7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2018
Homeless: ‘It can’t get any worse than it is right now’
Continued from Page 1A
Other people shared Gim-
re’s post on Facebook, drawing
mixed reaction from the com-
munity. Many people wrote
that they are compassionate to
the plight of the homeless, but
sick of the messes people leave
behind.
Sarah Lu Heath, executive
director of the Astoria Down-
town Historic District Associa-
tion, said the association is con-
cerned for the homeless and the
“bad behavior of some individ-
uals” that impacts downtown
merchants and locals. With the
police, the association devel-
oped the Property Watch pro-
gram, an agreement between
individual property owners
and the police department that
allows officers to intervene as
needed when issues arise on
private property.
“Bad behavior, vandalism
and theft are unacceptable and
we continue to be grateful for
our partnership with (the police
department),” Heath said.
Gimre considers himself
compassionate. He has given
shoes away to people in need
and the business participates in
fundraising and provides dona-
tions for local service organiza-
tions. He has also spoken with
representatives of the Amer-
ican Civil Liberties Union
of Oregon and the Oregon
Law Center, groups that have
Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian
Homeless people protest at Heritage Square.
argued against laws on loiter-
ing or panhandling.
But Gimre wants Astoria
leaders to step up. His daugh-
ters feel unsafe on the Astoria
Riverwalk and other residents
avoid downtown, he said.
“The city needs to take a
vocal stance instead of say-
ing, ‘Let’s have another focus
group,’” Gimre said. “We’ve
reached a boiling point, a tip-
ping point where it can’t get
any worse than it is right now.”
Protest
Olsen pitched a tent in a
corner of Heritage Square next
to the American Legion and
invited others to join her Fri-
day. The square is already a
regular hangout spot for some
homeless men and women.
Over the next few days, more
people joined the camp.
Olsen has attended several
city meetings where homeless-
ness has been a topic and would
like to see the city use land near
Safeway to establish a legal
homeless camp. She made her
recommendation at the City
Council meeting where the
“no camping” amendment was
approved. City Manager Brett
Estes said there were landslide
issues with the property.
“These are my demands,”
Olsen said on Friday. “(Clat-
sop Community Action) makes
good on their promise to put
people up who are cold now.
The county abolishes their
overnight parking law.”
The Astoria Police Depart-
ment is aware of the protest and
several officers have stopped to
talk with them, homeless pro-
testers said on Sunday. About a
dozen people sat at the camp in
the late morning, some resting
in tents. The interactions with
police were friendly, they said.
“We wanted to respect their
right to protest as long as it’s
orderly,” Spalding said. How-
ever, “the setting up of tents is a
new problem that we will need
to address.”
A downtown business and
church are supporting the pro-
testers with food, he said.
Clatsop Community Action
has seen a lot of walk-ins since
the City Council amended the
city’s “no camping” rule to
include forestland — an omis-
sion the councilors believed
had been accidental when the
rule was written. But, overall,
the agency’s volume remains at
normal levels.
“It hasn’t increased it,” said
Elaine Bruce, the agency’s
executive director. “It’s just a
different type.”
The city intends to work
with social service groups like
Clatsop Community Action as
it figures out how to address the
dozen or more homeless camps
in the woods. They don’t just
want to displace people, Spald-
ing and Mayor Arline LaMear
have said.
Depending on a person’s
situation, Clatsop Community
Action can begin to figure out
what programs they might be
eligible for to find help. It is not
usually a quick process.
Places like the Astoria
Warming Center, which won’t
open until mid-November, or
Helping Hands, which is in the
process of opening a facility in
Uniontown, can provide more
immediate services but are lim-
ited in other ways.
“But we do what we can,
certainly, in all cases,” Bruce
said.
Misunderstanding
However, some advocates
for the homeless misunder-
stood what Clatsop Commu-
nity Action is able to offer.
The nonprofit does not part-
ner with the KOA to place peo-
ple at the Warrenton camp-
ground for free, or otherwise,
Bruce clarified. This misinfor-
mation, which spread through
social media, meant camp-
ground employees found
themselves fielding numerous
phone calls from people ask-
ing for a “free site,” said Lee
Wheeler, KOA’s manager.
The agency recommends
local campgrounds to people
who have been camping else-
where and ask where they can
go to camp legally. Sometimes
clients show up in an RV ask-
ing for places where they can
park for the night.
The KOA in Warrenton is
one place the agency recom-
mends. Fort Stevens State Park
is another. Both offer an array
of tent, cabin and RV camping
options. But people who fol-
low the agency’s recommenda-
tions pay for sites themselves.
