A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2022
IN BRIEF
NEWLY CROWNED
County reports two virus deaths
Clatsop County has reported two new coronavi-
rus deaths.
A 45-year-old man died of the virus on Jan. 20 at
Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. No
other information was immediately available.
A 71-year-old man, who had been vaccinated,
died on Feb. 21 at a hospital in Portland.
The county said it mistakenly reported the Feb.
12 death of an 80-year-old man twice — on Feb. 16
and again on March 11.
“The Oregon Health Authority continues to rec-
oncile data on COVID-related deaths in the state,”
the county said. “When a Clatsop County resident
dies in another county or state, there can be a delay
in reporting to the local jurisdiction, if the death
certificate is not issued by Clatsop County.”
The health authority, meanwhile, reported two
new virus cases for the county on Friday and five
new cases on Thursday.
Since the pandemic began, the county had
recorded 4,579 virus cases as of Friday.
State discloses
virus case at local school
The Oregon Health Authority has disclosed one
new coronavirus case at a school in Clatsop County.
The case was a student from Lewis and Clark
Elementary School, according to the health author-
ity’s weekly outbreak report.
— The Astorian
Jackson fifth Oregon county to
declare drought emergency
On Wednesday, Jackson County joined four other
counties in Oregon declaring a drought emergency.
Low water storage and snowpack levels in south-
ern Oregon prompted counties to declare drought
emergencies this year ahead of what’s expected to
be an extremely dry summer.
The Pacific Northwest continues to face a pro-
longed drought, and this year is predicted to be
worse than the past two years.
Jackson County commissioners made the
drought declaration. It follows declarations by
Klamath, Jefferson, Morrow and Crook counties.
“The extended weather forecast for Jackson
County predicts higher than normal temperatures
and below average precipitation,” Jackson County
Administrator Danny Jordan said. “All of these
conditions will result in the loss of economic stabil-
ity, pasture shortages, a shortened growing season
and decreased water supply for Jackson County’s
agricultural, vineyard and livestock producers.”
— Jefferson Public Radio
DEATH
March 22, 2022
Death
KURLE, Richard Jon, 75, of Astoria, died in Asto-
ria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Burglary
• Donald
On
Record
• Rory the
David Bounds,
Crist, 53, of
40, of Clatskanie, was
indicted on Tuesday for
second-degree burglary,
second-degree criminal
mischief and second-de-
gree theft. The crimes are
alleged to have occurred
in Clatsop County in Jan-
uary 2021.
DUII
• Nancy Ann Gebhardt,
37, of Warrenton, was
arrested on Thursday for
driving under the infl uence
of intoxicants and a hit-
and-run involving property
damage at Motel 6 on W.
Marine Drive in Astoria.
Douglas
Estacada,
was arrested on March
17 on U.S. Highway 101
near the Skipanon River
for DUII, reckless driv-
ing, reckless endanger-
ing, carrying a concealed
weapon, being a felon in
possession of a restricted
weapon and possession
of methamphetamine.
• John Laurence Reed,
47, of Warrenton, was
arrested on March 15
near Oregon Route 104
and Whiskey Road in
Warrenton for DUII and
driving while suspended
or revoked.
MONDAY
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of
Directors, 5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Ave. A, Seaside.
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
(USPS 035-000)
Published Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday by EO Media Group,
949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR
97103 Telephone 503-325-3211,
800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR
97103-0210
DailyAstorian.com
Florida teenager arrested for Uppertown fi res
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A teenager who allegedly
set fi res in Uppertown in
January 2018 has been
taken into custody.
Preston Blake Powers,
18, of Gainesville, Flor-
ida, was arrested on charges
of arson by the Alachua
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce. He
had a warrant out of Clatsop
County Circuit Court.
Powers was indicted on
two counts of fi rst-degree
arson and two counts of sec-
ond-degree arson.
He allegedly started the
fi res at residences along
38th Street — the street
where he lived — and on
Harrison Avenue.
The fi res alarmed the
neighborhood, known for
“T he Goonies” house, and
led to a packed town meet-
ing at Alderbrook Hall with
city, police and fi re leaders .
“There was some fear in
the community,” Paul Cha-
ras, a deputy district attor-
ney , said.
Circulation phone number:
800-781-3214
Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR
ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP
All advertising copy and illustrations
prepared by The Astorian become the
property of The Astorian and may not
be reproduced for any use without
explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT ©
Entire contents © Copyright,
2022 by The Astorian.
