A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
SHARKY
IN BRIEF
Unemployment rate declined in August
Clatsop County’s unemployment rate was 5.8% in
August.
The seasonally adjusted rate was down from 6.3% in
July and down from 9.1% from August 2020.
The state’s unemployment rate was 4.9% in August,
according to the Oregon Employment Department, com-
pared to 5.2% nationwide.
— The Astorian
Continued from Page A1
Virus claims fi ve more lives
in Pacifi c County
LONG BEACH, Wash. — The coronavirus claimed
the lives of fi ve more Pacifi c County residents in the past
week, while new cases continued to be spread through-
out the county during what’s easily been the most sus-
tained outbreak of the pandemic.
Pacifi c County Health and Human Services Direc-
tor Katie Lindstrom confi rmed that the COVID-19 death
toll sat at 27 as of Monday. Two of the most recently
reported deaths included individuals in their 30s and 40s,
Lindstrom said.
As of Monday, 1,748 cases have been reported in
the county since the pandemic began, up 68 over the
past week. Five more hospitalizations have also been
reported.
Pacifi c County prosecutor resigns
SOUTH BEND, Wash. — Departing after little over
a year, Pacifi c County Prosecutor Ben Haslam submitted
his formal resignation to Pacifi c County Commissioners
on Friday. He will continue to fi ll the role in the coming
weeks while the county looks to fi ll the vacancy.
Haslam was appointed prosecutor in August 2020
after the abrupt resignation of former prosecutor Mark
McClain. He was fi rst hired in 2018 by McClain to serve
as deputy prosecutor and coroner before being selected
to be McClain’s successor by Commissioners Lisa
Olsen, Michael Runyon and Frank Wolfe.
Haslam said he is leaving primarily for personal rea-
sons and to be closer to family.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve
as the Pacifi c County prosecutor for the last year,”
Haslam said. “I have cherished my time here; this is a
truly special community and place. I look forward to
working with my offi ce and the county commissioners
to ensure a smooth transition to my successor.”
Seaside Aquarium
The Seaside Aquarium documented a 4-foot salmon shark
that washed ashore in Arch Cape. ‘Luckily, it was still in great
condition and we were able to recover the shark,’ the aquarium
said in an email. ‘It will be dissected by a local school group
and samples will be taken to help scientists learn more about
these amazing creatures.’
F/V Laura Marie sinks at port
ILWACO, Wash. — A commercial fi shing vessel
sank last week at the Port of Ilwaco.
The F/V Laura Marie, a 50-foot, wood-hulled com-
mercial fi shing vessel, sank at about 6:45 a.m. Thursday
while moored at dock ‘C’ in the marina.
The vessel, last registered to Robert John McGiviny,
had been homeported in Ilwaco since 2008, and will
likely be a total loss, according to port offi cials.
— Chinook Observer
DEATH
Sept. 22, 2021
In BARNARD,
Brief Marilyn
Frances, 82, of Warrenton,
died in Warrenton. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary
in Astoria is in charge
of the arrangements.
Death:
Sept.
23, 2021
ON THE RECORD
Assault
orderly conduct in the sec-
On
the Montero
Record
• Eduardo
ond degree. The crimes
Luna, 61, of Astoria, was
arrested on Monday on
U.S. Highway 101 Busi-
ness in Astoria for assault
in the second degree,
unlawful use of a weapon,
menacing, strangulation
and interfering with mak-
ing a police report. When
he arrived at the Clatsop
County Jail, Luna was
additionally charged with
supplying contraband.
• David Benjamin Vick-
ery, 36, of Warrenton, was
arrested Monday on S.
Main Avenue in Warren-
ton for assault in the fourth
degree constituting domes-
tic abuse and kidnapping in
the second degree.
Criminal mischief
•
Miles
Joseph
Hunsinger, 56, of Asto-
ria, was indicted on Tues-
day for criminal mischief
in the fi rst degree and dis-
allegedly occurred in late
August.
DUII
• Mikayla Anne Greely,
28, of Astoria, was arrested
Saturday on Commercial
Street in Astoria for driv-
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants and reckless
driving.
• Hector Fletes, 33
of Astoria, was arrested
Saturday at 11th and
Exchange streets in Astoria
for DUII and reckless driv-
ing. He was also cited for
failing to install an ignition
interlock device, refusing
a breath test and driving
uninsured.
