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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019
North Coast man
accused of rape,
attempted sexual abuse
Whitsett is accused
of having sex with a
woman who was unable
A 21-year-old North to consent while she was
Coast man has been unconscious and under
indicted
for
the influence of
allegedly
rap-
intoxicants at a
get-together in
ing two women
December 2017.
and
attempt-
Whitsett
ing to sexually
allegedly
had
abuse
another
sex with another
woman at local
woman
while
get-togethers.
Parker Philip Parker Philip she was uncon-
Whitsett
scious at differ-
Whitsett
is
ent gathering in
charged
with
three counts of first-de- November .
He attempted to
gree rape, first-degree
sexual abuse, first-de- make sexual contact
gree attempted sexual with another woman
abuse and two counts who was unable to con-
of unlawful sexual pen- sent at the same get-to-
etration in the first gether, according to
court documents.
degree.
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
Seaside Fire and Rescue
Firefi ghters respond to a blaze near South Wahanna Road.
Shed fi re in Seaside stalls traffi c
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — A shed fi re
brought fi refi ghters from
throughout the region to
1190 Spruce Drive in Sea-
side on Thursday morning.
According to Seaside
Fire and Rescue, a sin-
gle-level, metal pole shed
adjacent to a single-family
residence and the Salmon-
berry Knoll apartment com-
plex was billowing smoke
when crews arrived on scene
shortly after 11:30 a.m.
Firefi ghters
were
advised by the property
owner that the shed con-
tained hazardous materi-
als , making containment “a
slow and arduous process.”
T raffi c was diverted
from South Wahanna Road
between Cooper Street
and the entrance to Prov-
idence Seaside Hospital
just south of Whispering
Pines Drive for close to
three hours.
The cause of the fi re is
under investigation.
States would get free
hand under pot bill
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
Associated Press
Gregg Freedman/For Seaside Signal
Smoke as seen from Providence Seaside Hospital shortly
after a reported blaze on South Wahanna.
Washington state lawmakers weigh
new vaccine exemption bill
Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
Amid a measles outbreak
that has sickened more than
50 people in the Pacifi c
Northwest,
Washington
state lawmakers heard tes-
timony on a bill that would
remove parents’ ability to
claim a personal or philo-
sophical exemption to opt
their school-age children out
of the combined measles,
mumps and rubella vaccine.
Hundreds of people
opposed to the measure lined
up more than an hour before
the start of the hearing before
the House Health Care and
Wellness Committee.
The bill comes as health
offi cials have reported at
least 52 known cases in
Washington state and four
in Oregon. Currently, Wash-
ington allows school-vacci-
nation exemptions for chil-
dren at public or private
schools or licensed day care
centers based on medical,
religious and personal or
philosophical beliefs.
The committee is sched-
uled to vote on the bill next
week.
Oregon pot export bill gets hearing, and a warning
SALEM — A bill that
would create the possi-
bility of Oregon export-
ing marijuana to adja-
cent states where cannabis
is also legal had its first
public hearing Thursday,
where advocates said it
would give Oregon a way
to relieve its oversupply
and grow its brand.
Separately, the U.S.
attorney
for
Oregon
warned against it.
There is little expecta-
tion that Senate Bill 582
, if passed by the Legis-
lature, would soon open
marijuana
commerce
between Oregon and Cali-
fornia, Nevada and Wash-
ington state, the three
states contiguous to Ore-
gon where it is legal.
But some advocates see
it as a way to start laying
groundwork for when the
federal government either
decriminalizes marijuana
or decides not to pros-
ecute if pot-legal states
export to each other.
One advocate sug-
gested going even fur-
ther, since several coun-
tries, including Canada
and Uruguay, have legal-
ized marijuana.
“I would like to see an
amendment that would
allow international agree-
ments in this bill, if federal
law allows, so Oregon can
cash in immediately with-
out having to wait for the
next legislative session,”
Sarah Duff, spokeswoman
for several pro-marijuana
groups, said in testimony
to the Senate judiciary
committee.
U.S. Attorney Billy J.
Williams told The Asso-
ciated Press on Thurs-
day that the bill does not
change the fact that trans-
porting marijuana across
state lines is a federal
crime.
“This bill is an attempt
to remedy the rampant
overproduction and traf-
ficking of marijuana out-
side of Oregon,” Wil-
liams said in an emailed
statement. He complained
about the negative impacts
of the marijuana industry
on public health, minors
and the environment.
But Steve Marks, direc-
tor of Oregon’s recre-
ational marijuana regula-
tory agency, said Oregon
farmers have produced
“copious amounts of can-
nabis” for generations and
that the illegal export of
pot has been taking place
“for decades.”
“Oregon is not creating
a new industry, it is con-
verting an illegal canna-
bis production economy,
and a loosely-regulated
medical program, into a
well-regulated legal mar-
ket,” Marks wrote in a Jan.
31 letter to stakeholders.
Marks, the director of
the Oregon Liquor Con-
trol Commission, said the
state is “at a crossroads
where our state’s history
with marijuana and the
future of cannabis com-
mercialization meet.”
Herman holds
meet-and-
greet event
2ND ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF MUSIC
WINTERFEST
GRAMMY-award winners
NCRD Favorites
The Daily Astorian
Astoria City Councilor
Joan Herman will hold a
meet-and-greet on Wednes-
day at the Astoria Library.
The event is from 4:30 to
6 p.m. in the library’s Flag
Room .
Residents are invited to
drop in at any point during
the event.
Please
Find More Info at
www.ncdr.org
NORTH COUNTY
RECREATION DISTRICT
PERFORMING ARTS
CENTER
36155 9TH STREET
NEHALEM, OREGON
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By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
has proposed legislation
that would give states a free
hand to allow legal mari-
juana markets without the
threat of federal criminal
intervention.
The proposal by the Ore-
gon Democrat aims to ease
the confl ict between the
U.S. government and the
growing number of states
where cannabis is legal in
some form.
The Democrat says the
federal prohibition of mar-
ijuana “is wrong, plain and
simple” and “too many eco-
nomic opportunities have
been missed.”
The proposal would
remove federal criminal
penalties for individuals and
businesses acting in compli-
ance with state marijuana
laws. It would also reduce
barriers for legal marijuana
businesses to get access to
banking.
A separate bill would
impose a tax on marijuana
products similar to federal
excise taxes on alcohol.
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