A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2021
IN BRIEF
Snow causes cars to slide
into Plaza Jalisco
Snowy conditions caused two vehicles, in two sep-
arate incidents a few hours apart on Sunday, to slide
into Plaza Jalisco, a Mexican restaurant in downtown
Astoria. No injuries have been reported. Snowfall
over the weekend blanketed streets across the North
Coast.
State discloses virus cases
at local schools
The Oregon Health Authority has disclosed nine
new coronavirus cases at schools in Clatsop County.
All of the cases were students, with seven being
from the Astoria School District, according to the
health authority’s weekly outbreak report. Three of
the cases were from Astoria Middle School, while
two were from Astoria High School. The report also
showed one case each at Astor Elementary and Lewis
and Clark Elementary.
The report showed one case at Warrenton Grade
School and one case at Hilda Lahti Elementary.
— The Astorian
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Feds contribute $2.4M
to rebuild at Port of Ilwaco
Sean Kahrhoff takes a slow motion video of his son, Peyton, hitting a homemade jump while sledding at the Astoria Column on
Sunday. Snow fell over the holiday weekend across the North Coast.
ILWACO, Wash. — A major project at the Port
of Ilwaco is now fully funded following news this
month of a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Depart-
ment of Transportation.
The port’s east bulkhead provides waterside work
space for Safe Coast Seafoods, a major employer
and crucial partner to the local commercial fi shing
industry.
The structure dates from the mid-20th century
“and has endured severe deterioration due to age, fre-
quent fl ooding and storm damage. The potential col-
lapse of the bulkhead could render the entire wharf
unusable,” according to a press release.
With a considerable push from U.S. Sen. Patty
Murray, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and U.S. Rep.
Jaime Herrera Beutler, the federal Port Infrastructure
Development Program said it will provide $2.4 mil-
lion to rebuild the bulkhead, adding to grants obtained
this summer of $750,000 from the state’s Community
Economic Revitalization Board and $80,000 from the
Pacifi c County Council of Governments.
Total project cost is pegged at $3.5 million.
— Chinook Observer
DEATHS
Dec. 27, 2021
In BRUMM,
Brief
Betty Inez,
93, of Astoria, died in
Astoria.
Caldwell’s
Deaths
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
Dec. 23, 2021
JUE, Irene Chu Lin,
90, of Astoria, died in
Warrenton. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
Dec. 13, 2021
RUBINO, Ron, 77,
of
Warrenton,
died
in Warrenton. Ocean
View Funeral & Cre-
mation Service of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
Nov. 5, 2021
NIEMI,
Edward
Alfred, 77, of Astoria, died
in Portland. Crown Memo-
rial Centers is in charge of
the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Kidnapping
a controlled substance at
On
the Michael
Record
• Jonathan
the Clatsop County Jail.
Fleming, 38, of Astoria,
was indicted last week
for kidnapping in the
fi rst degree; strangula-
tion; assault in the fourth
degree; menacing; and
unlawful use of a stun
gun in the second degree.
The crimes are alleged to
have occurred earlier this
month.
Robbery
• Nicholas Brian Dier-
ick, 27, of Waitsburg,
Washington, was arrested
last week for robbery in
the second degree and
menacing and theft in the
second degree — inci-
dents that took place at
Walmart in Warrenton —
and for supplying contra-
band and possession of
SNOW DAY
He also had warrants out
of Washington state and
Umatilla County .
Harassment
• Ricky Dean Sutton,
57, of Warrenton, was
arrested last week for
disorderly conduct and
harassment constituting
domestic violence.
Theft
• Manuel Li Rodri-
guez, 42, of Olym-
pia, Washington, was
arrested on Thursday at
Fred Meyer in Warren-
ton for theft in the second
degree.
• Iddo Solomon Dech-
ter, 30, of Seaside, was
arrested on Friday at T.J.
Maxx in Warrenton for
theft in the second degree.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Planning Commission/Countywide
Advisory Committee, 9 a.m., joint meeting, (electronic
meeting).
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Lower Columbia Q Center
disputes spill out in lawsuit
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
D isputes at the Lower
Columbia Q Center have
prompted a legal battle pit-
ting board members against
each other.
The nonprofi t Q Center
provides outreach, educa-
tion and advocacy for the
region’s LGBTQ commu-
nity. A lawsuit fi led in Cir-
cuit Court in December by
four of the center’s eight
board members described
a contentious breakdown
in communication last June
that has caused dysfunc-
tion over the past several
months.
“These disputes, and
defendants’
stubborn
refusal to discuss these
important issues, led to and
culminated in a crisis point
on June 16, 2021,” the court
fi ling said. “Since then, the
board has remained in a state
of complete dysfunction.”
Shortly after the June
meeting, the suit said, each
side hired legal counsel and
through their attorneys dis-
cussed and negotiated sev-
eral options to restore the
board’s functionality and
return the organization to
full operations. Despite all
members signing an arbitra-
tion agreement in July, the
suit said some board mem-
bers ceased all communica-
tions about a month ago.
