A2 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021 IN POSITION IN BRIEF Clatskanie man indicted on sex abuse charges Photographers position themselves for the perfect shot at Cape Disappointment in November. David Michael Brandon, 44, of Clatskanie, was indicted last week for fi ve counts of rape in the third degree, nine counts of sexual abuse in the third degree, sodomy in the third degree and fi ve counts of unlawful delivery of a mar- ijuana item. The alleged crimes occurred in 2018 and 2019. Brandon was hired this year to teach physical education at Hilda Lahti Elementary School. “To our knowledge, this (case) does not involve any Knappa students,” Bill Fritz, the school district superinten- dent, wrote in an email to parents. The school district “takes this matter seriously and is in open dialogue and cooperation with law enforcement,” Fritz wrote. When Fritz found out about Brandon’s arrest, the teacher was placed on administrative leave. Brandon is not interact- ing with students or the campus, the superintendent said in an interview. Since Brandon’s arrest occurred late last month, it would not have shown up in his background check, Fritz said. “We do thorough background checks on all prospective employees, as we did with this employee,” he said, “and we don’t hire people when things come up in a background check.” Downtown association hires new director A former Astoria city councilor will take the helm of the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association. Jessamyn Grace West, who served two years on the City Council and co-owns the historic Odd Fellows Building downtown, stepped in as interim director for the downtown association this summer. Her permanent role as executive director will begin in January. West replaces Sarah Lu Heath, who left the organization earlier this year to take a job with the Columbia-Pacifi c Eco- nomic Development District. “(The downtown association) is an incredible organiza- tion that I’m honored to be a part of,” West said. “I am looking forward to strengthening (the organi- zation’s) infrastructure to better serve members, visitors, downtown businesses and organizations, as well as this community I love,” she added. The downtown association has restructured recently and now oversees the Astoria Sunday Market through employee Shelby Meyers, the association’s downtown promotions manager. This year, the association approved the creation of another full-time position, an events and promotions man- ager, who will focus on business development, fundraising and marketing. State reports new virus cases for county The Oregon Health Authority reported new coronavirus cases in Clatsop County over the past several days. The health authority reported nine new virus cases for the county on Wednesday, six new cases on Tuesday and 29 new cases over the Thanksgiving holiday and weekend. Since the pandemic began, the health authority has recorded 2,627 virus cases and 35 deaths in the county, although the county has said one of those deaths was not a resident. — The Astorian DEATHS Nov. 30, 2021 In HALVERSON, Brief Ann Marie, 74, of West- port, died in Raymond, Deaths Washington. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. THOMASON, Den- nis LeRoy II, 54, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Lay- ton Mortuary of Asto- ria is in charge of the arrangements. Nov. 29, 2021 DOWELL, Shari Lynn “Peanut,” 59, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. Nov. 28, 2021 SHAHAN, Carol Marie, 88, of Clatskanie, formerly of Astoria, died in Clatskanie. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIALS Saturday, Dec. 4 Memorials OLSON, Edward J. — Celebration of life at 2 p.m., Clatsop County Fairgrounds, 92937 Wal- luski Loop. Sunday, Dec. 5 WILDER-Mc- CLURE, Dyan — Cele- bration of life from 2 to 5 p.m., Astoria Moose Lodge, 420 17th St. CORRECTION Incorrect society — Lloyd Bowler, a local volun- teer, has done work with the Obon Society. An Every- day People feature on A1 on Tuesday incorrectly referred to the group as the Old Barn Society. Correction PUBLIC MEETINGS THURSDAY Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 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 Luke Whittaker/ Chinook Observer Oregon commission mandates production of cleaner trucks By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press SALEM — Oregon’s Environmental Quality Com- mission, a governor-ap- pointed panel, has approved the Clean Trucks Rule, a mandate aimed at cutting emissions by requiring pro- duction of cleaner trucks. Advocates say the rule will benefi t the environment and public health; critics say it will hurt truck manufactur- ers and raise prices on trucks, which farmers and ranchers rely on for shipping. The rule has two parts. First, it mandates manufac- turers boost production of electric trucks. Second, it requires new medium- and heavy-duty diesel trucks sold in Oregon to meet stricter emissions standards. The fi rst rule requires up to half of the new medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and vans sold in Oregon by 2030 have no emissions, and up to 75% be electric by 2035. The second requires all new heavy-duty diesel vehi- cles sold in Oregon to emit 75% less nitrogen dioxide than current levels starting in 2025 and 90% less by 2027. The rule only applies to manufacturers and does not