A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2021
A strong catch
IN BRIEF
State reports more than three dozen
virus cases for Clatsop County
The Oregon Health Authority reported 17 new
coronavirus cases for Clatsop County on Thursday and
25 new virus cases on Wednesday.
Since the pandemic began, the county had recorded
2,742 virus cases as of Thursday.
The health authority, meanwhile, also disclosed 10
virus cases at local schools.
All of the virus cases involved students, according
to the health authority’s weekly outbreak report. The
majority of the cases were from the Knappa School
District, with seven from Hilda Lahti Elementary
School and one from Knappa High School.
Knappa Superintendent Bill Fritz said the virus
cases were tied to events outside of school and there
is no concern of person-to-person spread on school
property.
Of the fi nal two cases, one was from Jewell School
and one was from Astoria Middle School.
— The Astorian
Busch to seek Senate appointment
Warren Democrat Melissa Busch, who is running
for state Senate next year, will seek to enter offi ce
ahead of schedule.
Busch announced Wednesday that she wants to
be considered for appointment to the Senate District
16 seat vacated by Betsy Johnson. Johnson stepped
down to focus on her campaign for governor as an
independent.
Busch, a home health nurse, announced her candi-
dacy for Senate in November.
“As our next state senator, I will lead with care
and compassion, and I will stand up for our commu-
nity, just like I stand up for my patients,” Busch said
in a statement Wednesday declaring her interest in the
appointment.
— Oregon Capital Bureau
Tillamook dentist to run for House
Cyrus Javadi, a Tillamook dentist, announced this
week he is running in the Republican primary for state
House District 32.
Rep. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, who represents
the district, is running for state Senate District 16.
Betsy Johnson resigned from the Senate to focus on
her campaign for governor as an independent.
House District 32 and Senate District 16 cover the
North Coast.
Elk attacks reported in Cannon Beach
CANNON BEACH — Elk have attacked dogs in
two separate incidents this month.
The fi rst, which took place in a city park in late
afternoon, resulted in slight injuries to the dog, pos-
sibly an injured paw, Police Chief Jason Schermer-
horn said.
In the second, an elk attacked a woman and her dog
in Les Shirley Park at night. The woman, a part-time
resident, refused medical treatment, but Schermerhorn
said he learned the dog’s injuries were more extensive
than in the fi rst incident.
The chief said that elk reports usually involve
crashes on the highway. He spoke with Sgt. Joe War-
wick, of Oregon State Police’s fi sh and wildlife
division.
“(Warwick) said that every time that he’s heard of
a so-called elk attack, it’s involving a dog,” Scher-
merhorn said, “and it’s because the elk see them as
wolves and they’re just protecting themselves and
their herd.”
— The Astorian
ON THE RECORD
Strangulation
burglary in the second
On
the Record
•
Charles
David degree, theft in the fi rst
Miller, 26, of Astoria,
was indicted this week
for two counts of stran-
gulation, menacing con-
stituting domestic vio-
lence and interference
with making a report.
The crimes are alleged to
have occurred earlier this
month.
Burglary
• Jason Brian Pace,
38, of Warrenton, was
indicted in August for
degree and unlawful entry
into a motor vehicle. The
crimes are alleged to have
occurred in June 2020.
DUII
• William Zygmunt
Boluk, 60, of Hammond,
was arrested on Wednes-
day near the Warren-
ton entrance of the New
Youngs Bay Bridge for
driving under the infl u-
ence of intoxicants and
reckless driving.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
TUESDAY
Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
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Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer
Local processors and retailers said the quantity and quality of crab have been excellent so far this commercial season. Pictured
is a crab delivered by Dean Ellsworth of the F/V Nola K.
Parks: Fire district not renewing service contract
Continued from Page A1
confi dent we’ll fi nd a way
to do that,” Havel said, add-
ing that the ongoing conver-
sations will not compromise
visitor safety.
The fi re district received
about 30 calls to state parks
and recreation areas in 2021.
Multiple agencies usu-
ally respond to rescues
at state parks, which can
involve a hiker falling off a
cliff , someone being pulled
into the ocean or a medical
emergency.
And the rescues happen
year round, Reckmann said,
pointing to a rope rescue at
Hug Point and a trail rescue
at Indian Beach in Ecola
State Park over the past two
months.
Both took several hours,
which is typical, he said,
adding that the fi re district
only has rope rescue and
trail rescue teams to respond
to incidents at parks.
By choosing to not
renew the service contract
with the state, the chief said
the fi re district is left with
two options: stop respond-
ing or bill the state for each
response.
Although he cannot
guarantee the state will pay
the bills, Reckmann said
the fi re district will con-
tinue responding to calls at
state parks and recreation
sites outside of the district,
which include Ecola State
Park and Oswald West State
Park. The fi re district also
assists in rescues at Saddle
Mountain.
Arcadia Beach State
Recreation Site, Tolovana
and Hug Point fall inside
the fi re district, so the dis-
trict would not be able to
bill for responses at those
sites .
Police: Homelessness a big challenge, Spalding says
Continued from Page A1
supported and the depart-
ment is left in good hands.
No. 1 challenge
Spalding had retired
as chief of the Beaverton
Police Department when
he replaced former police
chief and assistant city man-
ager Brad Johnston in Asto-
ria . Prior to his more than
seven years in Beaverton, he
retired from a 31-year career
at the Fullerton Police
Department in California.
