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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2015)
Astoria, Seaside post wins at Classic Fun gal looking for fungi SPORTS • 9A FRIDAY EXTRA • 1C 143rd YEAR, No. 123 ONE DOLLAR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015 • WEEKEND EDITION Scandi heritage tribute planned ‘It’s a tough time to recruit police offi cers right now.’ Astoria Police Chief Brad Johnston $VWRULDQRQSUR¿W gets grant to plan monument project By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian WANTED: POLICE OFFICERS Background checks, psychological exams winnow applicants First of Two Parts By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian P olice in Clatsop County and across Oregon are having a KDUGWLPHKLULQJQHZRI¿FHUV Applicants are failing in large num- bers at every step in the recruitment process, from background checks to psychological exams. A negative perception of police nationwide is DOVRNHHSLQJSRWHQWLDORI¿FHUVIURP even applying. “It’s a tough time to recruit po- OLFH RI¿FHUV ULJKW QRZ´ $VWRULD Police Chief Brad Johnston said. “People in law enforcement don’t want their children to go into law enforcement. Some of it is cyclical, but some of it we can affect and ULGHRXWWKHF\FOH´ Johnston said the statewide trend hit his department earlier this year. He started hiring for an open position in March. Out of about 60 applications, he was unable to hire anyone. The hiring process opened again this fall, and out of a similar applicant pool, only three people are being considered. Overall, Johnston said, the ap- plicant pool is down about two- thirds from what the department has seen in the past. 7KH GLI¿FXOW\ LQ ¿QGLQJ QHZ RI¿FHUV LV FRPLQJ DW D WLPH ZKHQ PDQ\LQWKH¿HOGDUHUHWLULQJ,QWKH late 1980s and early 1990s, police departments in Oregon did a lot of hiring, Johnston said, and now Though Astoria’s industrious FXOWXUH WHVWL¿HV WR LWV 6FDQGLQDYLDQ heritage, no full-scale monument ex- ists to recognize the Finns, Swedes, 'DQHV 1RUZHJLDQV DQG ,FHODQGHUV who left their homeland in the late 1800s and early 1900s to populate the area. But the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association is working to change that. 5HFHQWO\ WKH QRQSUR¿W DVVRFL ation received a $2,500 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation WRODXQFKWKH¿UVWSKDVHRIDPXOWL year project that will culminate in a monument titled “From Scandinavia WR$VWRULD´ The design and location have yet to be determined, but the goal is set in stone: to celebrate the Scandina- vian immigrant experience while educating the public about the Scan- dinavian tradition. “The Scandinavians have made a ELJLPSDFWRQWKHIDEULFRIWKH1RUWK &RDVW DUHD´ VDLG -DQHW %RZOHU WKH project’s grant writer and publicist. “The ethics and the values carry over WRWRGD\´ Sense of identity Carl Wycoff/via Creative Commons Newly minted officers from the Des Moines, Iowa, Police Academy listen at this year’s graduation with their new badges in hand. WKRVHRI¿FHUVDUHUHDFKLQJWKHHQG of their careers. “We are faced with trying to re- SODFHDOORIWKRVHIRONV´-RKQVWRQ said. Actively recruiting One solution is to do more ac- tive recruiting. Johnston said his department used to pull directly from Clatsop Community College’s criminal justice program. The program was discontinued in 2012 due to low enrollment numbers and decreased funding from the state. Donna Larson, vice president of academic and student affairs, said the c ollege is planning to reinstate the criminal justice program by next fall. The college will be offer- ing one class this spring . “We have heard from law en- forcement that there is a real need IRUWKLVSURJUDP´/DUVRQVDLG³:H UHDOO\GRQHHGWREULQJLWEDFN´ By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian This season has pretty much been one and the same for Jordan Poyer and the Cleve- land Browns: Some ups, some downs, a few injuries and plen- ty of frustrating losses. More losses than they were both counting on. With three games left, the Browns are 3-10 and out of the playoff race. Still, there’s a few things to look forward to for both MORE INSIDE Turn to Page 10 to read our interview with Astoria’s Jordan Poyer. Poyer and the Browns. While Cleveland will try to play the spoiler role , Poyer — who made a name for himself as a tremendous three-sport athlete at Astoria High School ²LVSUHSDULQJWRSOD\KLV¿UVW JDPHLQWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW as a professional. The Browns will take on ClevelandBrowns.com the red-hot Seattle Seahawks Sunday at CenturyLink Field Astoria’s Jordan Poyer was looking forward to Sun- (1:05 p.m. kickoff, FOX). See POYER, Page 10A See TRIBUTE, Page 10A Warrenton Police Chief Matt Workman recently had some suc- FHVV¿QGLQJQHZRI¿FHUV The department’s last three KLUHVKDYHEHHQ¿OOHGE\TXDOL¿HG candidates, including Johnston’s son, Tyler Johnston. Despite the successful hires, Workman said, his department still IDFHV VLPLODU GLI¿FXOWLHV DV RWKHU small agencies around the state. A Sunday homecoming for Poyer Browns hope to play the spoiler role in Seattle Once the committee knows the what and where, they will begin raising money from individuals and EXVLQHVVHV³:HFDQ¶W¿QLVKLWRQRXU RZQ:HQHHGFRPPXQLW\VXSSRUW´ she said. Ideally, the proposed monument would be installed in 2017 and un- veiled during that year’s 50th annual Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, held every June at the Clat- sop County Fairgrounds. Realistically, however, the her- itage association hopes to break ground on the structure, or at least UHYHDOWKH¿QDOGHVLJQFRQFHSWDWWKH event. ³:H¶G OLNHWRKDYHLWXQGHUZD\´ said Loran Mathews, a project leader and president of the heritage associa- tion, which supports the midsummer festival. day’s game in Seattle even before the season started. See POLICE, Page 8A Janet Bowler and Loran Mathews Budget deal falls VKRUWRQZLOG¿UHV More money, EXWQR¿[IRU agency woes long term after year, has had to borrow money from other programs to keep up with the ev- HUJURZLQJ FRVW RI ¿JKWLQJ ¿UHV The Forest Service spent DUHFRUGELOOLRQ¿JKWLQJ ¿UHV WKLV \HDU )LUH¿JKWLQJ By MEAD GRUVER now accounts for more than Associated Press half of the agency’s budget, up from 16 percent 20 years &+(<(11( :\R ² ago. Budget legislation headed The Obama administra- to President Barack Obama tion wants to address the includes an additional $610 )RUHVW 6HUYLFH¶V ¿UH¿JKWLQJ million for the U.S. Forest EXGJHW VKXIÀH E\ WUHDWLQJ 6HUYLFH WR ¿JKW ZLOG¿UHV ZLOG¿UHVOLNHRWKHUW\SHVRI next year but no long-term See BUDGET, Page 8A ¿[ WR KRZ WKH DJHQF\ \HDU