STATE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS SPORTS • A5 AND A10
146TH YEAR, NO. 175
ONE DOLLAR
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019
State fl ags concerns at mental health agency
Review triggered by
incident at respite center
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
The Oregon Health Authority
conducted a broad review of Clat-
sop Behavioral Healthcare after
the wrongful arrest of a patient
at the crisis respite center, iden-
tifying concerns over how the
agency’s executive director was
placed on administrative leave
and whether clinical documenta-
tion improved after a state visit
last year.
The health authority deter-
mined a review of the agency’s
mental health and substance abuse
treatment was necessary after
what the state described as “a seri-
ous incident” at the respite center
in Warrenton in December.
Video footage of a fi ght
between two patients one eve-
ning showed the wrong patient
was arrested by Warrenton police.
The error was discovered within a
few hours, but detonated a lead-
ership clash that exposed several
other management and oversight
problems.
Debbie Morrow, the board
chairwoman, placed Amy Baker,
the executive director, on admin-
istrative leave in late December
pending an internal investigation
of Baker’s on-call responsibilities
at the respite center. The board
cleared Baker after the investiga-
tion, and she returned to work in
January, but Morrow and another
board member resigned in protest.
The health authority, in its
review, received reports that Mor-
row handled Baker’s leave in “an
See Report, Page A7
Woman
sentenced for
identity theft
A PANTRY FOR STUDENTS, BY STUDENTS
Schehl gets 10 years in prison
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
A North Coast woman was sentenced
Friday to 10 years in prison for rack-
eteering and more than
20 identity-theft related
charges .
Desirai Skye Schehl,
28, was charged with
145 counts of identity
and mail theft, fi rst-de-
gree forgery and other Desirai Skye
crimes earlier this year.
Schehl
More than 130 Clatsop
County people and businesses were
listed as victims.
As part of a deal with prosecu-
tors , Schehl pleaded guilty or no con-
test to 13 counts of identity theft, three
counts of fi rst-degree forgery, six counts
of mail theft and one felony count of
racketeering.
See Theft, Page A7
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Clinton Reed looks over his senior project, a food pantry located at the Capt. Robert Gray School building in Astoria.
College
tackles
maritime
funding
The idea is part of
a senior project
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
I
n a suite of classrooms on the sec-
ond fl oor of the Capt. Robert Gray
School building, Astoria High
School students study at their own
pace toward graduation and the GED
exam in the Gray Alternative High
School, often in relative anonymity
from their peers .
But the Alameda Avenue cam-
pus also hosts a free pantry started by
seniors to provide food and toiletries
for fellow students in need.
“The idea was just collecting pop
cans and taking those proceeds to
the store and just purchasing a few
things and padding the pantry,” said
Alexa Haller, the head teacher at Gray
School.
The pantry was started last year as
a capstone project for senior Anthony
Espericueta, with help from Gray
School counselor Rachel Rollins,
Haller said. This year, senior Clinton
Reed took the pantry on as his cap-
Several ideas under
consideration
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Shelves are stocked with food and other supplies at Clinton Reed’s senior project
food pantry.
stone project .
The pantry carries nonperishable
food and toiletries . “Any kids that
need it can come up here, ” Reed said.
Haller has seen current and former
students, along with their families,
come in and fi ll up backpacks.
HOW TO HELP
For more information on donating
to the Capt. Robert Gray School
food pantry, contact Alexa Haller at
503-325-4197, ahaller@astoria.k12.
or.us or stop in at 785 Alameda Ave.
Clatsop Community College is hop-
ing a patchwork of fi nancing will help
reach $22 million for a new maritime
sciences hall at its Marine and Environ-
mental Research and Training Station
campus.
The college’s maritime science pro-
gram is one of the only in the region,
training people to work in an industry
with an aging workforce .
See Pantry, Page A7
See College, Page A8
North Coast residents discover Cuba
Astoria man
organizes trips
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
The empty fi elds of
Cuba’s farmland stood out.
Celia Tippit can’t stop think-
ing about it: Acres of a beau-
tiful countryside not being
worked and old orchards,
neglected, waiting to bloom
again.
Once known for its sugar
cane production, Cuba’s
farming is in fl ux, with activ-
ities restricted and food pri-
orities controlled by the gov-
ernment. There has been a
recent push toward small-
scale organic farming, but
the country imports most of
its food — something Tippit
struggled to connect to the
open land she saw around
her.
Tippit, an Astoria resi-
dent, was one of 10 people
from the North Coast who
visited the island country as
a group in January.
President Barack Obama
re-established
diplomatic
ties, ushering in a new wave
of American visitors to Cuba.
When the Trump administra-
tion tightened an economic
embargo against the coun-
try in 2017, it made it more
diffi cult for Americans to
access hotels and businesses
tied to the Cuban military,
but visitors still went.
The group Tippit traveled
with — all friends— was led
by Manuel Suarez, a retired
teacher who lives in Asto-
ria. Suarez was born in Cuba
and spent the fi rst few years
of his life there until his fam-
ily fl ed after the revolution.
See Cuba, Page A8
Manuel Suarez
North Coast residents Sandra Baker, Gil Gramson, Ann
Gramson, Manuel Suarez, Jim Holen and Celia Tippit pose
with a Cuban school administrator and a student during a
recent trip to Cuba.