Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016 Cannon Beach emergency committee reconsiders escape plan Assembly areas WR be RXW¿WWeG By NANCY MCCARTHY For EO Media Group Katherine Lacaze/EO Media Group Climatologist and researcher John Stevenson speaks on “Climate Change and the Coast” at the Listening to the Land presentation at Seaside Public Library. CANNON BEACH — When a tsunami washes over Cannon Beach, where will the nearly , estimateG survivors go? 7hey ¿rst will heaG to assembly areas SlotteG out by the city’s emergency SreSareGness committee But, while those assembly areas are in Slaces that shoulG be safe from high water, they aren’t out¿tteG with the supplies necessary to ensure survival Although city of¿cials originally planneG to immeGiately move survivors from the assembly areas to three cache sites where barrels containing resiGents’ personal supplies have been storeG, that plan is being reconsiGereG ,nsteaG, the assembly sites will have the temporary shelters, fooG, water anG communications gear necessary to help people for a few Gays until the initial crisis has subGueG Climatologist Giscusses effects of climate change on coastal communities 5esearch shows policy strategies can offset exposure By KATHERINE LACAZE EO Media Group Roads likely closed by debris A map GistributeG by /es Wierson, a member of the emergency committee, Guring the committee’s work session earlier this month, shows that the roaGs leaGing to the cache sites, as well as 86 Highway , will be closeG Gue to Gebris 7he Gebris — fallen trees from the CascaGia 6ubGuction =one earthTuake that will trigger the tsunami anG builGings, cars anG other obMects GepositeG by the tsunami — will prevent easy access to the barrels ³/ess than percent of the survivors can reach a cache site in a reasonable or safe time,´ Wierson saiG in a letter to the committee “The highway will have a tremenGous amount of Gebris,´ he tolG the committee Guring the meeting “,t’s going to have to be taken out, anG it will take a tremenGous amount of time´ The highway overpass at 6unset BoulevarG may collapse, anG some substations might be GestroyeG, he aGGeG )or awhile, only e[perienceG hikers might be able to reach the caches on the north siGe, at Elk Creek 5oaG in miGtown anG at 6outh WinG in Tolovana, where an emergency shelter is planneG eventually ,n a stuGy, it was GetermineG that if a tsunami Submitted Photo A tsunami evacuation map presents the downtown pedestrian route. Will people be able to reach assembly sites? hit Cannon Beach on a summer Gay, , people might reach the 10 assembly sites The stuGy was conGucteG by Harry Yeh, an Oregon 6tate 8niversity professor of civil anG construction engineering with a specialty in tsunamirelateG ha]arGs Yeh reacheG his conclusions by using a computer moGel of where resiGents anG visitors might be when the tsunami arrives anG how long it woulG take to reach the nearest assembly area Yeh estimateG that the three most populateG assembly areas woulG be at the Cannon Beach Bible Church on Hills /ane along with nearby 6pruce 6treet Arbor /ane, reacheG by a combineG total of 1,0 people miGTolo- vana at 6urfcrest 6treet east of the highway 1, people anG Eighth 6treet anG Ecola 3ark 5oaG on the north enG 1,01 people Other assembly areas are at Yukon 6treet anG milepost 0 0 people, the highway at Tolovana 0ainline 5oaG , east 6i[th 6treet anG OlG Cannon Beach 5oaG , Haystack Heights anG East Chinook 6treet , Elk Creek 5oaG east of the highway 00 anG 6unset BoulevarG at the highway 100 ‘Super site’ The committee is consiGering establishing an assembly “super site” just south of the Bible Church on state Department of Transpor- tation property between the church anG Arbor /ane The committee GeciGeG to focus initially on preparing the ¿rst three assembly areas to make sure they are safe anG that temporary shelters, water, fooG anG communications are available But committee members saiG an overall plan is neeGeG that shows how the cache sites anG the assembly areas are to be useG anG what supplies are neeGeG 0ore people also shoulG be recruiteG to ¿ll vacancies on the committee anG to help out in local neigh- borhooGs, they saiG “I’ve been getting a little frustrateG we seem to be going in circles,” saiG committee member Paula 9etter The group GiscusseG how Gif¿cult it was to coorGinate the emergency prepareGness committee efforts with other groups in the city that also are preparing for Gisasters “6omehow, we neeG to get the city, the committees anG the volunteers all on boarG,” City Manager Brant Kucera tolG the group Clinic serves primary, aGGiction neeGs By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian When she was chief opera- tions of¿cer of 6easiGe’s Awak- enings by the 6ea, a Grug anG alcohol treatment center for women, WenGy Hemsley saiG a thought kept occurring to her “I kept saying that someone shoulG open a clinic that proviGes primary care anG ancillary support for people with substance abuse,” Hemsley saiG Hemsley, who haG alreaGy founGeG her own meGical billing company in 01 anG been the CEO of Free By the 6ea’s treatment facility in Ocean Park, Washington, turneG her thought into reality in 01, founGing North Coast MeGical Clinic The clinic, a hybriG offering primary care, substance abuse anG mental health care services, openeG in earnest last year in Gowntown Astoria’s 6pexarth BuilGing It recently expanGeG into 1 0th 6t in the Mill PonG neighborhooG, where it will holG an open house from to pm FriGay Visiting from his clinic in Hillsboro once a week to see patients is Dr -oe McCarthy, the former part-time center physician at Tongue Point Job Corps Center anG the meGical Girector of the North Coast MeGical Clinic The clinic also employs a nurse anG a nurse’s assistant Hemsley saiG she is close to hiring two nurse practitioners Hemsley saiG she founG a Gearth of primary care proviG- ers for