149TH YEAR, NO. 75
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
$1.50
CORONAVIRUS
County
reaches
vaccine
milestone
Over 70% vaccinated
against the virus
By ERICK BENGEL
and GARY WARNER
The Astorian and Oregon Capital Bureau
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Concrete slabs sit in a staging area in preparation to be set up as walls for the new Clatsop County Jail in Warrenton.
New county jail set for
completion next year
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
ARRENTON — The new
Clatsop County Jail, origi-
nally slated for completion
this year, is now estimated to open
next September or October .
The jail is under construction at
the former North Coast Youth Cor-
rectional Facility, which closed in
2017 . Earlier this month, construction
crews raised the walls for an addi-
tion that will house the jail’s general
population.
“It’s been a moving target, which
has been frustrating,” Sheriff Matt
Phillips, the project supervisor, said.
A combination of supply chain dis-
ruptions, labor shortages and rising
material costs has slowed progress.
The bid date was postponed when
contractors involved needed to fl ee
fi re zones during the historic wildfi res
of 2020.
When the county went out to bid,
the bids that came back were signifi -
cantly over the nearly $24 million
construction budget. The project is
being fi nanced by a $20 million bond
voters approved in 2018, a bond pre-
mium and money from the county .
The county scaled back the design
by eliminating a few housing units
and making other compromises, such
as reducing the number of skylights.
But the new facility — a project
overseen by Cornerstone Manage-
ment Group and designed by DLR
Group — will be a drastic improve-
ment , Phillips said.
The existing jail in Astoria, which
opened in 1980, has 60 beds — 40 in
W
See Jail, Page A2
Seventy percent of Clatsop County
residents are vaccinated against the coro-
navirus, a goal the county has sought
to reach since vaccines became widely
available to the public earlier this year.
The county reported on Friday that
27,615 people had been vaccinated. The
county’s vaccination rate is among the
highest in Oregon.
“I think it is a testament to the collab-
oration of all the health care resources
in the county,” Mark Kujala, the chair-
man of the county Board of Commission-
ers, said in a text message. “It showcases
good communications and local media
eff orts to inform residents of vaccina-
tion clinics and why it is important to get
vaccinated.
“I’m very proud of this county and
hopeful that the momentum continues
through the booster dose phase.”
The pace of vaccinations peaked
during the spring and slowed over
the summer and fall. In late June, for
See Vaccine, Page A3
A COMBINATION OF SUPPLY CHAIN
DISRUPTIONS, LABOR SHORTAGES
AND RISING MATERIAL COSTS
HAS SLOWED PROGRESS. THE BID
DATE WAS POSTPONED WHEN
CONTRACTORS INVOLVED NEEDED
TO FLEE FIRE ZONES DURING THE
HISTORIC WILDFIRES OF 2020.
Prosecutors
drop charges
against former
Jewell coach
Body camera footage of
interviews destroyed
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A former Jewell School basketball
coach accused of touching a co-worker
in a sexual manner got his case dismissed
because evidence that could have proved
exculpatory was destroyed.
David Allen Samuelson, 64, was
accused of repeatedly touching the but-
tocks of a colleague in 2018 and 2019 . He
faced misdemeanor counts of harassment
and third-degree sexual abuse.
Samuelson said his relationship with
the woman , who once coached the middle
school girls’ team, had been close, that the
contact was consensual, and that the rela-
tionship occurred outside of school activ-
ities. Based on the harassment claims, the
school district prevented him from coach-
ing basketball.
The new Clatsop County Jail is expected to be completed next year.
See Coach, Page A2
‘It was hard for me to carry around those stories’
Merila helps guide
clinical operations at
mental health agency
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
hyra Merila, the clinical
operations offi cer at Clat-
sop Behavioral Healthcare, has
had three promotions in the p ast
fi ve years. In her current role,
she oversees the agency’s inter-
S
nal departments and supports the
staff .
When she was fi rst hired , as
a supervisor and therapist, she
looked after the well-being of
children and families. For a time,
many of the children in Clatsop
County who most needed help
found themselves in Merila’s
presence.
These are the kids whose par-
ents are often high on drugs or
alcohol, kids who don’t know
when they’re going to eat next.
The ones whose parents are job-
less, or even homeless ; per-
haps their family is sleeping on
another family’s couch. And
there are the children who have
been sexually abused , including
those who have been traffi cked.
“It can be really hard to com-
partmentalize the experiences of
young children who have seen
just a lot of hardship in their
lives,” Merila said. “And it was
hard for me to carry around those
stories.”
Erick Bengel/The Astorian
See Merila, Page A3
Shyra Merila is the clinical operations offi cer at Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare.