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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2015
Center:
nothing to meet their need. When
they leave here, my worry is, in
these cold times — what will they
do? Where will they go? — so when
that place began to open up, and the
Baptist place was no longer avail-
able to them, it was a relief of heart.
“I’m so glad that they’re open.
I’m encouraging them. If I can,
we’ll be of any service and help to
them in any way that’s possible. But
Continued from Page 1A
shelter at Exchange Street and 11th
Street opens on nights when tem-
peratures are expected to drop below
35 degrees.
“I think we can all agree that no-
body should die of exposure in As-
toria or anywhere,” said Councilor
Drew Herzig, who won the council’s
backing for the warming center.
by donations made through Grace
Episcopal Church. The city, Herzig
said, is paying a small amount for an
extension of insurance. The space is
available until the renovation starts
sometime this year.
“It’s perfectly appropriate use for
a building that’s otherwise sitting
there empty,” he said, adding that he
location by next winter.
The First Baptist Church had
been providing shelter for the
homeless and needy during freezing
weather for the past seven years.
But the church chose not to extend
the safety net this winter after the
city approved the warming center
just blocks away.
Don Roessler, the church moder-
ator at First Baptist, said the church
was “doing it just as Christians
knowing it was the right thing to
do. So if somebody else wants to
do it, there’s no animosity. The only
weird question was, `How did they
not know?’”
He said the church would as-
sist Herzig “with any needs that he
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Councilor Drew Herzig talks with volunteers before opening the warming center Tuesday.
might have over at the new shelter.”
The Astoria Rescue Mission, a
Christian-based ministry that offers
men’s and women’s shelters, grants
passing through but concentrates on
longer-term outreach. The mission,
according to David Newman, the
executive director, has six-month,
12-month and two-year programs
“to help people get back on their
feet through Christ.”
Newman had some concern for
volunteers at the new warming cen-
ter because those who could show
up might have been turned away
from other help because of per-
sistent behavioral or drug and alco-
hol problems.
“It scares me,” he said. “But, at
the same time, if they don’t have a
place here to go, it’s not right. The
Bible says that we don’t say be well
fed and keep warm, and then do
full. No doubt about it. It’s a lot of
work.”
Herzig and the volunteers at
the warming center are learning as
they go along. Verbal instructions
on expected behavior and prohibi-
tions against smoking, alcohol and
drugs have already evolved into in-
dividual, signed written agreements
to abide by the rules or be asked to
leave.
The warming center opens at 8
p.m. and lights are turned off at 10
p.m. People who are sleeping over-
night are not allowed to leave after
10 p.m. The shelter closes at 8 a.m.
the following morning.
On Tuesday night, the home-
less and needy were offered coffee,
chicken, rice and vegetable soup
and cookies. Mats were arranged
women.
“Come in and get warm!” the
sign outside promised. But, ironi-
cally, the heat at the warming center
would not work when the shelter
opened. The heat came back on just
before midnight.
Nasstrom: ‘We focus on all levels of nursing care’
Continued from Page 1A
The program currently includes
made it to their second year.
“We focus on all levels of nursing
care,” said Nasstrom, adding that the
faculty shares teaching responsibil-
ities in their classes. “We all work
together, which I like.”
Northern migration
Nasstrom originally hails from
Sebastopol, Calif., a small en-
clave about 50 miles north of San
Francisco. She said her interest
in nursing was a culmination of
factors, from her now 98-year-old
grandmother, a former nurse, to
her enjoyment of social interac-
tion.
“Evidently, I’m a horrible
sleeper,” said Nasstrom about her
mother’s influence on her choice
of profession. “And my mom used
to say ‘you should be a nurse, so
you can work the night shift.’”
Nasstrom earned her bachelor’s
in nursing in 2000 from Hum-
boldt State University, where she
and Doug met. The two traveled
together to Los Angeles, where
Nasstrom earned her master’s
degree and further certification
as a nurse in 2004 from Califor-
nia State University Long Beach,
while her husband earned his mas-
ter’s and certification as an anes-
thetist from Cal State Fullerton.
Then the two, looking for the
small town, rural life, moved to
Coos Bay, where they spent 10 years
practicing medicine, Nasstrom at
the North Bend Medical Center and
Doug at Bay Area Hospital. Nasstrom
said she liked it in Coos Bay — but
she likes it even better in Astoria.
“I love the weather,” said
Nasstrom, an avid reader. “It’s not
much different that Coos Bay. I love
the proximity to the ocean and the
water.”
Nasstrom has family roots in Or-
egon, too, her father being born in
Ontario and raised in Glendale.
In her transition from practitioner
to teacher, Nasstrom said there
are parts she misses and some she
doesn’t. “The worst day to be on call
was DuneFest weekend. It was never
a good weekend.”
But it was time, she said, to do
something different, and she’s ready
to be a teacher for the foreseeable
future.
Laws:
Continued from Page 1A
been stalled for years before
getting a big boost from for-
mer New England Patriots
quarterback Drew Bledsoe.
Now a winemaker in Washing-
ton state, Bledsoe complained
to lawmakers he could not send
his products to Massachusetts
residents, including fans and
former teammates like cur-
rent Patriots quarterback Tom
Brady.
ANIMALS
In California, a ballot ini-
tiative approved by voters in
2008 takes effect restricting
hens, breeding sows and veal
calves. The Humane Society
of the United States says the
law goes further than any in
the country when coupled with
a law signed by former Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger that
extends the space requirements
for egg-laying hens to out-of-
state suppliers.
