Peter Gearin

Former Port of Astoria director admits a felony charge

By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian

Former Port of Astoria director Peter Gearin pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act Thursday in the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in Portland.

Gearin, who was fired from the Port in 2007, appeared in court and admitted to knowingly violating the terms of a federal dredging permit in March 2005, when he was the Port’s executive director. He was to be booked in the U.S. Marshal’s Office and conditionally released Thursday.

Gearin declined to comment on the case.

Judge Ancer L. Haggerty set Gearin’s sentencing hearing for 9:30 a.m. May 8.

Gearin’s charge carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and fines between $5,000 and $50,000.

Haggerty told Gearin that as a felon he will not be able to possess firearms and some other weapons.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Evans presented the facts of the case earlier at the plea hearing.

Because the Columbia River bottom to be dredged had tested positive for contaminants, the Port’s permit required that the dredge spoils be stored on land. The Port was required to allow that material to settle and to have it tested for contaminants before releasing it back into the river.

“The defendant was fully aware of those conditions,” said Evans. “On March 10, 2005, the defendant knowingly allowed water in the settling pond on Pier 3 to flow back into the Columbia River in violation of permit conditions.”

The Environmental Protection Agency conducted a two-year criminal investigation into Gearin’s role in the circumstances of the Port of Astoria’s 2005 dredging violation, Evans said.

Gearin had signed a plea agreement in April 2008, but the agreement had been sealed until Thursday morning.
Click here to read the rest of the article hosted at the Daily Astorian’s website
Astoria’s Peter Gearin saga featured a series of bad decisions

 These five will join another set of framed, historic photographs and of course a Dead Reckoning shipwreck chart that Bill built as customs to hang in the Clatsop County Courthouse in Astoria, Oregon.

Various images depicting scenes from Astoria's rich, historic past - a custom, part of a set to accompany a framed, shipwreck chart

The first three with framed chart

Nobody frames history like we do!
Wander on over to the website and see what’s available.

We have Oregon, Washington local historic events and autographed, entertainment events with national, even global appeal, all made right here in Astoria, OR.

Email: bill@nwlimited.com or phone 503-338-6056

Exterior of Columbia River Coffee Roaster's Company Store (doesn't show the cool weathervane, but the sign's up!)

 Grand opening day at Columbia River Coffee Roaster’s Company Store (July 5) was great fun:

 

Smells great!

    If not, then we know what true “liquid sunshine” really is! THUNDERMUCK!

Dead Reckoning Shipwreck Chart...thanks for letting us hang!

Columbia River Coffee Roasters‘ Company Store is now open at the site of Uniontown’s newly remodeled Finnish Meat Market building (most recently the home to Shanghaied in Astoria)!

Don’t be so dazzled by the fresh paint and windows that you forget to step inside the new Company Store opened by Columbia River Coffee Roaster owners Tim Hurd and Nancy Montgomery: 

The smell is amazing.

 On this wall is a veritable historic archive…

    Can’t leave without some of this:

  <—Look what’s here!

 They’ve got great WiFi access, too!
Annnd….soon to come, a filtered water fountain where you can re-fill your water bottle. Nice!!!
Just one more (important) reason to love Columbia River Coffee Roaster:

“We also believe strongly in the notion that one’s work should build one’s community, so we put a high percentage of our profits into the local arts scene, specifically The River Theater in Astoria, a vibrant venue for diverse performing arts.”

NW Limited…History in Vogue^TM wishes you great success in your newest venue!

Though they are open for business, now, the official grand opening is scheduled for July 5, 2008, and everyone’s welcome!

Links:

Columbia River Coffee Roaster’s Website

Dead Reckoning of the Pacific Graveyard shipwreck chart at NW Limited

Did you catch it?
Tuned to KAST am Radio 1370  from 4 pm to 5 pm, you would have heard Bill Brooks of NW Limited as a guest on the Dezmo Zone.