In one rare case, the agency
was able to use money from
its veterans program to pay for
a cabin at the KOA for a vet-
eran, something allowed only
because the agency had per-
manent housing lined up. The
KOA cabin was a temporary
measure until the veteran could
get into that housing.
Most programs the agency
administers will not allow
money to be spent on tempo-
rary or short-term housing,
since the goal is to put money
towards long-term options.
In all these cases, KOA
campground managers and
state park rangers would not
necessarily know if a camper
was homeless or just another
tourist on vacation unless they
asked outright.
Wallace: ‘It’s a unique experience’ Price: ‘I respect
him and I like him’
Continued from Page 1A
He joined the board for
Camp Kiwanilong, which
proved to be a perfect outlet for
filling in what he missed, using
his skills in forming, funding
and managing projects.
If that wasn’t enough to keep
Wallace busy, his wife asked if
he knew they were looking
for trolley drivers, saying she
felt he would be good at it. He
wasn’t so keen on the idea, but
“it kept spinning around in my
head and I thought, ‘Yeah, it
might be fun.’”
He submitted his application
and quickly found himself in the
training program. “After I drove
the train the first time, I was
pretty well hooked,” he said.
Wallace has joined an elite
group of about 45 certified vol-
unteers, mostly retirees. He goes
about once a week, and says
there are always two volunteers
on the trolley who split the shift,
alternating between driving
and conducting. There is no set
schedule and no commitment.
“That works for me because
if I don’t have anything going
on, I can sign up for a shift if it’s
available,” he said. “I like that.”
Wallace enjoys learning
about the early history of Asto-
ria and its colorful past. “It’s
fascinating, especially when
you realize how quickly things
happened,” he said. “Part of
that makes me realize how big
a focus there was on the North-
west and how many foreign
countries were interested in this
area.”
Continued from Page 1A
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Seaside’s Neal Wallace operates the Astoria Riverfront Trolley.
Though some of the
locals are quick to correct Wal-
lace on historical facts, he says
“that doesn’t happen a whole
lot.”
“Most people don’t know
Astoria that much and they
enjoy hearing the history.
Where else can you look at
the most gorgeous scenery for
an hour? Where are you going
to get that for a buck? It’s a
unique experience both from
my end and the passengers’
end,” he said.
“It’s really gotten under my
skin.”
Neal Wallace works the controls of the trolley.
Jones, who had previously
said he would not run for
mayor this year, changed his
mind and publicly announced
his candidacy the next day.
Jones faces downtown
business owner Dulcye Tay-
lor and community activist
Michael “Sasha” Miller in
the November election.
Price, who represents
Ward 3 downtown, decided
to endorse Jones over Taylor,
a one-time ally.
“Dulcye can be great fun
and I’ve enjoyed many fine
times with her,” she said.
“She’s a good cheerleader for
downtown Astoria, and she’d
be a good councilor for Ward
3. But mayor is different, or
should be.”
Price compared the role
of mayor to a quarterback
in a football game. The city
needs, she wrote, “someone
who knows the plays, calls
the plays, executes the plays.
That’s Bruce.”
In her letter, she described
working with Jones on the
City Council for the past two
years.
“We haven’t always voted
the same way,” she wrote.
“I’ve an idealist’s raised-fist
‘Fight the Power!’ streak that
Bruce smiles and nods his
head at, and then makes an
independent, well-reasoned
decision.
“I respect him and I like
him. I trust Bruce to make
balanced, inclusive deci-
sions that will benefit all
Astorians.”
Price also said in an email
that she favors Planning
Commissioner Joan Herman,
who is vying for Price’s Ward
3 seat against state forester
Ron Zilli.
The mayoral candidates
are entering the final stretch
of the campaign. Of the three
candidates, only Taylor and
Jones have filed campaign
finance information with the
state. Miller has invested
his own money into cam-
paign items like buttons and
T-shirts, but has put most of
his energy to going door-to-
door to talk to residents.
Jones’ filings show Price
contributed $125 to his cam-
paign earlier this month.
Jones has received $5,225
in contributions, includ-
ing $1,000 from Astoria
resident and Jones’ fellow
board member at the Astoria
Armory, Dan Stein.
Taylor has raised $3,539
in contributions so far, with
$200 coming from Van
Dusen Family Inc., and an
additional $200 from Pepsi
of Astoria, owned and oper-
ated by former Mayor Willis
Van Dusen. Well-known real
estate agent Debra Bowe has
also contributed to Taylor’s
campaign.