operations with revenue. The summer movie showings at Fred Lindstrom Park, as well as events like the Easter egg hunt or the popular Mon- ster Bash, fell under the umbrella of free family and community events. “And that entire category was eliminated,” said Angela Cosby, parks and recreation director. To show one movie cost the city $1,300 in movie rights fees, equipment and staff time. Though a single movie might draw 200 to 400 people, there was no way for the department to recoup costs and still keep the showing free. Initially, there wasn’t a huge commu- nity outcry when the free events were cut, Cosby said. The events are a huge draw for families with young children — people who have many priorities other than keeping up with the park’s bud- get news, she said. Many of them didn’t realize the particular event they planned to attend had been hit by the budget ax until the usual time for the event rolled around without any of the usual posters, notifications or community chatter. See MOVIES, Page 7A See WARMING CENTER, Page 7A South Bay Wild Seafood Market & Restau- rant is located in the Mary & Nellie Building on Ninth Street in downtown Astoria. Edward Stratton The Daily Astorian Fishing family opens Astoria seafood market New restaurant celebrates a maritime vibe By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian While fishing for the Cal- ifornia Groundfish Collective in Morro Bay, California, Rob and Tiffani Seitz founded South Bay Wild, an effort to verti- cally integrate their business to include catching, processing and selling seafood directly to customers. A year after relocating to Astoria with their three chil- dren and trawler, South Bay, the family opened the next evo- lution of their business, South Bay Wild Seafood Market & Restaurant, in the Mary & Nel- lie Building on Ninth Street downtown. “There’s a lot of inconsis- tency in the fishing industry, and also there isn’t a retirement in the fishing industry,” Tif- fani Seitz said. “We kind of did this for one thing to educate the public, and to help on the finan- cial side.” The market sources seafood from Rob Seitz’s trawler and from other boats and proces- sors. They offer fresh, smoked and mixed seafood out of a dis- play case in the back of their storefront. The restaurant in front offers fried fish special- ties, chowders and other dishes. An upstairs bar has beer, wine and nautically themed cocktails. See MARKET, Page 7A
