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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2018)
146TH YEAR, NO. 50 WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 ONE DOLLAR Family seeks damages after Seaside drowning A $3.6 million lawsuit By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Frank ‘Kenny’ Nimz rests in his tent after packing up in preparation to move from the homeless camp. A HOMELESS CAMP’S FINAL DAYS Homeless start moving out of Warrenton camp after trespass notices By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian ARRENTON — Suzie Snodgrass recently pur- chased a bow and arrow for her boyfriend, Frank “Kenny” Nimz. He had wanted the weapon for a long time, but it didn’t make the cou- ple’s life in a homeless camp any easier. Depending on who’s telling the story, other campers in the woods behind Goodwill either wanted to stop Nimz from walking around the camp and waving the weapon or just wanted to steal it for themselves. Either way, Nimz lost the bow earlier this week during a physical disturbance in which police were called. “Everybody and their mother wanted this stupid bow and arrow,” Snodgrass said. “It is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of in my whole life.” Several factors — including the death of one the camp’s founders — have led to a rise in similar disturbance calls this year. Police have known of the camp for about three years, but after notifying the owner of the private prop- erty about the recent incidents, they were given permission to issue trespass notices. The notices were distributed in August. W SEASIDE — The family of an Oklahoma teen- ager who drowned in Seaside in 2016 has filed a $3.6 million lawsuit against the city, claiming they were not warned about dangerous ocean conditions. Conner Miguel Wu Moore, 14, of Tulsa, and his cousin were in the ocean at the foot of Broad- way in July 2016 when lifeguards saw the teenag- ers struggling. After a rescue attempt, Moore was pronounced dead at Providence Seaside Hospital. His cousin survived. The lawsuit, filed in July by L. Nicole Moore, Moore’s mother, alleges the teens were swimming in waters next to an area that is “particularly dan- gerous and this extremely hazardous condition was not obvious to an ordinary person.” The suit said Moore was recovered in an area known to have a “precipitous drop-off.” Seaside did not post appropriate warning signs and lifeguards did not alert the family to the poten- tial danger, the suit alleges. The lawsuit seeks $3 million in damages for Moore’s death. The family is also asking for a $691,200 penalty against the city for releasing Moore’s name, age and medical information to the news media. The suit claims the disclosure was a violation of federal and state medical privacy laws. Reached in Tulsa on Thursday, L. Nicole Moore said she had no additional comment. Richard Freud, an attorney with Citycounty Insurance Services, which is defending Seaside, declined to comment on the lawsuit or the underly- ing facts of the situation. At the time of the drowning, the city said the teenagers were visiting the North Coast for a fam- ily reunion. Man arrested after foot chase through Astoria Adams had assault warrant By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Lonie Davis takes a break in the shade while clearing a path near the camp. “We’re not heartless. We don’t want to come in and kick people out of there, but we also need to protect the prop- erty owner,” Warrenton Police Chief Mathew Workman said. People who remain at the camp say that as some begin to leave, the number of thefts has climbed even higher. Gar- bage strewn about the property has also become a problem. “Everybody’s getting ready to leave, no one knows where to go and not a lot of people have plans,” Nimz said. See HOMELESS CAMP, Page 6A “WHEREVER I GO, THEY’LL FIND ME AGAIN AND SAY, ‘NO, YOU CAN’T BE HERE.’ IN THE LANDOWNER’S DEFENSE, I WOULDN’T WANT TO COME BACK AND SEE MY PROPERTY LIKE THAT. I FEEL FOR THEM.” Ernest Bean | says a permanent living situation is not realistic with his monthly income — $750 in Supplemental Security Income and $122 for food stamps A man wanted on an assault warrant led police on a lengthy foot chase through downtown Astoria on Thursday morning before he was captured near the Columbia River Maritime Museum. The warrant for the arrest of Virgil Lee Adams, 21, was issued in Multnomah County in July. Adams attended a hearing in a separate assault case Thursday morning at Clatsop County Circuit Court and was wearing an ankle monitor. Following the hearing, Adams walked into the Clatsop County Jail with an attorney to check if he had a warrant. Sheriff’s deputies confirmed the warrant, but didn’t have the chance to tell Adams before he left the jail lobby, Sgt. Doug Stevens said. “He would’ve been issued a court date in Mult- nomah County, but when we opened the door to tell him he would be taken into custody, processed and released, he bolted,” Stevens said. Officers from several departments searched for Adams has he ran through downtown before reach- ing the Astoria Riverwalk. He then jumped into the Columbia River. Police arrested Adams soon after the jump. See FOOT CHASE, Page 6A Bucket Bites brings pasties to Astoria New food cart on Marine Drive By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Bucket Bites, a new food cart recently opened next to the Astoria Eco Wash along Marine Drive, is offering up homemade pasties and gravy. Christine Karna, origi- nally from Pennsylvania, said pasties were a traditional sta- ple where she grew up. The baked pastries, largely associ- ated with Cornwall, England, include meat and vegetables placed on half a pastry circle Kate Karna Pasties are stuffed with meat and vegetables. and crimped shut. Karna makes every aspect of her pasties from scratch, along with a side of gravy. The cart also serves up sides such as Scotch eggs — a hard- boiled egg wrapped in sausage, covered in panko and deep- fried — along with chocolate whoopie pies filled with cream. The name Bucket Bites pays homage to the metal lunchboxes carried by miners in Alaska. Christine and her husband, Chris, a fourth-gen- eration Astorian, originally conceived of the food cart while living in Valdez, Alaska, even buying and building out a van to run the business. “We had saved seed money,” Christine Karna said. “We were literally within three months of getting that on board when family became sick down here and we knew some plans were going to change.” Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian See FOOD CART, Page 6A Chris and Christine Karna recently opened the food cart Bucket Bites along Marine Drive near the Astoria Eco Wash.
