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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 26, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018 Shooting: ‘I can’t believe the cops killed him’ Continued from Page 1A Case was prohibited from owning firearms because of felony convictions, the district attorney’s office said, includ- ing a 2012 drug conviction in Idaho, where Case used to live. Rick Derby told KOIN that Case intervened after he was attacked by dogs. “They mauled me, they mauled me,” Derby told the television station. “I made it to the gate and the trailer and I couldn’t get away. I stand up as best as I could and (Case) comes across and drags me by my clothes out the gate and they are still trying to bite me and holds me up on the truck.” Derby, who was treated at a Portland hospital for his inju- ries, told KOIN that Case saved him. “He saved my life,” he said. “I can’t believe the cops killed him. That’s insane.” Joanne Polaschek, the mother of Derby’s ex-girl- friend, told The Daily Astorian that it was amazing Case would try to pull the dogs off Derby. Polaschek said Derby had lost his home in Gearhart a few months ago and was living in a tent in the RV park. She said the aftermath of the dog attack and shooting has affected more people than Case and Derby. “A lot of people will be and are damaged by this,” she said. Polaschek asked people not to “draw conclusions” before all the facts are known. Jeff Walker, who said he worked with Case at Gorilla Gas in Seaside, described Case as hardworking. He said Case liked to play rock ‘n’ roll on the radio. “He was ‘Wayne’s World,’ party time. He was bombastic and he was loud,” he said. “His stature made him seem intimidating, but he’d risk himself for somebody else. And he’s going to be missed.” But Walker also said Case “had his quirks. He was hot-tempered.” Two Seaside police officers involved in the shooting have been placed on leave with pay, which is standard procedure. The Oregon State Police is leading the investigation. Cashus Dean Case, who was shot and killed by po- lice Tuesday, worked at Go- rilla Gas in Seaside. Tax: ‘Our percentages are getting close to the big cities like Los Angeles’ Continued from Page 1A Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Will Berezay, a Clatsop Works intern from Astoria, loads waste lumber into a wood chipper at Hampton Lumber’s War- renton mill. Clatsop Works: Looking for more funding sources Continued from Page 1A Hampton employs more than 140 people, with an aver- age wage of above $22 an hour. The mill interviewed several candidates and settled on Will Berezay, a senior at Astoria High School who started late last month working 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shifts on the mill’s cleanup crew, where most employees get their start. “I knew I would be shov- eling sawdust,” Berezay said. “I wasn’t expecting much. I was just ready to get my hands dirty.” Mentoring Berezay is Jama Evans, who after decades in day care took a job on the mill’s cleanup and planing crews. Evans teaches Berezay proper work and safety habits at the mill, a maze of wood, metal, concrete and heavy machin- ery. The two make visits to Hampton Lumber’s export docks, corporate offices and tree farms, learning all aspects of the business from trees to lumber. Skyler Archibald, executive director of Sunset Empire, said the agency created a marketing position just for Sprengeler, who has experience in graphic design and photography, and to bolster the recreation district’s public presence. Sprengeler receives relative autonomy to cover the district’s programs and create a newsletter, and will also help design a new website. “She’s a member of our management team,” Archibald said. “She sits in when we’re discussing policies. It’s just holding her to a standard we hold all our employees to, about punctuality and respon- sibility and those sorts of things.” Employers agree that the internship program isn’t about finding a pool of new employ- ees so much as exposing the area’s youth to local oppor- tunities and how to be a good employee. A native of Seaside, Archibald said he hadn’t desired coming back to the area because low wages, a high cost of living and the sea- sonal nature of business made living locally a challenge. But the region has developed new career opportunities with edu- cation, health care and local government he wanted to share with young people. Stamper had about five weeks to arrange the work sites for students. With more time next year, she hopes to expand the pool of government, educa- tion, fisheries, manufacturing and other major local indus- tries taking part. “Some of the businesses could afford it, but they couldn’t dedicate a mentor,” Stamper said. “They need to have the ability to do the train- ing and put them into a position they can learn and grow from.” She is also looking for more funding sources to help low-in- come students take part. Kevin Leahy, the director of Clatsop Economic Devel- opment Resources, who over- sees Stamper, said the goal is to expand the internship program next summer to 24 students. Similar internship programs in Washington County have more than 100 participants. The Northwest Regional Education Service District, which oversees a hub focused on expanding career-techni- cal learning opportunities, is also looking to export Clatsop Works’ model to Columbia and Tillamook counties in the next couple of years, Stamper said. “To have this momentum in our first year is really promis- ing,” Leahy said. Warrenton: ‘An island of underutilized property’ Continued from Page 1A “We’re not in a hurry on this and I’d rather get it right,” Commissioner Mark Baldwin agreed. The city-initiated zone change applies to a wedge of land between Highway 101 