The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, October 30, 2021, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 2

The daily Astorian., October 30, 2021, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextA2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2021 IN BRIEF State discloses new virus cases at schools The Oregon Health Authority has disclosed 10 new coronavirus cases at schools in Clatsop County. Four of the virus cases were students in the Asto- ria School District, according to the health authority’s weekly outbreak report. Two were from Astor Elemen- tary School, one was from Lewis and Clark Elementary School and one was from Astoria High School. Four of the other virus cases were students at Warrenton High School. The other two cases were students at Hilda Lahti Elementary School in the Knappa School District. The health authority, meanwhile, reported seven new virus cases for the county on Thursday and seven new virus cases on Wednesday. Since the pandemic began, the county had recorded 2,462 virus cases and 27 deaths as of Thursday. Natural gas bills going up NW Natural customers will be paying more for natu- ral gas starting in November. The Oregon Public Utility Commission approved the increase as part of an annual review, citing weather-re- lated events and a global increase in natural gas prices. There are around 13,000 NW Natural customers in the Astoria area, who have seen natural gas bills go both up and down in the past decade. The average bill is 30% less than it was 15 years ago, according to NW Natural. The new prices are as follows: • Residential: Bills for those using an average of 54 therms per month will increase by $7.51, or 13.2%, from $57 to $64.50 per month. • Commercial: Bills for those using an average of 242 therms per month will increase by $36.21, or 17.3%, from $209.13 to $245.34. • Industrial: Bills for those using an average of 5,544 therms per month will increase by $594.24, or 20.4%, from $2,909.90 to $3,504.14. Astoria man suspected of hunting deer in city limits The Oregon State Police credited the public’s help in catching an Astoria man suspected of poaching. James Lee Ogier Jr., 25, was cited for hunting deer with a crossbow within city limits, along with other hunting violations and a range of unrelated charges. He is suspected of shooting two deer this month with an arrow or bolt. Residents provided information to police that helped lead to his identiﬁ cation. Police also seized his crossbow, spotlight and night vision binocu- lars as evidence. Ogier was sentenced to probation in 2016 for hunting in city limits after shooting a deer. Law enforcement had previously announced that Ogier was arrested this month for burglary, theft, weap- ons, forgery and criminal mischief charges. — The Astorian Ilwaco port director resigns ILWACO, Wash. — Guy Glenn Jr., the port manager for Ilwaco and Chinook, has resigned. Glenn’s departure comes as he approached what would have been his 10th year among port staﬀ . He ﬁ rst served as ﬁ nance director in February 2012 before becoming Ilwaco port manager in August 2013. In Janu- ary 2016, he became the manager of the Port of Chinook through an interlocal agreement with Ilwaco. “I would hope the Port of Ilwaco and Port of Chinook continue to collaborate for mutual beneﬁ t,” Glenn said in a resignation letter presented to the Ilwaco Port Com- mission last week. — Chinook Observer DEATH 26, 2021 In HASKELL-FUNARI, Brief Oct. Catherine Jean, 63, of Olney, died in Eugene. Andreason’s Cremation and Burial Service of Springﬁ eld is in charge of the arrangements. Death A celebration of life will be announced at a later date. ON THE RECORD Criminal mischief of menacing. On Record • Brian the Anthony Car- Theft los, 46, of Astoria, was indicted on Thursday for criminal mischief in the ﬁ rst degree, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts • Chelsie Marie Beeler, 36, of Nehalem, was arrested on Thursday at Fred Meyer in Warren- ton for theft in the second degree. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. TUESDAY Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A. Seaside Library Board of Directors, 4:30 p.m., 1131 Broadway St. Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., (electronic meeting). Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting). 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: 800-781-3214 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. