Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2021)
The Columbia Press July 23, 2021 Burglary ends in crash, foot pursuit The Columbia Press A man suspected of bur- glarizing a local business was apprehended Wednesday af- ter leading police on a chase in a stolen van, crashing into a ditch, and running from the scene. A second suspect re- mained at large. Denis Yurencov, 31, of Van- couver, Wash., was booked at Clatsop County Jail on seven counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, felony theft, burglary, possession of sto- len property, eluding police, criminal mischief, trespass- ing, and reckless endanger- ment. He also had multiple felony warrants for his ar- rest issued by authorities in Washington and Montana. Officers were dispatched at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to L&D Race Tech on Marlin Avenue to investigate a report of a burglary in progress involv- ing men loading items into a large white van. Officer David Yelton and Clatsop County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Voelker arrived as the white van was leaving, according to a press release. “They pursued the van for a couple of blocks before it crashed into a drainage ditch across from Fast Lube & Oil,” the report states. “The driver fled on foot back toward Fast Lube and was apprehended by Officer Yelton after a short Man dies in Highway 30 crash A Westport man died ear- ly Monday in a head-on col- lision on Highway 30, just west of the Svenson junction. An initial investigation found that a Mazda Protégé driven by Joshua Johns, 36, of Westport was headed east at 12:50 a.m. when it crossed into the westbound lane and collided with a Kia Sorento driven by Joe Houston, 63, of Ocean Park, Wash., Oregon State Police reported. Johns sustained fatal in- juries and was pronounced dead at Columbia Memo- rial Hospital. A passenger in Johns’ vehicle, Danielle Hammer, 40, of Westport, was taken to CMH with inju- ries. Houston and his passen- ger, Kathryn Matthai, 53, of Ocean Park, were taken to CMH for treatment of inju- ries. OSP was assisted by the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Of- fice and ODOT. Group sets up artists registry Artists are encouraged to sign up at a new statewide artists registry created by the Oregon Arts Commission in partnership with the Ford Family Foundation. The registry will help en- sure artists’ access to grants and other funding opportuni- ties and build a case for more artist resources. “We know there are many more working artists throughout the state than we currently have in our data- base,” said Eleanor Sandys, the Arts Commission’s visual arts coordinator. “Our hope is to update and expand our artist network so that we can better support the diverse artists in Oregon’s many communities.” To sign up, complete a brief survey about yourself and your artistic endeavors at or- egonartscommission.org. The agency will use the reg- istry to distribute informa- tion about upcoming funding opportunities. While the registry will re- main open, artists are encour- aged to sign up by Sept. 30. foot chase.” A second man had escaped on a stolen BMW motorcycle, which was found 2 ½ hours later hidden behind Big 5 Paid advertisement 3 Sporting Goods on Neptune Drive. The motorcycle was returned to L&D Race Tech. The suspect at large is white and was wearing a dark hood- ie, black shorts, gray shoes, red gloves, a black baseball Paid advertisement cap, and a blue face mask. Anyone who may have wit- nessed the crime or seen anything suspicious is asked to contact Officer Yelton at dyelton@ci.warrenton.or.us or 503-861-2235. Paid advertisement GREAT CANDIDATE FOR CITY MANAGER I am extremely pleased to see mayor Henry Balensifer decide to seek the soon-to- be-available position of city manager of Warrenton. My experience in Warren- ton indicates that city voters seek to have long time res- idents sit in all positions of decision-making for both city manager and commissioners. I do not totally subscribe to this reality, as I think they shut themselves off from the pos- sibility of new people having new ideas and ways of getting things done. I believe Henry Balensifer is the most qualified person this city has ever had seek the position of city manager. He has an incredible record of achievements in Warren- ton and has consistently dis- played a tireless devotion to manage the complexity of city decision-making in a highly efficient manner. I am not denigrating past city managers; I feel that manag- ing a city government requires a special talent for detail man- agement while pursuing excit- ing future goals for the city. He carefully reads every document in detail to achieve the best result at the lowest cost to Warrenton, a unique talent that Henry Balensifer has proven to me on many subjects. My observations from the 12 years I have lived here are that both the city manager and the city commissioners oc- casionally prefer to not make public information they have. It appears to me they feel this would make them or the city government look ineffective. People are going to make mistakes and I have yet to meet any person who lived a perfect life. I think true leaders are not ashamed of mistakes they or people under their su- pervision make. Hiding mis- takes is always worse than a public official admitting a mis- take and explaining how a les- son has been learned. I have seen people take advantage of their long-time residency to gain advantag- es they would not gain if the goals they sought for them- selves had gone through a public process where interest- ed people would see that a fa- vor was granted to someone at someone else’s expense. Granting political favors may be as old as politics. Howev- er, that does not make them right, in my opinion, especially when it is at someone else’s expense. I am aware that there are residents who object to the fact that I make information public that many residents prefer would be kept secret because they prefer things just the way they are. As long as I am a resident of Warrenton, I will likely observe government activities I do not agree with. I will use the “Free- dom of Information” law to un- cover facts that many people would prefer I not make pub- lic. I want to know what my local government does (both good and bad) and I will al- ways make public information that I feel voters should know. I am told that I have a repu- tation for being a troublemak- er. Citizens of Warrenton are not aware of details of several past government actions I am aware of at this time which I have not made public up to this point. I am disappointed this information was not ex- posed in an easily noted way such as being reported in the local newspapers because this information was not dis- cussed in public meetings as I believe they should have been. I have been told that some residents in Warrenton have incorrect facts about actions I have taken in the past mak- ing information public and it disturbs me that their dislike of me is based purely on their misinformation about what I have said or done. I pay a fee to make public information I think people should be made aware of. I include my name and I do not expect anyone to agree with my interpretation of the information. I hold politicians and city employees accountable for their public actions. I make public what I feel needs to be made public on my timing and I generally do not make public anything I cannot prove with public documents or com- mon-sense observations. If I do not pay my utility bills on time each month, the city comes after me with the threat to cut my service off. I am ac- countable for everything I do and I hope whoever is select- ed as the new city manager will hold themselves account- able for mistakes that happen under their leadership and not seek to hide the information from local residents. Scott Widdicombe