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147TH YEAR, NO. 48
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2019
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Warrenton
fi re chief
resigns
amid probe
Demers served since 2013
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Warrenton Fire Chief Tim Demers has
resigned as the city faces a state investi-
gation over unsafe fi refi ghting practices .
Demers, who led the Warrenton Fire
Department since 2013, submitted a let-
ter in September announcing his resigna-
tion effective Tuesday.
Demers’
resigna-
tion was not specifi cally
related to the state inves-
tigation, said City Man-
ager Linda Engbretson,
who described it as a
retirement.
Demers could not
immediately be reached
Tim Demers
for comment.
The state Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Administra-
tion received an anonymous complaint
about safety issues in the Warrenton Fire
Department and opened an investigation
in August , said Aaron Corvin, an agency
spokesman.
The complaint alleges the fi re depart-
ment did not hold required safety meet-
ings, maintain safety information or
require proper training and equipment for
fi refi ghters.
“Firefi ghters are exposed to respi-
ratory hazards because the fi re chief
requires fi refi ghters to enter burning
structures without the proper” protective
equipment, one of the allegations stated.
The complaint further alleges that
Demers stored expired and turned-in pre-
scription drugs in his offi ce without lock-
ing up or otherwise controlling them.
Demers , who had more than three
decades of experience in fi refi ghting, had
applied last year to be fi re chief in Aurora,
according to the Canby Herald.
“I can’t tell you what Tim’s issues
are,” Engbretson said. “There was a com-
plaint fi led with OSHA regarding some
OSHA concerns, and we completed that
process with the investigator.”
Engbretson declined to comment fur-
ther until the city receives the fi ndings of
the investigation, which she expects by
the middle of November .
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Proposed codes for the Urban Core would restrict further development over the river.
River views, property rights
compete in Urban Core
Last section of
Riverfront Vision Plan
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
storia had nearly fi nished draft-
ing code amendments for the
Urban Core, the fi nal section
of the Riverfront Vision Plan guid-
ing development along the Columbia
River. But a heated debate over a pro-
posed Fairfi eld Inn & Suites caused
many to rethink development standards
along the waterfront and put the down-
town changes on ice.
Now the city, mostly fi nished with
other portions of Riverfront Vision
Plan, is brushing off guidelines for the
Urban Core that try to strike a balance
A
Steve Fick owns Fishhawk Fisheries and a historic building at the end of Fourth
Street. He said his freedom to develop will be restricted under the proposed codes
for Urban Core.
See Urban Core, Page A8
See Fire chief, Page A8
Hospital,
nurses
reach new
contract
Peter Pan
owners fi nd
a buyer
Sale could close
in November
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
A federal mediator
brokered deal
And her recipient was not the only person
who benefi ted from the donation.
Mitchell was part of a paired exchange
that allows people to swap kidneys among
pairs of people who want to donate but are
incompatible with the person they want to
help.
In this case, fi ve people, who she will
likely never meet, were matched to donors.
The donations went to people across the
U.S. Two of the kidneys went to people on
the East Coast, along with one to the M id-
west, Texas and the Pacifi c Northwest, said
David Nelson, the l iving d onor c oordinator
for Legacy Transplant Services.
Pat and Jim Radich, the owners of Peter
Pan Market, have found a buyer.
Pat Radich said the prospective buyer
is planning to keep the Peter Pan name
and acquiring all the existing equipment.
The couple have been liquidating grocer-
ies at the store and plan a future sale of
memorabilia.
“We are expecting no problems with the
deal, but we haven’t closed yet,” she said.
The Radiches did not confi rm the iden-
tity of the buyer. The Astorian reached out
separately to the buyer, who declined to
comment until the deal closes Nov. 30.
The Radiches, both 71, recently
announced they would retire, close and sell
the venerated hilltop deli and grocery store
on Niagara Avenue, citing medical issues
and the inability to fi nd others to help run
the business . They purchased the store in
1981 from BernaDean and Gary Lenhard,
who relocated to Bend.
Pat Radich ran the operation, adding a
popular deli and catering service. She was
joined by her husband after his retirement
from the Georgia-Pacifi c Wauna Mill a
decade ago.
See Mitchell, Page A8
See Peter Pan Market, Page A8
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Nicole Bales/The Astorian
Nurses and administrators at Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital have tentatively
agreed to a new three-year contract , end-
ing a monthslong labor dispute.
Hospital a dministrators and the Ore-
gon Nurses Association, a union repre-
senting more than 130 nurses at the Asto-
ria hospital, began negotiating seven
months ago to replace a three-year con-
tract that expired in May. The two sides
struggled to reach an agreement, with
signifi cant disputes over pay, benefi ts,
staffi ng and the docking of hours based
on low patient counts.
Nurses held pickets, marches and
other public events, claiming the hospi-
tal is stockpiling profi ts for a new cam-
pus amid dangerously low staffi ng
See Nurses, Page A8
State Rep. Tiffi ny Mitchell and David Nelson, the living donor coordinator for Legacy Transplant
Services.
‘It’s an incredible feeling’
Rep. Mitchell donates a kidney
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
PORTLAND — State Rep. Tiffi ny Mitch-
ell hopes the small risk she took donating a
kidney will pay off in dividends for some-
one else.
“It’s an incredible feeling to know that
I saved another human being’s life even
though I may never know them,” she said at
a press conference Friday at Legacy Good
Samaritan Medical Center.
Mitchell went into surgery Wednesday to
remove a kidney that was fl own across the
country to the East Coast for a transplant .