8A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
CHIEFS: Clatsop County police
departments participate in talk
Continued from Page 1A
“Cops and Community:
A Local Perspective,” a dis-
cussion Thursday night at the
Judge Guy Boyington Build-
ing in Astoria, featured a panel
of local police chiefs: Cannon
Beach’s Jason Schermerhorn,
Seaside’s Dave Ham, Warren-
ton’s Matt Workman and Asto-
ria’s Brad Johnston.
Astoria City Councilor
Drew Herzig moderated the
discussion, asking the chiefs
to talk about “community po-
licing” and what programs or
policies they’ve implemented
to improve interactions with
the community. He asked them
to describe the challenges they
face in their distinct communi-
ties.
Though Clatsop County
police departments have not
recently been involved in any
racially-charged cases like the
KLJKSUR¿OH RQHV VHHQ HOVH-
where in the nation, this sum-
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FHU ¿OHG D FRPSODLQW DJDLQVW
Clatskanie police chief Marvin
Hoover after Hoover allegedly
made racist statements while
being debriefed on the arrest of
woman who had said she was
being discriminated against.
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Hoover — who has since re-
tired — compared black peo-
ple to monkeys, sang “Dixie”
and made monkey noises.
This incident and other
more distant events reverberat-
ed in the questions members of
the audience asked Thursday
night.
WIND: ‘Project located
directly in prime shrimp
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Continued from Page 1A
“It doesn’t sound like
there’s room for discussion
at this point,” Chambers said.
“That may change. But at this
point, it sounds like we have
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Katie Wilson/The Daily Astorian
Audience members including Andrew Marshall, left, Glad-
ys Klingerman, center, and David Klingerman, right, lis-
ten during the beginning of the Lower Columbia Diversity
Project’s “Cops and Community: A Local Perspective”
discussion.
makes for good police work
evolves, however, they have
changed how they interview
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Ham said. His department, as
well as the other departments,
now try to zero in on a can-
didate’s core, asking how a
candidate makes ethical deci-
sions and examples of when
the candidate has made such
decisions.
The answers, Ham said, are
deeply revealing.
In some cases, based on
these answers, they haven’t
hired someone who, other-
wise, earned high scores on the
other tests the departments use
to single out strong candidates,
tests the departments used to
rely on heavily.
And though diversity train-
ing is important, Johnston and
Workman pointed out that, as
social concerns go, the ques-
tion of how to best deal with
mental health issues tops the
list here, not racism. There are
next to no beds available for
people who are experiencing
a mental health crisis and need
a safe place to go, the chiefs
said. There are few local re-
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tap when they have questions
or concerns while out policing
or when emergency situations
arise.
getting out into the neighbor-
hoods, getting to know people,
being a trusted member of the
community.
Many times it is about
forging partnerships with oth-
er groups or agencies that are
better equipped to deal with
the underlying issues like men-
tal illness, substance abuse and
family strife, the chiefs said.
While local police might be
WKHRQHVZKRUHVSRQG¿UVWWRD
domestic violence call, strong
partnerships with The Harbor,
an organization that helps vic-
tims of domestic violence and
sexual abuse, mean advocates
trained to get victims the legal
help and personal counseling
they need are often present,
too.
“In small cities like these,
you really have to rely on one
another and we currently do
every day of the week,” Scher-
merhorn said.
Diversity
Clatsop County law en-
Astoria residents Andrew
forcement is in a good place in
Marshall and Gladys Klinger-
many ways, the chiefs said.
man, the only two people of
“We do a have these – de-
color present at the talk, asked
cades-long in some places —
about the level of diversity
connections with our commu-
at the various police depart-
nity,” Johnston said.
ments. The chiefs admitted
But challenges remain. All
that none of their departments
the police departments are
are particularly diverse. In all
small and many struggle for
the departments combined,
adequate funding. In recent
there are only a handful of
years, most have had to drop
women, Hispanic or Latino of-
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Community policing
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sition, losing out on those face-
Community policing is not to-face opportunities with kids
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Marshall, who has lived in a new concept on the coast, in the schools.
