A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022
FLYING HIGH
IN BRIEF
Warrenton mayor to host
town hall on library
WARRENTON — Mayor Henry Balensifer will
host a town hall meeting later this month to discuss the
former Hammond Library building.
The structure, formerly a barracks from Fort Stevens,
is likely to be taken over by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The group plans to give a presentation at the town hall.
The event will take place at 4:30 p.m. on April 26 at
City Hall, just prior to the City Commission meeting.
Gray School campus
to close for renovations
The Gray School campus will close for school and
public use as exterior windows are replaced, the Asto-
ria School District announced.
The school district’s offi ce, which is located in the
building along Alameda Avenue, will shut down start-
ing May 2.
Other programs will remain until June, Superinten-
dent Craig Hoppes said.
The project, part of the school district’s facility
bond, is expected to be completed in late August.
State seeks members for new
Entanglement Advisory Committee
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is
seeking members for its new Oregon Entanglement
Advisory Committee, which will advise the depart-
ment during eff orts to reduce the risk of marine life
entanglements in Dungeness crab gear.
The department is looking for a range of perspec-
tives from the commercial crab industry, recreational
crab community, conservation organizations, research-
ers and other experts.
The application closes on May 20. For more infor-
mation and to apply, visit the Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s website at dfw.state.or.us.
— The Astorian
DEATHS
April 11, 2022
In SWITZER,
Brief Pauline
Alice, 94, of Vancouver,
Washington,
formerly of
Deaths
Astoria, died in Vancouver.
Caldwell’s Luce-Layton
Mortuary of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
April 5, 2022
LOUKKULA, Loren,
70, of Seaside, died in
Seaside. Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary is in charge of
the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Harassment
• Tiff any Louise Bin-
On
the Alexander
Record
• Jamel
kley, 39, of Banks, was
Joseph, 33, of Gearhart,
was arrested on Friday
for harassment constitut-
ing domestic violence. The
crime is alleged to have
occurred at a Warren-
ton residence. Joseph was
arrested at T.J. Maxx in
Warrenton.
Burglary
• Guy Demoine Gann,
62, of Astoria, was indicted
on Tuesday for fi rst-de-
gree burglary, fourth-de-
gree assault, second-de-
gree criminal mischief and
harassment. The crimes are
alleged to have occurred in
October.
• Tia Alexandra How-
ard, 33, of Astoria, was
indicted on Friday for sec-
ond-degree burglary. The
crime is alleged to have
occurred in December
2020.
• Zaneta Jean Hans, 41,
of Warrenton, was indicted
on Friday for second-de-
gree burglary. The crime is
alleged to have occurred in
December 2020.
• Joel Seda, Jr., 39,
of Seaside, was indicted
on Friday for second-de-
gree burglary, second-de-
gree criminal mischief and
second-degree theft. The
crimes are alleged to have
occurred in January 2021.
arraigned on Friday for
fi rst-degree burglary and
fi rst-degree criminal mis-
chief. The crimes are
alleged to have occurred in
December 2019.
Theft
• Rhonda Renee Allen,
50, of Portland, was
indicted on Tuesday for
fi rst-degree theft and sec-
ond-degree theft. The
crimes are alleged to have
occurred in Clatsop County
in April 2021.
• Kari Jean Morse, 35,
of Seaside, was indicted on
Friday for fi rst-degree theft.
The crimes are alleged to
have occurred in February.
Criminal
mistreatment
• Nichole Marie Knu-
tinen, 33, of Seaside, was
indicted on Friday for
fi rst-degree criminal mis-
treatment, second-degree
theft and six counts of iden-
tity theft. The crimes are
alleged to have occurred in
December 2020.
DUII
• Brandy June Morin,
41, of Seaside, was
arraigned on Monday for
driving under the infl uence
of intoxicants and reck-
less driving. The crimes are
alleged to have occurred in
March.
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A kite fl ies over the sand dunes at Fort Stevens State Park.
Man sentenced again in
Cannon Beach hotel robbery
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A man who in Janu-
ary 2014 robbed a Cannon
Beach hotel and detained the
night clerk at gunpoint was
sentenced for the second
time on Wednesday.
Ernest Lee Dean, 49,
pleaded no contest to sec-
ond-degree robbery. He was
sentenced to fi ve years and
10 months, with credit for
time served.
He has already served
more than six years for the
crime, which originally
included charges of fi rst-de-
gree robbery, fi rst-degree
theft, second-degree kidnap-
ping and felon in possession
of a fi rearm.
THURSDAY
Seaside Civic and Convention Center Commission,
5 p.m., 415 First Ave.
Gearhart Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 698
Pacifi c Way.
Warrenton Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S.
Main Ave.
FRIDAY
Astoria City Council, 9 a.m., work session, City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF
CIRCULATIONS, INC.
Printed on
recycled paper
asked for help, Shepherd
said.
Dean was arrested in
Portland the next month fol-
lowing an investigation that
involved Cannon Beach
police and the Clatsop
County Major Crime Team.
In 2017, Dean was sen-
tenced to a decade in prison
for the incident. His con-
victions were reversed on
appeal. A new trial had been
scheduled for last month.
