TNG 3-20-13

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A1

New license plate proposed

Tigers start season unbeaten

See Page A2

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$1 | VOL. 86 | NO. 12 | 2 SECTIONS YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1927

MARCH 20, 2013 | WEDNESDAY

www.TheNewsGuard.com

LINCOLN CITY, OREGON

Flashing warning light part of crosswalk safety

For daily Lincoln City News, visit:

All crosswalks on 101 to be assessed for safety JEREMY C. RUARK The News Guard

TheNews Guard.com

A flashing light to enhance pedestrian safety is planned for the mid-block crosswalk in the 3300 block of N. Highway 101 adjacent to the business complex that includes Starbucks. “We are adding a rectangular

flashing beacon that produces rapid bursts of orange and yellow lights to warn motorists that pedestrians are crossing the roadway,” City Engineer Stephanie Reid said following a safety assessment by the Lincoln City Public Works Department. “This will be a pedestrian-activated device.” While Reid said there had been no pedestrians hit at the mid-block crosswalk, the warning signs on both sides of the highway have been struck at least twice by motorists. “We have assessed the need

for this crosswalk enhancement based on discussions with users, the police, the city’s bike and pedestrian plan, and history of accidents,” said Reid. The city also received the needed approval for the enhancement from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), which has had success with the flashing lights at other highways around the state. Reid expects to ask the LinJEREMY C. RUARK/THE NEWS GUARD coln City Urban Renewal Agency A flashing warning light will soon be placed at on March 25 to fund the $15,000

this Lincoln City mid-block crosswalk to enhance

See CROSSWALK, Page A5 pedestrian safety.

Oregon Coast Trail improvements set to begin this spring

FUN AT THE MUSEUM Page B1

JEREMY C. RUARK The News Guard

A project to relocate a section of the Oregon Coast Trail away from the shoulder of U.S. Highway 101 from Boiler Bay to Fogarty Creek State Park is slated to begin in May and be completed in June. The project is designed to ensure the safety of hikers and improve their experience on the trail. “There are parts of this project where the existing shoulder width is minimal and has guardrails,” said Rocky Houston, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) trail specialist. “This project allows the pedestrians to be placed behind the guardrails and/or placed off of the shoulder of the highway to enhance safety and user experience.”

INSERTS Bi-Mart; Rite Aide; Price ‘N Pride; Walgreens; Tanger Outlet Center; Roby’s Furniture; Sears; Safeway; Chinook Winds

Close Encounter

WEATHER GUIDE PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS

High Low Prec.

Tues., March 12 54 Wed., March 13 55 Thurs., March 14 53 Fri., March 15 54 Sat., March 16 49 Sun., March 17 51 Mon., March 18 50

47 47 47 48 47 41 37

CAROL DELANCEY/COURTESY PHOTO

The spring Whale Watching week begins March 23 off the Oregon Coast. Thousands of gray whales cruise north from their breeding grounds on Mexico’s Baja Coast to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas. See page A3 for the story.

T 0 .3 .13 .5 .1 0

See TRAIL, Page A6

POLICE STANDOFF: Caught in the middle

Weekly Rainfall: 1.03 inches Yearly Rainfall: 16.53 inches

Editor’s note: On March 12, murder suspect Michael Boysen barricaded himself in a room at the WestShore OceanFront Suites in Lincoln City, triggering a tense, daylong standoff with police. The standoff ended shortly after 7 p.m. when police entered the motel room and took Boysen into custody. The following stories outline how the Lincoln City police chief managed the media and how the motel clerk who alerted police reacted to the day’s events.

WEEKLY OUTLOOK Wednesday is the official start of spring. It’s called the vernal equinox because you get equal hours of day and night. However, the forecast is not very springlike. Expect wind and rain, easing off for weekend sunbreaks.

Motel clerk: Unsung Hero JIM FOSSUM The News Guard

Weather data provided by Roads End Weather Watcher Sheridan Jones

JEREMY C. RUARK/THE NEW GUARD

Lincoln City Police Chief Keith Kilian is interviewed by a Seattle television station news crew during the standoff.

Police Chief manages media JEREMY C. RUARK The News Guard

The March 12 standoff with murder suspect Michael Boysen was all part of the job for Lincoln City Police Chief Keith Kilian, who acted as both the incident commander and public information officer during the event. But even for a seasoned officer like Kilian, the standoff was challenging. “I always get tense at these situations no matter how many times I have been through them because there

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law enforcement agencies, Boysen checked in at the motel at 3127 S.W. Anchor Ave. between 11 a.m. and noon on the morning of Monday, March 11, Kallimanis said. After verifying his probable presence in the room, Police asked Kallimanis to meet them at Christmas Cottage, a couple of blocks east of the motel on Highway 101. Numerous other law enforcement personnel gathered in the parking

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JIM FOSSUM/THE NEWS GUARD

WestShore OceanFront Suites manager Leah Kallimanis checked murder suspect Michael Boysen into room 7 of the motel at 3127 S.W. Anchor Ave., just before noon on Monday, March 11.

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are a whole lot of factors that aren’t in your control,” said Kilian. “You have the welfare and safety of officers and the community, and the safety and welfare of the person you are trying to apprehend.” Kilian had been appointed Lincoln City’s police chief barely a month before the standoff, but had developed his experience and skills as a public information officer while working for the Clark (Wash.) County Sheriff’s Office. According to Kilian, one of the challenges during such a developing situation is to offer timely briefings to the media in order to provide critical

Little did a double homicide suspect know that when he checked into a local motel room last week, he was actually checking out. Washington resident Michael Boyden was apprehended by Oregon State Police and local law enforcement following a lengthy standoff when property manager Leah Kallimanis recognized the person she had registered the night before on a television news report. “I saw a blip on Channel 2 on ‘Good Morning America’ showing his face and stating his name,” Kallimanis said. “I recognized him and I immediately told my husband that I am pretty sure I just checked a guy in room 7 that’s wanted for a double murder up in Washington and, he goes, ‘Are you sure?’ and I said, check the name.’ But I knew instantly it was him.” While Monday started out like any other day for Kallimanis, Tuesday was unlike any other. It’s not every day your life becomes entangled with the subject of a statewide manhunt. The property manager at WestShore OceanFront Suites in Lincoln City was about to emerge a hero. And quite possibly save some lives. Considered possibly armed and extremely dangerous by Washington

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