A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2021
Pumpkin
drop
IN BRIEF
Hospital to hold vaccination event for
children at Astoria Armory
Children ages 5 to 11 can receive the Pfi zer vaccine
against the coronavirus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov.
13 at the Astoria Armory.
Children must be accompanied to the clinic by a par-
ent or adult guardian. Only 320 slots are available, and
people who RSVP at https://cmhkidsvaccine.rsvpify.
com/ will have priority over walk-ins.
“Parents, caregivers, school children and school staff
have been waiting for this authorization,” said Dr. Kelly
Peekstok, a pediatric provider at Columbia Memorial
Hospital, which will hold the event. “I think COVID-19
vaccines are safe, they’re eff ective and they are what is
best for our community.”
Health offi cials in Oregon say they are expecting
180,000 initial doses of the pediatric COVID-19 vac-
cine, which is enough to cover nearly 53% of the state’s
roughly 342,000 children ages 5 to 11, the Associated
Press reported.
Spectators
watched as a
crane raised
the roughly
1,300-pound
pumpkin
before
dropping it
in Seaside on
Saturday.
Lydia Ely/
The Astorian
Port receives grant for
boatyard feasibility study
The Port of Astoria has received a $45,000 grant from
Business Oregon as part of the state’s Port Planning and
Marketing Fund. The money will be used to look at the
feasibility of expanding the boatyard.
Along with the w aterfront m aster p lan, the Port is
pushing for planning and development on the west side
of the central waterfront, which includes the boatyard,
Matt McGrath, the Port’s deputy director, said.
— The Astorian
Long Beach OKs fi reworks restrictions
LONG BEACH, Wash. — Come 2023, Long Beach
will have new restrictions on fi reworks over the Fourth
of July holiday.
The City Council voted Monday to adopt an ordi-
nance that cuts both the sale and use of fi reworks from
eight to fi ve days. Under the ordinance, which cannot go
into eff ect until one year from when it was adopted per
state law, the sale of fi reworks will be allowed within
city limits from June 29 to July 3, and the discharge of
fi reworks will be allowed from June 30 to July 4.
The ordinance also limits the number of permits that
the city grants for fi reworks stands each year to two.
— Chinook Observer
Another Oregon county
looks to join Idaho
BURNS — Another rural, conservative county
in Oregon has expressed interest in becoming part of
Idaho.
The Oregonian reported that voters in Harney County
on Tuesday approved a ballot measure which requires
local offi cials to hold meetings about moving the county
into Idaho. The measure passed with more than 63% of
the vote.
Harney became the eighth of Oregon’s 36 counties
to vote for considering adjusting Oregon’s border to put
much of rural eastern and southern Oregon in Idaho.
— Associated Press
County reports 28th virus death
The Astorian
Clatsop County reported
a 28th death related to the
coronavirus .
A 53-year-old woman
died on Oct. 13 at a local
hospital, according to the
county.
No other information
was immediately available.
The Oregon Health
Authority, meanwhile, dis-
closed several coronavirus
cases in the county.
The health authority
reported four new virus
cases on Tuesday, eight new
cases over the weekend and
six new cases on Friday.
Since the pandemic
began, the county had
recorded 2,478 virus cases
as of Tuesday.
DEATHS
Nov. 1, 2021
In MORSE,
Brief
Maxine
M., 97, of Warrenton,
died in Newberg. Ocean
Deaths
View Funeral & Cre-
mation Service of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
Oct. 31, 2021
DAVENPORT, Doug-
las Doyle, 79, of Asto-
ria, died in Astoria.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
HALL, Carla, 65, of
Warrenton, died in Sea-
side.
Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary is in charge of
the arrangements.
Oct. 30, 2021
JUST, Eunice Agnes,
90, of Knappa, died
in Knappa. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Assault
have occurred on Oct. 27.
On
the
• Elvis
Pires Record
Bar-
Criminal conspiracy
bosa, 36, of Astoria,
was arrested on Sunday
on 35th Street in Asto-
ria for assault in the
fourth degree constitut-
ing domestic violence,
reckless
endangering
and criminal mischief in
the second degree. The
crimes are alleged to
• Shaquala Sherroyce
Allen, 32, of Portland,
was indicted on July 27
for two counts of crim-
inal conspiracy, theft in
the fi rst degree and theft
in the second degree. The
alleged crimes occurred
in Clatsop County in the
second half of 2019.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Clatsop County Human Services Advisory Council,
3 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Warrenton Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S.
Main Ave.
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
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
Homeless: Concerns about safety downtown continue
Continued from Page A1
Such complaints are
familiar to anyone who fre-
quents downtown or has
spoken with businesses
in recent years. Astoria’s
homeless population has
become more visible, and,
by some estimates, much
larger, while aff ordable
housing and social services
have not kept pace.