• Norbel Lopez Sereno,
36, of Astoria, was arrested
on Saturday at Marine
Drive and 30th Street for
DUII. He was also cited
for driving without driving
privileges.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Sunset Empire Transportation District Board, 9 a.m.,
(electronic meeting).
Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Director: Some of the
disconnect stems from
a necessary response
to the pandemic
County records
26th virus death
The Astorian
Clatsop County reported a 26th death related to
the coronavirus.
An 84-year-old woman died Saturday at her res-
idence. The county said she was not vaccinated
against the virus.
No other information was immediately available.
Firefi ghters: Incentives
unlikely to persuade them
Continued from Page A1
“Fast attention we will not
be able to provide should this
mandate eviscerate our fi re
department roster.”
Charles Boyle, a spokes-
man for Brown, told The
Astorian in an email that the
governor’s goal is to keep
schools, businesses and
communities open. He said
unvaccinated people in the
workplace put themselves
and everyone around them at
risk.
“If critical fi rst responders
are quarantined or hospital-
ized for COVID-19, who will
be left to respond to emergen-
cies in rural communities?”
he asked.
The Warrenton Fire
Department has three paid
staff and 20 volunteers. Fire
Chief Brian Alsbury said in
an interview that the number
could drop into the single dig-
its if — as indicated — most
of the unvaccinated fi refi ght-
ers refuse a vaccine and a few
vaccinated fi refi ghters quit in
solidarity.
Firefi ghters are not easily
replaceable. Many months
are required to become
trained and certifi ed to fi ght
fi res and respond to medical
emergencies. The fi eld is also
experiencing a shortage of
volunteers.
“We don’t have 100 peo-
ple knocking on our door after
the 18th trying to sign up and
be a volunteer,” Alsbury said.
“And even if we did, it would
be four to fi ve months before
— or even up to a year before
— they’re ready to start pro-
viding services to members
of the community.”
Alsbury and Balensifer
doubted any incentives are
likely to persuade unvacci-
nated fi refi ghters to get the
vaccine by the deadline.
“Make no mistake,” Bal-
ensifer said, “if those num-
bers come true, if every-
body follows through with
their word … that’s gonna
be a rude awakening for
everybody.”
He said people in War-
renton with serious medical
conditions who fi nd them-
selves needing to dial 911
“may be at signifi cant risk of
dying because there may not
be somebody able to respond
in time … It’s that big of a
deal.”
Alsbury worries that if
what may happen in Warren-
ton happens in other regional
fi re departments, it will dis-
rupt the mutual aid system.
He may have a harder time,
he said, both receiving help
from other fi re districts and
sending fi refi ghters else-
where because he will feel
the need to focus on his area
— “not saying that we won’t,
it’s just a bummer that we’re
in that position.”
Both Balensifer and Als-
bury said they are vaccinated
against COVID-19. The fi re
chief was eager to get the
vaccine.
“I thought to myself,
‘There’s no question I’m
going to get the vaccine, not
only for myself personally
and my family, but also as
the department head and a
leader,’” he recalled. “If the
leader and the department
head is not taking a vaccine,
how are you going to expect
anyone else to do it?”
He believes Brown issued
the vaccine mandate “for the
betterment of Oregon and
keeping everyone healthy.”
But he feels that, where vol-
unteer fi refi ghters are con-
cerned, the consequences
were not fully considered.
“We have a lot to do every
day,” Alsbury said, “and
this is going to make it even
harder.”
Since she was hired in
late 2019 to guide what
was then called the Lower
Columbia Hispanic Coun-
cil, Pool Radway has stabi-
lized the nonprofi t’s fi nan-
cial position and built staff
capacity, despite the hard-
ships and complications
caused by the coronavirus
pandemic, Gilbert said.
Rocio Simmons, a long-
time board member who
decided to step down this
year, has been with the non-
profi t since 2004. She has
volunteered with many of
the organization’s cultural
programs and events, as
well as tax preparation assis-
tance. She was involved in
the process of interviewing
and hiring Pool Radway.
They were looking for
someone who would con-
tinue the work started by
Jorge Gutierrez, a previous
director, and who would be
able to take on more pro-
grams and bring in more
grant funding.
“Jenny met the qualifi ca-
tions,” Simmons said. “We
all felt she was really qual-
ifi ed, and I think she still is.
It’s just other issues we are
having.”
Autonomy
For Simmons, the issues
boil down to how she felt
Pool Radway approaches
the board.
