The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, August 16, 2018, Image 1

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    ‘QUEEN
OF SOUL’
ARETHA FRANKLIN
DIES AT 76 » PAGE 7A
146TH YEAR, NO. 34
HIGH-FLYING
FUN
COAST WEEKEND » INSIDE
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018
SKIMMING OVER
SECURITY
Stealthy devices
meant to steal credit
card information
surface locally
ONE DOLLAR
Jones will
enter race
for Astoria
mayor
City councilor led
Coast Guard sector
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
In another unexpected turn in the Astoria
mayor’s race, City Councilor Bruce Jones
said today that he will enter the campaign.
His move comes one day after City Coun-
cilor Cindy Price withdrew
as a candidate and poten-
tially cleared a path for Dul-
cye Taylor, the president of
the Astoria Downtown His-
toric District Association,
to the November election.
“I am pleased to
Bruce Jones announce my intent to
run for mayor of Asto-
ria,” Jones said in a statement. “Serving on
the City Council for the last year and eight
months has been a privilege and great learn-
ing experience. Working constructively
through complex issues with diverse col-
leagues, representing constituents from
many different backgrounds and with dif-
ferent perspectives and priorities has been
invigorating and rewarding.
“Two years ago I campaigned for coun-
cil with a theme of ‘experience, judgment,
integrity’ and I will continue to do so in the
mayoral race. I am honored to enter the race
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
B
randon
Williams
noticed
something unusual when he
approached an ATM at Wauna
Federal Credit Union in Warren-
ton in July.
A man in front of him used two cards,
and the machine projected an error mes-
sage as he struggled to withdraw cash.
Williams noticed the card slot seemed
tight, the lighting on the ATM appeared
off and some kind of mold had obvi-
ously been placed on the outside surface.
He poked the front of the slot and saw a
loosely placed item inside.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, somebody put a
skimmer on the machine,” Williams said.
Williams contacted police, and a
skimmer — a small device inserted near
card readers in ATMs to steal information
— was indeed found. Days later, another
skimmer was spotted at U.S. Bank in
Astoria.
Warrenton police — after reviewing
and publicizing security footage — have
spoken with a suspect, and an investi-
gation is ongoing, Police Chief Mathew
Workman said. Astoria police have not
identified a suspect. It’s unclear if the
incidents are related, but they involve two
different types of devices.
Williams, a private contractor who
lives in Warrenton, started researching
skimmers earlier this year after hearing
about incidents in other parts of Oregon.
“It’s a shame that we have systemic
problems that lead to that kind of behav-
ior,” Williams said. “In an evolving soci-
ety, we need to educate ourselves.”
The skimmer was apparently inside
the ATM at Wauna Federal Credit Union
for about 15 1/2 hours, while the device
at U.S. Bank was more visible and likely
placed shortly before it was discovered.
“I don’t think anybody would’ve
found that thing,” Williams said.
Skimmers have been placed in ATMs,
gas pumps and other machines at busi-
nesses that read credit cards for decades,
originally popping up throughout Europe.
Initially, they were bulky and more
visible.
“You would have to find a really unob-
servant person to fall for these,” said
Mark Cooper, president of PKI Solutions,
a Portland-based cybersecurity company.
Over the years, skimmers have
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian and Warrenton Police Department
See SKIMMERS:, Page 5A
Above Inset: Brandon Williams points out where the skimmer was located on an ATM.
The device can be seen connected to an ATM at the Wauna Federal Credit Union.
See JONES, Page 5A
Hairdresser to
run for council
Drafall has lived in
Astoria for 31 years
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Astoria City Council Ward 1 has a candi-
date for the November election.
David Drafall, a hairdresser at One Six
Five West Bond beauty salon for 25 years,
has filed for the downtown
and west side seat. Ward 1 is
represented by City Coun-
cilor Zetty Nemlowill, who
was elected in 2014 and has
not announced whether she
will seek a second term.
Drafall, 54, has lived in
David Drafall Astoria for 31 years. After
growing up and attending
school in Idaho, he served
in the Air Force for about three years. He
was honorably discharged after the military
found out that he was gay, he said.
See DRAFALL, Page 5A
Frite & Scoop expands to Forest Grove
Ice cream shop
branches out
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Frite & Scoop, the gourmet ice
cream shop that opened in Astoria
nearly four years ago, is expanding
to Forest Grove.
Lisa and Kevin Malcolm moved
to Astoria from Seattle several years
ago and opened Frite & Scoop, serv-
ing ice cream and Belgian-style fries,
or frites. Earlier this year, the Mal-
colms opened a seasonal ice cream
cart at the Astoria Column through
Labor Day weekend.
“We’ve been busier than we’ve
ever been before,” Lisa Malcolm
Frite & Scoop
Local ice cream shop Frite &
Scoop is opening a location in
Forest Grove.
said. “We were more than twice as
busy as we were last year. It feels
like we’re bursting at the buttons a
bit.”
The Malcolms had resisted
expanding to a second location, wor-
ried they would not be able to rec-
reate the magic of their shop on the
Astoria Riverwalk.
On a recent visit to Forest Grove
for the first time, they noticed a vacant
storefront at the corner of Pacific
Avenue and Main Street downtown,
a block away from Pacific Univer-
sity. They later learned the space had
previously hosted another ice cream
shop, Connie’s Corner Cafe, and fell
in love with the idea of opening a
shop there.
The Malcolms have made a habit
of hiring local high schoolers. Their
first employee from four years ago,
Macen Fritz, had graduated and
moved to Forest Grove to attend
community college in Hillsboro.
See SCOOP, Page 5A
Frite & Scoop
Macen Fritz, left, will be the product man-
ager at Frite & Scoop’s new Forest Grove
location, while Kylee Winlund will be store
manager.