A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2022
Warrenton man sentenced to
prison for sex abuse, burglary
IN BRIEF
Warrenton to hire
interim planning director
WARRENTON — The city will bring on Mike
Morgan as an interim planning director.
Morgan is a former mayor of Cannon Beach and
has done interim planning work for Astoria and
Warrenton in the past.
Scott Hazelton, the city’s former planning
director, who served in the role for five months,
resigned in January, but was working remotely to
assist with the completion of a few projects.
City staff is budgeting for a full-time planner
and a planning tech, City Manager Linda Engbret-
son said.
A new city manager will also be hired in the
coming months to replace Engbretson, who is
retiring.
State revises virus case count
in local outbreaks
The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday
updated the number of coronavirus cases tied to
recent outbreaks on the North Coast.
At Clatsop Care Memory Community, a War-
renton care home, an outbreak first reported in late
January now stands at 12 cases.
At Suzanne Elise Assisted Living Community
in Seaside, the number of cases tied to an outbreak
first reported on Jan. 11 now stands at 15 cases.
At Columbia Memorial Hospital in Asto-
ria, the case count tied to an outbreak in Janu-
ary now stands at 25. The investigation began on
Jan. 19.
Nancee Long, the hospital’s communications
director, said that none of the cases originated in
the hospital.
The revised figures were disclosed in the health
authority’s weekly outbreak report.
— The Astorian
Wolf broke into two
homes last summer
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A Warrenton man who
in a drug-addled state broke
into two homes and sexually
abused a woman last summer
has been sentenced to more
than six years in prison.
Steven Michael Wolf, 44,
pleaded no contest in Cir-
cuit Court to fi rst-degree sex-
ual abuse and fi rst-degree
burglary.
A sentencing hearing
began on Feb. 24 and was
fi nished on Thursday to
address an error in the time
he would serve under the plea
agreement.
On Sept. 8, Wolf showed
up in the yard of Tajah Eide.
He was speaking gibber-
ish and threatened to kidnap
Eide’s young daughter. At one
point, he forced his way into
the home and backed down
when Eide confronted him.
Warrenton police later
intercepted Wolf, and a Clat-
sop Behavioral Health-
care worker saw that he was
high on something . Neither
Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital, where medical staff
didn’t think Wolf belonged
as a patient, nor the Clat-
sop County Jail, where staff
wasn’t set up to accommo-
date his condition, accepted
him.
Wolf was cited in lieu of
an arrest and released, while
the county sheriff ’s offi ce was
fi guring out how they could
hold him in custody.
Early the next morning,
a woman awoke to discover
Wolf in her home. She opened
the door to let him out. He
put her against it and began
to sexually assault her. The
woman elbowed away from
him, shouting for help. Her
husband in the other room
grabbed a shotgun. Wolf fl ed.
Three days later, Wolf
was found in the home of his
mother, who had a restraining
order against him.
Wolf said he has no mem-
ory of these events.
His case highlighted
the limitations of local law
enforcement when arrest-
ees do not qualify for hospi-
tal care but still require spe-
cial medical attention. Sheriff
Matt Phillips has argued that,
for people like Wolf, Clatsop
C ounty needs a secure detox
facility.
Wolf
had
originally
pleaded not guilty. His attor-
ney, Lane Borg, said the
switch to a no-contest plea
is not an attempt by Wolf to
deny responsibility or chal-
lenge the facts, but because
“he has no recollection of
this.”
Dawn Buzzard, the chief
deputy district attorney,
pointed out that Wolf has a
history of violent behavior,
including multiple assaults
often involving drugs and
alcohol. “He’s been a real
danger,” she said.
Borg said, “It is unfortu-
nate that there was a potential
for an intervention between
the fi rst burglary and the sec-
ond burglary that, I believe,
in large part, did not happen
because of a bureaucratic dis-
pute between the jail and the
hospital, and that he was let
go with methamphetamine
on him, and then … this next
case happens.”
Normally, Wolf’s sex
crime would have earned him
75 months, but the settlement
negotiation led to an agree-
ment on 70 months.
Judge Henry Kantor found
that Wolf’s diminished men-
tal capacity and other cir-
cumstances made the shorter
sentence appropriate. Wolf’s
sentence for the burglary is
66 months, 60 of which will
be served concurrent with the
sex abuse charge.
