A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021
IN BRIEF
Inmate at county jail
died of natural causes
An investigation into an inmate who died at the Clat-
sop County Jail in February found it was a natural death.
Jay Christopher Jamieson, 38, was booked at the jail
on the night of Feb. 25 and died on Feb. 26 at Columbia
Memorial Hospital in Astoria. An autopsy conducted by
the state medical examiner found Jamieson’s death was
caused by a ruptured bowel.
District Attorney Ron Brown said in a report that
prior to being booked at the jail, Jamieson told deputies
he was feeling sick from his heroin use. He reportedly
declined numerous off ers to go to the hospital before and
after he was booked.
Brown said he continued to complain of symptoms
consistent with heroin withdrawal at the jail. The jail
nurse went to see Jamieson at his request that he needed
something for his heroin withdrawal. The jail nurse con-
ferred with a nurse practitioner at Columbia Memorial,
who recommended a drug combination for his with-
drawal symptoms.
Jamieson’s condition worsened over the next several
hours, and he was later found unconscious.
Brown said the jail did a reasonable job of monitor-
ing Jamieson before his death. Jail staff called an ambu-
lance when they realized Jamieson was not simply suf-
fering from heroin withdrawal.
Jamieson was booked on charges of unlawful deliv-
ery of heroin, unlawful delivery of a controlled sub-
stance to a minor, child neglect in the fi rst degree and
endangering the welfare of a minor after a search war-
rant was served on his residence in Warrenton.
Two people injured
in crash on Highway 30
Two people were injured Friday in a two-vehicle
crash on U.S. Highway 30 in Astoria.
The driver of one of the vehicles was cited for reck-
less driving and taken to a hospital with injuries, along
with his passenger.
House fi re displaces two in Seaside
SEASIDE — A fi re on 11th Avenue early Sunday dis-
placed two people, Seaside Fire and Rescue reported.
When fi refi ghters arrived at about 3:30 a.m., the north
side of the structure was involved, Lt. Genesee Dennis
said. “Right as we arrived also we had a downed power
line,” he said. “That hindered access.”
Firefi ghters gained access through neighboring yards
and “knocked down the fi re pretty quickly,” Dennis said.
— The Astorian
DEATHS
April 9, 2021
TAMEZ,
Katelynn
In
Brief
Renee, of Warrenton, died
in Portland. Ocean View
Deaths
Funeral & Cremation Ser-
vice of Astoria is in charge
of the arrangements.
April 7, 2021
WEBER,
Wal-
ter “Walt,” 81, of
Longview,
Washing-
ton, formerly of Seaside
and Chinook, Washing-
ton, died at home. Green
Hills Memorial Gar-
dens in Kelso, Washing-
ton, is in charge of the
arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
DUII
Saturday on U.S. High-
On
• Zoe the
Marie Record
Bryan, way 101 for DUII follow-
19, was arrested Sunday ing a crash.
near the Astoria Police
Department for driving
under the infl uence of
intoxicants.
• David Lee Mills, 70,
of Seaside, was arrested
• Mark Clayton Gil-
bertson, 31, of Ham-
mond, was arrested Fri-
day on Ninth Street and
Marine Drive in Astoria
for DUII.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (elec-
tronic meeting).
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board,
5:15 p.m., workshop, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside.
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., main fi re
station, 34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Clatsop Community College Board, 6:30 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
WEDNESDAY
Clatsop Soil and Water Conservation District Board,
10 a.m., (electronic meeting).
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., (elec-
tronic meeting).
Warrenton-Hammond School District Board, 6 p.m.,
Warrenton High School Library, 1700 S. Main Ave.
Clatsop Community College Board, 6:30 p.m., work
session, (electronic meeting).
Astoria School District Board, 7 p.m., (electronic meet-
ing).
THURSDAY
Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
989 Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Westport man sentenced to
prison for road rage death
Stone receives
more than six years
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
A Westport man who
killed another man following
a road rage incident in Octo-
ber 2018 was sentenced Fri-
day to more than six years in
prison.
