ONLINE
Watch videos for Garibaldi Days and Relay for Life. TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
SPORTS
Local scores hole-inone at Alderbrook. PAGE A12
Headlight Herald WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2014
Buyers look to purchase Coliseum Theater By Chelsea Yarnell cyarnell@countymedia.net Adam Schwend aschwend@countrymedia.net Since closing its doors in January, the Tillamook Coliseum Theater has been on the market with Decker Real Estate for $300,000. “I made a bad investment and used the theater as collateral,” said the Coliseum’s owner since 1995, Ted Bump. “That’s kind of it in a nutshell.” Bump said he purchased commercial real estate in 2008 and backed it with the theater. When his investment fell apart, it took the Coliseum down with it. “I know some people think the issue is the switchover to all-digital movies and the cost of buying a new projector. That’s part of it,” Bump said. “But if this other investment hadn’t fallen apart, the theater would still be up and running.” Bump told the Headlight Herald that the Coliseum is not yet in foreclosure. But, he added, carrying the burden of serving as $250,000 in collateral against what he owes, it won’t escape foreclosure much longer. Unless a buyer steps forward, and he may have found one. “There are three potential buyers at this time,” Bump said. “Hopefully, something will happen within the month.” Bump was unsure if he could disclose the identity’s of the potential buyers, but informed the Headlight Herald that it’s two locals and one from Idaho. “I’ve owned the theater for nearly 20 years and it’s been a special part of my life,” Bump said. “I’d like to see it continue showing films and thrive.”
VOL. 125, NO. 31 • $1.00
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
Tillamook County District Attorney faces disciplinary hearing By Blayne Sheaffer bsheaffer@countrymedia.net Two years after a complaint was filed against Tillamook County District Attorney William Porter in October 2012, the State Professional Responsibility Board met on July 19 and has decided to institute a disciplinary hearing. In a letter addressed to Porter’s counsel on July 23 from Assistant Disciplinary Counsel Mary Cooper of the Oregon State Bar Association, the disciplinary hearing will address “alleged violations of… knowingly and unlawfully obstructing a party’s access to evidence… failure to comply with discovery request… conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud or misrepresentation… conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.” No date has been set for the proceedings, and according to the letter, the Disciplinary Counsel’s
File photo
Tillamook County District Attorney William Porter
Office will give Porter a formal complaint with the ability to answer. “Mr. Porter will have the opportunity to file an answer and a trial panel of the Disciplinary Board will be assigned to conduct a hearing on the complaint,” Cooper wrote.
While Porter has yet to respond to the Headlight Herald’s request for comment, his counsel Wayne Mackeson said that on February 12 the Disciplinary Counsel issued a letter of opinion saying that there wasn’t any reason to believe Porter made any ethical violations in Lunsford’s case. “There’s been no change in the law, or new facts since Disciplinary Counsel issued that opinion,” Mackeson said. “I don’t know why they did what they did.” The hearing stems from the complaint filed in 2012 by Sherry Petty, the sister of Ronald Lunsford, who is currently serving an 11-year sentence on manslaughter charges for killing Chris Brusman of Tillamook in January 2010. The complaint alleged that Porter did not disclose all the evidence during Lunsford’s trial. Consisting of emails between Brusman’s wife Bobbie Sue and
LONGEST-RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY SINCE 1888
See ATTORNEY Page A5
Softball team heads to Ariz.
