A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2022
MARCHING ON
IN BRIEF
Clammers stalked the surf
this month in Long Beach.
Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer
County reports virus deaths
An 88-year-old Clatsop County man died of the
coronavirus at his home on Friday, the county reported.
He had received a COVID-19 vaccination, the
county said.
Additional information was not immediately
available.
An 80-year-old man from the county died at his
home of the virus on Feb. 12, the county reported.
He had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The county
said additional information was not available.
The Oregon Health Authority, meanwhile, reported
two new virus cases for the county on Tuesday and
seven new cases over the weekend.
Since the pandemic began, the county had recorded
4,572 virus cases as of Tuesday.
— The Astorian
Inslee signs trio of gun bills into law
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday
signed into law three gun-related bills, including one
that will prohibit the sale of gun magazines that hold
more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
The other measures place new restrictions on untrace-
able “ghost guns” and, in response to concerns about
armed intimidation, restrict weapons at locations such
as school board meetings and election-related facilities.
“This is a triumph, I believe, in democracy because
the will of the vast majority of Washingtonians is being
followed with the passage of these bills,” Inslee said
before signing the measures. “For too long, narrow seg-
ments of folks have blocked the majority will when it
comes to saving us from this mass violence.”
— Northwest News Network
DEATHS
March 20, 2022
Deaths
SANDERS, Elizabeth
Jensen, 85, of Seaside,
died in Seaside. Cald-
well’s Funeral & Crema-
tion Arrangement Center
of Seaside is in charge of
the arrangements.
March 19, 2022
MERCIER, James, 82,
of Seaside, died in Seaside.
Caldwell’s Funeral & Cre-
mation Arrangement Cen-
ter of Seaside is in charge
of the arrangements.
PARKER, Danny Dean
Jr., 71, of Astoria, died
in Portland. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
SCHUERGER, Michael
Larry, 72, of Warrenton,
died in Portland. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
March 17, 2022
HARPER, Hoke Van-
digriff , 38, of Astoria,
died in Astoria. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
March 9, 2022
DOUGLAS, Michael
Steven, 74, of Seaside, died
in Seaside. Hughes-Ran-
som Mortuary is in charge
of the arrangements. A
celebration of life will be
announced.
ON THE RECORD
Unlawful possession
offi cer, driving under the
On
of the
a fi rearm Record
infl uence of intoxicants,
• Mark Anthony Mar-
quez, 47, of Astoria, was
arrested on March 17 on
Bond Street in Astoria for
unlawful possession of a
fi rearm with intent to use,
reckless endangering and
second-degree disorderly
conduct.
Harassment
• Johnathan Lance
Kvale, 28, of Newport,
was arrested on Friday for
harassment and second-de-
gree disorderly conduct
following a physical alter-
cation among multiple par-
ties at the Garden of Surg-
ing Waves in Astoria.
Theft
• Derrick Ray Max-
himer, 33, of Seaside,
was arrested on Friday
for second-degree theft.
The crime is alleged to
have occurred at Englund
Marine & Industrial Sup-
ply in Astoria. The arrest
took place on W. Marine
Drive and Basin Street in
Astoria.
Fleeing
• Gregory Thomas
Hanson, 23, of Portland,
was arraigned on Monday
on charges of fl eeing or
attempting to elude a police
reckless driving and refusal
to take a Breathalyzer test.
The crimes are alleged to
have occurred in Clatsop
County in February 2021.
DUII
• Lucas Castellon Pena,
34, of Vancouver, Wash-
ington, was arrested on
Friday on U.S. Highway
26 near Camp 18 Restau-
rant for driving under
the infl uence of intoxi-
cants and reckless driv-
ing. Pena allegedly struck
a guardrail.
• Kevin Anthony Lee
Ellisor, 32, of Seaside,
was arrested on Friday
on U.S. Highway 26 near
the intersection of Kampy
Road for DUII. Ellisor was
allegedly involved in a sin-
gle-vehicle rollover crash.
• Sterling Wayne
McCoy, 53, of Longview,
Washington, was arrested
on March 16 on U.S.