Wolf will receive credit for
time served. He must register
as a sex off ender and receive
sex off ender treatment, as
well as treatment for sub-
stance abuse.
Buzzard read statements
from the victims of Wolf’s
home invasions. Both women
described overpowering anx-
iety, of fi xating on whether
their doors are locked, of liv-
ing in fear.
“My 4-year-old daughter
who was with me that day is
so scared to be away from me
or her father for fear someone
will take her,” Eide wrote.
“She is constantly by our side,
everywhere.”
Wolf apologized to the
women and said he was
embarrassed by the situation.
“I didn’t know what I was
doing,” he said.
“Cases involving violent
conduct that follows use of
drugs, unfortunately, are not
unusual,” Kantor said. “And
the law does say, at some
point, you make the decision
to use drugs, you take the con-
sequences for what follows.”
DEATHS
March 3, 2022
In MARTINEZ,
Brief Tina
Louise, 44, of Westport,
died
in Westport. Cald-
Deaths
well’s Luce-Layton Mor-
tuary of Astoria is in charge
of the arrangements.
Feb. 26, 2022
MORRISON, Sandra
Kay, 76, of Astoria, died
in Clackamas. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
MEMORIAL
Friday, March 11
Memorial
WIRTH, Walter Bradley — Graveside ceremony at
1:30 p.m., Willamette National Cemetery, 11800 S.E.
Mount Scott Blvd. in Portland, followed by a reception.
ON THE RECORD
Strangulation
• Thomas Cregan
Hecox, 70, of Seaside,
was indicted on Friday for
strangulation, fourth-de-
gree assault constituting
domestic violence, inter-
fering with someone’s
making a police report and
harassment.
Assault
• John Laurence Reed,
47, of Warrenton, was
arrested on Wednesday
on Oregon Route 104 for
fourth-degree assault con-
stituting domestic vio-
lence and harassment.
Theft
• Samuel Joe John-
son, 31, of Astoria, was
arrested on Thursday near
Home Depot in Warrenton
for second-degree theft
and fi rst-degree crimi-
nal trespass. The crime is
alleged to have occurred at
Fred Meyer.
Criminal trespass
• Jessica Ila Weath-
erly, 31, of Hammond,
was arrested on Tues-
day for fi rst-degree crim-
inal trespass, third-de-
gree criminal mischief and
second-degree theft. The
crimes allegedly occurred
at Walmart in Warrenton.
Reckless driving
• Daniel Joe Fritz,
44, of Hammond, was
arrested on Wednesday
for reckless driving, a hit-
and-run involving prop-
erty and fi rst-degree crim-
inal mischief. The crash is
alleged to have taken place
at S.W. Ninth Street and
S.W. Jade Avenue in War-
renton. Fritz was arrested
at Columbia Memorial
Hospital in Astoria.
On the Record
MONDAY
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10:30 a.m., work ses-
sion, Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria.
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (electronic meeting).
Seaside School District Board, 4:30 p.m., special meeting,
(electronic meeting).
Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., Clatsop Retirement
Village, 947 Olney Ave., Astoria.
Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., main fi re station,
34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., work session, (electronic
meeting).
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Clatsop Community College Board, 6:30 p.m., (electronic meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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DailyAstorian.com
By ELIZABETH
MILLER
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Beginning March 12, Ore-
gon will end COVID-19 con-
tact tracing and quarantine for
schools.
New procedures for
schools are outlined in an
updated resiliency frame-
work released Wednesday
by the state Department of
Education.
With the recent announce-
ment handing decision-mak-
ing authority over masks
to local school leaders, the
state’s guidance provides
information on new quaran-
tine, contact tracing and test-
ing protocols for schools. The
new guidance is set to be in
eff ect through the end of the
school year.
Education and health offi -
cials say that contact tracing
eff orts lag transmission of the
coronavirus, and Oregon has
very high levels of immunity
due to vaccines and COVID-
19 cases. Offi cials say the
duration of immunity is
unknown.
During a media briefi ng
Wednesday, Colt Gill, the
director of the Department
Elizabeth Miller/Oregon Public Broadcasting
A sign at Hillsboro Online Academy last year asked people
entering the building to wear masks.
of Education, said Oregon is
entering a new stage of the
pandemic.
