A2 • Friday, July 26, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
County Sheriff Bergin says he will retire at year’s end
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County Sheriff
Tom Bergin plans to retire at
the end of the year.
The sheriff, who was
fi rst elected in 2004, had
announced last year that he
would not seek another four-
year term.
Bergin said he would ask
the county Board of Com-
missioners to appoint Lt.
Matt Phillips, the jail com-
mander, as interim sheriff.
The election for a new sher-
iff will be held in 2020.
“Well the time has come
to provide the information
as to my departure so the
rumors and unknown can
be resolved,” Bergin, 61,
wrote in an email to his staff
on Monday afternoon. “I
will be leaving at the end of
December this year.”
His decision came after a
trying time of dealing with
personal matters. Bergin
was diagnosed with kidney
cancer last year and said he
became more reliant on his
staff.
“It feels like I was liv-
ing two lives, trying to take
care of all my personal life
RESPONDER REPORTS
PUBLIC SAFETY LOGS
Police Log
July 12
7:21 a.m., 900 block 14th Ave-
nue: A disturbance is reported.
10:09 a.m., 800 block 13th Av-
enue: A missing person is re-
ported.
2:08 p.m., Police headquarters:
A person came in to register as
a sex off ender.
7:42 p.m., The Prom: Two wom-
en reported yelling at each oth-
er are separated. Disturbance
was verbal in nature only.
July 13
10:21 a.m., 1000 block North
Prom: An employee of a clean-
ing company fi nds and turns in
to police a BB gun from a rental
home.
5:08 p.m., 1000 block 12th Ave-
nue: Suspicious circumstances
are reported.
8:49 p.m., Lifeguard tower
south of Ocean Shore: Fire-
works are reported and confi s-
cated.
10:50: Goodman Park: Subjects
are warned of unlawful lodg-
ing.
July 14
1:55 a.m., Avenue N and Beach
and take care all of this place
and it’s not fair to either side
so it’s kind of like, ‘OK,
it’s time,’” he said in an
interview.
The sheriff acknowl-
edged he has received some
criticism for his absences,
but said he has always been
involved.
“After going through
cancer, double knee surgery,
divorce and several other
issues these last two years
I know it has been hard on
this offi ce but I am proud
how all of you have held this
place together,” Bergin said
in his email to staff.
Bergin explained in the
interview that he has “taken
some extra time for myself
because you come to the
realization, it’s like, there’s
more to life than being a
cop. Even though I swore
and raised my right hand
to this job, but it’s come to
the point where it’s time to
move on and people can say
what they want, that’s OK.”
Monica
Steele,
the
interim county manager,
said, “It’s unfortunate that
he won’t be here to fi n-
ish out his term and I have
truly enjoyed working with
him and I look forward to
Drive: Police respond to a re-
port of a disturbance which
turned out to be verbal in na-
ture only.
2:11 a.m., Broadway and North
Downing: Police respond to a
report of a disturbance.
2:49 a.m., West Harrison and
Ocean Shore: Police assist Can-
non Beach police with a distur-
bance.
6:35 p.m., 700 block Wahanna:
Caller reports an intoxicated
man approaching his vehicle
after leaving the hospital. Po-
lice contact subject who has a
female driver assisting him.
9:21 p.m., 2400 block Highway
101: A deceased person is re-
ported.
8:26 p.m., 1200 block Pacifi c:
Police assist Cannon Beach po-
lice.
July 15
12:17 p.m., Forest Court: A
missing person is reported.
July 16
‘WE TRIED HARD TO GET THAT
NEW JAIL PUT IN A COUPLE
OF TIMES AND FINALLY THE
THIRD TIME THE PUBLIC SAW
THE NEED, WHICH IS GOING
TO BE VERY BENEFICIAL.’
Sheriff Tom Bergin
The Astorian
Sheriff Tom Bergin said he
will retire at the end of the
year.
working with whoever gets
appointed.”
Bergin became a sheriff’s
deputy in 1992 after about
seven years at the Seaside
Police Department. In 2004,
he was elected sheriff and
was reelected three times.
One of his biggest
accomplishments was win-
ning voter support to build a
new county jail.
He was a leading voice
for a $20 million bond mea-
sure that passed last Novem-
ber to relocate the jail from
Astoria to the former North
Coast Youth Correctional
neighboring home is “unliv-
able” and wants the person
living in it to leave. Police
check with the city building
and planning department and
the building has not been con-
demned. Reporting party is
advised.
July 18
6:04 a.m., Convention Center
parking lot: Caller reports a
boat tied to a handicapped
sign. Owner of the boat is con-
tacted and advised to move
their boat.
Fire Log
July 12
11:08 p.m., 3300 block Beer-
man Creek: Emergency medi-
cal response.
