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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019
IN BRIEF
Painkillers tracked in
Clatsop and Pacifi c counties
LONG BEACH, Wash. — Clatsop County in Oregon
and Pacifi c County in Washington state were among the
highest counties for oxycodone and hydrocodone sales
per person in the years when nationwide overuse of pain
pills reached deadly proportions.
Clatsop County was seventh among Oregon’s 36
counties with about 18 million pain pills supplied
between 2006 and 2012, enough for 69.6 per person per
year, according to federal Drug Enforcement Admin-
istration data obtained by the Washington Post after a
yearlong court fi ght.
Pacifi c County was fourth among Washington’s 39
counties with nearly 10.2 million prescription pain pills
supplied, enough for 68 pills per person per year.
Locally, this period largely coincides with Dr. Bran-
don Adams’ longtime practice in Long Beach, ending
in suspension of his medical license in December 2011.
The state Medical Quality Assurance Commission cited
numerous examples of improper prescribing, including
ceasing to keep records of his prescriptions and issu-
ing prescriptions without conducting consultations with
patients.
Despite these allegations — and others involving
sexual improprieties with pain patients — Adams was
permitted to voluntarily surrender his medical license in
2012 due to his failing health.
Because of their close proximity and due to retail
buying patterns, some Pacifi c County pill prescrip-
tions were fi lled at Clatsop County pharmacies. Overall,
Thrifty Payless/Rite Aid in Warrenton sold 2.85 million
oxycodone and hydrocodone pills in seven years.
Peninsula Pharmacies in Long Beach sold 2.64 mil-
lion, followed by Fred Meyer in Warrenton with 2.53
million. South Bend Pharmacy and Thrifty Payless/Rite
Aid in Seaside each sold about 2.25 million.
Most pain pills sold in Pacifi c and Clatsop coun-
ties were manufactured by SpecGx LLC, with a total
of more than 15 million pills over the seven years. Car-
dinal Health was the top distributor in Pacifi c County,
with about 7.5 million sales, and McKesson Corp. was
tops in Clatsop, with 7.22 million.
— Chinook Observer
Astoria Library lands grant
to digitize historic documents
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Looking for Capt. George
Flavel’s signature?
Before too long, you
might be able to fi nd it
online along with troves of
city records, family papers
and other documents tied to
Astoria’s early history.
The Astoria Library
announced it landed a
$50,000 grant from the Insti-
tute of Museum and Library
Services to digitize and fur-
ther preserve a vast archive
of historical documents
stored and catalogued in the
library’s basement.
The institute is the pri-
mary source of federal sup-
port for the nation’s librar-
ies and museums and Astoria
is the only library in Oregon
out of 30 grantees selected to
receive money under an ini-
tiative to strengthen small or
rural libraries, archives and
similar organizations.
Grants ranged in size
from $10,000 to $50,000,
and the institute awarded a
total of $1.2 million.
For Astoria, the money
will pay for the work of pro-
fessionals like local histo-
rian John Goodenberger and
Leather-bound city ledgers and ordinances from Astoria’s earliest period are kept at the
Astoria Library.
archivist Rachael Woody. It
will also pay for equipment
like a large format scanner
and computers.
The Astoria Library plays
a dual role in the community,
said Library Director Jimmy
Pearson.
The library stores the
usual suspects: books, vid-
eos, magazines and news-
papers. But the basement is
also home to a vast archive
of historical artifacts and
documents that Gooden-
berger and Woody, helped
by an army of volunteers,
have been working to cata-
logue and organize for sev-
eral years .
“We have 170 years worth
of history,” Pearson said.
“It’s kind of an honor to be
charged with the role of safe-
guarding that for the future.”
He hopes the archive will
become an easily accessible
resource, not just for profes-
sional researchers, but also
for local schoolchildren.
“We’re trying to open the
access of the material to a
larger audience,” he said.
Work to digitize the
library’s historic archives
will begin in earnest in
October and likely continue
through 2021.
Pearson also hopes to
conduct some commu-
nity events and workshops
around the project.
Sunset Pool faces fi ve-week closure
SEASIDE — The potential for cross-contamination
is leading to a fi ve-week shutdown of the Sunset Pool.
The pool will be closed from Oct. 20 to Nov. 25.
The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District’s
learner pool is in violation of the Oregon Health Author-
ity code for public water systems, which states decks
shall be sloped to perimeter, and that the drain has to be
a certain width and depth.
“Unfortunately, our learner pool doesn’t comply with
this statute as the water overfl ows to one small drain
located in the northeast corner,” Skyler Archibald, the
rec district’s executive director, said at a board meeting
last week.
During a bathing load, water overfl ows the gutter
system and can spill over to the drains for the main pool.
If the drains were to clog, the potential for cross-con-
tamination of the two bodies of water is increased.
Project work is estimated at about $90,000, Archibald
said.
— The Astorian
Massive manure spill discharges
waste into Tillamook Bay
TILLAMOOK — A manure spill at the Port of Til-
lamook Bay has discharged about 300,000 gallons of
treated liquid waste into waterways in the area.
