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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2019)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2019 Fishermen killed when boat capsizes off Newport Associated Press NEWPORT — A commercial fi shing boat capsized in rough waters off the Oregon Coast, killing three men aboard. The Coast Guard said the vessel, the Mary B. II, overturned about 10 p.m. Tuesday as it crossed Yaquina Bay Bar in Newport. Authorities say crews faced 12- to 14-foot waves during the initial response as they tried to rescue the fi shermen. The Coast Guard pulled one fi sherman, James Lacey, 48, from South Toms River, New Jersey, from the sea Tuesday, and the man later died, according to the Oregon State Police. Authorities say the body of Joshua Porter, 50, of Toledo, washed ashore near Nye Beach after midnight. The third body — skipper Stephen Biernacki, 50, of Bar- negat Township, New Jersey — was found on the hull of the boat near the north side of the Yaquina Bay North Jetty. Astoria man gets probation in connection with sex abuse case By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian An Astoria man was sen- tenced Tuesday to probation after allegedly having sex with a young woman with- out her consent in 2015. James Herbert Cunning- ham, 47, pleaded no contest to third-degree assault after originally facing a lengthy list of sex abuse charges. If Cunningham violates probation, he would face a prison sentence of more than two years. In 2015, Cunning- ham met with Dennis Lee Sturgell, 66, at an Astoria hotel. Earlier in the night, Sturgell drank with the woman at a Warrenton bar, provided cocaine to during Sturgell’s her and drove her to trial that prosecutors his wooded property needed to prove that in Naselle, Wash- he knew the woman ington, where he was incapacitated or sexually abused her. physically helpless. Sturgell then Since Cunning- took the heavily James Herbert ham did not pro- intoxicated woman Cunningham vide her with drugs to the Astoria hotel or alcohol, like before meeting with Cun- Sturgell, prosecutors were ningham. After entering unable to prove that he the hotel room and seeing knew the victim was unable the woman, Cunningham to give consent, Deputy asked, “Where did you fi nd District Attorney Dawn this one?” the victim said Buzzard said. The victim during Sturgell’s trial in did, however, experience November. soreness after the encoun- Cunningham then had ter, leading to the assault sex with her and performed charge. other sexual acts, the victim Sturgell was convicted said. Circuit Court Judge in November of four counts Paula Brownhill ruled of fi rst-degree sodomy, State lawmakers join forces against offshore drilling across the nation By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine — A group of nine Democratic state lawmakers from differ- ent coastal states announced Tuesday that they are going to use their coming legisla- tive sessions to try to block attempts at offshore drilling. The lawmakers’ an- nouncement came as new and re-elected legislators were entering offi ce around the country after an elec- tion that saw high turn- over in some states, and the group said it wants to take advantage of new politi- cal dynamics that could fa- vor environmental bills. The announcement also came about a year after the Trump administration announced plans to expand drilling. The lawmakers, who are affi liated with nonprofi t advocacy group National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, said their bills will seek to limit the pos- sibility of drilling off their coasts. State legislatures are limited in what they can do to stop drilling beyond state waters, but the lawmakers said they’re showing a united stand against the practice. “We need to pass perma- nent legislation in our states so that this ban would be in place for the future,” New Hampshire state Sen. Mar- tha Fuller Clark said. “We can’t afford to rely on Wash- ington to protect us.” Consult a Q: Does oral health affect overall health? you probably under- A: Although stand that poor dental care JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR DMD, FAGD Associated Press The oil drilling rig Polar Pioneer is towed toward a dock in Elliott Bay in Seattle in 2015. Other lawmakers involved in the effort repre- sent Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachu- setts, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island. Some of the lawmakers said they would seek outright bans on drill- ing, while others said they would look to pass bills that restrict it or do more to hold companies liable for spills. The proposals will likely encounter resistance from the oil and gas industry. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, released a statement in response that said: “Closing the door on offshore devel- opment could hurt local economies, as well as Amer- ica’s energy security, and is a step in the wrong direction.” The practical impact of some of the bills could be that they make it more diffi - cult for companies that seek to drill to access offshore sites via state waters, mem- bers of the group said. Several states have already taken action to ban offshore drilling in state waters. New Jersey passed one of the strongest laws on the subject last year. Law- makers in coastal states are acting on the subject because of potential harm to criti- cal industries such as tour- ism and commercial fi shing, said Oregon state Sen. Arnie Roblan, a Democrat who represents Coos Bay. They lawmakers also said their respective states must do more to encour- age renewable energy rather than fossil fuel extraction. State Rep. Park Cannon, of Georgia. said she expected a fi ght against defenders of “archaic energy practices” in her state. “It’s time to transition away from dirty fossil fuels to renewable energy,” said Hawaii state Sen. Mike Gab- bard, who said he’d intro- duce a ban on oil drilling off Hawaii when the session starts next week. can lead to cavities, did you know that other, more serious health problems can also