the area since the late 1970s, said Schermerhorn. It is some-
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pointed out that the county’s thing all the departments cur- up in the middle of what
demographics are changing rently do, and have done for has likely been a long-term
rapidly. He and Klingerman some time, to varying extents. problem. By forging strong
asked about ongoing diversity This work goes beyond simply relationships with communi-
training at the departments.
keeping the peace. It can look ty partners, police can be in-
The chiefs said diversity in like funding a school resource strumental in solving some of
their departments remains a RI¿FHU ZKR VSHQGV KLV RU KHU these long-term problems, but
challenge. In small, rural de- time working with students; ultimately, the chiefs said, this
partments where there are few it can look like holding com- is the community’s work.
chances for promotion, it can munity picnics, giving neigh-
These days, Johnston said,
be hard to attract a wide range borhood residents a chance police have to be everything to
of good candidates, they said.
to voice concerns in an infor- all people. But often, he added,
$V WKH GH¿QLWLRQ RI ZKDW mal setting. It often looks like “We’re just Band-Aids.”
Annual
Located in prime
sKrimp and rocN¿sK
areas
In written testimony on the
ELOOWRIXQG:LQG)ORDW3DFL¿F
earlier this year, the Southern
Oregon Ocean Resource Co-
alition said Principle Pow-
er initially worked with the
¿VKLQJ LQGXVWU\ WR LGHQWLI\ D
location for the wind project.
After the company received
federal preliminary approval
for a larger footprint, Princi-
ple Power moved the project
site north within that area.
“The project is now locat-
ed directly in prime shrimp
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utilized by several small busi-
nesses in Charleston,” the
coalition wrote. “This action
GLVSODFHV WUDGLWLRQDO ¿VKHU-
men.” The project could also
take over some of the area
XVHGE\D¿VKLQJÀHHWZKRVH
members are based in New-
port, Astoria and Seattle.
The pilot project was
originally supposed to gen-
erate 30 megawatts of pow-
er, enough to serve 7,000 to
8,000 homes, according to
news reports. However, Prin-
ciple Power decided over the
summer to downscale the
project to at most 24 mega-
watts.
Under the terms of a $46.7
million grant from the U.S.
Department of Energy, Prin-
ciple Power was supposed
to have longterm agreements
from Oregon utilities to pur-
chase power from the project
by July, company vice pres-
ident Kevin Banister said
during a legislative hearing in
April. However, Banister said
IHGHUDO HQHUJ\ RI¿FLDOV UHF-
ognized the timeline was ag-
House Bill 2216, sponsored
by Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Co-
os Bay, and Rep. Caddy
McKeown, D-Coos Bay, was
in the Legislature earlier this
year, Chambers heard the
tariff to subsidize the Wind-
Float project might have
added as little as 35 cents a
month to a residential rate-
payer’s monthly bill. The
cost
would
µ7KinNing oI tKe ¿sKing
be
more
of an
Àeets¶
issue for busi-
State
Rep.
David
nesses that use
Gomberg, D-Otis, attended
large amounts
part of the committee meet-
of power.
Mike
ing at the Oregon Department
One way
Weston
of Transportation building in
Principle
Salem.
Power could
“As we explore these new try to sweeten the deal in
opportunities, we need to Johnson’s district would be
make sure we’re doing what to handle part of the assem-
we can to explore existing bly for the project in her dis-
industries and minimizing trict, at the Port of Astoria.
Mike Weston, director of
SRWHQWLDO FRQÀLFWV WKHUH´
Gomberg said. “I’m thinking business development and
operations at the Port, said
RIWKH¿VKLQJÀHHWV´
Gomberg said the commit- Principle Power approached
tee did not discuss the impact WKH SRUW IRXU RU ¿YH PRQWKV
WR¿VKHUPHQZKLOHKHZDVDW ago to discuss possibly com-
SOHWLQJ ¿QDO DVVHPEO\ RI
the meeting.