The Oregonian reported Wednesday that the manure
had been held in an anaerobic digester tank, which
breaks down dung into biogas that can be used for elec-
tricity and fertilizer for farms and agriculture.
Lauren Wirtis, a spokeswoman for the state Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality, says anaerobic diges-
tion creates fewer pathogens and makes the manure less
harmful than raw sewage.
State offi cials are conducting tests on water samples
from Tillamook Bay and a tributary of the Tillamook
River.
They have yet to shut down Tillamook Bay or
impose restrictions on commercial and recreational
shellfi sh harvesting.
The spill was discovered Monday.
— Associated Press
DEATH
July 19, 2019
PIERSON, Doreen, 86, of Seaside, died in Seaside.
Hughes-Ransom Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Sunset Empire Trans-
portation District Board,
9 a.m., Astoria Transit Cen-
ter, 900 Marine Drive.
Columbia River Estuary
Study Taskforce, noon, 818
Commercial St., Suite 203.
FRIDAY
Clatsop County Planning
Commission, 1:00 p.m.,
Judge Guy Boyington
Building, 857 Commercial
St., Astoria.
Social media post leads deputies
to an illegal marijuana grow
By ALYSSA EVANS
Chinook Observer
OCEAN PARK, Wash. — As
the saying goes, be careful what
you post on the internet.
A mother and son are in jail on
marijuana-related charges, thanks
to the son’s social media activity.
Christina Yanez, 38, is charged
with unlawfully manufacturing
marijuana, a class C felony. Her
teenage son is charged with pos-
sessing marijuana as a minor.
The pair was allegedly caught
with a 29-plant marijuana farm at
their home after the teen posted
a public video of the plants on
the app Snapchat. Pacifi c County
Sheriff’s Offi ce Deputy Ryley
Queener found the video in July .
In the video, the teen talks
about harvesting the plants and
making “pounds to sell.” The teen
mentions his stepfather left behind
the plants after being booked into
jail.
Yanez’ boyfriend, Shaun Klein,
was booked into jail in late June .
He’s charged with rape of a child,
distributing narcotics to a minor
and unlawfully possessing mari-
juana with intent to manufacture.
His marijuana-related charge is a
result of Queener fi nding the farm.
Queener was able to deduce
that the home in the video was
Klein’s based on the location and
views of the home shown in the
video.
Soon after seeing the video,
Queener obtained a search warrant
for the home.
While deputies searched the
home, Yanez told them that she
and Klein both had marijuana
licenses, but she was unable to pro-
vide proof of any licenses, accord-
ing to Queener’s incident report.
During the search, deputies
found the 29 plants, methamphet-
amine and a nasal decongestant.
Deputies also found methamphet-
amine residue in a container and
tin foil. The residue was found
alongside plastic straws, a glass
pipe and a scale.
Yanez was home during the
search. She was subsequently
arrested. She denied knowing
about the marijuana plants, but
said she had lived at the home on
and off the last fi ve years.
Yanez’ son came home during
the search. He had marijuana with
him, which he said he stole from
Yanez. The teen was also arrested.
Before being taken to juvenile
detention, the teen told Queener
the marijuana plants had been at
the house for about four months,
but that Klein had been grow-
ing marijuana at the home for
fi ve years. He also said Yanez and
Klein mostly kept the marijuana
for personal use.
Recreational use and licensed
sale of marijuana is legal in Wash-
ington state, but unlicensed grow-
ing of marijuana remains against
the law.
County unemployment rate remains low
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
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Clatsop County added
560 jobs in June, staying at a
low summertime unemploy-
ment rate of 4.1 percent.
The county recorded
19,060 jobs in June, a gain
of 210 compared to the year
prior. The private sector
added 270 jobs over the past
year, led by the leisure and
hospitality industry with 160
and construction with 90.
Local government education
lost 160 positions compared
to the year prior.
Erik Knoder, a regional
economist for the state, said
Astoria schools reported
being down 40 jobs, Warren-
ton 40 and Seaside 30.
Tom Rogozinski, the new
superintendent in the War-
renton-Hammond School
District , said the drop is
related to a change in how
substitute teachers are paid
rather than any drop in
employment.
“They used to get paid
through each district indi-
vidually,” he said. “But as
of March, April, the sub-
stitute teachers in most
county school districts were
paid through a third-party
contractor.”
Food
manufacturing,
namely seafood processing,
also dropped 100 positions
over the past year. Knoder
said the state doesn’t ask
why regional processors
report a lower workforce,
but said it could have to
do with harvests and price
negotiations.
“I’ve heard about dis-
agreements over the starting
price, so a lot of people sat
out during negotiations,” he
said.
The county’s unemploy-
ment rate climbed slightly
from 3.9 percent a year ago,
but was still the eighth-low-
est of any county in the state,
the same as the statewide
rate — 4.1 percent — and
0.4 percent higher than the
national rate.