The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, October 29, 2015, Image 10

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    10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
Challenge: ‘The process is the problem’
Continued from Page 1A
Marquis said, there is an issue
of victims’ rights. A victim is
not informed about the con-
sideration of earned discharge,
cannot give input into the pro-
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the district attorney.
“The real question is what
is the effect on the actual sen-
tence orders and on the actual
victims,” Marquis said.
Next month, the District
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issue before a court.
Chief Deputy District At-
torney Ron Brown recently
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earned discharge in three lo-
cal cases. The cases involved
people on probation for driv-
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ond-degree attempted assault
convictions.
Each case will be brought
before Clatsop County Cir-
cuit Court Judge Philip Nel-
son.
In the motions, Brown
argues, earned discharge is
unconstitutional because it
negates the court’s “inherent
discretion” over probation
sentences.
“It does not allow for in-
put either from the district
attorney or the court and
the ultimate decision-maker
is the supervisory authori-
ty,” Brown wrote. “It is our
position that such a mecha-
nism and ultimate decision
is unconstitutional since it
of the probation population
are eligible for earned dis-
charge, Hanthorn said, out of
the approximate 380 felony
offenders in the county.
“We are just carrying
out the law,” she said. “Any
Carrying out the law
changes to the law would
Lt. Kristen Hanthorn, who have to go through the Leg-
oversees the Clatsop County islature again.”
Parole and Probation Divi-
Marquis claims parole and
sion, said earned discharged SUREDWLRQRI¿FHVKDYHDQLQ-
was a decision made by the centive to reduce sentences
Legislature and is enforced since funding is provided by
by the state Department of the state even if a sentence is
Corrections. The state sends shortened.
reports with every offend-
In response, Hanthorn ex-
er who may be eligible for SODLQHGWKDWKHURI¿FH¶VEXG-
earned discharge. The parole get is based on the number of
DQG SUREDWLRQ RI¿FH UHYLHZV felony offenders and it does
the reports and makes a deci- receive funding for a whole
sion.
sentence, even if shortened.
Only a small percentage
The consistent funding
abrogates the court’s role in
making the ultimate decision
about length of probation,
purpose of probation and
whether to continue proba-
tion.”
was meant to not penalize the
SUREDWLRQRI¿FHIRUHIIHFWLYH-
ly serving people, she said.
In addition, Hanthorn
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paid much less for the re-
mainder of a sentence if it
is shortened. She insists the
motivation is not monetary.
“Everybody has their role
to play in the justice system,”
she said. “We are just playing
our role in the whole sys-
tem.”
Problem in the process
The earned discharge pro-
cess started a few months ago
as part of the state law.
Although he opposed it
from the beginning, Marquis
said, the law started out rea-
sonably by supporting people
for good behavior. The prob-
lem is in the details of the ad-
ministrative rules developed
since the law was enacted, he
said. The rules are what give
authority to the probation of-
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dark, he said.
“The process is the prob-
lem,” he said.
Generally, the District
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people being rewarded for
successfully completing pro-
bation. A main concern is
with violent offenders and
the fact that a person’s crim-
inal history is not considered
for earned discharge.
“It’s doesn’t seem to mat-
ter how bad the crime is or
the person’s criminal histo-
ry,” Marquis said.
Power: Converters will be placed just west of Slusher Lake
Continued from Page 1A
Resolute will place two
oscillating wave-energy con-
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by buoyancy chambers that
sway with the movement of
the ocean, in about 8 meters
(26.24 feet) of water offshore.
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will power rotary pumps,
which will send pressurized
water in hoses back to shore.
One converter will send
water to a small hydroelectric
generator placed on shore that
Staby said is rated for 40 kilo-
watts an hour. Another set of
hoses will run to a desaliniza-
tion plant he said can turn out
132,000 gallons of water a day.
The primary goal, he said, is to
have wave energy powering
the desalinization plant.
Resolute still has many stud-
ies to perform before deploying
the converters, such as what af-
fect the devices might have on
animals, how to keep the con-
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and where to put the hoses.
“Our commercial focus … is
really on replacing diesel-driv-
en systems around the world,”
Staby said, adding Camp Rilea
would be the last trial run be-
fore commercial deployments
in Alaska and Africa.
Camp Rilea. Rick Williams,
a systems engineer with
wave-energy projects for the
military department, said the
test was successful, produc-
ing about 0.3 kilowatt hours,
comparable to a couple of
military generator sets.
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meters wide and 1 meter high.
Net zero
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In 2012, the Oregon Mili- take up a 25-by-25-meter area.
tary Department was chosen
Lt. Col. Kenneth Safe of
to pilot a net-zero energy and Camp Rilea said Resolute’s
water program. That sum- technology would not be right
mer, the base had installed a for powering Camp Rilea, but
water-recycling facility and having it in the mix would be
basins that return treated wa- useful, with its ability to de-
ter to an underground aquifer, ploy quickly. After the Great
taking Camp Rilea’s water Coastal Gale of 2007 left
Camp Rilea operating on gen-
supply off-grid.
