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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 2015)
FisherPoets on the line Tyson Burnard is Player of the Year COAST WEEKEND SPORTS • PAGE 7A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 142nd YEAR, No. 172 At Bear Creek Dam, A SHIFT IN POWER Water rates could drop EHFDXVHRI new turbine ONE DOLLAR Betsy’s 26 bills State senator tackles Hanthorn Cannery lease, levee bills, more By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian C RD[LQJ PRUH YDOXH IURP the Bear Creek watershed, $VWRULD KDV D QHZ K\GUR electric turbine that will power its water treatment plant and generate excess electricity that can be sold WR 3DFL¿&RUS DQ LQYHVWPHQW WKDW FRXOG SRWHQWLDOO\ VDYH ZDWHU UDWH payers money. 7KH SURMHFW IL QDQFHGE\JUDQWVLVWKHODWHVWFUH DWLYHPRYHWRKDUQHVVWKH acre watershed that is the source RI $VWRULD¶V GULQNLQJ ZDWHU 7KH FLW\KDVDOVRDJUHHGQRWWRDJJUHV VLYHO\ KDUYHVW WLPEHU LQ WKH ZD WHUVKHGLQUHWXUQIRUFDUERQFUHG LWVWKDWFRXOGEULQJLQVL[ILJXUHV annually over the next decade and play a small role against climate change. 7KH QHZ K\GURHOHFWULF JHQHU ator, which will be dedicated at a ceremony at Bear Creek Dam 0RQGD\ DIWHUQRRQ ZLOO SURGXFH enough electricity to erase the $9,000 a year the city is spending WR SRZHU WKH ZDWHU WUHDWPHQW V\V tem along with excess power worth an estimated $2,200 a year. ³:H¶UHORRNLQJDWZD\VWRZLVH ly use the city’s resources,” said Ken Cook, the city’s Public Works GLUHFWRU³:DWHUÀRZVLQWKDWSLSH to town 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. ³,WKDVHQRXJKRIZKDWWKH\FDOO µKHDG¶ WKDW WKH KHLJKW LV ULJKW IRU taking that power that’s just wasted DQGPDNLQJXVHRILW´ 7KH NLORZDWW JHQHUDWRU LV ORFDWHG DW WKH EDVH RI %HDU &UHHN 'DPHDVWRIWKHFLW\QHDU6YHQVHQ and is expected to produce about NLORZDWWKRXUVRIHOHFWULF Photos by JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian LW\D\HDU7KHZDWHUWUHDWPHQWV\V tem uses about 90,000 to 100,000 The vault containing the hydroelectric turbine is seen from the top of the Bear Creek Dam Tuesday. The kwh annually, according to the city, turbine will harness water flowing from the dam to generate electricity to power the water treatment leaving about 50,000 to 60,000 plant, plus excess to sell to PacifiCorp. NZKOHIWRYHUIRUVDOHWR3DFL¿&RUS WKURXJKZKDWLVNQRZQDVQHWPH tering. 7KLUW\NLORZDWWVLVHQRXJKSRZ PacificCorp’s Nick Graiff walks by a HU WR SURYLGH HOHFWULFLW\ IRU DERXW series of power conversion units and 16 homes, so the new turbine is inverters at the top of Bear Creek Dam. considered small. Alternating current from the turbine “It’s utilizing a resource that’s is converted into direct current in the EHHQWKHUHIRU\HDUVDQG\HDUVDQG power conversion units below, before years but has just not been tapped,” passing through the inverters above, Cook said. which converts it back to a usable alter- The city had studied both wind nating current. DQG K\GURHOHFWULF SRZHU IRU WKH %HDU &UHHN ZDWHUVKHG EXW IRXQG that wind is not practical because See DAM, Page 12A State Sen. Betsy Johnson, '6FDSSRRVH LV D FKLHI VSRQVRU RQ 26 bills in the Oregon Legislature. 6HYHUDO GLUHFWO\ DIIHFW WKH 2UHJRQ Coast in a big way; and several are RQEHKDOIRIKHU1RUWK&RDVWFRQVWLW uents. Senate Bill 306 may have WKH ELJJHVW LP pact here. It would permit WKH 2UHJRQ ,Q IUDVWUXFWXUH )L QDQFH $XWKRU ity to provide ¿QDQFLDO DVVLV State Sen. WDQFH IRU OHYHH Betsy Johnson projects that contribute to LPSURYHPHQWH[SDQVLRQRUUHSDLURI LQIUDVWUXFWXUHV\VWHPVDQGDUHHVVHQ WLDOIRUXVHRUGHYHORSPHQWRIIDUP industrial or commercial land. ³7KLV LV DQ HFRQRPLF GHYHORS ment bill,” Johnson said. “I can’t sell P\KRXVHLI,OLYHEHKLQGDQXQFHUWL ¿HGGLNH´ See BETSY, Page 12A FBI, IRS join in Kitzhaber clamor 3257/$1'$3²7KHGLUHFWRU RIWKH2UHJRQVWDWH'HSDUWPHQWRI$G PLQLVWUDWLYH6HUYLFHVVD\VKHZDVTXHV WLRQHGWZRZHHNVDJRE\DJHQWVIURP WKH)%,DQGWKH,56LQDIHGHUDOLQYHV WLJDWLRQRIIRUPHU*RY-RKQ.LW]KDEHU DQGKLV¿DQFpH&\OYLD+D\HV Michael Jordan also disclosed Wednesday in an interview with The Oregonian that state technicians went through WKH RI¿FHV RI WKH JRYHU QRU DIWHU .DWH Brown took RI¿FH WR JDWK er computers DQG RWKHU HOHF tronics used by Kitzhaber VWDIIHUV -RUGDQ says they told John A. Kitzhaber him they did so DIWHU GLVFXVVLRQV ZLWK WKH RI¿FH RI U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. 0DUVKDOO¶V RI¿FH GLGQ¶W UHWXUQ D call seeking comment, and Brown’s RI¿FHGHFOLQHGFRPPHQWWKHQHZV paper reported. See KITZHABER, Page 12A Coast Guard Cutter Alert rescues sea turtles The two were tangled in nets, plastic bottles The Daily Astorian Two sea turtles caught in ¿VKLQJ QHW ZHUH IUHHG HDUOLHU this month by a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The Alert, a Coast Guard cutter homeported in Astoria, encountered the struggling turtles while on patrol Feb. LQ WKH HDVWHUQ 3DFL¿F DF FRUGLQJ WR D VWDWHPHQW IURP the guard. The cutter’s bridge watch WHDP ÀDJJHG SODVWLF FRQWDLQ HUV XVHG DV EXR\V ÀRDWLQJ LQ the water and then saw the Submitted photos Alert’s crew maneuvers closer while attempting to snag the nets entangling two sea turtles with a pole to keep the turtles in place. two entangled turtles. “Jumping into the ocean to IUHHDFRXSOHRIVHDWXUWOHVLV not something you wake up in the morning expecting to do” Seaman Brandon Groshens, Pendleton, said in a statement. ³,W ZDV D UHDOO\ JUHDW IHHOLQJ as they swam away, knowing that we just saved their lives.” &RPPDQGHU %ULDQ $QGHU son, the Alert’s commanding RI¿FHUVDLGKHZDV³HVSHFLDO O\SURXGRIP\GLOLJHQWZDWFK standers, and how the crew TXLFNO\FDPHWRJHWKHULQSHU IRUPLQJ WKHLU JRRG GHHG IRU the day.” Seaman Brandon Groshens of the Coast Guard cutter Alert, evaluates which line to cut to free the second of a pair of sea turtles tangled in plastic con- tainers.