Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2015)
Fishermen playoff preview Stormy Weather Arts Fest SPORTS • 4A COAST WEEKEND 143rd YEAR, No. 92 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2015 ONE DOLLAR A new bridge for the ‘Big One’ Cannon Beach to request grant for pedestrian span for safety By DANI PALMER EO Media Group Photos by Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian “Walkable home” in tow, Lawrence Scible, 58, from West Virginia, prepares to enter Astoria after a brief break on the roadside Wednes- day afternoon. The activist plans to stay in Astoria for a few days, then continue on his mission to found a church, where he hopes to mass-produce mobile homes. Veteran takes his home for a stroll Lawrence Scible hopes to build ‘walkable homes’ for the homeless See BRIDGE, Page 10A By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian L awrence Scible, 58, is a survivalist — a FLWL]HQRIWKHVWUHHWVDQGLQWHUVWDWHKLJK- ways who travels by foot and pulls a homemade home-on-wheels. In April, the wandering Rastafarian left Spo- kane, Washington, with his 400-pound walkable home in tow and has since logged more than 1,000 miles, roving north and south along Oregon’s In- terstate 5 and down to California. On Wednesday, Scible (aka, “Ras Ible”) rolled into Astoria via Lief Erikson Drive for a sojourn. “I just follow the wind, man. Wherever the Lord leads me, that’s where I go,” he said. Scible may not have a destination, but he has a JRDOWR¿QGD¿QDQFLHUWKDWZLOOKHOSKLPEX\SURS- erty and build a church where he can mass produce walkable homes for the homeless. After leaving West Virginia — where, Scible said, KHVHUYHGSULVRQWLPHIRUSRVVHVVLQJDQGWUDI¿FNLQJ marijuana, an experience he has written about — he built his own walkable home as a prototype. “This right here gives you shelter. I close this door, and it’s like being in a house,” he said. “I’ll never be homeless again.” A carpenter and handyman originally from Maryland, Scible built the wood-frame box with little more than a hammer and a handsaw — no electricity needed. Draped in canvas and lined with Styrofoam, Sci- CANNON BEACH — Trying to ensure residents and visitors sur- vive the “Big One” that could strike at any time, the Cannon Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to pur- sue a Connect Oregon VI grant for a new pedestrian bridge over Ecola Creek. The city’s evacuation plan directs pedestrians south because of the like- lihood of a bridge collapse over the creek. Public Works Director Dan Grassick said the Fir Street Bridge is “woefully inadequate” when it comes to seismic and resulting tsu- nami activity. From downtown, where many shop, the trip south to high ground is a longer route that could waste precious time. “The creek is a physical barrier that will cause a lot of deaths if you don’t have some way to cross it,” Grassick said. “Scores of people will lose their lives trying to escape the tsunami.” Lawrence Scible checks the traffic on Lief Erikson Drive Wednesday afternoon. He hopes to found a church on the Oregon Coast that will become the base of his Walkable Home Project. ble’s human-powered mobile home — whose name, “Peacemaker,” is etched in a hunk of driftwood — has enough room to sit, stand and sleep. He hangs his clothes from a rod near the ceiling. He heats his coffee and cooks his food in metal pots and pans heated by a plumber’s torch. He goes to the bathroom in a small plastic basket lined with disposable doggie bags. And, not one to waste space, Scible has turned the outside into a political billboard. Among the col- orful decorations — the rainbow streamers, plastic ÀRZHUVDQGPLVFHOODQHRXVÀDJV²LVDVHULRXVPHV- sage: his belief in abolishing marijuana prohibition. But Scible, a Navy veteran, isn’t a one-issue ac- tivist, for painted near a pair of pot leaves are 22 red crosses tallying the daily average of suicides among America’s veterans, as estimated by the U.S. De- partment of Veterans Affairs. Even with his life compressed down to a space 4 feet wide, 6 feet long and 5 feet 8 inches high, Sci- ble remains a cheerful optimist, one with a legion of Facebook friends and followers helping to promote his Walkable Home Project. “All walks of life have pitched in and helped this mission,” he said, adding that he hopes to produce a documentary on his journey. Wherever Scible ends up founding his church, he said it will be open to all faiths and, if possible, it will be in Oregon, a state that “has everything I could ever want,” he said. “It’s got pine trees. It’s got mountains. It’s got the coast. It’s got the backwater. It’s got the ocean,” he said. “Man, this is God’s country right here.” code,” City Manager Chad Sweet said at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Judge Orr in his decision Monday said the city’s code was inadequate, DQG GLG QRW VSHFL¿FDOO\ SURKLELW WKH activities Smith was being cited for. By R.J. MARX The tickets came with $500 penal- The Daily Astorian ties, which were dismissed. On Wednesday, City Attorney Pe- GEARHART — Two days af- ter Watts told members of the council ter Municipal Court Judge John Orr he planned to drop additional cita- found on behalf of Shannon Smith, tions against Smith, delivered after the owner of Neacoxie Barn, the city similar functions were held at the LVVFUDPEOLQJWR¿OO]RQLQJJDSVWKDW barn later in the summer. The cita- could permit a wide variety of uses. WLRQVDOVRFDUULHGD¿QH Smith had been cited for illegal “Given the judge’s ruling on the use of her barn to hold commercial ]RQLQJ ZH¶UH LQ DJUHHPHQW WKDW LW enterprises, including weddings host- makes sense to dismiss those other ing up to 99 people, despite her lack citations,” Watts said. of a conditional use permit to do so. Watts urged the city to address “We’re going to dismiss all those gaps in the code’s language. FKDUJHVKDYLQJWRGRZLWKWKH]RQLQJ Watts said, according to Orr’s rul- Report could support change in services statewide By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian :DWWV VDLG WKH ODVW PRGL¿FDWLRQV to the code were written about 30 years ago, and lists allowed, permit- ted and prohibited uses in a residen- WLDO]RQH “Judge Orr’s reading of our code was in the absence of that direct pro- hibition on the activity, the activi- ty would be allowed,” Watts said. “Right now the rental of a proper- ty for a wedding would be allowed under this interpretation in an R-1 ]RQH´ A nine-hour wait for help at a hospital emergency room. Misdi- agnosis. A lack of access to care. Poorly trained therapists and ad- ministrators. These themes surfaced Wednes- day night at a town hall forum on behavioral health care at The Loft, led by the Or- egon Health Authority and state Sen. Sara Gelser. Part of a series across Oregon, the ex- ercise encour- aged people to candidly share State Sen. their experienc- Sara Gelser es with mental health services. The anecdotes were then summa- UL]HG DQG UHDG DORXG GLDORJXH WKDW the health authority will gather in a UHSRUWWKDWFRXOGKHOSLQÀXHQFHSXE- lic policy statewide. See GEARHART, Page 10A See TOWN HALL, Page 10A Gearhart drops some party barn charges &LW\VWUXJJOHVWR¿OO code gaps after judge rules in Smith’s favor Mental health troubles aired at town hall LQJ HDUOLHU WKLV ZHHN WKH ]RQH FRGH did not prohibit a private wedding party for compensation. “That can have some ripple effects,” he said. Uses not updated for three decades