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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022
Seaside man sentenced for sex abuse
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A Seaside man was sentenced to
nine years in prison for sexually abus-
ing a 5-year-old girl in January 2021.
Manuel Cecilio Lopez Cruz, 38,
pleaded guilty in Circuit Court on
Tuesday to two counts of fi rst-degree
sex abuse.
Prosecutors said he touched the vic-
tim’s vagina and anus while he babysat
her and her 1-year-old brother at a Sea-
side residence.
When the mother came home, the
girl told her what Lopez Cruz had done.
The mother took her Providence
Seaside Hospital, then to Randall
Children’s Hospital at Legacy Eman-
uel Medical Center in Portland, Dawn
Buzzard, the chief deputy district
attorney who prosecuted Lopez Cruz,
recounted in an email.
The defendant “fi rst hid from police,
then admitted that he was the only one
who had been watching the children,”
Buzzard wrote.
Lopez Cruz entered an Alford plea
on each count, meaning that, although
he realized a jury would likely fi nd him
guilty, he maintained his innocence.
“I, personally, was very impressed
with the mom, who negotiated the
medical and justice system when
English wasn’t her fi rst language,”
Buzzard wrote.
College: Welding and automotive programs benefi t
Continued from Page A1
of Speed donation and the
kindness of that organiza-
tion reaching out to us,”
Kristen Wilkin, the dean of
workforce education and
training for the college,
said.
Hunt and Wilkin also
credited former state Sen.
Betsy Johnson, who is run-
ning as an independent for
governor, for putting in a
good word for the college
as the museum was looking
to allocate assets.
Around the same time of
the World of Speed dona-
tion, Hunt met with Ed
Reed, a former welding
instructor at the college. He
was seeking to set up his
estate to go to the founda-
tion and support welding
students.
Reed died in 2021.
“He was a wonder-
ful part of our MERTS
(Marine and Environmental
Research and Training Sta-
tion) campus family and it’s
such a blessing that he was
able to give back to our pro-
gram in this way,” Wilkin
said . “With his kindness,
we’re not only able to help
our current 33 degree-seek-
ing students that we have …
and also for new students
coming in, but he was also
kind enough to set aside
some of that money for
equipment needs.”
The donation, totaling
over $400,000 for supplies
and an endowed scholar-
ship fund, will take eff ect
this coming school year.
The foundation and college
are still working on how to
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Parts used for instruction at Clatsop Community College’s Marine and Environmental
Research and Training Station workshop.
HE WAS A WONDERFUL PART
OF OUR MERTS (MARINE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
AND TRAINING STATION)
CAMPUS FAMILY AND IT’S
SUCH A BLESSING THAT HE WAS
ABLE TO GIVE BACK TO OUR
PROGRAM IN THIS WAY.”
— Kristen Wilkin | dean of workforce education
and training, about Ed Reed
distribute the money .
The focus of the many
career and technical edu-
cation programs at the col-
lege, such as welding and
automotive, is to help stu-
dents land jobs and in turn
boost the workforce .
“So helping our commu-
nity, helping our region and
being there to really give
our students good, solid
family-wage jobs and skills
that they can take really
anywhere,” Wilkin said.
Elizabeth Braim, a grad-
uate of the welding pro-
gram, was interested in
welding on cars, so she
returned to the college last
year to get a one-year cer-
tifi cation from the automo-
tive program.
As a recipient of a World
of Speed scholarship, she
completed the certifi cation
program in June.
“I am just super grateful
for the scholarships and the
opportunities that arose for
me,” she said.
Walking away with
important skills and last-
ing relationships , Braim is
eager to join the workforce.
While doing vehicle repair
work on the side, she is on
the waitlist for the plumbers
and steamfi tters labor union
in Tualatin.
“This is a wonderful
opportunity for our current
students and for future stu-
dents that are interested in
coming to Clatsop,” Wilkin
said. “We are very lucky for
the support from these won-
derful organizations and
wonderful people that are
helping support students.”
