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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2022)
The Columbia Press February 25, 2022 Assistance for the helpers Photo by Jeanne Smith/Spruce Up Warrenton Spruce Up Warrenton received some help last week from the Pacific Northwest Chief Warrant and Warrant Officer Association. The group presented a check for $3,500 to the nonprofit grassroots group, which is focused on improving the downtowns of Warrenton and Hammond.Pictured are, left to right, association President Dean Johnston, Vice President Barbie Ogo, Treasurer Kevin Joseph, and Spruce Up members Lucinda Davis, Brenda Hoxsey, Ken Davis, Mike Moha and Rick Newton. Conviction upheld for couple who killed Newport man The Oregon Court of Ap- peals on Feb. 16 affirmed the conviction of a couple accused of killing a man and dumping his body on the side of Highway 30. Adeena M. Copell, 43, and Christian J. Wilkins, 40, were convicted following her 2019 jury trial in Clatsop Coun- ty Circuit Court for murder, second-degree abuse of a corpse, and auto theft. She was found guilty during the Copell Wilkins trial; he pleaded guilty to the charges after the trial. In 2016, the couple befriend- ed 71-year-old Howard “Dan” Vinge of Newport, killed him inside his recre- ational vehicle, dumped his body on Highway 30 in the Fern Hill area and his RV Vinge on Highway 26, then drove the victim’s Lincoln Continental to Arizona. They were arrest- ed driving the car near Flag- staff on Oct. 5. Both Coppell and Wilkins were sentenced to life in prison. WHS sends 11 wrestlers to state tournament Warrenton High School’s wrestling teams have wrapped up the season, finishing 6-1. The team won the unoffi- cial league dual title, which put it in good position for the district tournament at Yam- hill-Carlton on Feb. 19. “Our league is tough as usual, with eight total teams and five of the top 10 in the state,” Coach Corey Conant said. “We won the district tournament for the second year in a row.” Senior Jorge Lopez pinned last year’s state finalist, earn- ing a spot in the finals and a second trip to state. Junior Raul Molina came from be- hind in the third period to pin a three-time qualifier in the third-place match. Eleven students quali- fied for state: Grace Thoma, Brayden Greenawald, Austin Atwood, Jorge Lopez, Raul Molina, Parker Greenawald, Max Smith, Alex Tapia, James Mickelson, Josh Smith, and Kaison Smith. The girls state tournament was on Thursday, Feb. 24, at Culver High School. The boys state tournament is Satur- day, Feb. 26, at La Pine High School. Conant was named district coach of the year along with coaches Lennie Wolfe, Trent Klebe, Mallory Volner, and Steve Stratton. 3 Deadline nears for May 17 election The Columbia Press As the deadline to file for a seat on the County Com- mission nears, the Clerk & Elections Office announced a change in voter precincts. Three of the five seats on the Clatsop County Commission will be decided by voters in the May 17 election. Measures to raise funds for fire equip- ment in Warrenton and a new fire station in Gearhart also will be on the ballot. Open are the County Com- mission seats held by Mark Kujala in District One, which serves most of Warrenton; Pamela Wev in District Three, which serves most of the city of Astoria; and Lianne Thompson in District Five, which serves Cannon Beach, the southern half of Seaside and all the unincorporated parts of the south county. All three incumbents have filed for re-election. The dead- line to file to run against the incumbents is 5 p.m. March 8. Meanwhile, the Elections Office has changed the num- bering of the voter precincts in Clatsop County. Following last month’s ap- proval of the district bound- aries by the County Commis- sion, county staff worked to update mapping and other databases to reflect the new boundaries and number- ing. Changes were necessary based on Census data. Among the changes: • Precincts are now num- bered 101 through 125. • Precincts were changed to follow the new commissioner boundaries where appropri- ate. The new precincts can be viewed on the county’s on- line Webmaps app with the “Precinct” layer selected. Voters will receive new vot- er notification cards in the mail around the beginning of March. The card will have the new precinct number and commissioner district num- ber for the voters’ registered residence. Filing for precinct commit- tee persons also will be accept- ed until March 8 for the new precincts. The filing forms are available from party chairs or on the county’s election page.