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The Columbia Press 1 Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly www.thecolumbiapress.com 50 ¢ Vol. 5, Issue 38 September 17, 2021 New Medix headquarters wins initial city approval Man arrested Highway 101 and adjacent to the industrial development. The Columbia Press after break-in, new Warrenton Middle School. “The Medix facility is a unique fa- Medix Ambulance’s plans for a Medix’s current building is just cility and development,” said Will new headquarters on Dolphin Av- 2,976-square feet. Caplinger, Warrenton’s interim rape attempt enue received initial approval from Warrenton’s Planning Commission on Sept. 9. The 13,607-square-foot building would replace the existing ambu- lance dispatch center just east of “Medix has been a great part of our community for a long time and I’m excited to see them go into a fa- cility that will enhance their opera- tion,” Commissioner Ken Yuill said. The property is zoned for general planning director. “It’s not specifi- cally listed as a permitted use, but it’s a similar use. … This is, basical- ly, an extension of an existing use.” Medix provides advanced life See ‘Medix’ on Page 6 City leaders struggle to get along By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press Like stress cracks in a dam, ten- sion on the Warrenton City Com- mission reached a bursting point Tuesday night. Commissioner Rick Newton asked the panel to consider whether fellow Commissioner Mark Baldwin had violated rules of conduct in the ways the two men have interacted. “I am very tired of his continual crap attitude toward me,” Newton wrote in an Aug. 28 email to Mayor Henry Balensifer. Newton, a rental property owner and retired businessman, claims Baldwin, a construction contractor, has a bad attitude toward him that originates from an arrangement Newton made with Baldwin’s land- lord over use of an alley that runs between his tenant, Arnie’s Café, and Baldwin’s shop. The tension intensified in March after commissioners ignored New- ton’s advice about how to configure a food pod in the gravel lot next to City Hall. Two months later, Newton walked out of an Urban Renewal Agency meeting about the food pod court saying, “Even though I’ve got 40 years of retail, hundreds of hours Commissioner Rick Newton of training, recognized five times nationally by NAPA for excellence of service, you guys decide I didn’t do anything, … so I’m excusing myself from this. I’m gonna go home.” Poe At a June 4 meeting of the county’s Public Safety Coordi- nating Council, a law enforcement board on which Newton serves, he told members he nearly stepped down from his position at the city “because of the unintelligence of the business people that I sit on the commission with in Warren- ton. I’m the only one that knows anything about business and they wouldn’t listen to me.” Commissioner Mark Baldwin Balensifer Dyer Later that month, city commis- sioners met in executive session to consider taking action against Newton, including asking him to step down. But the closed-door meeting turned into more of a counseling session that included Newton apologizing in open ses- sion. But since then, Baldwin has See ‘Leaders’ on Page 4 The Columbia Press A Warrenton man, the subject of many disturbances in a neighborhood near War- renton High School, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted sexual assault and other charges. A woman reported she’d woken at 4:30 a.m. Sept. 9 and found a man standing in her kitchen, according to a press release. The man told her he was being chased by people and needed a place to hide. Wolf The woman walked past him to open a door, but he prevented her and closed the door, accord- ing to police. Then he “pushed her against the door and, by his actions, she believed he was attempting to sexually assault her.” She elbowed the man and screamed for her husband, who was asleep in the bed- room, according to the press release. “The husband ran out and was loading a shotgun when the male subject fled the house and disappeared in the neighborhood.” Police canvassed the neighborhood near Southeast 15th Street, South Main Avenue, and Alternate Highway 101, but didn’t find the man. The couple was out of town for sev- eral days, but when they returned on Sept. 12, the victim identify the man through a photo lineup. Steven Michael Wolf, 44, of Warren- ton was booked at Clatsop County Jail for first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnap- ping, attempted rape in the first degree, and violating a restraining order. Wolf also had been arrested for a burglary on South Main Avenue the day before the break-in and attack. During the past five years, police have re- sponded to many calls on Alternate High- way 101, where he has been accused of breaking into a relative’s home, creating a disturbance, or violating a restraining order.