Simmons felt the board
should have more auton-
omy and that some of the
changes Pool Radway made
caused the board to be less
available and responsive to
the community.
Simmons felt she was
given a choice between
serving on the board and
continuing to be involved
with programs and out-
reach as a regular volun-
teer. Simmons’ passion was
in the more direct commu-
nity involvement, rather
than her work on the board.
She decided to step down in
order to continue volunteer-
ing with the organization’s
programs.
With the facilitation pro-
cess, “I hope that the board
will at least see that they
need to listen to the commu-
nity and to the people that
are asking them to do some-
thing about it,” Simmons
said.
Though Pool Radway’s
decisions sometimes felt
abrupt to Simmons, the
executive director did bring
a high level of expertise,
Simmons said.
“She was on top of
everything and making a
lot of good, new changes,”
Simmons said.
Still, with the other board
members who stepped down
this year, she believed Pool
Radway should be replaced.
Patricia
Morrissey
and Fernando Rodriguez,
co-founders of Consejo His-
pano and board members
who also stepped down,
echoed Simmons.
They had been used to
being involved in many
aspects of the organization.
Ultimately, they feel the
board needs to do a better
job of listening to commu-
nity concerns. They are frus-
trated that it took the board
so long to respond to their
requests for a mediator.
“I think there is a discon-
nect between the board and
the community,” Morrissey
said.
Esther Perez, who is
active in the Hispanic com-
munity, drafted a petition in
March calling for Pool Rad-
way to step down and gath-
ered more than 100 signa-
tures. During interactions
with Pool Radway, she felt
disrespected, she told The
Astorian.
In the petition, she wrote
that Pool Radway’s “way of
dealing with members of the
Hispanic community, other
agencies, the staff and board
members has been unfi t.”
She noted the departure
of four board members and
the resignation of a former
staff member. She accused
Pool Radway of not being
responsive to questions
from the board and of mak-
ing disparaging remarks .
Perez asked the board to
replace Pool Radway.
Gilbert told The Astorian
the board investigated the
claims made against Pool
Radway. They interviewed
staff and others and found
nothing.
Pool Radway disputes
the claims made in the peti-
tion. Others who serve
the same community said
claims and characteriza-
tions in the petition are false
or taken out of context and
that the community is still
being served well by Con-
sejo Hispano. It isn’t clear
to them that all of the people
who signed the petition fully
knew what they were sign-
ing or if some had ever had
direct interactions with Pool
Radway.
Pool Radway feels the
issues were born out of per-
sonality clashes, a diff er-
ence in leadership and man-
agement styles and, to some
extent, cultural diff erences.
‘I THINK
THERE IS A
DISCONNECT
BETWEEN
THE BOARD
AND THE
COMMUNITY.’
Patricia Morrissey |
co-founder of
Consejo Hispano and a board
member who stepped down
Some of the perceived
disconnect stems from a
necessary response to the
pandemic, she and oth-
ers said . Staff was not able
to be in people’s homes in
the same way or available
in-person at the offi ce.
“It does hurt that we’re
not in the offi ce,” Pool Rad-
way said.
She had hoped to fully
reopen the offi ce in August,
but decided against it as the
delta variant caused virus
cases to surge across the
c ounty. Some staff were
not comfortable returning
in-person, she said.
Since the pandemic
began, Consejo Hispano
has moved some programs
online and tried to engage
with people through tools
like Facebook Live . This has
been challenging, though.
Not everyone the organiza-
tion is trying to reach has
access to technology or is
comfortable using it.
Also, Pool Radway said,
it is not how the Hispanic
community here tends to
connect.
Ally
Though she is moving
on, Pool Radway hopes to
continue to be an ally for
Consejo Hispano and an
advocate at the state and
national levels through her
work at Causa.
She is not leaving imme-
diately. Causa’s interim
executive director, Isa Peña,
is leaving to become the
new director of strategy at
Innovation Law Lab, an
Oregon-based organization
focused on immigrant and
refugee justice issues and
resources.
To ease the diffi culty of
the shift, both women plan
to make gradual transi-
tions to their new organiza-
tions over the next several
months.
Aitor Porro, Consejo
Hispano’s assistant director,
will serve as interim execu-
tive director.
“I have complete confi -
dence in the board of Con-
sejo Hispano and the staff
and that they will continue
doing the best job possible
for the community,” Pool
Radway said.