Pretrial: New law creates
uniformity for the courts
Continued from Page A1
In category No. 1, off end-
ers who commit low-level
misdemeanors and felonies
can be released on their own
recognizance.
Category No. 2 includes
off enders with higher-level
misdemeanors or class B
or C felonies whose crimes
don’t
include
domes-
tic violence. They can be
released with court-imposed
conditions.
Off enders in category
No. 3 are alleged to have
committed the most seri-
ous crimes, such as domes-
tic violence, violent felonies
and sex abuse . They will be
held until they appear before
a judge.
For the p ast several years,
Clatsop County has used a
pretrial release program with
some of the same tools as
the new order. These include
a risk assessment tool that
helps the s heriff ’s o ffi ce
determine which off enders
can be released safely and
under what conditions .
The county adopted the
pretrial release policy amid
concerns about overcrowd-
ing at the county jail in Asto-
ria and the fact that too many
off enders were locked up
before trial.
“We are really fortunate in
Clatsop County that we had
a very eff ective and well-de-
signed pretrial release pro-
gram, so much of our pre-
trial release in Clatsop will
stay the same,” Vredeveld
said. “The big diff erence is
that, instead of people using
money to get out of jail, the
jail will follow the informa-
tion as laid out in that presid-
ing judge order. So I think it
will feel very similar from
the outside.”
Although the county’s
pretrial release program
has been replaced with a
new one, the two are simi-
lar enough that the impact to
the county won’t be as dras-
tic as elsewhere, according
to Judge McIntosh .
“I don’t think it’s going
to have a dramatic impact
on who gets out of jail in
Clatsop County and who
doesn’t,” she said, “except
that folks that are safe to
release into the commu-
nity, but don’t have enough
money and are charged
with a crime that previously
would have necessitated
bail, can be released.”
In addition, people who
commit serious crimes, and
would previously have been
released after posting a sub-
stantial bail, can now be
held.
The new order allows
certain conditions to over-
ride the category criteria. If
an off ender isn’t capable of
understanding the pretrial
release program, or poses a
credible threat of violence
to people associated with
the case, they may be slotted
into a diff erent category .
Sheriff Matt Phillips will
still be able to manage the
jail population and accom-
modate additional holds
based on available beds.
Phillips said it is good
that the law creates more
uniformity in how courts use
pretrial processes through-
out the state.
“There are some things
that I think a lot of us in law
enforcement see as concern-
ing,” he added.
For example, a person
could be released if the vic-
tim isn’t a human being. Cat-
egory 2 could allow crimes
against animals to result in
a conditional release — the
suspect wouldn’t be allowed
to have pets — unless
other factors in the off end-
er’s history qualifi es them
for an override and allows
the jail to hold them until
arraignment.
In the old system, anyone
arrested for a crime could
be held. “So there’s a few
things that raise eyebrows,”
Phillips said.
The sheriff , Judge McIn-
tosh and Vredeveld believe
it is too early to predict the
eff ects .
McIntosh imagines there
could be legal challenges to
the law. “It’ll be interesting
to see how everything plays
out,” she said.
Mayor: Newton has criticized Balensifer
“Just in general continu-
ing that relationship-build-
ing
and
management
because that will be critical
and crucial for us moving
forward,” he said.
Newton, citing his back-
ground in business, said the
city needs “somebody that
can think about how to get
things done.”
He said the city “ is in a
tight spot. … We’ve got a
lot of things that we need to
do that we haven’t paid any
attention to. Needs far out-
weigh wants and there are a
lot of wants on the table, but
not that many needs.”
Over the past year, New-
ton has publicly criticized
Balensifer on numerous
occasions and accused the
mayor of trying to push him
out of the City Commission.
“I would not do another
four years under Henry,”
Newton said, explaining
why he chose to run for
mayor . “ … I could not do
that – mentally – under him,
and (Commissioner Mark)
Baldwin, because they’re a
tag team.”
