December 7, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A
Pearl Harbor Day proclamation honors veterans
True ‘grit’ as
plaques get a
refresh
Seaside Signal
The city of Seaside will
honor American World War
II veterans with a proclama-
tion for Pearl Harbor Remem-
brance Day.
Public Works Director
Dale McDowell read the proc-
lamation before the city coun-
cil at their Nov. 26 meeting.
He remembered those killed
and wounded after the Japa-
nese bombing of Pearl Harbor,
marking the nation’s entry into
the war on Dec. 7, 1941.
“Today we honor those
who fought and died at Pearl
Harbor, and we pay special
tribute to the veterans of
World War II,” McDowell
DALE MCDOWELL
Granite plaque remembering Pearl
Harbor on the Pearl Harbor Memorial
Bridge.
read. “Those heroes hold a
cherished place in our history.
Through their courage, sacri-
fice, and selfless dedication,
they saved our country and
preserved freedom.”
FILE PHOTO
Pearl Harbor survivor Bill Thomas in 2013 salutes
his comrades who perished in the attack. Thomas
died in 2016.
The proclamation was
unanimously endorsed by
members of the council.
Seaside’s legacy of Pearl
Harbor remembrance has
deep roots.
Bill Thomas, a seaman on
the USS Medusa, was “the
impetus” for Seaside’s Pearl
Harbor remembrance, former
Mayor Don Larson said in
2015.
Thomas, a Seaside High
School graduate, joined the
military at 17. The attack,
during which he was aboard the
USS Medusa, took place two
months after his 20th birthday.
Later, Thomas returned to
Seaside where he rallied for
veterans and proposed a Pearl
Harbor memorial on the First
Avenue Bridge over the Neca-
nicum River.
Thomas died in 2016.
The county’s last remaining
survivor, Spurgeon D. Keeth,
was an honored guest last
year’s remembrance, shortly
before his death on Dec. 28.
The proclamation comes
with a freshening up of the
city’s two plaques on the
northwest end and center of
the First Avenue Bridge.
The granite plaque in the
center of the bridge was in-
stalled in 1991, McDowell said.
With the dedication of the
bronze plaque at the bridge’s
northwest corner on Dec. 7,
2000, the bridge was renamed
the Pearl Harbor Memorial
Bridge.
Public works employee Matt
Long refurbished the plaques by
using a brass wire brush to re-
move the finish, McDowell said,
using an 800-grit sandpaper to
lightly sand the raised letters and
numbers. Long then sprayed
two coats of marine-grade clear
sealer over the top.
A Pearl Harbor Day obser-
vance will be held at 9 a.m.
on Friday, Dec. 7, in the main
entry area of the Seaside Civic
and Convention Center, with a
wreath-laying ceremony and
possible Coast Guard flyover
at 9:55.
The event is sponsored by
Seaside American Legion Post
99.
Seaside woman is sentenced to five years in 2017 shooting
Garfias gets five
years in prison
By Jack Heffernan
The Daily Astorian
A Seaside woman was sen-
tenced Friday, Nov. 16, to five
years in prison after a 2017
clash at a hotel over drugs end-
ed with a shooting.
Marta Garfias, 22, entered
a room at the Beachside Inn
in Seaside with her boyfriend,
Shaun Scarborough, 29, and
Jeffrey Nathaniel Ryals, 27,
Marta
Garfias
standing be-
hind her with
guns. Garfias
had arranged
to meet with
Christopher
Neaman,
of
Wa s h i n g t o n
state, to buy
drugs.
Scarborough, with a ban-
danna covering his face, held
a .45-caliber pistol as Ryals al-
legedly pointed an airsoft rifle.
During the encounter, Scarbor-
ough allegedly shot Neaman.
Neaman was taken by am-
bulance to a hospital, where
his spleen was removed. He
then was taken via Life Flight
Network to Oregon Health &
Science University Hospital in
Portland for further treatment.
Scarborough and Garfias
were arrested a week later in
La Mesa, California. Ryals has
not been found.
All three were charged
with first-degree assault, sec-
ond-degree assault, first-de-
gree robbery and first-degree
burglary. Garfias pleaded no
contest Friday to the burglary
charge as part of a plea deal
with the Clatsop County Dis-
trict Attorney’s Office. The
plea means she does not accept
guilt but recognizes prosecu-
tors have enough evidence for
a conviction.
Scarborough also plead-
ed no contest to first-degree
burglary in July and was sen-
tenced to 8½ years in prison.
Five years are a result of the
burglary charge and 3½ years
stem from a probation viola-
tion in a separate case in which
he was convicted of being a
felon in possession of a fire-
arm.
