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 ^