“Over the last two years
we have made many shifts,”
he said. “From ‘stay at home,
save lives,’ to physical dis-
tancing and masking, to a
re introduction of in person
learning ... each shift over
the last two years has been
in response to a new stage of
the pandemic and its impacts,
as well as our experience in
learning about the eff ective-
ness of various mitigation
eff orts.”
Instead of contact tracing,
Circulation phone number:
800-781-3214
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Drought, coupled with
last year’s heat waves, have
weakened the health of for-
ests across Oregon.
“In Oregon, we’re fac-
ing several emerging issues:
drought, fi re, tree decline,
insect outbreaks, tree patho-
gens and invasive species,”
said David Shaw, Oregon
State University professor
and forest health specialist
with the Forestry and Natural
Resources Extension.
Shaw was speaking to
about 230 people at Oregon
State’s biennial State of the
State Forest Health in Oregon
c onference on Tuesday.
Shaw motioned to the lat-
est U.S. Drought Monitor
map, an assortment of yel-
low, orange, red and maroon
swatches representing the
ongoing severity of Oregon’s
drought.
“This (drought) pattern
that we’re in has some seri-
ous consequences for forest
health,” he said.
It matters when too many
Oregon State University
Trees were scorched during a
heat wave in Oregon last year.
trees die, said Andrew Gray,
research ecologist with the
U.S. Forest Service’s Pacifi c
Northwest Research Sta-
tion, because healthy forests
are needed to support wild-
life, timber, water, recreation,
carbon storage and wildfi re
resilience.
The past few years, Ore-
gon forests have been suf-
fering from biotic and abi-
otic factors — biotic meaning
from living things, such as
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schools are strongly encour-
aged to notify student groups
when an exposure occurs.
The state defi nes a COVID-
19 exposure as unmasked
indoor close contact with
someone with COVID-19
within 6 feet for 15 or more
minutes.
“Test-to-stay”
testing
available to schools will now
move to only testing certain
students and staff , including
those at higher risk of severe
COVID-19.
This follows new federal
Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention guidance
shared Monday.
“We would encourage
schools to work to make
those tests available to indi-
viduals who are at high risk,”
state epidemiologist Dr. Dean
Sidelinger said . “That could
include special education
classrooms, or classrooms
that serve a large number
of students with disabilities
so that they have access to
testing.”
Schools will still have
access to diagnostic testing
for anyone with symptoms
and screening testing for
unvaccinated individuals.
School d istricts remain
required to have a commu-
nicable disease plan to deal
with any outbreaks. For any
individual who contracts
COVID-19 and has symp-
toms, an isolation period
of at least fi ve days is rec-
ommended, followed by
fi ve more days wearing a
well-fi tting mask. Isolation
is not required but is strongly
advised.
“Schools do have a respon-
sibility if they know about an
individual with COVID-19,
to exclude them for those fi ve
days while they are recover-
ing,” Sidelinger said.
Heat and drought hurt health of Oregon forests
By SIERRA DAWN
McCLAIN
Capital Press
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Established July 1, 1873
State issues new virus guidance for schools
invasive plants and bacteria,
abiotic meaning from non-
living things such as fi re and
atmospheric conditions.
“Between the abiotic
and biotic stresses, the com-
mon thread is drought,”
said Danny DePinte, Ore-
gon aerial survey coordina-
tor for the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice, who coordinates remote
sensing and aerial analysis of
forests via drones, planes and
satellites.
The connection between
drought and forest health is
sometimes self-evident: dry
fuels burn more easily. But
drought also weakens trees,
making them more suscepti-
ble to pests.
For example, DePinte said
s outhwest Oregon is facing
an uptick in Douglas fi r mor-
tality to a pest called the fl at-
headed fi r borer.
Robbie Flowers, a U.S.
Forest Service entomologist,
is also seeing intensifi ed pest
pressure.
“(Insects that defoliate
trees) are coming into a larger,
more prominent role in the era
of these heat events and ongo-
ing drought,” Flowers said.
In c entral Oregon, for
example, Flowers said bark
beetles are a major concern.
According to DePinte,
the aerial survey coordinator,
another factor that damaged
Oregon’s forests last year was
the heat dome that formed in
June.
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