7KH EDVH ZKLFK RI¿FLDOV erators and nearly airlifting in
estimate consumes on average fuel, Safe said, “I want to be-
500 kilowatt an hour of pow- come energy secure at Camp
er, has had a harder time try- Rilea.”
Staby said he is working
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power supply. A plan to install with the U.S. Navy on how to
400-foot-tall wind turbines to make his technology deploy-
provide a third or more of the able by helicopter.
Fishermen voiced con-
base’s power stalled after the
Federal Aviation Administra- cerns about how the wave-en-
tion found they would have ergy converters might affect
their crab gear.
adverse impacts on aviation.
“I don’t think we’ll be
Last summer, M3 Wave
from Salem and the Oregon approving fouling your crab
Military Department, placed grounds,” Williams said. “It’s
a 30--by-7-foot wave-ener- going to be small-scale for a
gy generator off the coast of long time.”
approach. The test site is in
a military danger zone estab-
lished earlier this year by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers. In the zone, the Oregon
National Guard can prohibit
access to waters adjacent to
Camp Rilea during use of the
weapons range.
Photo courtesy of William Staby
Resolute Marine Energy hopes to place two wave-energy converters, large flaps that oscil-
late with the movement of the ocean, off the coast of Camp Rilea as soon as summer 2017.
Staby said his company
focuses on places like Ya-
kutat, Alaska, where depen-
dence on diesel generators
fouls the atmosphere and
raises the cost of ice creation
WR WKH SRLQW ZKHUH ¿VKHUPHQ
go elsewhere to land their
catch. The company has also
worked with places like Cape
Verde, a small island nation
off the western coast of Africa
that Staby said gets 85 per-
cent of its water comes from
diesel-driven reverse osmosis
desalinization plants.
Resolute’s wave energy
converters will be placed just
west of Slusher Lake on the
southern end of Camp Rilea,
north of the Sunset Beach
T he C ity of C a n n on B ea ch is plea sed to
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Warren Hazen feeds apples to an orphaned bear cub that his grandchildren nicknamed,
“Benny from Bear River.”
Cub: ‘Benny from Bear River’ will be
sent to a rehab facility with other bear cubs
intelligent, watchful stare
served as reminders that he
Figuring the bear was too was a wild animal.
young to survive on its own,
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Hazen called the Washington erated Hazen when he crept
Department of Fish and Wild- close enough to drop food
life. A specialist who deals in the cage, he panted heav-
ZLWK KXPDQDQLPDO FRQÀLFWV ily, made clicking noises
came to set up a bear trap and swatted at his cage with
in his driveway. Hazen put surprising force whenever
chopped up apples from his anyone else came near — all
orchard inside. By lunchtime natural, healthy warning sig-
Oct. 20, the cub was in cap- nals that bears use when they
tivity.
perceive a threat.
Glossy black and knee-
Hazen said the WDFW
high, “Benny from Bear staff left the bear overnight,
River” looked like he might just to make absolutely sure
weigh 40 or 50 pounds, but the mother was not going to
Hazen thought he was really come for him, then came to
more like 25 or 30 pounds.
get him the next morning.
“It’s all fur!” he laughed.
Since the cub is healthy
From just a few feet away, and not habituated to humans,
Benny seemed impossibly the WDFW staff told Hazen
cute, and harmless. Up close, they planned take him to a
his sharp inch-long claws and rehabilitation facility where
Continued from Page 1A
other bear cubs are being
raised. With any luck, he will
eventually be released into the
wild.
An avid outdoorsman,
Hazen, took a break from
elk-hunting in the Blue
Mountains to give a fol-
low-up interview Monday.
He said he used the bear’s
brief stay in his driveway
to teach his grandsons some
basic lessons about animal
stewardship — admire, but
keep a respectful distance.
Hazen said he’s not giving
up hunting any time soon,
EXW WKH H[SHULHQFH GH¿QLWHO\
made him develop a new af-
fection for young bears.
“They’re cute and fuzzy
— you look at things in a dif-
ferent light,” Hazen said. “It
puts kind of a soft spot in your
heart.”
C ity M a n a ge r B ra n t Ku c e ra h ope s th a t e ve ryon e
w ill vie w th e n e w Ts u n a m i Eva c u a tion Pe d e s tria n
Rou te M a ps a n d m a ke s c opie s for th e ir h om e or
b u s in e s s . B ra n t a ls o a s ks th a t w e re m e m b e r “ th e
life you s a ve m a y b e you r ow n , a fa m ily m e m b e r,
or n e igh b or.” Em e rge n c y Pre pa re d n e s s
C om m itte e (EPREP) C h a ir Ka rolyn Ad a m s on
th a n ks a ll th e s ta ff a n d volu n te e rs w h o w orke d on
th is proje c t. Ka rolyn s a ys s h e h ope s th a t C a n n on
B e a c h w ill c on tin u e to b e a le a d e r in e m e rge n c y
pre pa re d n e s s w ith a foc u s on “ th e B ig O n e . ”
M a yo r S a m S tei
d el rem i
n d s everyo n e to
pra c ti
c e thei
r eva c u a ti
o n ro u tes a n d to
ha ve thei
r perso n a l G o B a g ha n d y.