Taz
Davis,
Dida
DeA ngelis, Don Duncan
and Sandi Hilton fi led the
lawsuit in December, ask-
ing the court to dissolve the
nonprofi t and appoint a cus-
todian to manage its aff airs.
The suit claims the other
board members — David
Drafall, Hilary Ann Levine,
Tessa Scheller and Jim Sum-
mers — violated the arbi-
tration agreement and have
acted in other ways that are
causing dysfunction.
The court fi ling details
several confl icts leading
to the deadlock, includ-
(USPS 035-000)
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THE NONPROFIT PROVIDES
OUTREACH, EDUCATION AND
ADVOCACY FOR THE REGION’S
LGBTQ COMMUNITY. A LAWSUIT
FILED IN CIRCUIT COURT IN
DECEMBER BY FOUR OF THE
CENTER’S EIGHT BOARD MEMBERS
DESCRIBED A CONTENTIOUS
BREAKDOWN IN COMMUNICATION
LAST JUNE THAT HAS CAUSED
DYSFUNCTION OVER THE PAST
SEVERAL MONTHS.
ing whether a former board
member’s background was
properly vetted .
The suit also outlines
several instances when
board members allegedly
spent the nonprofi t’s funds
without board approval.
Shortly after the June meet-
ing, the fi ling said, board
members moved the non-
profi t’s funds — about
$77,000 — to a diff erent
bank account.
Since the suit was fi led,
Judge Beau Peterson has
issued a temporary restrain-
ing order directing board
members to comply with
the terms of the arbitra-
tion agreement, not spend
any of the nonprofi t’s funds
without approval by a quo-
rum of the board and cease
meeting and conducting
business without a quorum.
Drafall and Scheller ,
through their attorney,
declined to comment.
Levine
and
Summers
could not be reached for
comment.
The other four board
members told The Astorian
they hope the restraining
order will prevent any fur-
ther litigation.
“We didn’t see a need to
go to court until three direc-
tors started taking actions
against us,” they said in a
statement. “They pretended
to act with the authority of
the full board knowing full
well they had no author-
ity to do so. They sought
to remove us, rather than
cooperatively discuss the
important questions we
need to address as a board
of directors.
“We hope our fel-
low directors will now —
fi nally — come to the table
to discuss our diff erences
in good faith, starting with
mediation,” they said. “We
don’t believe further litiga-
tion serves anyone’s inter-
ests — not ours, not the Q
Center’s, not our stakehold-
ers, and not the communi-
ties we serve.”
Offi ces close for New Year’s Day
The Astorian
Established July 1, 1873
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The Lower Columbia Q Center helps organize events such as Astoria Pride.
In observance of New
Year’s Day on Saturday, all
federal, state and county
offi ces are closed Friday.
Astoria, Gearhart and
Seaside city offi ces are
closed Friday. Warren-
ton and Cannon Beach city
offi ces are closed Thursday
and Friday. All U.S. post
offi ces are closed Friday,
and there is no mail delivery.
Astoria, Jewell, Knappa,
Warrenton/Hammond and
Seaside (including Cannon
Beach and Gearhart) school
district schools, and Clat-
sop Community College, are
closed for winter break.
The Astoria Library
and Warrenton Library are
closed Friday and Satur-
day. The Seaside Library is
closed Saturday.
The Port of Astoria
offi ces and services are
closed Saturday.
Garbage
collection
through Recology West-
ern Oregon and the city of
Warrenton garbage collec-
tion are not aff ected by the
holiday. Recology Western
Oregon’s transfer station
closes at 2 p.m. Friday and
is closed Saturday.
The Sunset Pool in Sea-
side is closed Friday, Satur-
day and Sunday. The Asto-
ria Aquatic Center is closed
Saturday.
The Clatsop County
Heritage Museum, Ore-
gon Film Museum, Fla-
vel House and the Carriage
House are closed Saturday.
The Uppertown Firefi ght-
ers’ Museum is closed for
the winter.
The Sprouts Learn-
ing Center is open from
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fri-
day. Through Friday, cos-
tumed rangers will be at
the Fort Clatsop replica
to answer questions from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fort Clat-
sop is also open Satur-
day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Columbia River Mari-
time Museum is open from
9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Sunset Empire
Transportation
District
fi nal run schedule for Fri-
day is as follows: Route 101
leaves McDonald’s in Asto-
ria at 5:53 p.m., and ends
at Fred Meyer in Warren-
ton at 6:20 p.m.; Route 20
leaves Seaside Cinema at
4:35 p.m., leaves the Can-
non Beach Visitor Center at
5:12 p.m., and ends at Sea-
side Cinema at 5:30 p.m.;
Route 10 leaves the Astoria
Transit Center at 5:05 p.m.,
and ends at the Astoria Tran-
sit Center at 5:28 p.m.; and
Route 15 leaves Warrenton
Mini Mart at 5:52 p.m., and
ends at the Warrenton Mini
Mart 6:07 p.m. The Colum-
bia Connector route is run-
ning its regular schedule on
Friday.
There is no bus service
on Saturday, and the Astoria
and Seaside transit centers
are closed.