An excerpt from NW Limited’s ‘Dead Reckoning of the Pacific Graveyard’ chart reads:
“Lupatia -1/3/1881- British bark: A south-easterly gale throws Lupatia onto Tillamook reef; a dog survives -16 dead”

One can imagine her final hours. A bleak, January night with the wind and surf shattering her against the rocks mere weeks before the Tillamook Lighthouse, a/k/a “Terrible Tilly” was to be lit.
The crew working on construction of that lighthouse saw Lupatia’s running lights as she approached.  In the near-miss incident,  they could hear Lupatia’s crew shouting orders of “Hard apart!” as they scrambled to keep her off the rock which so desperately needed a light as warning. 
 The construction crew kindled fires, and used lanterns to try and assist the captain as he navigated the rock-strewn reef.   Narrowly missing the rock itself, she disappeared into the darkness.
Lupatia’s debris littered the rocks below the nearly complete lighthouse the following morning.  16 lives lost…
 Would her fate have been the same had her captain had that light to use as guide?
 Unlike the Peter Iredale, or the George L. Olson, nothing remains of the Lupatia, no structure to climb and explore, no resting place to visit.
NW Limited’s historic achievement of the most detailed and complete shipwreck chart to date, immortalizes her.
The lithograph alone is a great place to start when looking for shipwreck history, but the framed and matted version  (left) is an adventure of its own with its photographs of shipwrecks, United States Coast Guard insignia and USPS stamp, the lost fishing vessels and more, all displayed within a high-quality, hand-finished frame.

Each chart is custom-built by Bill Brooks of NW Limited in Astoria, Oregon and no two will be exactly alike.
While you can’t take home the George L. Olson,
or the bowsprit of the Peter Iredale, you can
have “Dead Reckoning of the Pacific Graveyard,” your own magnificent gathering of maritime history in the Pacific Northwest.
bill@nwlimited.com or 503-338-8215

Wow is a word that crosses language barriers; there is no mistaking what it means.
For those that aren’t so sure:

wow 1 (wou) Informal
interj.
Used to express wonder, amazement, or great pleasure.
n.
An outstanding success.
tr.v. wowed, wow·ing, wows
To have a strong, usually pleasurable effect on: a performance that wowed the audience.

We specialize in “WOW“.
For giving or getting, NW Limited…History in Vogue^TM is in a class by itself.
Book your ticket : Email bill@nwlimited.com or call 503-338-6056 

See us this weekend at America’s Largest Collectible & Antique Show in Portland, Oregon at the Portland Expo Center just off I-5 near Delta Park/Jantzen Beach.

Bring moar green chile fud. kthxbai.
(Need translation?):
The Definitive Lolspeak Dictionary

Astoria’s no stranger to celebrity sightings.  More than a handful of movies have been filmed here, and during those times it’s interesting to hear the gossip around town relating to locals’ experiences with these usually distant icons. 
A few stars have even shown up sporadically just to take in the beauty of the Sunset Empire, a/k/a Astoria, or do a little whale watching along the coast.  Maybe they heard about the legendary beachcombing following our winter storms. Just maybe they are scouting the location of their next big production.
This latest inuendo is of great interest, considering the debut of NW Limited’s James Bond tribute series:
Rumor has it that none other than Academy Award winner, recipient of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and oft-voted sexiest man alive, Sean Connery, also the star of multiple James Bond movies, as well as other Hollywood greats, was spotted in none other than Astoria, Oregon.  Who was the lady on his arm?  Further speculation arrived at the conclusion that it was his once-costar, Lana Wood who played Plenty O’Toole in the James Bond classic, Diamonds Are Forever. It wasn’t just her name that left audiences enchanted, and sources say that though she and Mr. Connery were in a rush, Ms. Wood still has “plenty” to talk about. Sean must have thought so, too, as they rushed off to their unknown destination.
No comments were made as to the reason for the visit to the north coast.
Astoria must be just far enough off the beaten path to provide respite from the paparazzi.  Unfortunately, no photos exist of their hasty stop.
It was surmised that they paused just long enough to sign a few autographs.  Who was that lucky fan that got those much-sought-after signatures?  If it was you, let us know!
503-338-6056 <—–(this guy has the signatures to prove it)

Now that you’re here, Paul the Lovebird has a message for you (click to see):