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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2020)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020 Columbia Memorial Hospital settles negligence case Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria reached a settlement in a $4.6 million lawsuit alleging medical negligence. The lawsuit alleged that Betsy Christensen, a Naselle, Washington, woman, went to the hospital in April 2017 with symptoms consistent with a potential stroke, but the hospital failed to perform an MRI before she suffered a stroke that left her severely disabled. James Thomas, Christensen’s son, who fi led the lawsuit on her behalf in March 2019, claimed that a doctor concluded a stroke could only be identifi ed by an MRI, but that the diagnostic procedure would not be available for two more days. The hospital and Dr. Michael Mitchell were named in the lawsuit. Claims against Mitchell were dismissed. James Huegli, a Portland attorney represent- ing Christensen, said the settlement agreement was confi dential. Columbia Memorial Hospital declined to comment. Federal fi re grants help local departments The Astoria Fire Department recently received nearly $160,000 for new breathing packs. Cannon Beach Fire District got $47,600 for new hoses. And more federal grant money could be on the way. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s grants program helps fi re departments nationwide with equipment, staffi ng and training. Dan Crutchfi eld, the Astoria fi re chief, said the bot- tles in the fi re department’s self-contained breathing backpacks are 15 years old and need to be replaced. “I guess, historically, the department over the last few years has not been seeking grant funds, but I believe in them,” he said. “And this will help the city drastically. That’s $160,000 that we don’t have to take out of an account that can go towards apparatus and other things.” Marc Reckmann, the chief of the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, said his grant money will replace nozzles and hoses that date back to the 1970s. — The Astorian Ocean Beach schools to start remotely due to virus LONG BEACH, Wash. — The Ocean Beach School District’s Board of Directors voted unanimously on Monday to begin the 2020-21 school year in a remote- only model because of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision came after recommendations from the Pacifi c County Public Health and Human Services Department and state offi cials, as well as Superinten- dent Amy Huntley, who formally presented her recom- mendation to the board at the special meeting. “There’s no plan that’s going to meet everyone’s opinions and needs,” conceded Huntley. “We’ve got to do the best that we can, because really the board has to do their best — and so do I — to deal with the respon- sibility of educating our children, but also dealing with their health and safety.” — Chinook Observer CORRECTION Seaside couple bring passion for biking to new bike store By KATHERINE LACAZE For The Astorian SEASIDE — Andy Thornton is a familiar face when it comes to bike mechanics in Seaside, so much so that he is known around town as “Bike Shop Andy.” After spending more than two decades in the indus- try, he’s taken his trade to the next level by opening A’s Bike Shop on the corner of S. Roosevelt Drive and Ave- nue B. “I’ve turned wrenches here for a long time,” Thorn- ton said. “It’s getting people to know that I’m back.” His past experience includes more than 25 years working at the Prom Bike Shop before stepping away from the industry for a few years and pursuing other jobs. “Now that I’m a little bit older and my kids are gone, I needed to do what I wanted to do,” he said. While Thornton pri- marily runs the shop, his wife, Michelle, also pitches in behind the scenes with ordering parts, bookkeeping and managing customers. A’s Bike Shop, which opened in January, is a full-service bike shop that sells bicycles, parts and accessories in addition to handling repairs. Thorn- ton’s specialty service areas include high-end and elec- tric bicycles. Both Thornton and his wife are longtime residents of Seaside. They feel their knowledge of the local area has made it easier to estab- lish the business. Katherine Lacaze/For The Astorian Andy and Michelle Thornton opened a new bike shop in Seaside. “If you do good work in a small town, it comes back to you,” Thornton said. The clientele he’s cul- tivated so far is a blend of recreational riders and daily commuters. Recreation is multifaceted as well, since some people prefer riding on the Promenade and side- walks in town while others take to logging roads and mountain trails and the Ore- gon Coast Bike Route on U.S. Highway 101. At the end of the day, Thornton said, “I don’t care what you’re riding, I just want you to get out and have a good time.” His No. 1 priority is cus- tomer service and doing what he can to ensure cus- tomers leave satisfi ed. He’s happy to offer advice to nov- ice riders, but he also doesn’t let a sales perspective dictate his interaction with clients. “The biggest part of cus- tomer service is listening to the needs of the people,” he said. After suffering an injury, he’s not able to mountain bike on the trails like he used to. Now, he’s channel- ing his passion “through my tools and keeping everyone else going.” He’s also a big supporter of the North Coast Trail Alli- ance, an organization dedi- cated to improving and sus- taining mountain biking opportunities on the North Coast for residents and vis- itors alike. Michelle Thornton doesn’t come from the industry — in fact, she’s still working full time at the Mo’s restaurant in Seaside. However, she is a long time bicycle rider, and she says, “I’m learning more about it as we’re going along.” While A’s Bike Shop was able to remain open as an essential business through- out the coronavirus pan- demic, Thornton is facing other challenges. The com- pany experienced growth up until last month when they Facebook abandons broken drilling equipment Project at Tierra Del Mar By KALE WILLIAMS The Oregonian First name incorrect — Sam Garber is the owner Correction of Dock 420 B&B. He was incorrectly identifi ed as Ben in an A1 story Thursday. ON THE RECORD Strangulation Thursday on 20th and On the • Matthew Tyler Record Kuen- Exchange streets in Asto- stler, 30, of Grants Pass, was indicted Wednesday for strangulation, coer- cion, assault in the fourth degree and menacing. Weapons charges • Dion Earl Weeks, 19, of Beaverton, was indicted Thursday for unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a fi rearm, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct in the second degree. Disorderly conduct • Bradley Joel Crup- per, 58, was arrested ria for disorderly conduct in the second degree. Reckless endangerment • Brandy Lorenzo Birge, 38, of Clackamas, was arrested Thursday near state Highway 53 and U.S. Highway 26 for reckless endangering of highway workers. DUII • Anthony Guy Bell- ingham, 34, of Birken- feld, was arrested Thurs- day on state Highway 202 for driving under the infl uence of intoxicants. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Jewell School Board, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting). Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. TUESDAY Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work session, City Hall, 698 Pacifi c Way. Shoreline Sanitary District Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Her- tig Station, 33496 West Lake Lane, Warrenton. PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. Lynnae Ruttledge was worried when she heard Facebook planned to build a landing spot for an undersea fi ber-optic cable near her Oregon Coast home. Tierra Del Mar, where the 70-year-old retired gov- ernment worker lives part time, is a tiny community north of Pacifi c City with no stoplights and no cell phone service. The enclave, all zoned residential, consists of about a dozen mostly gravel streets running per- pendicular to an idyllic stretch of beach, each lined with single-family homes. Ruttledge and many of her neighbors worried about heavy equipment on fragile roads built over sand dunes. They worried about noise and vibrations from the drill needed to punch a hole under the seafl oor thou- sands of feet out into the ocean. They worried about threatened bird species, like the snowy plover and mar- bled murrelet, that could be affected. Despite their concerns, and a vocal campaign to stop the project, construc- tion began earlier this year. Then, on April 28, the drilling crew hit an unex- pected area of hard rock. The drill bit became lodged and the drill pipe snapped Corps of Engineers said the company’s new plan is to return in early 2021 to drill a new hole, leaving the lost equipment under the sea- fl oor indefi nitely. A Facebook spokes- woman confi rmed the drill- ing equipment remains below the seafl oor just off the coast but disputed the timeline of when the state was notifi ed. She said the company was aware the May 5 letter had been passed to state offi cials by a resident and followed up with a phone call with the Department of State Lands two days later. She also said the com- pany had performed an environmental assessment and “determined that there is no negative environmen- tal or public health impact from the drill head remain- ing at the site.” “While marine retrieval of the remaining equip- ment and drilling mud may Andre 8 month old Pit Terrier/ Coonhound Blend Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eff ective May 1, 2019 How better to evoke a sense of belonging than to enjoy friendship with a devoted, happy dog? 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 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 50 feet below the sea- fl oor. The crew was able to recover some of the equip- ment, but they left the rest where it lay. Today, about 1,100 feet of pipe, a drill tip, various other tools and 6,500 gallons of drilling fl uid sit under the seafl oor just off the coast. Facebook has no plans to retrieve the equipment. Edge Cable Holdings, a Facebook subsidiary responsible for the project, notifi ed Tillamook C ounty of the accident on May 5, but it did not explicitly men- tion the abandoned equip- ment. That information didn’t emerge until a meet- ing with state offi cials June 17, nearly two months after the malfunction, said Ali Hansen, a Department of State Lands spokeswoman. “The delay in notifi cation eliminated any potential options for recovery of the equipment,” Hansen said in an email. The U.S. Army PICK OF THE WEEK MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 An aerial photo shows the lot where Facebook was drilling earlier this year to connect a high-speed fi ber-optic cable to the Asian continent. be possible,” she said in an email, “such an effort is not guaranteed to succeed and it is not an environmentally prudent option.” On Thursday, the Depart- ment of State Lands noti- fi ed the company that it was in default of its per- mits because it was using the area to “store” the aban- doned equipment, which was unauthorized. The agency told Facebook it had 30 days to reach an agree- ment with the state on dam- ages to be paid for violat- ing the permit and amend the agreement to address any “current and future risks and liabilities that may arise from the abandoned” equipment. The default also gave Facebook 180 days to “remove the abandoned pipe, equipment, tools and drilling mud in consultation with the (state) and without causing damage to the envi- ronment” or apply for a new permit to leave the equip- ment where it is. The accident and its aftermath, fi rst reported by the Tillamook Headlight Herald, is beyond any initial fear Ruttledge had. “I actually believed that they would make life mis- erable during the time they were here, but fi nish by April and then be gone,” she told The Oregonian . “I could never have imagined that their pipe would break and they would abandon it with no plan to remove it from under the sea bed.” VOLUNTEER COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. leveled off, he said, as it’s become diffi cult to fi nd the specialty products he needs for repairs, as well as new bikes. “I can’t get inventory because the bike world is ravished,” he said. “The whole country is unable to get what they need.” Since the issue trickles back to manufacturing and the delay in getting products from overseas, there isn’t much business owners can do individually except wait for more product. Thorn- ton is doing what he can in the meantime with common repair parts or putting off certain projects until he can get the items he needs. A’s Bike Shop has also seen an increase in demand for labor to repair older models that people are pull- ing from storage and bring- ing in to make due for now. “We’ve stayed steady with repairs,” Michelle Thornton said, adding, the rest of it “is a waiting game.” Sponsored by Bayshore Animal Hospital CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER 1315 SE 19th St., Warrenton • 861- PETS www.dogsncats.org Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat Steel on the inside where it matters most. Shops Garages Commercial Industrial www.WSBNW.com 855 • 668 • 7211 Sandy, OR S199515-1 IN BRIEF