Jeff rey Craig Stone, 68,
killed Curtis Michael Rus-
sell, 22, of Longview, Wash-
ington, after running him
over with his Dodge truck
and dragging his body for
about a quarter-mile.
Stone was charged with
murder, manslaughter in
the fi rst degree, two counts
of attempted assault in the
fi rst degree, failure to per-
form duties of a driver, driv-
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants, reckless driving
and two counts of recklessly
endangering another person.
After numerous settle-
ment conferences, Stone
on Friday pleaded guilty to
criminally negligent homi-
cide, a downgrade from
the murder charge. He also
pleaded guilty to two counts
of recklessly endangering
another person and DUII.
Stone, once the chief of
the Westport Volunteer Fire
Department, was convicted
of fi rst-degree arson and
fi rst-degree theft and sen-
tenced to 17 months in prison
after he set fi re to business
records in 2004 after he was
accused of embezzlement.
On Halloween 2018, Rus-
sell was driving west on U.S.
Highway 30 near Westport
when he came up behind
Stone’s vehicle and noticed
signs of drunken driving,
District Attorney Ron Brown
‘TODAY, I GET PEACE. TODAY,
I GET TO KNOW THAT FOR A
MOMENT I GAVE IT ALL TO
FIND JUSTICE FOR MY BEST
FRIEND, TO SAVE MY BROTHERS
FROM RELIVING A NIGHTMARE,
AND FOR KNOWING THAT MY
MOTHER-IN-LAW CAN HAVE JUST
A MOMENT OF RELIEF.’
Natasha Russell | widow of Curtis Michael Russell
said in court.
ging him by his feet for about
Russell, who had passen- a quarter-mile with his body
gers in the vehicle, passed wedged under the pickup.
Stone, and, as he did, Brown Russell died at the scene
said it seemed to them that from blunt force trauma.
Stone brushed Russell’s
Stone drove home and
vehicle.
later returned to the scene
Russell pulled over to and cooperated with police.
exchange information, but,
“This has been a very
according to Brown, Stone diffi cult
case,”
Brown
kept driving toward West- said. “We appreciate Judge
port until turning right onto (Henry) Kantor’s time and
Old Mill Town Road.
his willingness to be
Russell followed
a settlement judge,
Stone and then
and we think that’s
passed and blocked
probably why we
Stone’s pickup truck.
ended up agreeing to
Brown said Russell
this.”
and his passengers
Russell’s widow,
got out of the vehicle
Natasha
Rus-
and Russell circled Jeff rey Craig sell, fi led a wrong-
Stone
the pickup with a bat
ful death claim last
and struck it several
October
against
times, causing dents.
Alston Pub and Grub in
“So I believe the defen- Rainier, where Stone was
dant could have backed up drinking prior to the inci-
and left the scene,” Brown dent. The lawsuit, fi led in
said. “But instead, backed Columbia County Circuit
his vehicle and then drove, Court, seeks $2.6 million.
according to one witness,
Natasha Russell and
towards Curtis, who had others in Russell’s family
returned to being in front of described how that day for-
the defendant’s vehicle.”
ever changed their lives .
He said Stone stopped
“The day my husband
quickly and backed up again. was dragged to his death,
Stone hit Russell, knocking you took my entire future
him under the truck and drag- from me,” Russell said. “But
Taxes: Council told to make a decision by July
Continued from Page A1
By the end of the fi s-
cal year in June, the urban
renewal district will have col-
lected its maximum indebt-
edness — what it can spend
on projects — of around $9.1
million. It will have around
$5.3 million on hand for
future projects.
City councilors could uni-
laterally increase the maxi-
mum indebtedness by up to
$3 million. They could also
terminate tax collections,
giving back an estimated
$803,000 next fi scal year to
local jurisdictions that con-
tribute. Astoria would get
an additional $407,000,
for example, while Clat-
sop County would receive
$76,455.
