A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY28, 2020
IN BRIEF
Astoria Bridge closed on Saturday
after man climbed to top
The Astoria Bridge was closed to traffic for several
hours on Saturday as police investigated a man who
climbed to the top of the span that connects Oregon
and Washington state.
Police were called to the bridge at about 4:15 p.m.
and closed the bridge soon after. Traffic backed up
near the bridge in Astoria and on the Washington side
of the C olumbia River.
The bridge reopened at about 9:30 p.m.
Astoria Police Chief Geoff Spalding said a man
climbed stairs to the bridge’s top observation deck. He
said Astoria police officers and a staffer for Clatsop
Behavioral Healthcare spoke with the man.
Spalding also said police worked with a relative of
the man to help bring the man down.
The police chief said the man could face a charge of
criminal trespass in the second degree.
Mayor Bruce Jones thanked Sgt. Chris McNeary
and Officer Thomas Litwin for helping to get the man
off the bridge safely.
“With the calm professionalism of a seasoned offi
cer who previously worked a suicide hotline, Sgt.
McNeary patiently listened to and spoke with the man
for over four hours until he was ready to come peace
fully down,” Jones said in a Facebook post. “Climbing
the stairs to the top of the bridge is challenge enough,
without the added stress of an uncertain situation in a
very dangerous position.”
Rainier juvenile faces murder
charge after allegedly driving into
crowd near Nicolai Mountain
Ajuvenile from Rainier is facing murder in the sec
ond degree and other charges after allegedly driving
through a crowd of people early Saturday at a gather
ing near Nicolai Mountain, killing one.
Authorities were called to the Hunt Creek rock pit,
east of Nicolai Mountain offU.S. Highway 30, at about
4 a.m. on Saturday after a report of a hit-and-run.
Kyle Snook left the area after allegedly driving his
vehicle through a crowd at a large gathering, authori
ties said. Three people were seriously injured and Rob
ert Betschart, of Rainier, died, according to the Clatsop
County Sheriff’s Office.
Snook was arrested on charges of murder in the
second degree, manslaughter in the first degree, five
counts of felony vehicular assault and driving under
the influence of intoxicants.
Snook is being held at the Cowlitz County Jail.
Investigators believe the gathering started Friday
evening. Anyone with information is asked to call
Detective Justin Dersham at 503-325-8635.
—
The Astorian
DEATH
July 27, 2020
VLEK, Maxine Marie, 91, of Astoria, died in War-
renton. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Service of
Astoria is in charge of the arrangements.
MEMORIAL
Aug. 3, 2020
HORTON-RISLOW, Lynn Alice — Inurnment cer
emony for columbarium placement at 2 p.m., Willa
mette National Cemetery, 11800 S.E. Mount Scott
Blvd., Portland. All are welcome to attend.
ON THE RECORD
Assault
• Christina Poole, 33,
was arrested Sunday at
the foot of Sixth Street
in Astoria for assault in
the fourth degree and
strangulation.
Theft
• Casandra McCalip,
38, was arrested Sunday at
Walmart in Warrenton for
theft in the second degree.
• Calvin Proctor, 28,
of Astoria, was arrested
Friday at Home Depot in
Warrenton for theft in the
second degree.
• Christopher White,
32, of Lincoln City, was
arrested on July 20 at
Walmart in Warrenton for
theft in the second degree.
Disorderly conduct
• Robert David Hilbert,
49, was arrested Sunday at
Safeway in Astoria for dis
orderly conduct in the sec
ond degree.
Dun
•
Edwin Francis
Thatcher, 63, of Astoria, was
arrested Sunday on Com
mercial Street in Astoria
for driving under the influ
ence of intoxicants, reckless
driving, hit-and-run, driving
with a suspended or revoked
license and criminal mis
chief in the second degree.
• Joe Michael Doran,
55, of Astoria, was
arrested Sunday at Safe
way in Astoria for DUII
and reckless driving.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m, City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Astoria Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
the Astorian
I Circulation phone number:
Established July 1,1873
(USPS 035-000)
503-325-3211
.
Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR
ADVERT,S.NG OWNERSHIP
949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR A " advertising copy and lustrations
97103 Telephone 503-325-3211,
prepared by The Astorian become the
800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573.
property of The Astorian and may not
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
be reproduced for any use without
The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR
explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT©
97103-0210
Ent ¡re
contents © Copyright,
2020 by The Astorian.
DailyAstorian.com
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF
CIRCULATIONS, INC.