After controversy sur-
rounding infi ll that Newton
accepted on his property last
year, Balensifer, Baldwin
and Commissioner Gerald
Poe asked Newton to resign,
arguing that his behavior
was problematic and dis-
ruptive. The infi ll dispute
also led to a state ethics
investigation into Newton’s
actions, which ended with
a letter of education in May.
The same three com-
missioners asked Newton
to step down again in April
when he lashed out at Balen-
sifer during a meeting.
The city, which is looking
for a new city manager with
Linda Engbretson retiring,
has faced turnover among
key staff positions.
Balensifer and Newton
both predicted challenges
ahead.
“I see great opportunities.
I also see great challenges,”
Balensifer said. “I feel like
we’ve done pretty well —
all things considered — and
we have much better to do in
the future.”
© 2022 Pacific Power
Continued from Page A1
Pools: Repeated closures at some hotels
Continued from Page A1
T he Astorian. The Red Lion
was among four lodging
facilities that had pools or
spas closed more than once
this year .
The fi rst of six inspec-
tions in January and Febru-
ary of this year at the Red
Lion listed issues with the
pool’s enclosure, equip-
ment, record-keeping and
water testing. The inspection
found that the hotel lacked a
knowledgeable pool opera-
tor on site. The spa was also
closed several times.
In late February, the
county also received a com-
plaint from a guest that the
pool had black mold grow-
ing in the swimming area
and the water seemed to
have a “very off sheen to
it.” Online reviews of the
hotel as recent as two weeks
ago describe issues with the
pool’s smell and appearance.
The Red Lion did not
immediately respond to a
request for comment .
The pool and spa at Surf-
sand Resort in Cannon
Beach were closed once in
April, and twice in early
June , due to water balance
issues.
“Anyone who has a pool
might have an issue balanc-
ing it for a period of time,”
said Mark Hemmer, the
president of Vesta Hospital-
ity, a Vancouver, Washing-
ton-based company that pur-
chased Surfsand Resort on
July 1. He said the hotel has
certifi ed pool operators on
staff .
“It is my understand-
ing that the closures at this
hotel in the past were for
hours at a time, which is
pretty reasonable and pretty
typical. I certainly don’t
mean to alarm anybody by
that,” he said. “Sometimes
out of the interest of safety
you close the pool while
you’re getting the chemi-
cals rebalanced.”
The spa at Land’s End
at Cannon Beach was
closed once in mid-May
for having no bromine,
then closed again the next
day for having over twice
the maximum level of bro-
mine. It was reopened at
proper levels by the end of
the week. Land’s End did
not respond to a request for
comment.
The pool and spa at Best
Western Bayfront Hotel in
Astoria were closed twice
in April to adjust chlorine
and pH levels. The hotel did
not respond to a request for
comment.
Over a dozen other lodg-
ing businesses had their
pools or spas closed at least
once this year. The county
said that it is not fi nding
many issues with munic-
ipal pools due to proper
employee training.
Reiley said that guests
can often tell for themselves
when there’s an issue with
pool water.
“Look at the clarity of the
water. Look for that fl oor
drain in the pool. If it’s nice
and crystal clear and you can
see every screw that’s hold-
ing that drain cover down,
that’s a good thing. If you
can’t even fi nd the fl oor
drain, you don’t want to get
into the pool,” she said.
Thank you for rising high for
our customers
Today and every day, we appreciate you, your teams and everyone in your
life who supports the work you do.
You keep the lights on when days are calm and bring them back on after
stormy times.
We know you don’t just serve our communities – you’re a part of them too.
And you make a real difference in the lives of our customers: keeping the
lights on at home, at work and in all the places that bring comfort and joy to
their lives.
Thank you for always putting your community and coworkers first. It’s a
privilege to work alongside you.
July 10 th is Lineworker Appreciation Day.
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