At his sentencing hearing,
Scarborough
downplayed
Garfias’ role in the incident,
saying he used her to “get in
the door.”
Garfias said that she hopes
to use the prison time to kick
a drug addiction and become a
better mother for her two sons.
“Over the past 2½ years,
three years, I’ve lost a lot be-
cause of my drug addiction,
and now I’m losing even more
by going to prison,” Garfias
said. “But I’m going to make
the best of this.”
Garfias does not have pri-
or criminal convictions, Dep-
uty District Attorney Steven
Chamberlin said. She will be
eligible for alternative incar-
ceration programs and a re-
duced prison sentence as part
of the plea deal.
Circuit Court Judge Cindee
Matyas said Garfias was say-
ing the right things and that
she hoped she would act on
them.
“You’re definitely, you
know, young enough to make
some big changes and be the
mom that you want to be,”
Matyas said.
Nov. 28
12:20 p.m., 800 block 13th
Ave.: A caller reporting a person
living in a trailer is told the
trailer is on private property.
No enforcement action can be
taken.
POLICE LOG
Nov. 16
Nov. 23
3:42 p.m., 1300 block Second
Avenue: A fugitive is arrested
on a warrant.
6:47 p.m., The Prom: An assault
in the second degree is reported.
5:27 p.m., 2300 block S. Down-
ing: A woman riding a bicycle
very slowly on the street is
reported by a resident as suspi-
cious. Police are unable to locate.
8:40 p.m., 11th and N. Wah-
anna: A person is arrested and
charged with driving while un-
der the influence of intoxicants,
reckless driving, and reckless
endangerment.
Nov. 24
3:39 a.m., Avenue A: An assault
in the fourth degree is reported.
person attempting to make off
with two shopping carts was ap-
prehended and the carts returned.
dles found in park are retrieved
for disposal by police.
11:24 p.m., 13th and Roos-
evelt: A person reported smoke
rising from the ground. Officers
checking the area did not
detect any fire.
11:02 p.m., Wahanna Road and
Broadway: Officer assists motor-
ist changing a flat tire.
11:09 a.m., Police headquar-
ters: A person came in to regis-
ter as a sex offender.
Nov. 25
4:39 p.m., Roosevelt Avenue: A
2:27 p.m., Cartwright Park: Nee-
Nov. 26
Nov. 27
9:27 p.m., Holladay and Avenue
A: A fugitive is arrested on a
warrant.
4:42 a.m., 1200 block S.
Roosevelt: A person is arrested
for being in violation of their
release agreement; they are
also charged with giving false
information to a police officer.
11:40 a.m., 1200 block Avenue
D: A caller reporting a dog died
in their home asked for options.
They were advised to call a vet.
Nov. 29
5:16 p.m., Pacific and Cottage,
Gearhart: Seaside police assist
Gearhart police with a distur-
bance.
Nov. 17
11:28 a.m., Avenue S and Al-
dermill: Transients are reported
rifling through items at the
recycling center. They tell police
they are collecting bottles and
glass for their deposit value and
will be leaving shortly.
12:52 p.m., Carousel Mall: A
man making a nuisance of him-
self asking employees of the
mall out on dates was notified
he is trespassed.
11:11 p.m., 2600 block High-
way 101: Police respond to a
report of gunshots; possible
poaching is reported to Oregon
State police after Seaside police
searched the area.
Nov. 18
12:05 a.m., 2100 block Lewis
and Clark Road: Police respond
to a report of gunshots; officers
responding hear gunshot and de-
termined it was likely hunters in a
wooded area east of the location.
Oregon State police are notified
of possible poachers in the area.
You can try, but you can’t
quit me. Providence has
made sure of that for 55
years and counting.
Staying the course,
Bob
Nov. 19
3:47 p.m., Beach and Shilo Inn:
Police assist other agencies
in locating a possibly suicidal
female on the beach.
Nov. 20
5:44 p.m., N. Marion: Seaside
police assist Gearhart police
with a dog found wandering.
The dog is impounded for the
city of Gearhart and transport-
ed to the kennel.
Nov. 21
2:08 a.m. N. Prom: A Dumpster
diver is advised to move along.
7:12 p.m. 300 block Fourth Ave-
nue: Police are asked to conduct
a welfare check on a male al-
leged to have said he would self
harm after a romantic breakup.
Police are unable to locate either
in person or via phone.
Nov. 22
3:34 p.m., Avenue U and Co-
lumbia: An assault is reported.
5:00 p.m., 1900 block Spruce: A
person is arrested for DUII.
7:54 p.m., 1600 block S. Colum-
bia: Roommates unable to get
along are advised of options.
prov idenceoregon . org / de a rnorthcoa s t