require anyone to buy the trucks. After California, Oregon is the second state to adopt the rule, which will go into eff ect in 2024 and apply to 2025 or later models. The Washington State Department of Ecology announced Tuesday that the agency approved Califor- nia’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule. Advocates say the rule will decrease tailpipe pollu- tion contributing to smog and ozone formation, promote Don Jenkins/Capital Press Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission, a small regulatory body, has approved the Clean Trucks Rule, a mandate aimed at cutting emissions by requiring production of cleaner trucks. cleaner air for disadvantaged communities and reduce die- sel exhaust that may cause cancer, lung disease and other health problems. “The transportation sec- tor alone is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon, so this moves us toward cleaner air,” said Rachel Sakata, senior air quality planner for the Ore- gon Department of Environ- mental Quality. “We’re on a path to zero emissions.” Critics say the rule will raise the price of new trucks, will rapidly push a fl eet of electric vehicles on a state that doesn’t have suffi cient infrastructure set up yet and will unfairly penalize truck manufacturers. “It is never the right deci- sion to increase the cost of goods, which these rules will do,” said state Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, an Albany Republican whose family runs a trucking business. Trucking industry leaders estimate the price of a new heavy-duty electric truck will be $58,000 more than a com- parable diesel unit. DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25 Jarvis said agricultural businesses may not want to buy electric trucks for a few reasons. First, the battery weighs more than an internal combustion engine, limiting the vehicle’s carrying capac- ity. Second, a diesel truck can travel thousands of miles at a time, while an electric truck may need to be recharged every 200 miles — a problem when transporting perishable food or live animals. In California, where an identical rule was approved last June, the state is push- ing policies requiring agen- cies to buy electric trucks and off ering businesses fi nancial incentives. Oregon has no such policies. The most obvious fl aw with the new rule, critics say, is that Oregon lacks infra- structure. The state currently has only one large public charging station for semi- trucks, in Portland. “We have a real issue in our state with moving poli- cies forward with the men- tality of, ‘Oh, we’ll get to building the infrastructure eventually,’” said Cooper. Landmark: Original structure was valued at a little over $19,000 Continued from Page A1 “She’s just a wonderful person, and so we thought there must be some ways that we could help,” said Leigh McK eirnan, a Kelso, Wash- ington, resident who is orga- nizing the eff ort. McK eirnan visited the stand every Saturday for pro- duce and would regularly get a special delivery of golden potatoes. The quality and pricing for the food, espe- cially the watermelons, was something special to her, too. The original structure was valued at a little over $19,000, but McK eirnan has not set a specifi c fundraising goal. “(I t’s) whatever we can bring in, because she’s got to rebuild the whole thing,” said said. McK eirnan worked with Wauna Credit Union and Fibre Federal Credit Union to open up donation accounts under YvonneKrause/ JosCountryMarket. She is also working on getting a GoFundMe set up. When Krause isn’t run- ning the stand in the summer and fall, she works for the Clatskanie S chool D istrict as a trainer for bus drivers. 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 Sakata confi rmed that the $58,000 estimate is reason- able but she said that cost would be defrayed by long- term savings on fuel and maintenance. Mary Anne Cooper, vice president of government aff airs at the Oregon Farm Bureau, said because many businesses can’t aff ord the higher price tag, she expects the rule will have the oppo- site of its intended eff ect, prompting businesses to buy trucks out-of-state or keep older trucks. “You’re gonna have folks holding onto vehicles for a lot longer than they would have,” said Cooper. “Farm and ranch families and local Oregon businesses will actu- ally be disincentivized from purchasing new trucks.” Jana Jarvis, president of Oregon Trucking Asso- ciations, a trade organiza- tion, said the Clean Trucks Rule most directly hurts truck manufacturers, who will be required to mass-pro- duce electric trucks with no guarantee people will buy them. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Krause hopes to rebuild the stand, though she’ll miss the vintage charm of the old building. She said the commu- nity support is welcome, but also overwhelming and unexpected. She got emotional recall- ing the two excavation com- panies that cleaned up the site for her and only accepted breakfast and coff ee in return. She said the local c hamber of c ommerce checked in with her, too, and one local man has off ered to donate wood. “It still brings tears to my eyes just to talk about it,” Krause said. “It’s very, very humbling because you just kind of go through your day, doing your thing, and you don’t realize how many people notice what you’re doing. ” 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