patients on the North Coast The only other pri- mary clinic she founG taking patients, Columbia Memorial Hospital Primary Care Clinic in Warrenton, haG a wait list approaching 11 months “I think a lot of the meGical neeGs are being serveG in these emergency rooms, because they can’t ¿nG people taking new patients,” she saiG The clinic aims to proviGe primary meGical neeGs, McCarthy saiG, along with Drug treatment North Coast MeGical Clinic proviGes 6uboxone anG Vivitrol, meGications to help mitigate the painful effects of opiate withGrawal that leaG to a high rate of relapse Hemsley saiG she has spent much of her career in sub- stance abuse treatment, anG has maGe the mistake of Grop- ping a loveG one at a treatment center anG expecting them to get ¿xeG, just to see them relapse “We’re not just giving you pills anG hoping you’re ¿xeG,” she saiG “It’s the whole community” Patients seeking treatment at the North Coast MeGical Clinic neeG to be screeneG anG sign a treatment contract, she saiG The clinic partners with local outpatient treatment centers, counselors, sobriety G u ess w h a t d a y it is! It’s Hump’s Day!!! AT HUMP’S RESTAURANT EV ERY W ED N ESD AY 4 -8 PM Variety of services The clinic offers a wiGe va- riety of primary care services, incluGing checkups, physicals, nutrition, Gigestive, hormonal, sexual health anG weight loss, along with management of meGication, chronic Gisease, stress anG anger immeGiate walk-in care anG Grug treatment No reservations, please 14 OUN CE N EW Y ORK STEAK & BAK ED POTATO $9.95 M ust present coupon to server. N ot va lid w ith other offers. All You Can Eat Chicken & Dumplings- Thursdays 4-8 pm $6.95 Prime Rib Fridays- starts at 5pm $9.95 Just 15 m in. from the Lew is & Cla rk Bridge on H w y. 30 Hump’s Restaurant- 50 W. Columbia River Highway Clatskanie, OR. 503.728.2626 N OW O PEN Frida y & Sa turda y 6a m -10pm Video clubs anG other specialists for a holistic approach, while proviGing meGication to help “AGGiction is like Gia- betes,” Hemsley saiG “It’s something you neeG to man- age your whole life AGGiction is a Gisease People shoulGn’t be GisgraceG” Policy Gecisions maGe toGay regarGing lanG use can help communities aGapt anG mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, accorGing to climatologist -ohn 6tevenson 6tevenson kickeG-off the /istening to the /anG series this year with his presenta- tion, “Climate Change anG the Coast,” at 6easiGe Public /ibrary on WeGnesGay The monthly speaker series, pre- senteG by the North Coast /anG Conservancy anG the Necanicum WatersheG Coun- cil, is offereG through May 6tevenson, a regional extension climate specialist with Oregon 6ea *rant anG the Climate Impacts 5esearch Consortium, helps communi- ties responG to climate-Griven changes in coastal ha]arGs, water resources anG forest Gis- turbance He examineG how the warming climate is affect- ing life on the coast anG what the future might look like if current trenGs continue Addressing climate change Many rapiG climate changes can be contributeG to human activity anG the emis- sion of greenhouse gases, which play a critical role in Ge- termining the global tempera- ture, 6tevenson saiG The National Oceanic anG Atmospheric AGministration anG the National Aeronautics anG 6pace AGministration re- cently reporteG 01 was the warmest year on earth since recorG-keeping began in 10 The temperature along the Or- egon Coast has changeG Guring the past century, as well, anG is steaGily increasing Climate change affects a lot of the earth’s systems, such as fresh water sources, vegetation, wilG¿re occurrence anG wetlanGs In fresh water systems, cli- mate change leaGs to GecreaseG summer Àow, increaseG water temperature anG ÀooGing after extreme precipitation events For vegetation, the coast may experience species shifts anG low elevations may become unsuitable for Douglas ¿r by the miG- to late century Fire Gisturbance also is likely to increase, although there is limiteG historical activity on which to base assessments, 6te- venson saiG WetlanGs also will be affecteG by rising sea levels, a byproGuct of climate change, with a preGicteG loss or miti- gation of estuarine habitat anG tiGal swamps Responding with policy 6tevenson was involveG in a case stuGy calleG the Tillamook County Coastal Futures Project, GesigneG to prepare for the threat of coastal ÀooGing anG erosion in Oregon’s coastal counties During the project, which took place over a year anG a half, researchers took into account three climate controls that affect coastal ÀooGing anG erosion: variability of wave heights El Nixo anG /a Nixa patterns anG range anG global rising sea levels Another aspect of the project lookeG at how communities can Geal with these factors One objective of the project was to answer the Tuestion, “How much will we expose ourselves to those risks?” During the project, re- searchers stuGieG various pol- icy scenarios, such as what woulG happen if warming continues 5esearchers stuGieG the potential effects of envi- ronmental policies, as well as what sort of risk homeowners woulG be exposeG to over time anG beach accessibility with evolving climate scenarios, 6tevenson saiG “That’s the nice thing about Going these alternative scenar- ios, is we can start to compare these things,” he saiG “As we move forwarG in time, the Ge- cisions we make toGay about planning have more inÀuence than even the most extreme cli- mate scenario on our exposure, in this case, to ÀooGeG homes” ACCE P T IN G N E W P AT IE N T S As to ria Ch iro p ra ct i c B ARRY SE ARS, D .C. AU TO ACCIDEN TS W ORK -RELATED IN JU RIES D on ’t dela y! Ca ll toda y! W e bill m ost in su ra n ce com pa n ies in clu din g M edica re 5 03 -3 25 -3 3 11 2935 M ARIN E DR • AS TORIA Upcoming Lifeguard Certification Classes Class Dates: January 29 - 31 st March 21 - 23 rd Register by submitting an application at www.astoriaparks.com under “ Jobs ”