Cole Ortega
Courtesy Photo
Ortega vs. Martin trial goes into second week By Chelsea Yarnell cyarnell@countymedia.net
INDEX Classified Ads.......................B5-8 Crossword Puzzle.................... B2 Fenceposts...........................B3-4 Letters......................................A4 Obituaries..........................A6-A7 Opinions..................................A4 Sports.....................................A12
Porter, which discussed whether Chris was paying Lunsford rent for parking his trailer on Lunsford’s property, the district attorney said he had forgotten about the evidence. “[Porter] gave Bobbie Sue access to his computer, and she printed them and presented them as evidence. This caused motions for dismissal, etc., and the judge took the best of the options and threw out the emails and struck Bobbie Sue’s entire testimony,” Petty told the Headlight Herald. “The evidence would not have helped Ron’s case, it only served to prove that Porter had interfered with and coached a witness, and went beyond professional [means] to attain false statements.” Petty said that the jury realized Porter was being deceitful, and while this disciplinary hearing won’t help Lunsford’s
Courtesy photo
The Red Fury softball team, 14 and under Oregon Champion, is off to National Regionals in Tucson, Ariz. August 1 after raising $2,002 during the Moose Fundraiser. The team raised funds by selling dinner tickets and taking donations. Updates during the National Regionals can be found via Twitter by following Trevor Cooley at @TCOOLEY1.
Highway 6 accident still under investigation On July 27, at approximately 4 p.m. Russel Falotico, 56, of Beaverton was traveling eastbound on Highway 6 near milepost 27 when a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe sport utility vehicle attempted to pass Falotico’s Chrysler in a no passing zone. A witness traveling westbound said the Hyundai attempted to move back into the eastbound lane to avoid a collision with an oncoming vehicle, forcing the Chrysler off the roadway into a gravel pullout. Falotico lost control of the vehicle and slid into the westbound lane. He collided with a westbound 2004 Jeep Wrangler driven by Shilo Walters, 36, of Newberg. The Hyundai continued eastbound from the scene without stopping. Falotico was pronounced deceased at the scene. Shilo Walters was transported by ground ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
The passenger in the Jeep Wrangler identified as Richard Walters, 43, of Newberg, was transported by LifeFlight to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center with serious, non-life threatening injuries. Investigators received information from witnesses at the scene that prior to the crash the operators of the Chrysler and Hyundai were involved in "road rage" behavior. This information led Oregon State Police to request law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the Hyundai. A little more than an hour after the accident, information from Washington County Sheriff's Office and Beaverton Police Department stopped the Hyundai vehicle eastbound on Highway 26 near Cedar Hills Boulevard. An OSP trooper responded from the crash scene as part of the ongoing investigation and subsequently arrested the Hyundai's driver, Trisha Jo Homan, 45, of Portland, for:
Criminally negligent homicide Assault in the third degree Reckless driving Recklessly endangering another person Felony hit and run Homan was taken to the Tillamook County Jail where she was lodged on the charges. According to jail staff, she posted bail and was released to appear. OSP was assisted at the scene and during the initial investigation by Tillamook County Sheriff's Office, Tillamook Regional Medical Center Ambulance, Tillamook Fire Department, Department of Forestry, Washington County Sheriff's Office, Beaverton Police Department and Oregon Department of Transportation. The highway was closed approximately for four hours. The accident is still undergoing investigation lead by Trooper Sarah Reding.
During the second week of trial for the $5.3 million dollar personalinjury lawsuit of Cole Ortega vs. Darrell Martin and the State of Oregon, the plaintiff’s final witnesses testified. In 2008, Ortega’s left arm was severed following a collision with Martin’s dory boat while surfing near Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City. Surgeons at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland were able to reattach his arm after the accident. A complaint filed on Ortega’s behalf in 2010, seeks funds from the State of Oregon for failure to provide adequate warnings of the danger of collision between dory boats and other person near Cape Kiwanda and Martin for negligence in several accounts. On July 23, Ortega’s sister, Chelsea, and his father, Charles, testified before the jury. “Cole was a very accomplished surfer,” Charles said in court. “I’d had him in the water so long and I’d educated him and Chelsea about the dangers of the water. “There’s a different etiquette that’s followed when surfing out in the ocean...you want to do everything you can to avoid a collision [with other surfers] in the water.” While Charles told the jury he was aware of the fact that dory boats use the area around Cape Kiwanda for fishing, he said that he did not see any signs about the dangers of dory boats. “We’d had a discussion about what these guys are doing out in the water; fishing for salmon,” Charles said about his conversation to Cole about dory boats. “If I had known that dory boats were coming in I probably wouldn’t have let them go to that area. That’s See ORTEGA Page A5