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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 Steadfast: Bolanos is the ship’s fourth commander since April Continued from Page 1A Back from patrol Line crews help moor the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast to the docks Monday. The Steadfast, a 47-year- old, 210-foot medium en- durance cutter, spends its deployments along the West Coast conducting search and rescue, marine environmen- tal response, recreational boating safety, port safety, security and law enforcement missions. Law enforcement includes interdicting drug traf¿cNers and migrants, pre- venting marine pollution, pro- tecting marine sanctuaries and enforcing ¿shery rules. $storia¶s cutters ¿t into the Coast Guard’s Western Hemi- sphere Strategy, a document released a year ago that details the Coast Guard’s strategy to protect the U.S. and secure its southern borders by com- bating transnational crime networNs and safeguarding commerce. The cutter also spent much of its deployment training, said operations of¿cer Lt. Jonathan Wolstenholme, be- cause slightly more than half the crew was new. A major training piece, he added, was aviation standardization to maNe sure helicopters Nnow how to land on the ship. When the Steadfast came in Monday, it did so with the assistance of a tug boat. Wol- stenholme said the ship was dealing with some “mechani- cal casualties.” The cutter will spend a couple of months in port for maintenance, Wol- stenholme said, before head- ing bacN out on deployment. Changes of command Bolanos is technically the Steadfast’s fourth commander since April. Cmdr. John Bitterman tooN command of the Steadfast in July 2014. He was temporar- ily relieved of his command shortly before the Steadfast’s most recent deployment in April. The reason given by Pacif- ic Area Command was a loss of con¿dence in his abilities to lead, although no further explanation was given. Darrin Gibbons, Bitterman ’s attor- ney at the time, said the oust- ed commander had identi¿ed problems on the vessel such as lead contamination, poor decNing and moldy mattress- es, and was being retaliated against for whistleblowing. Cmdr. John Pruitt of the Coast Guard’s Motion Pic- ture Television 2f¿ce in Los Angeles originally tooN over temporary command of the Steadfast from Bitterman. Early on in the patrol, Wol- stenholme said, Walsh tooN over for Pruitt, who had to go bacN to his other job advising on an upcoming movie about the Coast Guard. Bitterman was permanent- ly removed from his post over the summer, but still worNs for the Coast Guard at Sector Columbia River in Warrenton. The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stead- fast stand at attention during the change of command ceremony aboard the ship. Photos by Joshua Bessex The Daily Astorian The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast approaches Astoria while being assisted by the PJ Brix tugboat Monday. Housing: City does not have many large tracts suitable for new housing Continued from Page 1A consider property tax exemp- tions, government or private grants, tax credits, or an equity fund as incentives to help ¿- nance new or rehabilitated hous- ing projects. At a special session Monday night, the City Council heard from low-income housing ex- perts and builders who recom- mended that the city explore smaller rehabilitation options rather than wait for large proj- ects to solve the housing short- age. “Don’t just focus on the big, splashy sorts of things,” said Jim Tierney, the executive di- rector of the Community Action Team, a St. Helens-based non- pro¿t that worNs on anti-pover- ty issues in Clatsop, Columbia and TillamooN counties. “Try and ¿nd how you can do housing rehabilitation, how you can do sweat equity.” The affordable housing study de¿ned affordability as house- holds that pay no more than 30 percent of annual income on housing. According to the study, 30 percent of homeowners and 45.6 percent of renters were over that threshold in 2013. Since the recession, as the economy has improved and tourism has Àourished, many low- to middle-income worN- ers have complained about the dif¿culty of ¿nding housing in Astoria. WorNing families, in particular, are moving to Warrenton and Hammond, where school enrollment has increased, while Astoria enroll- ment has declined. The city’s cultural rebirth has also attracted retirees and urban transplants with the ¿nan- cial means to buy and renovate houses that are comparatively cheaper than in marNets such as Portland and Seattle. The city does not have many large tracts suitable for new housing, so projects will liNely be scattered in different pocNets with redevelopment potential. LaMear and the councilors discussed creating an afford- able housing tasN force, but opted to wait for the data from the vacant housing inventory and other information before deciding how the City Council will proceed. “, thinN it’s a matter, part- ly, of information but partly of political will,” City Councilor Drew Herzig said. HEALTH N OTIFIC ATIO N Are Y o u Ha rd o f Hea rin g ? A m ajor n am e bran d h earin g aid provider w ish es to field test a rem ark able n ew digital h earin g in stru m en t in th e area. Th is offer is free of ch arge an d you are u n der n o obligation . Th ese revolu tion ary 100% D igital in stru m en ts u se th e latest tech n ology to com fortably an d alm ost in visibly h elp you h ear m ore clearly. Th is tech n olog y solves th e “stopped u p ears” an d “h ead in a barrel” sen sation som e people experien ce. If you w ish to participate, you w ill be requ ired to h ave you r h earin g tested in ou r office FREE O F C H A RG E to determ in e can didacy an d review you r resu lts w ith th e h earin g in stru m en ts w ith ou r h earin g care speci alist. A t th e en d of th is evalu ation , you m ay k eep you r in stru m en t, if you so desire, at a trem en dou s savin g for participatin g in th is field test. Special testin g w ill be don e to determ in e th e in creased ben efits o f th is tech n ology. Ben efits of h earin g aids vary by type an d degree of h earin g loss, n oise en viron m en t, accu racy of h ea rin g test, an d proper fit. Th is is a w on derfu l opportu n ity to determ in e if h earin g h elp is available for you r h eari n g loss an d get h earin g h elp at a very affordable price. CA LL N O W IF Y O U W ISH TO BE IN CLU D ED IN TH IS FIELD TEST THIS W EEK O N LY N OW Thro ug h Frid a y, Sep tem b er 25 , 2015 Ca ll to d a y to m a ke yo u r reserva tio n fo r a Hea rin g Aid Field Test M ira cle-Ea r C en ter Yo u n g s Ba y Pla za 173 S . Hw y 101 W a rren to n , O R 97146 (503) 836-7921 w w w .m ira cle-ea r-w a rren to n .co m M ira cle- Ea r C en ter 2505 M a in Ave N , S u ite C Tilla m o o k, O R 97141 (503) 836-7926 w w w .m ira cle-ea r-tilla m o o k.co m Sin ce 1990 the M ira cle-E a r F ou n d a tion (™) ha s been provid in g hea rin g a id s, follow -u p ca re, a n d ed u ca tion a l resou rces to people w ith hea rin g loss w ho d em on stra te person a l in a bility to fin a n cia lly provid e for their hea rin g hea lth n eed s. W e d o this beca u se w e believe everyon e in ou r com m u n ity d eserves q u a lity hea rin g in stru m en ts. Specia l N otice Sta te Em ployees Y ou m a y qu a lify for a hea rin g a id ben efit u p to $4,000 every 4 yea rs. Ca ll for eligibility sta tu s.