and Spur 104 near the Ocean Crest car dealership. Ken Yuill, one of the property owners and a city planning commissioner, has champi- oned the zone change, which would switch the area from lower density residential zon- ing to mixed commercial use. The change would open the land to housing devel- opment like row houses and workforce housing and affordable housing units, as well as diversify what kind of businesses could move in, said City Planner Kevin Cronin. A maximum of 400 housing units could be developed there. “From a planning stand- point, from my professional perspective, it seems like a very strategic zone change,” said Mike Morgan, a planning consultant for the city. “The surrounding area is rapidly developing, as I don’t have to remind anybody,” he told commissioners. “This is kind of an island of underuti- lized property.” The property is unique in Leinassar Dental Excellence Trusted, Caring and Affordable Dental Care Hear what loyal and new patients alike are saying... I received a call from Joe M. from Chicago, IL. Joe M. was traveling with his family up the west coast from California to Washington. While in Astoria on Wednesday, June 6th, Joe had a dental emergency and was in considerable pain. Joe M. went to Leinassar Dental Excellence, Jeffrey M Leinassar, DMD, LLC first thing in the morning. Dr Leinassar was able to see Joe M. at 7:00am and give him the treatment he needed, and even referred him to two other dentists along his route to Seattle that could treat him. Joe M. wanted the Chamber to know what terrific service he received at Leinassar Dental Excellence; and how much he enjoyed visiting Astoria. He said the State of Oregon ended up being the highlight of his trip up the coast. - Astoria/Warrenton Chamber 503 325-0310 • 1414 Marine Drive, Astoria www.smileastoria.com JEFFERY M. LEINASSAR DMD, FAGD Warrenton, he said. It is one of the city’s rare sites with no wetlands except for a small parcel owned by the Depart- ment of Transportation. It is out of the tsunami zone and has no geologic hazards. “If you compare it to the statewide goals and guide- lines, it’s really kind of a unique parcel that could sat- isfy your buildable lands and growth requirements,” Mor- gan said. the commission chairman, and Commissioners Sarah Nebeker and Lisa Clem- ent voted yes, while Com- missioner Lianne Thompson was the lone “no” vote. Com- missioner Kathleen Sullivan, who works for the Cannery Pier Hotel, recused herself. Sheriff Tom Bergin has argued that the tax is justified because an estimated 27 per- cent of jail inmates come from outside the county. During testimony Wednesday, he referenced several high-pro- file crimes that have involved hotel guests. “I’ve taken multiple meth labs out of hotels in Gearhart, Seaside, Cannon Beach and Astoria,” he said. Bergin argued that the tax is necessary regardless of whether the jail bond passes, because the county has a need to rent jail beds. He estimated between $800,000 and $1 million a year to rent 30 addi- tional jail beds. The sheriff thinks the lodg- ing tax is a good option to augment the budget. “Minimally, this is not affecting their bottom line,” Bergin said of the lodging industry. “I’ve talked to some other individuals who are more on board, and they’re more concerned about how that money is going to be transferred to the cities. That’s not really my fight.” Lodging and tourism leaders, filling much of the meeting room at the Judge Guy Boyington Building on Wednesday, vociferously dis- agreed with Bergin, arguing the tax would dampen revenue and unfairly targets a single industry that doesn’t capture all visitors. They called on the county to hold off on the tax until after the November bond measure and continue a dia- logue with the lodging indus- try about alternatives. David Reid, director of the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce, said tourism is a $500 million industry in Clatsop County and cautioned against vilify- ing guests. “You cannot simply take $1.4 million from guests and expect them to book quite as many hotel rooms, spend quite as much money on meals, visit quite as many attractions and have as much money left to spend at retail- ers,” he said. “Their money can only stretch so far.” Jason Brandt, CEO of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodg- ing Association, said lodg- ing taxes suppress the ability to attract tourists. He called it irresponsible for the county to pass a lodging tax meant to support tourism without any industry support. The lodging association sued Bend over the city’s use of tourism tax money for road repairs. A judge sided with the association, but the city has appealed the decision. Loretta Maxwell, owner of the Grandview Bed & Break- fast, questioned how many of the out-of-town jail inmates referenced by Bergin stay in rented rooms, calling for an analysis. “I think that you’re flog- ging a dead horse,” Maxwell said of taxes on the lodging industry. “Our percentages are getting close to the big cit- ies like Los Angeles and New York, and we’re not them.” The argument of waiting until after the November vote on the jail bond was compel- ling to Thompson, who said the county should continue the conversation about alter- natives and look at taxing other segments of the tour- ism industry, such as food and beverages, in order to capture the impact of visitors not rent- ing rooms. County Manager Cameron Moore said the commission could reconsider after the vote because the tax will not take effect until January. “It gives you the option to rethink this if the jail bond is unsuccessful,” he said. Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Signs of protest against a 1 percent lodging tax ap- proved Wednesday by the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners.
