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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 Carbon: Part of revenue would Scam: 290,000 go into capital improvement fund scam calls have been reported Continued from Page 1A But the city harvests about 750,000 board feet of timber a year. Last year, the harvest was larger — just under 850,000 board feet — and the city netted about $350,000 for the capital im- provement fund. Revenue from the car- bon credits would also go into the capital improvement fund. “The harvest level that we’re able to do annually under this program is no dif- ferent than what we’ve been doing,” said Ken Cook, As- toria Public Works director. “So this is not crimping our style necessarily. The level we’ve been harvesting en- sures that the water quality is not harmed.” Continued from Page 1A JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Hemlock grows in a area of the watershed blown down during the 2007 storm. The hem- lock was planted in 2009. Pantry: 32 people showed up asking for food for each of their families Continued from Page 1A As the pantry’s opening drew near, the pantry volun- teers told their customers of the impending transition. Still, the volunteers always knew there was a chance that some- thing would go wrong. The numbers spoke for themselves: 32 customers, each representing his or her own household showed up, requesting food for a total of 121 people (the all-time record is slightly more than 130), ac- cording to Molly Edison, the pantry manager. The largest order went to eight adults and three children. The previous week, it was 21 households requesting food for 97 people. Before that, it was 19 households requesting food for 76 customers. it like any other shopping trip. “We just have fun.” The pantry, which is open 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, doesn’t necessarily provide enough food to last their customers for an entire week, “but it gives them a good start,” Wood said. ‘Thrilled’ ERICK BENGEL —EO Media Group Judy Wood, a pantry volunteer, grabs some canned goods to fill out a customer’s order. Each pantry volunteer man- ages a specific section of the packing room. teer, said. “They usually wait until they’re very hungry to come.” Upon arriving, each cus- WRPHU¿OOVRXWDVKRSSLQJOLVW which often includes items for Loading up health and hygiene. An order “We always get hit hard and packed with wheat crackers, KHDY\ LQ WKH ¿UVW KDOI KRXU´ peanut butter and frozen green Judy Mace, a volunteer, said. beans may also contain dog But, nearly an hour into their food, diapers and detergent. work, the customers just kept Every order — replete with streaming in, Nancy Littell, a groceries donated from Costco volunteer, observed. and community members, or Though relieved that most purchased through the Clatsop FXVWRPHUVKDGQRWURXEOH¿QG- Community Action Region- ing the pantry, one distressing al Food Bank — comes with detail stood out: Three new beans and rice. Generally, cus- families had placed orders. tomers wait no longer than 20 “Usually, when they’re minutes for their order, Wood new, they’re more desperate, said. so we load them up (with gro- While the volunteers, ever ceries),” Barb Knop, a volun- quick on their feet, loaded up tubs with everything from eggs and butter to toothpaste and toilet paper, the customers, some with walkers or power- chairs, scanned tables overrun with loafs of bread and fresh fruits and vegetables, depos- iting a few into the bags and boxes they brought with them. Meanwhile, volunteer Me- lissa Corwin, the “kid lady,” played in the corner with the children, who occupied them- selves with Legos and coloring books. Asked if any of the chil- dren, who normally range from 2 to 10 years old, can concep- tualize what the pantry is all about, and why their mom or dad goes there every week, she said, “I have no idea. They just come and play,” adding that they probably experience In their larger, roomier 1,710-square-foot oceanview home — which Pastor Da- vid Robinson, of the Cannon Beach Community Church, blessed shortly before custom- ers started showing up — the volunteers noticed that “We’re walking a lot more,” Knop said, smiling. “Which is good,” Wood added. But what really matters, volunteer Susan Martin said, is what the customers think. “They’re thrilled,” said Edison, adding that she didn’t hear any criticism. (For rea- VRQVRIFRQ¿GHQWLDOLW\WKLVUH- porter wasn’t able to interview customers.) That the pantry — which operates “like a little family,” Duncan Fenison, a 14-year- old volunteer, said — needs to exist at all in response to local hunger needs, however, can be painful to dwell on. “It breaks my heart,” Rockne Wickham, a volunteer, said. “I wish there (were) more jobs for people. Hopefully, the recovery keeps on going.” ing a debt, even when they really do owe money. contact the elderly, recent ³7KH ¿UVW ,56 FRQWDFW immigrants, and those with taxpayers is usually who are not native English through the mail. Taxpay- speakers. Some callers ers have rights, and this is threaten their targets with not how we do business,” serious consequences such Koskinen said. as arrest, deportation or Nonetheless, these calls license suspension if they can be surprisingly con- don’t immediately send vincing, because the scams cash or prepaid debit cards have gotten quite sophis- to cover a debt, while oth- ticated. According to the ers tell the target that they press release, “Scammers have a refund coming, and are able to alter caller ID try to trick them into pro- numbers to make it look YLGLQJSULYDWH¿QDQFLDOLQ- like the IRS is calling. formation. They use fake names and Since October 2013, the bogus IRS badge numbers. Treasury Inspector Gener- They often leave ‘urgent’ al for Tax Administration callback requests.” The (TIGTA) has received re- callers may even know a ports of roughly 290,000 lot about their intended of these scam calls. They victims. estimate that about 3,000 According to the IRS, victims have collectively there are several tell-tale paid over $14 million as a signs that a caller may be result of the scam. a con artist: In late 2014, a local • Scammers demand couple told the Chinook immediate payment, but Observer about an alarm- the IRS provides oppor- ing exchange with a man tunities to