Conduct, drive
the trolley
Loggers head
to state
NORTH COAST • 3A
SPORTS • 4A
MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015
142nd YEAR, No. 174
ONE DOLLAR
Veteran surprised with long lost honor
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for a 1948 rescue while in the Coast Guard
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Albert Morris receives applause during a ceremony at Clatsop Post 12
American Legion. During the ceremony, Morris was presented with a
copy of the original citation of Morris’ 1949 Silver Lifesaving Medal, as
well as a replica of the legion’s Gold Medal of Valor. Morris received
the Medal from Baltimore Post 27 in 1949.
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Coast Guard Cutter Balsam in 1948
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Neptune off the coast of Washington
state. Braving rough seas and raging
wind, Morris and another guardsman
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some of the 11 crewmen from the tug
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At one point, Morris jumped into
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greatest generation and one of our fel-
low Coast Guardsmen and a true Coast
Guard hero,” said retired Coast Guard
Vice Admiral Ray Riutta, who present-
awarded Morris the Silver Lifesaving ed Morris the long lost decoration with
Medal — the guard’s second-class hon- Capt. Daniel Travers, the commander
or for heroic rescues — in 1949 for his RI 6HFWRU &ROXPELD 5LYHU DQG &DSW
“outstanding courage, initiative, and Sean MacKenzie, the deputy com-
mander.
unwavering devotion to duty.”
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But the medal and citation, along
with other honors Morris had earned, recreated, MacKenzie said the Coast
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National Archives.
thought they were lost forever.
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On Saturday afternoon at Clatsop
Post 12 American Legion, the Coast the American Legion post, also present-
Guard and Morris’ friends from the ed Morris with a replica of the legion’s
legendary Salvage Chief — where he Gold Medal of Valor, which Morris had
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surprised him with a copy of the origi- 1949.
The ceremony was the highlight of a
nal citation.
“It is our great honor to present reunion for former crew of the Salvage
this to you, an award that you earned
See HONOR, Page 10A
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Oscar B
Packed to the gills with poets is here
Salty wordsmiths
wash up in Astoria
to stay
for FisherPoets
New, larger ferry
slipped into its
new home Friday
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
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Sunday at the Astoria Event Center.
More than 80 of them had traveled to
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for the 18th annual FisherPoets, a cel-
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stories.
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man, part of a core group of vol-
unteers organizing the FisherPoets
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and we sure appreciate it when every-
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how people enjoy this.”
FisherPoets venues across down-
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Friday and Saturday.
Most of the FisherPoets came from
the West Coast, including 29 from
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each traveled from Idaho, Hawaii, Ar-
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Island and Florida. The honor of this
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a festival that last year attracted two
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community here and FisherPoets,”
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commute and 10 hours time differ-
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
FisherPoet Dave Densmore, of Astoria, reads a poem chastising young, cocky, fishermen during a per-
formance at Astoria Event Center Saturday. View more photos online at www.dailyastorian.com
MORE INSIDE
Read about an Astorian
who opened his West Coast
combination boat for tours
on Page 10A.
ence for the reunion. “It’s just some-
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and see all my friends and hear their
stories, and their poems and songs.
And I can relate to them so much. It’s
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a salmon that has found my stream.”
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JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
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Jen Pickett, of Jyväskylä, Suomi, performs spoken word poetry at
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See FISHERPOETS, Page
the Astoria Event Center Saturday. Behind her, ASL interpreter Judi
Webb, of Portland, translates Pickett’s poem.
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Puget Island, Wash., and Westport,
where it will serve as the last ferry on
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On Friday morning, the Oscar B
reached its destination.
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who is planning to retire at the end
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his county.
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Bergseng, made it to Puget Island at
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north of Seattle, where it was construct-
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of Freeland, Wash. A captain drove it
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Friday.
“The phrase I have used is ‘we
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ties’,” Ringen said. “It’s a good feeling.
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While awaiting the Oscar B’s arriv-
al, Legacy Contracting Inc. of Salem
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ings on each side of the river in West-
port and Puget Island.
See OSCAR B, Page 10A
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Cannon Beach
hires new
emergency
consultant
CANNON BEACH — The
city of Cannon Beach has hired
its new emergency preparedness
consultant.
Stacy Burr, a Eugene resi-
dent and the owner of Stacy M.
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over the part-time position Jan.
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in fall 2013.
She will advise city manag-
ers, the emergency prepared-
ness committee and the prede-
ployment container committee
Submitted
— which manages the tsunami
storage container program
— on how to strengthen and
expand their efforts to protect
Cannon Beach’s residents and
visitors during emergencies,
Stacy Burr, of Eugene, is
the new emergency pre-
paredness coordinator for
Cannon Beach.
especially natural disasters.
Her duties will include up-
dating the city’s “incident action
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emergencies; conducting on-
site Incident Command System
training; developing Cannon
Beach’s Community Emergen-
cy Response Team (CERT); and
pursuing federal Department of
Homeland Security grants for
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infrastructure, City Manager
Brant Kucera said.
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emergency systems up to the
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inforce the places where we are
currently strong,” said Paula
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gency preparedness committee.
“We’re really excited to have
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Cascadia
Though Burr will cover the
gamut of potential catastrophes,
the long-anticipated Cascadia
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and tsunami is her top priority.
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cy we could have to face,” said
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the emergency preparedness
committee. “And we have no
idea, of course, when that’s go-
ing to happen.”
When it does happen, the
city will need to create shelters,
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up sanitation, provide medical
care, do crowd control — all re-
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Burr will help the emergency
preparedness committee attract
more people to serve during an
emergency, Mushen said.
See BURR, Page 10A