Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1982)
ELC continues to grow, mature By Kari Gassaway Of The Print .^FISH REAW4&«*4éftrTY ~ri*~r- '|'vi" ~ w— Artist sketch of fish rearing tanks Courtesy of Environmental Learning Center Student fights blaze on birthday By J. Dana Haynes Of The Print Some people spend their birthdays with parties and presents. Some take the day off from work and relax. For Clackamas Commun- tiy College student Duane Hiersche, this year’s birthday was spent fighting a fire. Hiersche, 20, is one of 29 volunteers for the Gladstone Fife Department. Last Wednesday, Hiersche and the rest of unit 103 (one of three fire trucks the town owns) responded to a fire at 160 Fair- field in Gladstone. The blaze burned till 5 a.m. and gutted a house before the department brought it under control. When asked why anyone would spend the early morning hours of his birthday risking his life, Hiersche shrugged and replied, “I don’t know. It’s fun.” Hiersche has been with the fire department since last summer, and has responded to an average of five alarms a month. He is a photojour nalism major and a member of The Print staff, and has no in terest in pursuing a career in firefighting. Gladstone Fire Marshall Wayne Hauck is the only paid employee in the department, which has operated on a volunteer basis since 1928. “It’s not all that dangerous using volunteers,” Hauck said. “We get two hours of drill every week, and we’ve already put in 18 hours this month at a ‘demonstration house’ in Gladstone.” Hauck said the depart ment receives an average of 15 calls per month, but only 10 percent of those are for fires. “It’s pretty exciting,” Hiersche said. “This is the big gest fire I’ve worked on so far.” Hiersche estimates that next year’s birthday will be less eventful. The John Inskeep En vironmental Learning Center is continuing its effort to return to nature with the development of a fish rearing facility. The facility is like a fish hatchery, but is a more natural procedure because it allows the fish to be returned to the wild much faster than hatchery fish are. The rearing facility, a renovated waste water storage from the days when Smuckers Berry Processing plant oc cupied the Learning Center site, will “allow people to learn the uniqueness between man and salmon by bringing salmon back to Newell Creek (the creek which begins on the center site)” Jerry Herrmann of ELC said. Salmon used to spawn in the Newell Creek area. “Up to 20 years ago people were be ing arrested for poaching salmon with a pitchfork.” Herr mann said. Today, due to the damage of their habitat, the salmon have nearly vacated the creek. ine first rehabilitation of the creek, Charles Puckett of ELC explained, took place when Jerry Barney, chief study director of the Global 2000 program was a little boy. Construction of the cur rent fish facility began the sum mer of 1982. Volunteers from the Clackamas County Com munity Service-Work Program, the Federal Comprehensive Employment Act and the Training Act Program helped with the majority of the work. The old storage tank will be used for salmon in the fry stage (young fish). A pole and plank platform is beina built around the tank. “Two thou sand feet of plank decking is needed to finish the project .ft Puckett said. The fish rearing facility should be finished in the Spr ing. “I feel salmon are an in dicator of the future of our planet. When they become af fected, it means we soon will be too. Thats why keeping their habitat up is so important. By getting people interested and involved by seeing the facility or participating in things like ‘Adopt a Creek,’ the project is a step in the right direction,” Herrmann said. P.E. SKIING REGISTER NOW! ❖ Ski For Fun and P.E. Credit Winter Term ❖ Downhill Lessons ❖ Cross-Country Lessons - Including Telemark Turns and Downhill Technique ❖ All Ability Levels - Beginner to Expert ❖ Discounted Lessons, Lifts and Rentals ❖ Transportation Available INFORMATION SHEETS AVAILABLE AT P.E. OFFICE Come Ski With Us! Ski School - 222-5909 \__ _________ Wednesday, December 8, 1982 Snow Phone - 224-9221 _______ J page 5