I
Printed on
recycled paper
Subscription rates
Effective May 1,2019
MAIL (IN COUNTY)
EZpay (per month)...................................................................................................... $11.25
13 weeks in advance.................................................................................................. $37.00
26 weeks in advance...................................................................................................$71.00
52 weeks in advance................................................................................................$135.00
Out of County Rates available at 800-781 -3214
DIGITAL
EZpay (per month)........................................................................................................$8.00
EtWESIM
,™nm
>oUc.E
BUU-Vv,. .1
MMTtV
Nicole Bales/The Astorian
Demonstrators lined Marine Drive in Astoria on Saturday afternoon for a Black Lives Matter protest in solidarity with protesters
in Portland.
Coast Guard cutter Steadfast
gets new commanding officer
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
The U.S. Coast Guard
cutter Steadfast has a new
commanding officer.
Cmdr. Craig Allen Jr.
replaced Capt. Dan Ursino
during a change of command
ceremony Friday aboard the
Astoria-based cutter.
Ursino led the Steadfast
crew for more than a year.
He was promoted to cap
tain and will take command
of the Coast Guard’s Civil
Engineering Unit in Oak
land, California, in August.
Allen reported to the
Steadfast from the Coast
Guard cutter Waesche in
Alameda, California, where
he served as the cutter’s
executive officer for two
years.
“To the crew of Stead
fast, my time with you has
gone by far too quickly, but
the experience has been rich
and fulfilling,” Ursino said
during the ceremony. “Time
and again, I’ve been inspired
and humbled by your abil
ity to overcome adversity
and find strength together to
prove that the name painted
on the stem is more than just
a word.”
The Steadfast is a 210-
foot Reliance-class cut
ter commissioned in 1968.
The cutter was homeported
in Astoria in 1994. The
crew’s assigned missions
include homeland secu
rity, search and rescue, law
enforcement, marine sanc
tuary protection and military
Brandon Brooks/U.S. Coast Guard
Capt. Dan Ursino, left, and Cmdr. Craig Allen Jr. salute each other during a modified change-of-
command ceremony aboard the cutter Steadfast. Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, Coast Guard Pacific
Area deputy commander, presided over the ceremony.
readiness.
Under Ursino’s lead
ership,
the
Steadfast
crew
intercepted
seven
drug-smuggling boats off
the southern coasts of Mex
ico and Central America,
intercepting 24,514 pounds
of illegal narcotics.
The crew set a record in
July for the most cocaine
seized by a Reliance-class
medium-endurance
cutter
during a single deployment,
intercepting over 23,000
pounds within 30 days.
The cutter also repre
sented the Coast Guard
during the Portland Rose
Festival and San Francisco’s
Fleet Week.
Helping Hands: Homelessness expected to increase
Continued from PageAl
to run an obstacle course.
Under the best of circum
stances, it’s difficult. When
you’re homeless it exacer
bates everything, of course.”
With the impacts of the
coronavirus pandemic, he
added,
homelessness
is
expected to increase 45% to
65% in the next six months.
Built in 2003 as a mini
mum security correctional
facility and costing $58 mil
lion, the jail never opened,
Woodward said.
Advocates like Wood
ward and others worked
with philanthropist Jordan
Schnitzer, who had pur
chased the property.
Schnitzer met Evans at
a United Way of Clatsop
County fundraiser in Sea
side. Together, they joined
to save the building to pro
vide transitional housing
and trauma-informed ser
vices in one location.
Schnitzer
leased
the
property to Helping Hands
for $ 1 per year.
Additional money has
come
from
fundraisers
and private donors, Rus-
Helping Hands plans to open a homeless center in Portland.
sell said. So far, the project
has raised about $4 million,
with a goal of $7.2 million
by January.
Shelter will be provided
by referral only. All res
idents must be clean and
sober and cannot be regis
tered as sex offenders.
About 10% of the popu
lation is expected to be chil
dren, Russell said.
The center will have
business and service oper
ations like job-hunting and
counseling.
The center is working
with Oregon Health & Sci
ence University, the Univer
sity of Portland and nurs
ing schools to offer medical
services on-site. “We don’t
have a model like this in the
Portland area. We have an
opportunity to make a really
big difference here, but
that’s only possible because
we’ve proved the concept
on the coast,” Russell said.
Russell is based in Port
land, while Evans works in
Seaside.
“We’re really grateful
for the Seaside, Clatsop
County community,” Rus
sell told the Seaside Cham
ber of Commerce. “You’re
our home. This is where we
started, and this is where we
proved that this collabora
tive model really works.”
Evans attributed a data-
driven approach to the suc
cess of Helping Hands.
“Every decision in our orga
nization is made by data
given to us,” he said.
The
Helping
Hands
homeless
reentry
model
could work in any commu
nity on a scalable level, he
said.
“We have a history of
what works,” Evans said.
“Every decision is based
on the information of the
people who get sent to us.
We’re talking to other cit
ies now about bringing
this model to other places.
It gives us the opportu
nity to build a platform
and a mapping opportunity
to bring resources to peo
ple. That’s what’s made us
successful.”