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.