The chairwoman of the the wind turbine structures
governor’s committee, Rep. in Astoria. The structures
Caddy McKeown, D-Coos would be too tall to assemble
Bay, did not respond to a re- in Coos Bay, because of the
quest for comment. Banister, bridge that crosses the bay.
the Principle Power executive “There’s no guarantee it’s
who is also a member of the going to happen,” Weston
committee, also did not re- said. “For us, it’s kind of
spond to a request for com- hypothetical at this point. It
seems like a great concept,
ment.
Sen. Betsy Johnson, though.”
It is unclear when the
D-Scappoose, is a member of
the committee committee will hold its next
and said basic meeting. Although Brown’s
questions re- RI¿FH LQLWLDOO\ SODQQHG WR
mained unan- keep the committee meet-
swered at the LQJV SULYDWH WKH ¿UVW PHHW-
ing was packed, with some
¿UVWPHHWLQJ
“If there’s people even sitting on the
Betsy
a power pur- ÀRRU 6SRNHVPDQ &KULV 3DLU
Johnson
chase agree- said last week that future
ment, the question still meetings will be open to the
remains: at what cost, to public.
whom?”
The Capital Bureau is a
Could tap Port of
collaboration
between EO
Astoria
Media Group and Pamplin
Chambers said when Media Group.
gressive and would allow the
company to retain the grant if
it could demonstrate in some
other way that Oregon is
willing to pay for the project.
Principle Power is working
on the Oregon project with
Deepwater Wind, the compa-
Q\EXLOGLQJWKH¿UVWRIIVKRUH
wind project in the nation off
the coast of Rhode Island.
Make a difference!
Hospice
volunteers
needed
In the absence of a cure,
care makes all the difference.
I NVITATIONAL
T OURNAMENT
Cla ts op D is trib u tin g Com pa n y held its a n n u a l Bu d w eis er
In vita tion a l Tou rn a m en t a t the As toria G olf a n d Cou n try
Clu b on S eptem b er 9, 2015. Eighty-eight golfers a n d
s pon s ors pla yed in the tou rn a m en t.
The golf tou rn am en t raised
$8,000 for local sp orts p rogram s
n ot fu n d ed b y school d istricts
The tourna m ent d irectors w ere L a rry Perkins , Fred Ha m el a nd Ronny W illia m s
Ja m es Fo lk — Low G ros s w ith a 70
Ro b ert Fu lto n /G en e S ta llin gs/Ha ro ld Rigga n ( 3-w ay tie) —
Low Net w ith a 64
Firs t place Team : Tim Rega n , Ro ss Kn u tsen ,
Ro n n y W illia m s a n d Da n n y Riser
T hank you to all our s pons ors :
• Ha yw a rd ’s O cea n Cres t
Chevrolet Ca d illa c
• Cla ts op Com m u n ity Ba n k
• A s toria G olf a n d Cou n try Clu b
• Va n Du s en Bevera g es
Special thanks to:
John K aw as oe
(Clu b Profes s ion a l) and
Dave L ebeck
(A s s t. Clu b Profes s ion a l)
CLATSOP
Volunteers hold a special place in
the hearts of our patients and their
families. Volunteers serve as
members of the Hospice Team in a
variety of ways including, respite
care, companionship, listening to
concerns and other loving acts.
Apply now to be a patient care
volunteer. Participation in a 25
hour training program is required.
Training Classes begin
November OE
Applications due by
October 2SE
Call Lower Columbia Hospice
at 503-338-6230 for more
information & an application.
DISTRIBUTING COMPANY
L OCALLY OWNED — L ARRY P ERKINS
1375 S E 12TH P LACE, W AR R ENTO N, O R • 503-861-4275
UI4U"TUPSJB0SFHPOttXXXDPMVNCJBNFNPSJBMPSH