Highway 30 near Bradley
State Scenic Viewpoint for
DUII.
• Rashad Fabio Greene,
30, of Portland, was
arrested on March 10 at
Fourth Avenue and N.
Downing Street in Seaside
for DUII.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Sunset Empire Transportation District Board, 9 a.m.,
(virtual meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Youth camp closure
tied to plunge in crime
By JEFF CLEMENS
Chinook Observer
NASELLE, Wash. —
Employees of the Naselle
Youth Camp and the union
that represents them held
a protest last week outside
the juvenile facility .
They were hoping a
last-ditch eff ort would
put enough pressure on
Gov. Jay Inslee to save the
doomed youth camp, but
the head of the state agency
that oversees the camp said
that ship has sailed.
The camp’s closure has
been on the table for nearly
two decades.
Inslee could choose to
veto the specifi c section
of the state budget outlin-
ing the closure , but that is
highly unlikely, accord-
ing to the Washington
State Department of Child,
Youth, and Families .
“Regardless of how
much of a long shot it is
to keep Naselle open, the
workers want their voices
to be heard. They have
advocated for the youth
there for decades in many
cases and know the nega-
tive impact Naselle’s clo-
sure would have on them,”
Patrick Sugrue , commu-
nications specialist for the
American Federation of
State, County, and Munic-
ipal Employees , said.
“We think it’s important
for folks to know what is
really being proposed. It’s
not closing some buildings
down and fi ring staff ; it’s
removing proven treatment
options from at-risk youth.
Currently, there is no plan
about how the non violent
youth at Naselle would be
transitioned to other facili-
ties that house violent youth
or what impact that would
have on their chances for
success in life,” he added.
Once Inslee signs the
budget, the camp will be
slotted for closure at the
end of June 2023. The state
will no longer be allowed
to place youth at the camp,
eff ective immediately.
According to Ross
Hunter, the secretary of
the Department of Child,
Youth, and Families, the
closure comes on the heels
of over a decade of declin-
ing youth numbers in reha-
bilitation services. Nation-
wide, numbers have fallen
79% since 2007 and are at
Naselle Youth Camp staff and supporters have held rallies to keep the facility open.
‘WE HAD THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN IN
(STATE JUVENILE REHABILITATION)
20-30 YEARS AGO, AND NOW
WE HAVE LESS THAN 400.’
Ross Hunter | Washington State
Department of Child, Youth, and Families
their lowest since the early
1980s.
Back in 2005, the num-
bers at the Naselle Youth
C amp were about 130
workers to 130 placements,
versus 93 workers to 33
placements today. With
an annual budget of about
$9.9 million, state offi cials
say they have a hard time
warranting the expense.
It’s not just the Naselle
Youth C amp that’s feel-
ing the impacts of the
declining youth crime rate.
According to Hunter, num-
bers in Washington state
have staggered downward
in the past two decades and
recently plummeted.
“We had thousands of
children in ( state juvenile
rehabilitation) 20-30 years
ago, and now we have less
than 400,” Hunter said in
an interview with the Chi-
nook Observer . “It’s con-
tinuing to go down, and not
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only that, juvenile violence
has been going down since
the 1990s.
“There was a surge in
the 1990s — though per-
haps more exaggerated
than real — and that has
been in a steady decline
since, and we have seen
a similar decline in teen
births and teen pregnan-
cies. That has fallen in half
every 10 years. It’s the best
story in health services;
teen pregnancies decline.”
The Department of
Child, Youth, and Families
and the state’s justice sys-
tem are seeing a lot fewer
children end up in the court
system because they are
taking a proactive approach
to correct bad behavior in
youth early before it leads
to more signifi cant issues,
according to Hunter.
The state agency plans to
focus more energy on other
programs, such as connect-
ing with mentors in their
communities,
including
former prison inmates who
can share their experiences.
“You lock a kid up with
a bunch of kids who steal
cars; that kid is going to
steal cars,” Hunter said.
“So that is not what you
want to do. So it really
does make sense, and it
has resulted in pretty sig-
nifi cant results all over the
country for the past two
decades.
“It’s a really good
thing,” he added.