Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2000)
Wind storm leaves thousands without power PORTLAND — Gale-force winds whistled from the south through Oregon, downing trees across highways, damaging build ings, knocking out power to more than 100,000 customers and caus ing a log barge to spill its cargo off the Oregon coast. No injuries, deaths or major fires were attributed to Sunday’s high winds, although there were some close calls. The highest gusts re ported by the National Weather Service were 115 mph at mid moming at Cannon Beach. Gusts of 81 mph at Netarts knocked a house 12 feet off of its foundation. As of Monday morning, 12,000 Portland General Electric cus tomers were without service — down from more than 100,000 shortly before noon Sunday, ac cording to spokesman Mark Fry burg. He said scattered outages contin ued throughout the utility’s service territory, which stretches to Salem, but were concentrated in the Port land area. Most of the outages were blamed on trees and limbs downed across power lines. Fryburg said the company was able to restore service to tens of thousands of customers per hour early Sunday, but that restoring power for the remaining customers could be slow-going because they are in smaller groups and scattered. PGE encouraged customers who might have been without service through the night to prepare with warm blankets and flashlights. Dave Kvamme of Pacific Power said about 5,000 customers of that utility were without energy Sun day night, largely along the Oregon Coast in Astoria, Warrenton, Sea side and Cannon Beach. “The brunt of the storm hit that area,” Kvamme said. “I think it is likely that it is going to be at least a day until customers are re turned to service.” High winds knocked down sev eral power poles and also affected a transmission line into the area, he said. Problems also remained in the Medford, Roseburg and Grants Pass areas, he said. Astoria Red Lion.Inn was evacu ated because part of the roof blew off. And in Yachats on the central coast, the roof collapsed on an abandoned roller skating rink. Clatsop County officials report ed extensive roof damage to busi nesses and residences and said Highway 26 linking the area to Portland was closed for a time by downed trees. Some downed trees were set afire when they became entangled with power lines, ac cording to the sheriffs office. About 50 trees were reported up rooted in Portland. Among them was a tall fir that slammed into the second story of a southwest Port land home about noon, trapping owner Helen Langley inside for al most 30 minutes. Langley, who was reading in her bedroom, was not injured. She was able to call 911, and fire crews pulled her out. Beryl Haarsma also was trapped in her house by snapped power lines outside her southeast Port land home. Haarsma said at least three live power lines were down on her street, and transformer ex plosions had caused a power surge that prompted meters to blow up in the early afternoon. In Oregon City, a gust blew off much of the roof of Tri-County Temp Control’s head quarters near Interstate 205. Farther north, Pepsi Bottling Co. on Northeast Sandy Boulevard lost several windows. On many streets, PGE workers ob served motorists driving over downed lines. In Salem, winds loosened a cot tonwood tree from the ground and sent it crashing through the roof of a home. Branches from the 100 foot tree fell across three of the cars parked in the driveway of the home. Neighbor Sherri Daun said none of the family who lived there, in cluding an infant several months old, were hurt. By mid-afternoon the brunt of the storm had moved north into Washington, where 300,000 cus tomers were reported without power. On 30-foot seas near Depoe Bay on the central coast, a 140-foot oceangoing tug, the Seaspan Com modore, lost its tow line to a log barge about 10 a.m. and spilled half its load, about 15,000 logs, into the water, Coast Guard Petty Officer Mike Johnson said. The logs will hit the beach even tually, he said. The Associated Press Scappoose character education plan spawns city debate SCAPPOOSE — Compassion. Honesty. Respect. Those were some of the traits the City Council pledged to promote in its citizens when it proclaimed this town a “City of Character.” But judging from indignant let ters to the local newspaper, not everybody in town thinks it is the council’s job to set the moral tone for the community. “To me, this is allowing religion to permeate the government,” said Dorothy Robertson, a former Scap poose City Council member. But supporters say it’s about time the City Council took a stand in support of stronger character to heal an ailing society. “One thing that makes Oregon unique is the independence peo ple feel, and that independence would prevail over any global character movement,” said Jerry Gillham, city manager of this town of 4,600 located about 20 miles northwest of Portland. And the debate in Scappoose is one that may be headed for other towns, big and small, in the Pacific Northwest as cities consider pro moting community-wide commu nity character programs. The controversy in Scappoose surprises Robert Ekstrom, who urged the City Council to join 60 oth er cities in formally adopting the pledge to promote good character. “This isn’t to indoctrinate or co erce, but to encourage and be a ral lying point,” Ekstrom said. Jonathan Stewart, director of the International Association of Charac ter Cities, said Baton Rouge, La., was the first city to formally proclaim it self a city of character two years ago. The idea caught on when the mayor talked it up at a regional conference. Stewart said the movement was just reaching the Pacific North west, where only Scappoose and Clatskanie in Oregon and Bonney Lake in Washington have passed character resolutions. In Oregon, the state has histori cally seen character instruction as the province of government — at least of the schools. More than 70 years ago, the Oregon Board of Ed ucation ordered schools to teach morals and ethics. The state school board formally revived that mandate in 1994, but only a handful of school districts of fer much in the way of formal char acter education. Some school offi cials say they don’t have the money; others fear controversy from critics who see it as a way to inject religious instruction into public schools. The 1999 Legislature gave its s tamp of approval to character edu cation by encouraging school dis tricts to seek federal grants to pay for actually doing it. Just how a city goes about teach ing its citizens character remains uncertain. Many of the cities that adopted proclamations similar to Scappoose’s and Clatskanie’s used schools and businesses as the main learning centers. Gillham, the city manager, said that he wanted city employees to ex hibit quality character traits, but that he had no intention of devoting city time or money to teach character. The Associated Press Looking for a New Year’s resolution that will help you achieve the healthy lifestyle you’ve been wishing for? Then use these practical tips to become a fitter you: II resolve to start each day with a healthful breakfast. Starting your day with a carbohydrate-packed breakfast can help fuel your thinking, provide an energy boost and enhance your workouts. Eating breakfast can also help control mid-morning binges on high-fat foods. I resolve to become physically active. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise each day for good health. The new Student Rec. Center is an excellent place to get started. I resolve to put me first (at least) some of the time. If personal time is not part of your daily routine, resolve to take an hour each day to pursue personal interests. Use private time to exercise, read, listen to music, meditate or do whatever makes you happy 41 resolve not to swallow half-baked diet schemes. Why invest in fad diets (like the high protein/low carb craze) when losing extra pounds can be accomplished by increasing physical activity and limiting excess caloric intake? Fad diets never provide the body with sufficient nutrients. I resolve to make healthful changes I can live with. Consider your resolutions as simple small steps to a new you. Make modifications to your daily routine and allow small indulgences and even forgive yourself for the little setbacks. The key is starting with at least one healthful change, sticking with it and using it as a base to improve the rest of you life. Just do it! UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER We’re a matter of degrees ^