In Utah, cities and towns
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File
A woman looks at the bullet holes on the window of IV Deli Mark where a mass shoot-
ing took place near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus, in the Isla Vista
beach community in May. In response to the killing rampage of Elliot Rodger, 22, that
left seven people, including himself dead, lawmakers approved and California Gov. Jerry
Brown signed a law which requires law enforcement agencies to develop policies that
encourage officers to search the state’s database of gun purchases as part of routine
welfare checks. More than 900 laws approved by the Legislature and signed by the gov-
ernor take effect today.
breeds within their limits. At
least 10 cities now have re-
strictions that ban ownership of
breeds such as pit bulls.
gredients and require state po-
lice to add meth offenders to a
national database.
CRIME
In Louisiana, 16- and
17-year-olds will be able to
register to vote when obtaining
a driver’s license, though they
still won’t be able to vote until
they turn 18.
In North Carolina, individ-
In California, a “yes means
yes” standard for sex between
college students takes effect,
-
scious and voluntary agreement
to engage in sexual activity,”
meaning silence or a lack of
resistance can no longer be
deemed consent.
In Michigan, rape evidence
may be better organized and
tracked under laws designed to
help ensure kits aren’t caught in
the sort of backlog found when
more than 11,000 untested box-
es were discovered in a Detroit
Police storage facility in 2009.
In Louisiana, law enforce-
ment agencies must provide a
tally of the number of untest-
ed rape kits on their shelves
by Thursday, part of a law that
took effect in August.
DRUG ABUSE
In Michigan, buying cough
and cold medicines for the
purpose of making metham-
phetamine will be illegal under
another series of measures in-
tended to crack down on meth
makers. The laws also prohibit
asking someone to buy the in-
ELECTIONS
party primary must have had
candidacy notice.
A Delaware law establishes
new rules for allocating cam-
paign contributions among
joint account holders, such as
when spouses submit a politi-
cal contribution using a single
check.
ENVIRONMENT
In North Carolina, home
sellers will have to disclose
whether they know if under-
ground oil and gas rights have
been sold.
In New York State, con-
sumers must begin recycling
old computers, televisions and
video game consoles instead of
throwing them in the trash.
In the face of a three-year
drought, new California laws
require water districts and other
local entities to develop plans
to manage their groundwater
and allow the state to intervene
if necessary.
HEALTH
In Louisiana, smoking will
be banned within 25 feet of
buildings, as a way to lessen ex-
posure to secondhand smoke.
HUNTING
In North Carolina, the state
Wildlife Resources Commis-
sion faces new restrictions on
how high it can raise fees on
licenses. Starting with the new
year, the fees can’t be raised
beyond a widely used measure
MOTOR VEHICLES
In California, drivers’ li-
censes will be available for
people in the country illegally.
In Nevada, students who are
declared habitually truant could
be delayed from obtaining a
driver’s license, or could have
their license suspended.
In Florida, all children aged
4 and 5 will be required to sit
in a child safety seat or booster
seat instead of using just a car
seat belt.
In Indiana, license plates
will be required on motor
-
lowing complaints about un-
safe driving by those who’ve
lost their licenses because of
drunken driving arrests or other
offenses.
In Michigan, lawmakers
closed a loophole so motor-
cyclists can no longer buy a
temporary permit every riding
season without taking a safety
or skills test needed for a full
endorsement.
-
ly allow “hold open” clips on
pumps at self-service gaso-
line stations, ending motorists’
complaints — particularly in
winter — about being in one of
the few states where the clips
weren’t allowed.
In Utah, police will be re-
quired to impound the vehi-
cles of uninsured drivers in-
stead of just having the option
to do so.
SOCIAL MEDIA
In New York in February,
it becomes illegal to pose for
a photo with a lion, tiger or
other big cat. The measure,
contact between members
of the public and big cats at
animal shows, passed after
self-portraits with the animals
started becoming more pop-
AP Photo/Mike Groll, File
Protesters rally for an increase in the minimum wage on
the Great Western Staircase at the Capitol, in Albany, N.Y.,
July 17. The minimum wage goes up today in several states,
including Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Oregon,
Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and
Washington.
ular online, particularly with
some young men on dating
sites.
TAXES
In North Carolina, Re-
publican lawmakers who ap-
proved an income tax cut also
took away breaks to Holly-
wood and cab drivers. Expir-
ing is a 25 percent tax credit
that in 2013 allowed produc-
ers to forego paying $61 mil-
lion in state taxes. It’s being
replaced in 2015 by a grant
program for video produc-
tions capped at $10 million.
In Virginia, drivers can
expect to see a 5 cents-per-
gallon increase in the cost of
gas, while Maryland’s gas tax
is set to rise about 3.5 cents.
In Mississippi, totally dis-
abled veterans and their sur-
viving spouses who have not
remarried would not have to
pay property taxes on their
primary residence.
WAGES
The minimum wage goes
up Thursday in several states,
including Arkansas, Connecti-
cut, Florida, Ohio, Maryland,
Massachusetts and Rhode Is-
land. A wage increase in New
York takes effect Wednesday.
In addition, troopers in Okla-
in seven years.
WEAPONS
In Pennsylvania on Jan.
5, a law takes effect that’s
designed to give the Nation-
gun owner, a better chance
at successfully challenging
court. In general, Pennsyl-
vania bars its municipalities
-
nances that are stronger than
state law. But the NRA has
complained that dozens of
local ordinances go unchal-
lenged in Pennsylvania courts
by residents who can prove it
harmed them.
In California, law enforce-
ment agencies are required
to develop policies that en-
the state’s database of gun
purchases as part of routine
welfare checks. The bill was
prompted by sheriff’s dep-
uties’ failure to detect the
danger posed by a man who
weeks later embarked on a
deadly rampage in May near
the University of California,
Santa Barbara.