In a letter to the City
Council, Britney Brim, an
employee with Caring for
the Coast, a business that
provides in-home care for
the elderly and disabled,
said the business has been
dealing with unwanted and
unsettling behavior from
homeless people in front
of their Commercial Street
offi ce for months.
“This is aff ecting the
business’s daily operations
and the care we are provid-
ing to others in the commu-
nity who also need assis-
tance,” she wrote.
‘I want to help our
community’
LiFEBoat
Services
opened in August in a space
previously used by the Cap-
ricorn Pub. The move was
the realization of a long-held
goal to provide an indoor
place for the homeless to
access resources.
LiFEBoat combines Bea-
con Clubhouse, a mem-
bers-only center that pro-
vides mental health support
and other services, and Fill-
ing Empty Bellies, a non-
profi t that serves meals to
anyone in need and connects
homeless people with ser-
vices. Filling Empty Bellies
previously served people at
public parks.
For
LiFEBoat
Ser-
vices , the complaints raised
at Monday’s meeting are
frustrating.
Some of the issues pre-
date the nonprofi t’s move
to Commercial . Others
are beyond the control of
LiFEBoat’s only two paid
employees, said Osarch
Orak, the director of Fill-
ing Empty Bellies. He runs
LiFEBoat Services with his
partner Erin Carlsen, the
director of Beacon Club-
house and former director
for Filling Empty Bellies.
When LiFEBoat moved
to Commercial , Orak said he
reached out to neighboring
businesses and told them to
contact him if they had any
questions or concerns. But
he hasn’t heard from any-
one. Instead, people go to
city councilors, police and
the mayor with their com-
plaints, he said.
“I don’t want to create
problems,” Orak said. “I
want to help our community.
“I just don’t appreciate
all the negativity because
there are better ways to deal
with people’s concerns,” he
added. “Let’s talk about it.”
The community and city
and county leaders recognize
homelessness is an issue that
needs to be addressed, but
Orak said he has seen little
to no tangible, fi nancial sup-
port from local governments
for the work he and Carlsen
are engaged in. He works
seven days a week and pays
himself a token salary.
If LiFEBoat had bet-
ter fi nancial support from
groups that benefi t from the
gaps the nonprofi t fi lls, Orak
said he would be able to hire
more employees. He tries to
address illegal or concern-
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
DIGITAL
EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25
WANTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
ing behavior outside the
LiFEBoat facility — when
he sees it.
“I don’t have time to go
stand on the sidewalk,” he
said. “I can’t make them do
anything, but it would help
if we had more manpower.”
Police caught in the
middle
Hilton would like to see
people engaging in bad or
harassing behavior arrested,
even just for 24 hours “so
they get some idea that they
can’t cause trouble in our
city,” he said on Monday .
Police Chief Geoff Spal-
ding feels caught in the
middle between people who
want the city to do more to
help the homeless and peo-
ple who feel the city isn’t
doing enough to address
issues that impact the rest
of the community.
Concerns about safety
downtown continue to
remain a matter or percep-
tion, he said. Other home-
less people are still pre-
dominately the victims of
crimes committed by the
homeless. Most of the com-
plaints offi cers fi eld do
not concern illegal activi-
ties. Instead, callers report
feeling uncomfortable or
unsafe.
C ity leaders may revive
a discussion about cre-
ating exclusion zones,
defi ned areas where some-
one who persists in bad
behavior could be banned
from entering. Exclusion is
based on conduct, not hous-
ing status, but these types of
zones may be tricky to cre-
ate or enforce given new
legal protections for the
homeless .
Spalding is not surprised
about the complaints on
Commercial Street. Similar
complaints followed Filling
Empty Bellies at the public
parks.
“It’s just one of the
unintended consequences
of providing a meal to a
bunch of individuals who
have nowhere else to go
before or after,” he told The
Astorian.
But for several years
now, the stretch of Commer-
cial between Ninth Street
and 11th Street has been a
place where people without
homes socialize and sleep.
A previous owner of the
Astoria Downtown Market,
next door to LiFEBoat, had
regular homeless customers
and provided help when he
could, sometimes off ering
people a place to sit and get
out of the bad weather.
Still, Spalding senses a
rising tension and a grow-
ing frustration among some
people in the community.
Police are fi elding increas-
ing calls about the Garden
of Surging Waves, where a
number of homeless peo-
ple take over sections of the
park.
For now, Spalding plans
to reach out to Clatsop
Community Action’s home-
less liaisons and monitor
the Commercial Street area
more closely.
GAME MEAT PROCESSING
Debbie D’s will be at
Cash & Carry in Warrenton
at 10:00 a.m. every Saturday
to pick up and deliver
meat for processing.
20 lb. min • Each batch individual
Please call Mon-Fri between
10-4 so we know to expect you.
DEBBIE D’S Jerky & Sausage Factory
2210 Main Avenue N. • Tillamook, OR • 503-842-2622