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF
CIRCULATIONS, INC.
Printed on
recycled paper
Mari Inaba
A fi re in Uppertown burned a pickup truck in 2018.
Homes were found with
scorch marks. A detached
garage was burned. A
pickup truck was partially
melted.
Northwest
Innovation
Works, a company backed
by the Chinese government
that planned to build a con-
troversial methanol plant on
the Columbia River, appears
to be closing up shop.
The company fi led arti-
cles of dissolution with the
Oregon Secretary of State’s
Offi ce last September, which
indicates it is closing its Ore-
gon business operations.
The Port of Columbia
County had an option agree-
ment with Northwest Inno-
vation Works to lease prop-
erty at the Port Westward
Industrial Park near Clats-
kanie, where the company
had planned to build a meth-
anol facility.
Plans for the plant
included using natural gas to
make a clear methanol liq-
uid that could be exported to
China and used to produce a
plastic manufacturing com-
pound called olefi n.
According to Port of
Columbia County Execu-
tive Director Sean Clark, the
company’s option to lease
agreement is still in eff ect.
“The Port of Columbia
County is aware of the cor-
porate dissolution by (North-
west Innovation Works) and
is taking steps to contact
NWIW and fi nd out appro-
priate next steps,” Clark said
in an emailed response.
Columbia County has
been trying to rezone about
800 acres of farmland in
the area to clear the way
for industrial development.
The environmental group
Columbia Riverkeeper has
challenged the rezoning
multiple times, and a fi nal
decision is still pending at
the state Land Use Board of
Appeals.
Dan Serres, with Colum-
bia Riverkeeper, said oppo-
Subscription rates
Eff ective January 12, 2021
MAIL
EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$10.75
13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00
26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00
52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00
DIGITAL
EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25
People speculated at
the time that the fi res were
started by a homeless-look-
ing man whom witnesses
had seen peering into
backyards.
“I’m glad that the com-
munity has some answers at
this point,” Charas said.
He declined to reveal the
new information that helped
law enforcement tie Powers
to the fi res.
However, Charas said,
an incident from last year ,
when Powers was arrested
for making bomb threats
against his Gainesville high
school, helped investigators
“connect the dots.”
“It’s kind of like a puzzle,
and we need one last piece
to make sense of that puz-
zle,” Charas said. “And we
fi nally got that last piece.”
Powers was 14 when
he allegedly committed
the crimes in Astoria. Cha-
ras said his offi ce seeks to
charge him in adult court.
“There’s a lot of victims
in this case, and hopefully it
will give some closure,” he
said.
Clatsop County hopes
that Florida will extradite
him, but it is unclear when
that will happen.
Columbia County methanol plant developer shuts down Oregon operations
By CASSANDRA
PROFITA
Oregon Public Broadcasting
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Established July 1, 1873
Lilly Boothe, 18, of Clatskanie, was crowned Miss Clatsop County 2022 at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center on March
19. Boothe, who is studying speech communications at Oregon State University, has chosen bringing awareness to missing
Indigenous women as her social impact. She will compete for Miss Oregon in late June in Seaside. While she lives in Columbia
County, she was eligible to compete in Clatsop County because her county does not have a pageant.
WANTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
nents spent years fi ghting
the project and the pollution
it would bring, and they are
celebrating their victory.
“The Port Westward site
was profoundly ill-suited for
a methanol plant,” he said.
“It should come as no sur-
prise that this thing is going
away. It would serve the
port to end the lease with the
nonexistent counterparty.”
Last year, Northwest
Innovation Works also
called off its proposal to
build a $2 billion metha-
nol plant on the Washing-
ton state side of the Colum-
bia River in Kalama after the
Washington Department of
Ecology denied a key permit
for the project.
Ben Morris, a spokesman
for the Oregon Secretary of
State’s Offi ce, said the com-
pany can continue operating
for an indefi nite period of
time after fi ling to dissolve.
However, having active
business registration with
the state would be required
if the company wanted to
renew an operating license,
he said.
Please ADOPT A PET!
DALLAS
A Tuxedo adult male
American Shorthair
Never underestimate
the power of a cat
to comfort and to
keep your soul company.
See more on the Clatsop Animal
Assistance Facebook and Instagram
CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER • 861-PETS
1315 SE 19th St. • Warrenton | Tues-Sat 12-4pm
www.dogsncats.org
This space sponsored by CLATSOP ANIMAL ASSISTANCE