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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2022)
»INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2022 150TH YEAR, NO. 14 $1.50 Warrenton selects new city manager Moberg serves as the library director in Seaside By ETHAN MYERS The Astorian WARRENTON — T he city has found its next city manager. Following an executive session on Fri- day, the City Commission voted unanimously in a special session to off er the position to Esther Moberg, the library direc- tor and public informa- tion offi cer in Seaside. The off er is pending con- Esther Moberg tract negotiations. “I am so excited for the opportunity to be a part of Warren- ton and I am looking forward to getting to know the staff , community and build- ing a future together,” Moberg said. Moberg has held a number of library posts on the North Coast, totaling nine years of local government management experience. See Warrenton, Page A6 Former real estate association offi cer indicted Morrow faces theft charges By ERICK BENGEL The Astorian A former executive offi cer of the Clat- sop Association of Realtors has been indicted for identity theft, forgery and aggravated theft. Deborah Lee Morrow, 61, allegedly used the identifi cation of the realty asso- ciation and one of its leaders more than a dozen times, according to the grand jury indictment. She also allegedly forged checks more than a dozen times. In addition, she allegedly stole money and other unauthorized expenses that belonged to the realty association, the indictment said. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between August 2019 and December 2020. See Indicted, Page A6 Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian Garbage has piled up and the state noted a rodent infestation at Beacon RV Park. Washington state intervenes in dispute at RV park in Ilwaco New owners allegedly used intimidation to evict tenants By KATIE FRANKOWICZ KMUN I LWACO, Wash. — The new own- ers of an RV park have violated multiple provisions of Washing- ton’s landlord-tenant laws, according to the state. In a cease-and-desist order and a notice of violation issued in July , the Attorney General’s Manufactured Housing Dispute Resolution Program found that Michael and Denise Wer- ner used improper notices and intim- idation to try to evict tenants of Bea- con RV P ark. The couple retaliated after tenants fi led complaints with the a ttorney g eneral’s offi ce by decreasing park services, failed to off er tenants written rental agreements and have not given people a way to pay rent, and violated local rules around main- taining the RV park, the state found, among other issues. The state ordered the Werners to stop all actions that were against the law, including attempts to evict tenants without proper 12-month notice. The Werners were also instructed to pro- vide $2,000 in relocation assistance or actual relocation costs — whichever was greater — to tenants who left after Feb. 25. Now the state is investigating the demolition of several trailers at the park in July as possible violations of Beacon RV Park in Ilwaco. STATE IS LOOKING INTO THE DEMOLITION OF SEVERAL TRAILERS AT THE PARK IN JULY AS POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS OF THE ORDER AND NOTICE. the order and notice. Violation or no violation, for the few remaining Beacon RV Park ten- ants, the destruction of the trailers feels like another attempt by the Werners to intimidate them into leaving or, failing that, to make the space unlivable. Susan Gill, a longtime resident at Beacon RV P ark, said the demo- lition crews severed or did not prop- erly cap septic lines when they broke down several trailers, leaving behind an unsanitary mess. Some of the trailers were no longer being used, but it isn’t clear if this was true of all of the trailers. Other tenants were afraid to leave for their jobs, worried their homes would be destroyed in their absence. Garbage has piled up and the state noted a rodent infestation. To Gill, it feels like being under attack. “You could describe it like living in Germany and having the Nazis com- ing and knock on your door,” she said. The Werners and their representa- tives have said there are various elec- trical issues and other maintenance and safety concerns at the RV park and people need to leave. But the state says See RV park, Page A6 New Astoria golf pro feels ‘very lucky to be here’ Lambert made his debut in April ASTORIA GOLF PROFESSIONALS By GARY HENLEY The Astorian ead golf professional, Astoria Golf & Coun- try Club. It’s a prestigious, highly sought-after job, with not a lot of turnover. From 1961 to 2022, only four people held the title. And of the previous two Astoria golf professionals, one was just inducted into the Pacifi c Northwest Golf Hall of Fame; the other was named the Golf Profes- sional of the Year in 2018 for the Oregon c hapter of H Jared Lambert is the new golf pro at the Astoria Golf & Country Club. the PGA. Since 1989, Mike Gove, John Kawasoe and now Jared Lambert are the only three men to serve as the head golf professionals at the Astoria Golf & Coun- try Club. After 20 years at Asto- ria, Kawasoe was named the golf pro at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in North Plains last spring, and Lambert made his Asto- ria debut in April. E ven though he has big shoes to • Howard Bonar, 1936-1950 • Ron Caperna, 1950-1957 • Ed Oldfi eld, 1958-1960 • Marlow Quick, 1961-1971 • Bob Gasper, 1971-1989 • Mike Gove, 1989-2002 • John Kawasoe, 2002-2022 MORE INSIDE Titles for Mack, Moir in Oregon Coast Invitational • A5 fi ll, the 29-year-old native Oregonian, is ready to fol- low in the footsteps of his predecessors. It was basically a move up U.S. Highway 101 for Lambert, who was the golf pro at Salishan Golf Links near Lincoln City. Before that, he was an assistant pro at Avondale Golf Club in Palm Desert, California — the city where Gove was working before he came to Astoria in 1989. Currently the golf pro at Inglewood Golf Club in Kenmore, Washington, Gove was Astoria’s golf pro until 2002. Kawasoe held that title for the last 20 years, and now the baton has been passed to Lambert. See Lambert, Page A6