A3
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2019
Clatsop Community
Bank to merge with
Lewis & Clark Bank
Crabber paddles to shore to be with
wife during labor — it’s a boy!
KGW
Deal is expected to
close this year
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop
Community
Bank is being absorbed
into Oregon City-based
Lewis & Clark Bank in a
merger expected to close
by the middle of this year.
The merger, valued at
$15 million for Clatsop
shareholders, was unani-
mously approved by the
governing boards of both
banks. It is subject to
approval by regulators and
shareholders in each bank.
“Lewis & Clark is the
perfect partner for Clatsop
Community Bank,” Joe
Schulte, the CEO of Clat-
sop Community Bank, said
in a news release. “We are
excited to combine with
Lewis & Clark and con-
tinue to offer our custom-
ers exceptional service and
tailored products. This is a
great opportunity for Clat-
sop Community Bank to
immediately benefi t from
increased scale and partic-
ipate in much larger, adja-
cent markets.”
Three board members
from Clatsop Community
Bank will join a nine-mem-
ber board for Lewis &
Clark. Jeff Sumpter, presi-
dent and CEO of Lewis &
Clark, will continue in his
role, while Schulte will be
market president.
“Clatsop Community
Bank is a great bank and
an ideal partner for us.”
Sumpter said in the release.
“We have similar cultures
and banking philosophies,
and
this
combina-
tion will
create sig-
nificant
synergies
and oppor-
tunities
Joe Schulte
for future
growth.
The greater scale and
added
liquidity
will
strengthen our fi nancial
position, expand our abil-
ity to serve our clients and
better position us for future
growth.”
When the deal closes,
Clatsop shareholders will
receive
approximately
0.3 Lewis & Clark shares
and $2.89 in cash for each
share of Clatsop stock.
Based on Lewis & Clark’s
most recent closing stock
price of $34.25, the merger
consideration is valued at
$13.30 per Clatsop share,
although the value will
fl uctuate.
Clatsop
Community
Bank, formed in 2008, has
branches in Astoria and
Seaside. As of last year,
the bank had $95 million
in assets.
Lewis & Clark Bank,
chartered
commercially
in 2006, serves Oregon
and s outhwest Washing-
ton state through its main
branch in Oregon City.
Man charged after
allegedly attempting to
assault judge in court
The Daily Astorian
Continued from Page A1
the state, judges and district
attorneys imposed different
sentences based on their own
interpretations .
Clackamas County Dis-
trict Attorney John Foote
sued the state in November
2017 to block the law, while
Santiago Vallin, a repeat
property thief from Lincoln
County, sued the state to
overturn a sentence by a C ir-
cuit Court judge who disre-
garded House Bill 3078.
The Supreme Court heard
both cases during a joint hear-
ing in September , but justices
issued an opinion only on the
Vallin case Thursday .
Attorneys for Clacka-
mas County and Lincoln
County argued the Legis-
lature’s changes were ille-
gal. The original sentenc-
ing standards were approved
by voters in Measure 57 in
2008. Oregon’s Constitu-
The Clatsop County
Sheriff’s Offi ce has seen
an increase in the num-
ber of reported telephone
scams.
So far, the attempted
scams have targeted pro-
fessional offi ces, but offi -
cials anticipate there could
be more attempts to scam
private citizens as tax
returns start getting mailed
out.
People are impersonat-
ing law enforcement offi -
cers, with some choosing
to identify themselves by
using the actual name of a
sheriff’s offi ce employee.
The sheriff’s offi ce is
reminding people to be
wary of unexpected calls
from people identifying
themselves as law enforce-
ment. Offi cers will never
ask for money over the
phone and do not inform
others by phone of pending
warrants for their arrest.
Subscribe online for
all the latest news
DailyAstorian.com
Anyone who receives
these kinds of calls are
advised to hang up and
ignore the caller, and then
share the name and number
with others.
People who have pro-
vided money to a phone
scammer are asked to
report the loss to local law
enforcement.
arrived into the world on
Wednesday night about 38
hours after Ford took the
plunge.
tion requires the Legislature
to have a two-thirds major-
ity vote to change a voter-ap-
proved prison sentence, and
House Bill 3078 had only a
simple majority.
The 2017 law reduced the
base sentence for fi rst-degree
theft from 18 months to 13
months. But legislators had
already reduced the sentence
with a two-thirds majority
vote in 2009. They made the
change because the state was
in the midst of a recession,
and they doubted whether
they could pay for the cost of
incarcerating thieves for lon-
ger periods of time, accord-
ing to court documents.
The 2009 legislation
gradually increased the sen-
tence to 18 months during a
two-year period. That sen-
tence remained in effect
until House Bill 3078 was
adopted.
In September, the state
argued that the Legislature
needed only a simple major-
ity vote to change the sen-
tence in 2017 because legis-
lators had already changed
the voter-approved sentence
with a two-thirds majority in
2009.
The Supreme Court
agreed with the Legislature .
In the opinion, Chief Jus-
tice Martha Walters wrote
that once the Legislature has
a two-thirds majority vote to
reduce a voter-approved sen-
tence, “the resulting sentence
has been enacted by the Leg-
islature, ‘not approved by the
people.’ ”
“It was the Legislature,
and not the people, who put
(the sentences) in place …
when the Legislature enacted
the 2009 bill,” she wrote.
Thursday’s
decision
resolves the controversy and
allows uniformity in sentenc-
ing. Foote said he would fol-
low the court’s ruling. “While
See Law, Page A6
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functioning. Please help by dropping off your
empties or making a donation.
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or email i_want_to_help@astoriabands.org
for more information.
Volunteer
Pick of the Week
Sheriff’s offi ce sees uptick
in local telephone scams
The Daily Astorian
KGW
Dylan Ford, Grace Darling and their baby boy, Breaker Ford.
Court: 2017 law reduced base sentence for fi rst-degree theft
!
A man accused of
attempting to attack Cir-
cuit Court Judge Cindee
Matyas in court last sum-
mer has been charged with
attempted assault in the
fi rst and second degrees.
Jason Andrew Boyar,
46, was in court in July on
a resisting arrest charge .
After being warned sev-
eral times for his language
and refusing to follow the
court’s directive, Boyar
was advised he was at risk
of being held in contempt
or having his release agree-
ment revoked.
He then became highly
agitated, and allegedly
picked up a microphone
and whipped it “cata-
pult style” toward the
judge, according to court
documents.
The court found Boyar
mentally unfi t to pro-
ceed in his defense and
he was sent to the Oregon
State Hospital. The assault
c harges were delayed
while the court waited for
the results of a psychologi-
cal evaluation.
Boyar was eventually
deemed fi t to stand trial,
District Attorney Ron
Brown said.
GEARHART — A crab-
ber jumped overboard and
paddled to shore on a surf-
board early Tuesday morn-
ing in hopes to make it on
time for the birth of his
son.
Dylan Ford said he got
a call that his wife, Grace
Darling, was going into
labor. Fortunately, Ford
and his captain had it all
planned out in case this
happened.
“(They told me), ‘Well
we’ll just drop you off as
close as we can someone
can pick you up wherever
we’re at,’” Ford said.
Ford, an experienced
surfer, hopped overboard
off the shore near Gear-
hart. He paddled a quar-
ter-mile to shore in about
15 minutes, much faster
than the five to six hours it
would have taken the fish-
ing boat to dock.
“There was always
that thought in my head I
wouldn’t make it,” Ford
said.
He was picked up by his
sister and then taken to the
hospital.
Turns out, there was no
big rush.
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RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
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