At the original trial, the
clerk testifi ed that he was
scared for his life, but that
he bore Dean no ill will,
The Astorian reported. Dean
had patted the clerk reassur-
ingly on the back during the
ordeal, the clerk said.
The clerk had asked Dean
not to hurt him because the
clerk “had a young son and
wanted to see him grow up,
and Mr. Dean stated that that
would not be a problem as
long as he complied,” Shep-
herd said.
The clerk was not present
at the hearing Wednesday.
Dean wanted him to
know “how sorry I am (for)
the anxiety and the pain,
the emotional stress, that I
caused him, and I hope that
he would fi nd a little solace
in knowing that I’m going to
make some better decisions
with my life and try to be a
better father to my son.”
Dean said he will make
better decisions, in part, so
that the clerk’s generosity
“does not go to waste.”
Offi cials urge the public
to limit consumption of
sturgeon from river
Associated Press
State health officials in
Washington and Oregon
are recommending the pub-
lic limit their consumption
of sturgeon caught from
the lower Columbia River.
A
health
advisory
comes from the Washing-
ton Department of Health
as fish tissue data shows
contaminant levels of
polychlorinated biphenyls
— or PCBs — at levels
above Washington state’s
screening values, the Seat-
tle Times reported.
In Washington, the
advisory applies to any
fish caught in the Colum-
bia River between the
Bonneville Dam and the
mouth of the Columbia.
Officials
recommend
that most adults should not
eat more than eight meals
of sturgeon a month, and
no more than seven for
pregnant women, nursing
mothers and children.
The Oregon Health
Authority also issued an
advisory for the lower
Columbia River and the
lower Willamette River.
PCBs can exist in sedi-
ment where sturgeon feed,
Rob Manning/Oregon Public Broadcasting
Sturgeon, an enormous Northwest fi sh, have been on the
decline in the lower Columbia River.
which can lead to accu-
mulations in their fat-rich
meat. Eating too many fish
contaminated with PCBs
can have negative health
effects, including damage
to organs, the nervous sys-
tem and potential learn-
ing and behavioral organs,
according to the Oregon
Health Authority.
Infants and young chil-
dren are the most vul-
nerable to the effects,
according to Washington
officials.
Wyden: Mental health ‘deeply personal,’ ‘cause of a lifetime’
Continued from Page A1
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Dean, who represented
himself, is incarcerated for
similar armed robberies he
committed in Multnomah
and Clackamas counties.
More than eight years
ago, Dean, wearing black
clothing and a face mask,
held up the Stephanie Inn,
an oceanfront hotel in Can-
non Beach’s Tolovana area.
Dean forced the night
clerk, an elderly man , to
give him about $6,500 from
the safe, then made him lie
on the fl oor and restrained
his hands behind his back
with zip ties, Deputy Dis-
trict Attorney Sarah Shep-
herd recounted at Wednes-
day’s hearing.
The clerk , left face down,
went to a nearby hotel and
Tuesday afternoon from
The Astorian newsroom.
“This is a central issue for
Oregonians.”
A similar issue that often
overlaps with the hous-
ing crisis — the availabil-
ity and accessibility of men-
tal health services — was
a topic broached by a War-
renton woman, particularly
around funding that c ould
be allocated to primary care
settings.
Wyden said he believes
“ there is going to be con-
crete action taken on mental
health reforms in this Con-
gress. I know people say,
‘C’mon Ron, Congress is so
polarized, I’m not sure you
guys could agree to order a
7UP, let alone deal with a
major issue’ … I want you
to know ... we’re going to
be focused on integrated
care just like you’re talking
about.”
The Senate Finance
Committee, which Wyden
chairs, has authority over
federal programs that are
the primary contributors for
mental health services, such
as Medicaid.
The
senator
men-
tioned his eff orts on the
CAHOOTS initiative , which
secured funding to adjust
the approach to interactions
between people struggling
with mental health and law
enforcement. The outreach
is modeled after a men-
tal-health-crisis intervention
program in Eugene.
Wyden called mental
health “deeply personal”
and a “cause of a lifetime,”
sharing that his brother has
struggled with schizophre-
nia and has become a source
of inspiration for making an
impact.
F ishing and salmon were
also topics of discussion.
Questions arose about the
impact of a proposed coastal
wind call project and the
battle for salmon recovery,
particularly the debate over
the removal of Snake River
dams .
“First of all, my door is
open to all sides in respect to
the Snake River. To me, the
decisions need to be collab-
orative if we (want) every-
body’s input,” Wyden said.
“There are multiple needs
in these kinds of instances
and if you don’t address
them in a responsible way
that is really connected to
the science, basically you’re
not going to have a win-
win, you’re going to have a
lose-lose.
“You’re not going to be
able to do anything in terms
of economics, in terms of
fi sh restoration.”
Several times, Wyden
referred to the importance
of bipartisanship, collabora-
tion and solving matters the
“Oregon way.”
After the livestream con-
cluded, Wyden referred
to the town halls and the
input he receives from them
as infl uential. The event,
hosted by People’s Town
Hall, was his 1,011th town
hall since his pledge to hold
at least one in each of the
state’s 36 counties every
year.
“ This helps reduce the
distance between Washing-
ton, D.C., and the coast,” the
senator said.
“I’d like to think, at the
end of the day, people say,
‘Alright, I got a chance to be
heard.’”
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