Around $246,000 would
go back to the S tate S chool
F und. Craig Hoppes, the
superintendent of the Asto-
ria School District , said he
is unsure of how that would
ultimately impact the school
district’s funding. Clatsop
Community College would
be in line for nearly $40,000.
Elaine Howard, an urban
renewal consultant, told
city councilors at a recent
work session they needed to
decide by the beginning of
the next fi scal year in July.
The timeline could be even
tighter, with local jurisdic-
tions coming up with bud-
gets for next year.
A big question is whether
the $5.3 million in the
urban renewal district will
be enough to fi nish sev-
eral identifi ed but somewhat
undefi ned projects. The city
is working with the state
Department of Transporta-
tion to fund a lane reconfi g-
uration and other streetscape
improvements along Marine
Drive as part of the Union-
town Reborn master plan.
The City Council recently
agreed to use urban renewal
money on a master plan of
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
The Astoria City Council is deciding whether to keep urban renewal funds for projects like the
revitalization of the Chinook Building and area around the West Mooring Basin.
the area around the Port’s
West Mooring Basin, a prime
location for a revitalized
commercial district. Improv-
ing the Port for the benefi t
of the county could be a rea-
son to increase indebtedness,
City Councilor Roger Rocka
said at the work session.
“This is kind of hard to
specify, because we don’t
have the plan yet from the
Port,” Rocka said. “But for
me, I think the assumption is
that we’re adequately funded
to basically complete Union-
town Reborn.”
City Councilor Tom
Brownson
wondered
whether the urban renewal
district could go dormant,
giving the tax money back
until a specifi c project is
identifi ed. Howard said she
would have to check with
legal counsel. But she cau-
tioned against creating
uncertainty by providing a
local government with a new
funding stream only to cut it
off in the future.
“Maybe they use it for
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more than that, you took
my son and step daughter’s
chance to ever make a mem-
ory with their dad.
“Every single day, I wake
up and I look at the gift that
Curtis gave me as he tells
me, ‘G ood morning, m ama.’
It reminds me every second
he’ll never get with the best
man this world could have
ever given me.
“The mental damage you
have caused everyone I love
is unforgivable,” she said.
“There’s so much wrong in
this life we live now, but for
Curtis, I’m fi ghting every
day for the good.
“Today, I get peace.
Today, I get to know that for
a moment I gave it all to fi nd
justice for my best friend, to
save my brothers from reliv-
ing a nightmare, and for
knowing that my mother-in-
law can have just a moment
of relief.”
Judge Cindee Matyas,
who presided over the sen-
tencing, said that although
the criminal justice sys-
tem can resolve the crimi-
nal charges, the process can-
not adequately respond to
the loss.
“You all appear to be
extremely strong and deter-
mined,” Matyas said. “And
I just hope that the love you
keep in your heart for Mr.
Russell will be a source of
strength to you.
“I want to thank the par-
ties for their eff ort in work-
ing to resolve this case. The
challenge with any trial is
just the uncertainty of the
outcome. And Mr. Stone,
you’re taking responsibil-
ity for these charges today
does something to give some
relief to the family members
who have been waiting for
years now.”
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something that will need to
be (funded) every year,” she
said. “And then all of a sud-
den, you come back in later
and say, ‘Hey, guess what?
We’re going to start taking
money again.’ So it leaves
them in a position of not
knowing for sure what is
happening with that money.”
Howard brought up the
idea of increasing maximum
indebtedness but only col-
lecting 30% or so of possi-
ble revenue , sharing the rest
with local jurisdictions while
still slowly building up urban
renewal funds. City Coun-
cilor Joan Herman, Brown-
son and Rocka supported the
idea.
Mayor Bruce Jones rec-
ommended a special meet-
ing to hear back from legal
counsel about whether the
urban renewal district can go
dormant until a new project
crystallizes . But without that
answer, Jones said, he sup-
ports terminating further tax
collections to help local juris-
dictions with pressing needs.
City Councilor Tom Hilton
also supported termination.
“I just don’t like the idea
of increasing maximum
indebtedness for undefi ned
future needs,” Jones said.