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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2020)
147TH YEAR, NO. 93 WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2020 $1.50 LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW Johnson, Mitchell prepare for short session A 35-day agenda starts on Monday By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian The 35-day short session of the Oregon Legislature starts Monday with Democrats looking to pass a revamped version of the failed car- bon cap-and-trade bill that led to protests last year and a walkout by Senate Republicans, among several other big-ticket items. State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, who has long railed against such big-ticket items in the short session, wants to eliminate it in the future. Johnson and Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, are the chief co-spon- sors of Senate Joint Resolution 202, which would amend the state con- stitution to eliminate even-num- bered regular sessions of the Legis- lature, holding only odd-numbered year sessions of no longer than See Local, Page A6 ‘THERE IS JUST MORE UNCERTAINTY IN THE ADVENT OF THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION THAN I HAVE EXPERIENCED IN MY ENTIRE LEGISLATIVE SERVICE.’ State Sen. Betsy Johnson Guns, wildfi res, homelessness among issues Cap and trade also on tap in Salem By SAM STITES, JAKE THOMAS and CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Legislators will roll up their sleeves for some speedy politicking in February, tack- ling some of Oregon’s thorniest problems. When they gather for the month- long legislative session, legislators want to improve the state’s care for people with mental illness and the ability to fi ght increasingly destruc- tive wildfi res. They want to protect the state’s air quality by decreasing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Also high on the “to-do” list is moving thousands of homeless people off the street and into housing. See State, Page A6 Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian One of four dispatchers watches fi ve screens with a headset on, ready to answer any incoming emergency calls to the Astoria dispatch center. Astoria dispatch staffi ng levels are critically low The work is stressful and demanding By NICOLE BALES The Astorian A storia’s emergency dispatch center is at critically low staff- ing levels. Police Chief Geoff Spalding said the dispatch center is operating at less than half staffed with dispatchers logging an average of 60 hours of overtime every month. He said dispatchers have been work- ing mandatory overtime shifts for the past few months, but with the recent loss of two dispatchers, the past month has been especially diffi cult. “At least as long as I can remem- ber we’ve never been up to full staff. B ut we’ve also never been at this criti- cal low staffi ng point either,” Spalding said. Prior to Spalding becoming the interim chief in 2017, the dispatch cen- ter struggled with staffi ng shortages and, like now, was not able to pinpoint one primary reason why. The Astoria dispatch center han- dles emergency calls for 16 agencies, including the Astoria and Warrenton p olice d epartments, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Offi ce and rural fi re districts. The dispatch center is authorized for Astoria Police Chief Geoff Spalding is working to bring more dispatchers to the center and is helping with administrative work. 11 full-time people — the emergency communications manager, the opera- tions supervisor and nine dispatchers . Right now, the center is operating with four dispatchers. Spalding and Deputy Chief Eric Halverson have been helping with administrative work so the operations supervisor can work dispatch shifts. “We’re all pitching in and trying to help, but it’s just a tough spot right now. We’ll get through it, it’s just going to take a little bit of time,” Spalding said. Spalding attributed the situation to several factors that have culminated in a “perfect storm.” “We lost some good quality people all at the wrong time. S o it put us at this place we’re at now and it’s not like we can instantly fi ll spots, so it does take some time and we’re doing some of these temporary emergency measures to keep the positions fi lled and then looking at it for the long term as well,” he said. “One person is a huge percentage of the workforce so if you lose one and you lose another, it’s not like a large organization … one person means a lot to our organization,” Halverson said. See Dispatch, Page A6 ‘AT LEAST AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER WE’VE NEVER BEEN UP TO FULL STAFF. B UT WE’VE ALSO NEVER BEEN AT THIS CRITICAL LOW STAFFING POINT EITHER.’ Geoff Spalding | Astoria police chief Court rules against former Jewell basketball coach Samuelson objected to harassment fi nding By NICOLE BALES The Astorian A Circuit Court judge has denied a request by a former bas- ketball coach at Jewell School to review a decision made by the school district after a sexual harassment allegation. David Samuelson, the former boys basketball coach at Jew- ell School, was charged in Octo- ber with misdemeanor harass- ment for allegedly touching a fellow coach. Prosecutors fi led an amended indictment on Fri- day charging Samuelson with fi ve counts of harassment and fi ve counts of sexual abuse in the third degree for allegedly unlaw- fully and intentionally harass- ing and annoying the woman by touching her buttocks. In January, Samuelson fi led a writ of review asking the Circuit Court to reverse the school dis- trict’s fi nding that he engaged in sexual harassment relevant to his position as basketball coach. He claims the district is denying him from coaching basketball because of the claims and he wants to be eligible to coach again. He believes the school took “hostile action” against him for conduct he says took place sep- arately and apart from school activities. Judge Beau Peterson denied the request on Tuesday, fi nding that it failed to “describe the deci- sion or determination with con- venient certainty” as required by law. “I’m happy with Judge Peter- son’s decision to deny Mr. Sam- uelson’s petition of writ,” Jew- ell S uperintendent Steve Phillips said. Samuelson’s attorney could not be reached for comment. Samuelson believes the sexual harassment allegation from the woman came after he approached the school superintendent about her conduct with a parent. A court fi ling by his attorney also described the woman’s boundar- ies with a high school student as “problematic.” Samuelson’s attorney wants to subpoena the student’s cellphone and other cellphone records for evidence. The prosecutor in the case has opposed the request. The woman resigned as a coach for the middle school girls basketball team in January, but she is still coaching other teams at the school. A trial on the harassment charge is scheduled for April.