result from poor oral care ? The truth is that if you don’t take proper care of your teeth you could face far more serious consequences that a simple tooth- ache or some unsightly stains. You could face Cardiovascular Disease, Dementia Respiratory Infection and Diabetic Complications and more. Q: Should I use heat or cold? you hurt,especially in A: If a joint, use ice; it reduces ASTORIA CHIROPRACTIC Barry Sears, D.C. 503-325-3311 2935 Marine Drive Astoria, Oregon inflammation and pain and shortens healing time. You can get a burn from ice just like with heat, so don’t leave it on for more than 20 minutes. Most problems get better more quickly with ice. Heat feels good, but may seriously make problems worse. As long as there is pain and/or swelling, continue ice; it can be done as often as once an hour. Would you heat a cut? No, because it would keep bleeding —that is what happens inside where you can’t see it. Q: Any easy way to repair errors in Windows? LEO FINZI Astoria’s Best.com We stock 1000’s of parts, cables, accessories, etc. for phones, TVs, Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-4 computers, and Astoria, OR tablets. 503-325-2300 AP Photo/Don Ryan Attorney General Ellen Rosenbaum wants action against hate crimes. son to fear imminent serious injury. But if person motivated by prejudice acts alone, it’s only intimidation in the second degree — a mis- demeanor. It’s also a mis- demeanor if a person tam- pers with property or makes threats because of prejudice. A glaring example, Hus- saini said, is the case of Jer- emy Christian, who allegedly stabbed three people — kill- ing two of them — aboard a light-rail train in Portland in May 2017. The victims had tried to intervene as Chris- tian spewed anti-Muslim threats at two black teenage girls. Yet it was not classifi ed as a hate crime, Hussaini noted. Christian’s trial on charges including aggravated murder is pending. The task force is seeking to help craft legislation that would go before lawmak- ers during the 2019 session. It would also address data collection. The other listening ses- sions were in Eugene on Tuesday and in Medford today. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 10TH STREET the transgender community and others speak powerfully in the standing-room-only crowd. One man, an immigrant from Africa, described peo- ple shouting racist slurs at him while he was walking down the street in Portland, Hussaini said. Hussaini, whose group is part of the hate crimes task force, marveled at how it has brought law enforcement and immigrants, people of color and others together. Among those attending Monday’s session were the police chief of Salem and a sheriff, Hus- saini said. “To be on a task force with law enforcement offi - cials, to maintain our iden- tity, to correct the record and speak frankly and clearly to these powers, gives us keen insights and allows us to have an exchange with law enforcement that is usually absent,” Hussaini said. The turnout showed there’s “overwhelming support” for the effort to strengthen the state’s hate- crime laws, Hussaini said. Currently, the crime of intimidation in the fi rst degree, a felony, applies only if two or more people harm another person because of “that person’s race, color, religion, sexual orientation, disability or national origin,” or if they cause another per- 503/325-0310 1414 MARINE DRIVE, ASTORIA www.smileastoria.com ASTORIA TRANSIT CENTER SALEM — Immigrants, Muslims, people of color, top law enforcement offi cers and state offi cials packed into a room to discuss the sharp rise of hate crime in Oregon, with the goal of strengthening the state’s lax laws against it. For all its imagery as a bastion of liberalism, Ore- gon has a dark history of racism and xenophobia, and today serious attacks and threats often make headlines. The gathering Monday night in Portland was the fi rst of three planned this week by a task force created by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. Hate crimes increased by 40 percent in Oregon from 2016 to 2017, according to FBI statistics. “It is appalling that hate-motivated crimes are on the increase in Oregon,” Rosenblum said in a state- ment. “This reality requires us to act.” More than 100 people attended the “listening ses- sion” at Unite Oregon, said Seemab Hussaini, an orga- nizer with the intercultural organization. Rosenblum’s spokes- woman, Kristina Edmun- son, said she heard Mus- lims, Latinos, members of Subscribe online! DailyAstorian.com PROFESSIONAL Effort underway to strengthen Oregon hate-crime laws By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press two counts of fi rst-degree unlawful sexual penetration and one count of second-de- gree sex abuse. He was sen- tenced Monday to more than 13 years in prison. Cunningham was sched- uled for a trial this week on a host of sex abuse charges, including fi rst-degree rape. Several of the charges car- ried minimum sentences of more than six years in prison under state law. But he instead pleaded no contest Tuesday to the assault charge. “We believed that this was going to trial, but we negotiated a very favorable deal,” said John Gutbezahl, Cunningham’s court-ap- pointed attorney. the Windows “Start” A: Click button, lower left. Type “CMD”. Right Click on “Command Prompt” then click “Run as Administrator” then click on “Yes”. In the black command prompt window type “sfc /scannow” (without the parenthesis) and press the “Enter” key on your keyboard. The program will scan your windows installation and, if there are errors, attempt to repair those errors. Be patient, it may take a while to finish. Q: I lost my medicare card, how can I get a new card? A: When your Medicare card is lost or goes through the washing machine, you can obtain a replacement by Medicare Products calling 1-800-772-1213, or go online on the Social Security 503-440-1076 Administration web site. Make sure you have your Medicare Licensed in Oregon number ready when you call. It and Washington takes about four weeks to get your new card. Steve Putman putmanagency@gmail.com
