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DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022
150TH YEAR, NO. 3
New pretrial
release policy
takes eff ect
Moves away from bail schedule
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A new Oregon law directs courts to
take a more consistent approach when
deciding which off enders should stay in
jail before trial.
The law, which went into eff ect on
Friday, replaces the state’s bail schedule
with pretrial release criteria tied to the
seriousness of the charges and an off end-
er’s criminal history.
The goal is to have a standardized pre-
trial release program throughout the state
and to move away from a system where an
off ender’s release depends on how much
money they have available, according to
Julie Vredeveld, the trial court adminis-
trator at Clatsop County Circuit Court.
The changes were approved by the
state Legislature and signed into law
by Gov. Kate Brown last year. Oregon
Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha
Walters issued guidelines in June to help
courts comply with the law.
Under these guidelines, off enders are
sorted into one of three categories based
on the nature of the charges and poten-
tial risk factors . Judge Dawn McIntosh,
the presiding judge of the Clatsop County
Circuit Court, signed an order estab-
lishing these categories for her judicial
district.
See Pretrial, Page A6
Contest emerges
for mayor
of Warrenton
Balensifer will face Newton
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
WARRENTON — Mayor Henry
Balensifer will face a challenge from
City Commissioner Rick Newton in the
November election.
Balensifer, a sales and marketing man-
ager at JBT AeroTech , was fi rst elected
to the City Com-
mission in 2012 and
appointed
mayor
in 2017 to fi nish
Mark Kujala’s term.
He won a four-year
term as mayor the
following year .
Newton, a for-
mer NAPA Auto Parts store owner , was
elected to the City Commission in 2014.
He will give up a chance at a third four-
year term to campaign for mayor .
Balensifer noted the challenges the
city has faced throughout the coronavi-
rus pandemic and said his decision to run
for reelection came down to support from
the community and the desire to complete
unfi nished projects. He pointed to the
progress of the Urban Renewal Agency
and making development easier without
sacrifi cing livability.
$1.50
‘Transformative’
donations
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Welding helmets sit at work stations at the college.
Large donations enhance vocational
education programs at college
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
ourtesy of a former instruc-
tor and a museum that closed
its doors, two large dona-
tions gifted to the weld-
ing and automotive programs at Clat-
sop Community College have boosted
the courses and expanded scholarship
opportunities for students.
In 2020, the World of Speed
Museum, a motor sports attraction in
Wilsonville, closed during the corona-
C
virus pandemic. The museum’s assets
were distributed to other museums and
schools in the region, including over
$430,000 to the Clatsop Community
College Foundation.
“It was transformative for the pro-
gram and the students,” Angee Hunt,
the director of the foundation, said.
The foundation, formed in the
1960s, seeks to raise money for schol-
arships and help meet the needs of
students.
Hunt sat down with the college,
community stakeholders and the local
automotive industry to determine the
best way to distribute the money .
In addition to new supplies and
a full set of tools for each student to
take into their automotive career, the
money will fund six full scholarships
each year.
Since the donation, the automotive
program’s enrollment has more than
doubled in size. The funds were fi rst
put to use this past school year.
“A huge part of that is the World
See College, Page A6
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Cars used for instruction
are housed at the college.
See Mayor, Page A6
County raises health and safety concerns about hotel pools
Several lodging facilities had more than one closure
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
When entering a hotel pool
area, getting hit with an eye-wa-
tering chlorine smell is a sign that
something may be off about the
water. It’s an issue common in
Clatsop County.
As of mid-June, o ver half of the
county’s pool and spa inspections
this year led to a closure after fail-
ing to meet state requirements for
health and safety.
Water quality issues were the
most common reason , according to
Meredith Reiley, an e nvironmental
h ealth s pecialist with the c ounty’s
food, pool and lodging program.
During an inspection, the
county checks for water balance,
which includes pH balance and
chlorine or bromine levels. They
also check that the equipment is
functional and ensure the facility is
frequently testing the water.
Without proper maintenance,
unbalanced pools can cause eye
and skin irritation and grow harm-
ful bacteria.
“Our goal is more education
than regulation, so we do give
them the opportunity to correct the
violations. Especially now, since
we’re coming out of the pandemic
Associated Press
As of mid-June, over half of the county’s pool and spa inspections this year
led to a closure after failing to meet state requirements for health and safety.
and the pools are opening up again,
we have been working a lot more
with the operators than we may
in, quote, ‘normal times,’” Reiley
said.
When the water quality falls out
of the acceptable range, the inspec-
tor will ask the operator to close
the pool. It typically takes a few
days to correct the water balance
and reopen.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of an
hour or so because the combined
chlorine was a little high, but there
had just been a whole volleyball
team in the pool,” she said. “They
can usually fi x that pretty quickly.”
In some cases, however, busi-
nesses have had pools and spas
closed repeatedly.
“This is an ongoing trend and
too often we are dealing with
repeat off enders. We closed the
pool of one lodging business fi ve
out of the six times it was inspected
during a two-month period earlier
this year,” Reiley said in a state-
ment released by the c ounty.
That business was the Red Lion
Inn & Suites in Seaside, according
to inspection reports obtained by
See Pools, Page A6