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2021 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper Cannon Beach public works director ﬁ ned for ethics violation Her company made pandemic- related signs By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian CANNON BEACH — A state ethics probe found that Karen La Bonte, the city’s public works director , vio- lated state conﬂ ict of inter- est laws after the city hired a company she co-owns with her husband for pandem- ic-related signs and other products. It was common knowl- edge that La Bonte and her husband, Darwin Turner, own Cannon Beach Design Co . But while La Bonte dis- closed her relationship to the business and declared a potential conﬂ ict of inter- est verbally to her co-work- ers and City Manager Bruce St. Denis, she did not do it in writing before each transac- tion as required by state laws, the Oregon Government Eth- ics Commission found. Under a settlement agree- ment, La Bonte will be required to pay a $1,000 ﬁ ne. La Bonte opted to settle the matter than continue with an investigation and possible hearing. City Manager Bruce St. Denis called it a technical violation and noted that the city had removed La Bonte from the transaction process when conducting business with her husband’s company. In a memo to the City Council, St. Denis wrote that La Bonte “continues to be an outstanding representa- tive of the city, a thoughtful and generous member of the community and a leader and role model within the city organization who has spear- headed numerous initiatives that will improve the lives of Cannon Beach residents for generations.” The ethics probe stemmed from complaints ﬁ led by Manzanita resident Rusty Morris earlier this year regarding signs the city com- missioned from La Bon- te’s company in 2020. He claimed she had abused her position and beneﬁ ted from the transactions. La Bonte and St. Denis have pushed back against Morris’ complaints, saying La Bonte is being targeted because of a personal dis- agreement and that many of the claims Morris has made are unfounded or false. St. Denis called the complaints a campaign of harassment. He plans to ask the City Council at an upcoming meeting to consider allowing the city to cover La Bonte’s legal fees. DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25 Beach Design Co. between 2017 and 2021 for products ranging from business cards to city signs. State ﬁ ndings show La Bonte was the city oﬃ cial who ordered products and services from the design com- pany on 13 occasions. St. Denis counters that La Bonte was merely listed by the ven- dor but she was not the one in charge of the orders. The cost in these transactions came to $2,470.95, according to La Bonte’s agreement with the state. Morris continues to push for La Bonte’s dismissal from the city. He circulated a peti- tion this year on Change. org calling for the city to ﬁ re La Bonte. As of Friday, the petition had just over 1,000 signatures. Morris told The Astorian he plans to ﬁ le a complaint with the Oregon elections division because he believes she improperly advocated for the city’s proposed 5% tax on prepared food. St. Denis says La Bonte forwarded an email at another person’s request. This hap- pened during a time when staﬀ were still allowed to advocate for the measure. “What began as a personal issue has escalated to an eﬀ ort by one individual to use my job as a tool to harass me,” La Bonte said in an email. Gallery: ‘The gallery is like a little family’ static. “She captures the movement that makes you stop and think about it. It’s interesting. And she makes sure her work is aﬀ ord- able,” she said, noting Maita is the top seller. “Her works disappear.” In contrasting style nearby is bold colorful art by Sandra Wires, who uses chalk pas- tel to capture the personali- ties of live models, including some nudes. “I particularly love the portrait and make my impression carefully observing the unique face of each model,” she stated in the cooperative’s Facebook page. Continued from Page A1 Because of their kinship, other members will stop by even when it’s not their turn. “It’s like a gathering place,” said Murakami, who times her errands so she can drop in to chat. The cooperative has existed for four years. While some of its founders have moved on, Murakami said the core values hav- en’t changed: aﬀ ordable art by local artists. “People are delighted to buy original art at a price they can aﬀ ord,” she said. ‘Big draw’ Murakami is especially complimentary of the sup- port of Lisa Barile, which goes beyond exhibiting her ﬂ ame-worked glass jew- elry and sitting four times a month. “She is really devoted to making this hap- pen,” Murakami said. Barile savors that involve- ment. Like Murakami, she delights that when people come into the retail area they are greeted by that day’s “sit- ter” — who has their own creations on display. “People love to meet the artists. I think that is a big draw.” she said. She hopes collaborations with Elixir, Boondocks and other busi- nesses will cement their cor- ner as a must-see hub. “We want to make the area fun, a nice place to get oﬀ the highway. We are by the river, and we have the German store (Jayden’s) down the street. We want South Bend to be a nice, walkable area.” She joined the group just after it started and exhibits handcrafted jewelry items suspended on silk ribbons. All are fashioned using mol- ten glass and sterling sil- ver in a process called lamp working. Barile grew up in the Cal- ifornia art colony of Laguna Patrick Webb/Chinook Observer Cards by Mariko Maita incorporate pressed dried ﬂ owers and other materials in their subtle designs. Beach. As a girl, she enjoyed stringing beads to make necklaces. When she moved north some years ago, she was exposed to glassmak- ing art at M&D Designs in Chinook. “I took a class with them and I was hooked,” she recalled, later enhancing her skills by taking classes with nationally known bead artists. For Barile, creating detailed art is a stress release from her job as a 23-year veteran special education para educator in South Bend s chools, where she is pres- ident of the local Public School Employees union. Away from her voca- tion, she embraces a diﬀ er- ent intensity, working with the ﬂ uidity of warm glass to create tiny details that she shapes into attractive jew- elry. “It is really relaxing for me,” she said. The gallery’s membership is as ﬂ uid as Barile’s glass, but all embrace the idea that a gallery shouldn’t scare away potential visitors by using terms like ﬁ ne art or having high prices. “We always wel- come new artists,” she said. “We have all sorts of artis- tic levels and skills. We are not ‘uppity.’ It’s all diﬀ erent kinds of art. We have some unique art in there.” A step inside reveals wild horses, lighthouses, tasteful hunting shots and other artis- tic framed or matted pho- tography by Cathy Russ, plus a book highlighting her images of barns. Russ was a president of the cooperative, and even though she recently moved to Morro Bay, Cal- ifornia, she still supports the gallery ﬁ nancially, said Murakami. “She had busi- ness experience and brought discipline to the early years,” she added. In another corner, pressed dried ﬂ owers by the oldest exhibitor, Mariko Maita, fea- tures in art displays and on cards. Murakami remarked that the Japanese-style work with muted colors and deli- cate images does not appear Bay Center art added The gallery has recently added the scenic paintings of Ron Pulliam, the Bay Cen- ter artist whose landscapes of the Palix River and other local views were featured in the Chinook Observer in December . Barile said Pulliam some- times brings his easel so gal- lery visitors can watch him work. “We are really happy to have him as part of the gallery,” she said. Artists JoDean Jordan, Kate O’Neil, Rebecca Bar- rymore, Bob Herrera, Linda Brummel and another new- comer, Maddison Dyer, who just moved from Arizona, complete the roster. Murakami’s delight in the artists’ camaraderie is echoed by Barile. “The gallery is like a lit- tle family,” she said. “The people become part of that ‘family’ and pop in and visit the person who is sitting. You might walk in and there might be three of the artists there.” WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Please ADOPT A PET! 2022 Medicare ????’s K YO female Calico kitten Art Fleming 503-421-5844 artinportland23@gmail.com Comfort, companionship and soft, cuddly bodies - that’s what little animals are for. Kyo is joy in a fur coat. See more on Subscription rates Eﬀ ective January 12, 2021 MAIL EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$10.75 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 “The actions taken by Morris were personal, but he used her position at the city to go after her,” St. Denis said. “When someone goes after one of our leader- ship team then they’re also going after the city because they’re saying that we don’t do things properly here, and Karen bore the brunt of that defense.” For his part, Morris holds ﬁ rm to his belief that La Bonte acted in bad faith. He says his complaints were not motivated by a personal grievance. Large signs went up at city entrances in the spring of 2020. They were consid- ered an emergency measure after an inﬂ ux of visitors and stated that, “Due to COVID- 19 Cannon Beach is closed to visitors.” Other signs ordered later depicted animals wear- ing face masks to remind peo- ple to wear protective face coverings as a precaution against the virus. In a preliminary review of the ethics complaints, a state investigator said it didn’t appear La Bonte used her position to beneﬁ t ﬁ nancially but she may not have prop- erly disclosed a possible con- ﬂ ict of interest. In a ﬁ nal decision this month, the state found the city made 111 purchases of goods or services from Cannon Petfinder.com License #6257252 CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS 1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm www.dogsncats.org This space sponsored by SEASIDE OUTLETS