discuss the who demanded money DPRXQW RI WKH GHEW RU ¿OH for a nonexistent tax debt an appeal. — they did not pay, and • Real IRS workers reported the incident to QHYHU GHPDQG D VSHFL¿F the police. But another payment method, such as local couple was not so a prepaid calling card, and lucky. Tuesday morning, they never ask for debit or a spokesperson for the credit card numbers over Long Beach (Wash.) Po- the phone. lice Department said that • Scammers often a woman visited to the po- threaten to call the police OLFHVWDWLRQWRZDUQRI¿FHUV or make an arrest. The IRS about the scam. When a does not send local law man claiming to work for enforcement to handle tax the Treasury threatened issues. her with legal consequenc- What to do: es, she rushed to purchase • If you know you owe $5,000 in prepaid debit cards and read the card taxes or think you might numbers to the man over owe, call the IRS at 800- the phone. The represen- 829-1040. The IRS work- tative said this incident ers can help you with a shows just how convinc- payment issue. • If you know you don’t ing these criminals can be, because the victim was a owe taxes or have no rea- well-educated woman who son to believe that you do, was quite savvy in other report the incident to the regards. County dispatch- TIGTA at 800-366-4484 or ers’ call reports show that at www.tigta.gov. • If you’ve been tar- D KDQGIXO RI RWKHU 3DFL¿F County, Wash., residents geted by this scam, also received similar calls in contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their late 2014. In the press release, “FTC Complaint Assis- IRS Commissioner John tant” at FTC.gov. Please Koskinen said that federal add “IRS Telephone workers never try to shock Scam” to the comments of or scare citizens into pay- your complaint. Vision: ‘Why would you want to live anywhere else?’ Continued from Page 1A “I’m very happy with what has been com- piled,” Commissioner Sarah Nebeker said. “It sounds like a utopia. Why would you want to live anywhere else?” Clatsop Vision 2030 Together also identi- ¿HVFRPPXQLW\YDOXHVWRSURWHFWRYHUWLPH including the natural setting, quality of life, living wages jobs and accessible health care. The initiative’s mission states, in part,“To- gether, we ensure that Clatsop County will re- main our shared home — a special place where future generations grow together as we live, work, recreate, contribute and thrive.” Doug Zenn, of Zenn Associates, previously told the Board of Commissioners in a Septem- ber work session the single largest theme he heard from the public workshops was about the county’s natural setting, whether it be protect- LQJQDWXUHOHYHUDJLQJLW¿QDQFLDOO\RUXVLQJLW for tourism and employment. “Natural setting — that is probably the sin- gle biggest theme that we heard from the com- munity process in some manner,” Zenn said at the time. “It was by far the most frequent thing we heard.” Zenn Associates made at total of 13 trips to Clatsop County over the past year. The firm has completed similar vision projects in Hillsboro, Tualatin and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. County Manager Scott Somers said the next step is for staff to bring back an imple- mentation plan for Clatsop Vision 2030 To- gether. Somers expects staff to have a plan ready by the Board of Commissioners’ annual retreat planned this spring. No date has been set. “I would anticipate probably March, maybe February, maybe somewhere around the board retreat might be a time to present an implemen- tation plan,” Somers said. The implementation plan would potentially include involvement from groups such as the local chamber of commerces, arts council and Rotary clubs. Commission Chairman Scott Lee encour- ages the community to view more information about the initiative online at www.2030togeth- er.com Daily Astorian file The once-proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas terminal site hugs the Columbia River near Georgia Pacif- ic’s Wauna Mill, background, in a photo from 2007. When putting together the fi- nal draft of Clatsop Vision 2030 Together, Portland-based consultant Doug Zenn, of Zenn Associates, said the largest theme to come out of the public workshops held throughout the county was natural setting, whether it be protecting nature or leverag- ing it financially. Daily Astorian file Frank Bernards, of Roy, taps his shovel handle on the ground while hunting for razor clams at low tide on Indian Beach in Ecola State Park last summer. One of the six focus areas of Clatsop Vision 2030 Together is environment, natural resources and recreation. ³$WWKHERDUGUHWUHDWZHZLOOGH¿QLWHO\WDON principles and instructions associated with about Clatsop Vision 2030 Together and im- the county’s preparation of its annual bud- plementation and ways to move forward,” Lee get. The board approved it unanimously. • The commissioners approved an in- said. crease to the vaccine administration fee In other business: to better recover the costs involved. • The Board of Commissioners agreed to The county recently contracted change its meeting times and hold both of its with insurance companies to pay monthly meetings at 6 p.m Wednesday. Previ- a set vaccine administration fee of RXVO\WKH¿UVWPHHWLQJRIWKHPRQWKZDVKHOG $54.77 for the initial vaccine and at 10 a.m. $14.19 for each subsequent vac- • Association of Oregon Counties Execu- cine given at the same time. The tive Director Mike McArthur offered to have contract would result in full cost WKH$2&DVVLVWWKHFRXQW\LQ¿QGLQJD¿UPWR recovery. The current administra- conduct a 360 performance review of County tion fee of $21.96 for the initial Manager Scott Somers, which Somers request- vaccine is half of what it costs to ed at the last meeting. The commissioners will administer vaccines. set a workshop next month with AOC to dis- • The Board of Commissioners cuss the matter further. directed the newly formed ad hoc Wet- • Budget Director Monica Steele asked lands Advisory Committee to address Arch the Board of Commissioners to consid- Cape-Cove Beach Local Wetland and Riparian er and adopt the county’s 2015-16 budget Corridor inventories. The inventory informa- policies and strategic plan/budget reduc- tion was completed in 2011, but has not been tion strategy. The policies establish guiding adopted by the board. Zenn Associates graphic