TCC82019 by C.M.I.

National Night Out

Recall Kate Brown and impeach Donald Trump Page A2

Page A2

Obituaries-A2 • Opinions-A4 • Police Blotters-A5 • Market Place-A6 • Public Notices-A6 • Sports-A7 • Rodeo-A8

Friday, August 2, 2019

The Chief

$1 Vol. 128, No. 12 8 Pages

Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891

Clatskanie Coach arrested on suspicion of domestic assault JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net

A Clatskanie High School coach was arrested on July 24 under suspicion of domestic assault. Deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) responded to a reported assault at the residence of Deshaun Andre Combs, 35, on July 23. According to a probable cause affidavit and order submitted by Deputy Collin Brehm, a woman called 911 around 10 p.m. to report she and a friend had been assaulted by Combs and that he’d left the residence approximately 10 minutes prior to the call. Deputies made contact with one of the women in the backyard who’d heard part of the altercation. She told them Combs had grabbed her by the arm and thrown her off the porch when she told him she was going to call 911, preventing her from reaching the phone. The second victim said she and Combs got into an argument, and he left shortly after. When he returned, she said she went out onto the porch and Combs followed her. When she sat down, she said Combs, “got in her face and started screaming at her.” The victim told deputies when she stood up to move, “Combs smashed into her with his chest.” She said she put her arms up in front of her and told him to leave her alone, and then Combs “repeatedly smashed into her with his body.” The victim said she walked around the porch near some gravel to get away from Combs, and he “grabbed ahold of her and threw her backwards.” She said

she knocked over two chairs that were on the porch and fell off the porch onto the gravel. Deputy Brehm notes in the affidavit that he observed the two chairs on the gravel that had been knocked off the porch when he arrived. This was reportedly when the first woman who witnessed part of the altercation came outside and got in between Combs and the other victim and told him she would call 911. Combs told deputies about the argument that instigated the incident and said one of the women “kept hitting him with her forearm.” Combs said he grabbed her and sat her down in a chair on the back porch, and then she stood up and punched him. He said he blocked the punch with one of his arms and threw his arms up, and that was when the woman was knocked over and fell into the chairs on the porch. Combs said he did not intentionally push the woman, and said the argument continued. When the other woman told him she was going to call 911, he said he told her to call. Combs said he did not remember grabbing one of the women to prevent her from getting to the phone. Deputy Brehm stated he observed injuries on the two women, including several bruises. Combs was booked into the Columbia County Jail on July 24 on a felony charge of fourth-degree domestic assault and interfering with a report, according to CCSO Captain Tony Weaver. Combs, who is a boys’ basketball coach at Clatskanie High School, and the Clatskanie School District could not be reached for comment by press time.

Julie Thompson/The Chief

Columbia County NPRA: Saddle Bronc rider Hayden Hall rode horse “Bad Whiskey” for a score of 78.00, see all of the final rodeo results on A8.

When assisted living feels like home CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

Photo: Heather Medina

Bonnie Beemer, resident at The Amber since 2004, with Maecii Medina, daughter of Heather Medina.

The residents of The Amber Assisted Living feel more like family members than they do like housemates. The “family feeling” is exactly what Heather Medina, Executive Director, strives to create. The Amber Assisted Living, located at 365 SW Bel Air Drive in Clatskanie, provides assisted living to its senior residents, according to information on its website. It has existed since at least 2003, according to Medina. Since then, the facility has experienced a lot of changes, and for the better, Medina said. When she started working at The Amber in 2015, Medina was employed as a medical technician, more commonly shortened to “med tech.” She worked there

until 2017, and during that time, Medina said things were not going very well. One metric that Medina said exemplifies the failings of the facility during that time were online reviews on crowd-sourced review sites such as Yelp.com or Glassdoor.com. “If you would post online looking for a job, people would say ‘don’t go there,’” Medina said. “Now, I can post and people will say ‘it’s a great place to work, it’s a great place to live.’ That’s how I like to compare the reputation.” In 2015, the turnover of staff and administration at the place was high. Back then, Medina said there was a general lack of family involvement, and staff was undertrained. Nowadays, it’s a very different story. Medina said it’s common for residents’ grandchildren to spend the night, and to have families over

for the holidays. Medina believes a lot of these changes come from improved staff training. The Amber employs a staff of 21: 16 caregivers and med techs, three kitchen staff, one maintenance manager and one nurse. There are also two volunteers that are in charge of the Sunday and Monday church services. While all of them contribute to the general upkeep and maintenance of the facility, the care of the residents falls primarily into the hands of the med techs and caregivers. As a former med tech herself, Medina said she understood the importance of ensuring that med techs were as familiar as possible with residents and their needs. “We try to make sure they know every resident, who’s in which

See HOME Page A5

SHPD seeks help identifying Bank of the West robber

Photo: SHPD

The suspect is a light-skinned male, approximately 6’, in his mid-30s. JULIE THOMPSON chronicle1@countrymedia.net

Police are on the hunt for a man who robbed the Bank of the West in St. Helens on Tuesday afternoon, and the St. Helens Police Department (SHPD) is seeking the public’s help identifying him. Around 4:27 p.m. on July 30,

an unidentified man approached a bank teller with a note demanding money. The suspect fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money prior to officers’ arrival, but the SHPD said there was no weapon reportedly used during the crime. The suspect is a light-skinned male, approximately 6’, in his mid-30s. He has black hair and

light facial hair, and was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, black pants, sunglasses, and a desert camouflage baseball hat. He was last seen fleeing on foot southwest toward the Legacy Clinic, located at 475 S. Columbia River Hwy. The Oregon State Police and surrounding law enforcement agencies assisted with a search of the area, and the

Columbia County Sheriff’s Office conducted a K-9 track, but they were unable to locate the suspect. Anyone with any information as to the identity of the suspect should contact the SHPD at 503-397-1521. “Do not approach the suspect,” an SHPD press release stated. “Although no weapon was used during the robbery, the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.”