July 18
11:20 a.m., 2600 block Highway
101: Emergency medical re-
sponse.
8:00 p.m., 1800 block Beach
Drive: Emergency medical re-
sponse.
8:25 p.m., Jct. 26 and Highway
101: Emergency medical re-
sponse.
July 16
10:33 p.m., Avenue A: Emergen-
cy medical response.
July 17
12:50 a.m., 1100 block Avenue
B: Emergency medical response.
2:40 a.m., Avenue A: Emergency
medical response.
8:30 p.m., 2100 block Lewis
and Clark: Emergency medical
response. Medix on scene.
Plains troopers assisted at the
scene. The van was towed away
by Classic Towing. The driver of
the vehicle was not issued a ci-
tation.
Oregon State
Police Report
Seaside man involved in
head-on collision
Gearhart man involved
in crash
On July 16 at 2:07 p.m., Ore-
gon State Police responded to
a report of a crash on Highway
26 near milepost 31 when a
43-year-old man from Gear-
hart driving a 1987 Toyota van
traveling eastbound drifted off
the highway shoulder, strik-
ing an embankment. Police
say the van traveled down the
embankment, coming to rest
between some trees. The driver
received minor injuries and was
transported to Oregon Health
& Science University. North
On July 16 at 10:23 p.m., a
49-year-old man from Seaside
traveling eastbound on High-
way 26 near milepost 9 lost
control of his vehicle after his
rear axle came loose from the
vehicle causing him to enter
the westbound lane to strike
another vehicle head on. A
second vehicle then left the
roadway to the westbound
shoulder while the fi rst came
to a stop in the eastbound lane,
where it obstructed traffi c. Both
drivers were uninjured and
North Coast Towing removed
both vehicles from the scene.
The driver of the fi rst vehicle
was issued a citation/warning.
2:23 p.m., Avenue K and the
Prom: Wildland grass fire
call.
10:25 a.m., Ninth Avenue and
Queen: A person is arrested on
a warrant.
July 14
2:58 p.m., 2100 block South
Franklin: Neighbor reports
way 101: Emergency medical
response.
7:08 a.m., Beach and Avenue U:
Grass brush fi re.
6:07 p.m., 10th and Ocean
Shore: Water rescue.
July 17
remembered for his outspo-
ken support for immigra-
tion enforcement, which has
brought him praise, but also
criticism.
“I was chosen to lead this
agency by the people and
luckily I’ve been elected
four times to this offi ce,
and it’s a responsibility that
just consumes you, it abso-
lutely consumes you,” he
said. “There’s such a silent
majority up here that is not
happy with the current way
our country is going and part
of it is the issue on depor-
tation. When people come
here illegally, they need to
abide by the laws and that
is not coming here illegally,
and so they need to follow
the rules.”
In 2014, he opposed a
ballot measure that would
have given driver’s cards to
7:31 a.m., 8400 block Nordmark
Lane: Fire investigation.
July 13
1:43 a.m., 1700 block South
Roosevelt: Telephone harass-
ment is reported.
5:44 p.m., Convention Center:
A missing person is reported.
Facility in Warrenton. Vot-
ers had rejected two previ-
ous bond measures for the
jail.
“When I started here
there was eight of us and the
jail was small and tiny and
we tried hard to get that new
jail put in a couple of times
and fi nally the third time the
public saw the need, which
is going to be very bene-
fi cial,” Bergin said. “I’m
really happy to see that for
this community.”
Bergin has also spent
much of his career focused
on drug enforcement. He
ran the interagency narcotics
team for several years and,
while he was supervisor, the
Western States Information
Network awarded the nar-
cotics team as team of the
year in 2001.
Bergin will also be
undocumented immigrants.
Voters rejected the mea-
sure, but the Legislature this
year passed a bill that would
allow undocumented immi-
grants to obtain driver’s
licenses.
Last year, Bergin and 15
other sheriffs signed a letter
in support of Measure 105,
which would have repealed
Oregon’s sanctuary law.
Voters, however, upheld the
sanctuary law.
Last week, the sheriff
said the county needed to
support U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement
after federal immigration
agents detained a man at the
courthouse.
“Everybody thinks I want
to lock up all these Hispan-
ics and throw everybody
away and kick everybody
out of the country — that’s
the furthest thing from the
truth,” Bergin said. “That’s
just ludicrous.
“And I think if you treat
people with respect then
you’re going to get it back.
I hope that is part of my suc-
cess and part of my legacy.
But it’s just always being
fair to everybody and treat-
ing everybody like you’d
like to be treated.”
9:56 p.m., 400 block Second
Avenue: Public assistance is
rendered.
3:41 p.m., 1500 block Spruce
Drive: Fire investigation.
July 15
11:03 a.m., 2400 block High-
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