He also served as presi-
dent of the Oregon Associ-
ation Chiefs of Police.
During his time in Asto-
ria, Spalding helped guide
the city’s homelessness
solutions task force. He also
urged the City Council to
take steps to address chronic
bad behavior downtown
and other public places by a
small number of people who
account for a disproportion-
ate share of 911 calls.
He said addressing home-
lessness has been his No. 1
challenge, an issue where
he and his offi cers are often
pulled in the middle .
“It’s just been signifi -
cantly challenging,” the
chief said. “And there just
aren’t a lot of great solu-
tions, at least that I’ve been
able to discover.
“And it seems like every
year we’re dealt with a new
challenge from the Legisla-
ture in terms of having tools
to be able to address some
of these problems that we’re
experiencing.
“But with that being
said, we also have some
really great partners we
work with,” he said. “We’re
also very much resource-
strapped. So none of us
really have all the tools we’d
really like to be able to be as
eff ective as we could be.”
Staffi ng
the
police
department’s dispatch cen-
ter also remains a challenge,
and forced the department to
temporarily move dispatch-
ers to the Seaside Police
Department in October.
“We have three dispatch-
ers in training. We have our
new communication man-
ager. So there’s defi nitely
light at the end of the tun-
nel,” he said. “It’s just been
‘I’VE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE
TO WORK FOR A SUPPORTIVE
COMMUNITY, A SUPPORTIVE
CITY COUNCIL AND A
SUPPORTIVE CITY MANAGER
AND DEPARTMENT HEAD TEAM.
THAT’S PROBABLY A SIGNIFICANT
REASON THAT I’VE STAYED AS
LONG AS I HAVE.’
— Geoff Spalding, Astoria police chief
a long haul. I immensely
appreciate the dispatch-
ers both in Astoria and Sea-
side that have stuck with us
through these challenges.”
In the weeks after George
Floyd’s murder by Minne-
apolis police in 2020, when
Black Lives Matter protests
were taking place across
the country and there were
calls to defund the police
by some organizations, the
chief agreed some types of
crisis response calls could
be better handled by social
services agencies with spe-
cialized training in men-
tal health and substance
abuse-related calls instead
of police. But he felt shifting
money from police to social
services would put a bigger
strain on smaller towns like
Astoria already operating
with limited resources.
“There’s been national
conversation on defunding
the police and we hear it all
the time,” he said. “We see
how this is impacting other
departments, even as close
as the Portland metropolitan
area. They are not well sup-
ported by their communities
and it makes their job even
more diffi cult.”
Spalding said having a
supportive community in
Astoria has made a huge
diff erence.
“Being a police chief
is a diffi cult job because
things can happen, things go
wrong, and oftentimes the
chief is the person that’s the
fall guy, and he or she will
accept responsibility for
things that are sometimes
even out of his or her con-
trol,” he said.
With the average work
life span of a chief being
three to fi ve years, Spalding
sees his four years in Astoria
as an accomplishment.
“I’ve been very fortu-
nate to work for a support-
ive community, a supportive
City Council and a support-
ive city manager and depart-
ment head team,” he said.
“That’s probably a signifi -
cant reason that I’ve stayed
as long as I have.
“I’ve been very fortunate
to work in that environment,
and again, to work with a
good organization with a lot
of good people.”
‘Steady infl uence’
Deputy Chief Eric Halv-
erson said he feels fortu-
nate to have had Spalding’s
mentorship.
“Four decades in this busi-
ness is an elite club that very
few people who don the uni-
form ever achieve,” he said.
“If anyone deserves to enjoy
retirement, it is a man who
has put so many years of ser-
vice into the policing profes-
sion. In fact, I think it was his
heart of service that brought
him to our department in a
time of need and change.
“This will be a transi-
tion for us, but this is also a
business of transition and he
expects of us that we move
forward, we learn and we
always strive to do better. I
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think we have an excellent
police department and some
of the most dedicated com-
munications operators any
community could hope for.
The chief is leaving us in a
good place with good peo-
ple to carry on a philosophy
of service.”
Halverson has no plans to
pursue the role as chief, and
believes his position as dep-
uty chief is the best way for
him to continue to serve the
city and department.
“Rest assured that I want
the best for our city, too, and
my personal belief about the
best way for us to grow, is
through new perspectives,
diff erent experience and
new ideas,” he said. “Of
course, I’ll be here to help
with the mechanics and the
history.”
City leaders praised Spal-
ding’s guidance .
“Astoria
has
been
extremely lucky to have such
an experienced, talented pro-
fessional as Chief Spalding at
the helm of our police depart-
ment this last 4 1/2 years,”
Mayor Bruce Jones said in
an email. “His calm steady
infl uence dealing with a num-
ber of key issues was of great
benefi t to the community.
“As m ayor, I appreci-
ated his leadership and
wise counsel. I will miss
him and wish him well in
retirement.”
City Manager Brett
Estes said Spalding will be
missed. He said the city has
hired an executive recruiter
to search for a new police
chief.
“We have a great team at
the Astoria Police Depart-
ment and Astoria Dispatch
and I appreciate him staying
through the hiring process
to allow a smooth transition
to a new c hief of p olice,” he
said.
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