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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
Cannon Beach has new flagship ¿re truck
‘A great piece
of apparatus’
By ANDREW TONRY
For EO Media Group
CANNON BEACH —
There’s a shiny new truck at the
¿re station.
In January, the Cannon
Beach Rural Fire Protection
District welcomed a custom-
built, 36-foot-long, 50,000-
pound,
500-hundred-horse-
power Pierce Arrow XT ladder
into the bay.
Christened “Ladder 3249,”
the department’s Àagship
vehicle will be on call by
mid-February.
The $755,000 truck was
paid for by a tax levy. It
replaces a 1991 Beck telesquirt.
Besides the old Beck’s
increasing maintenance costs
and insurance concerns,
Ladder 3249’s primary selling
point was its 75-foot extend-
able ladder. With signi¿cantly
increased height and range,
Andrew Tonry/For EO Media Group
Andrew Tonry/For EO Media Group
Ladder 3249 makes its debut with Cannon Beach Fire and
Rescue.
Cannon Beach ¿re¿ghters say
they can reach the top of any
building in town.
That wasn’t the case with the
old truck, which was limited in
its reach, especially critical at
hotels and larger homes. Once
you were outside the collapse
zone you couldn’t reach,”
Lieutenant Steven Moon said.
“Rarely someone would be up
that ladder.”
The new ladder, with
motorized extension, wider
steps, guard rails, equipment
mounts and an intercom, can
carry up to 750 pounds.
“This is the shortest truck
you can get with a 75-foot
aerial,” Moon said.
As short as it is, Ladder
3249 barely ¿ts underneath the
station’s bay doors. It squeezes
in because it was built to
The instrument panel in
Ladder 3249.
exacting speci¿cations.
“This is custom all the
way,” Moon said. “With the
size of our streets, we wanted a
compact truck with the biggest
ladder we could get.”
“There are thousands upon
thousands of options,” he
continued. “The sky’s the limit.
You get a huge book of specs —
it has everything from the front
windshield to rear bumper.”
The old truck had ¿ttings for
three water hoses. Ladder 3249
supports six and adds increased
length. It pumps up to 1,500
gallons per minute, and has the
capability to spray two kinds of
¿re-retardant foam.
Ladder 3249 employs
bright, low-power LED lights,
a more modern and robust
communications
system,
increased cab size and carrying
capacity, enhanced safety
features and an automatic
transmission.
“It drives like a dream,” Lt.
Tom Misner said.
The vehicle and its spec-
i¿cations were selected by
Misner, Moon, along with
other volunteers and former
Fire Chief Mike Balzer.
Despite the allure of further
options, Misner and Moon say
Ladder 3249 contains only the
essentials.
“We kept this thing as slim
and trim as possible,” Moon
said. “We saved as much
money as possible. No frills.”
Passed on were options like
computer-controlled ladder-
docking and an onboard
generator. In the case of the
generator, they added a much
cheaper, handheld model. In the
case of the electronic docking,
it just seemed frivolous.
“We don’t even have
air-conditioning on this truck,”
Moon said. “That saved
$8,000.”
The department’s engine
— a smaller water-pumper
without a ladder — is also a
Pierce.
“Anytime you get around
the ladder the huge risk is
power lines,” interim Chief Jim
Stearns said. “It has to be in
their minds: ‘Where are those
overhead power lines?’”
All the primarily all-vol-
unteer force will eventu-
ally become Àuent in the new
truck’s operation.
“In a volunteer department
like this, everyone has to know
all the different roles,” Stearns
said. “We strive for everybody
to be on the same page, because
you don’t know who is going to
show up on a call.”
O’ville: County is still not
planning to give food permit
Continued from Page 1A
Department of Community
Development alleged that
Driscoll overstepped his
grandfathering
agreement
and violated zoning policies
intended to protect the
surrounding environment.
When the DCD cited
Driscoll for violations of
county policies in June 2014,
he asked for a court hearing,
in hopes that a judge could
provide some clarity about
how county codes, policies
and ordinances applied to
his property. The September
ruling, from District Court
Judge Doug Goelz found
Driscoll guilty of some
elements of the infraction, but
said that Driscoll did have the
right to operate his business —
with certain limitations.
Though County Prosecutor
Mark McClain initially said he
saw the decision as a victory
for the county, the county in
November ¿led an appeal. In a
legal brief, Chief Deputy Pros-
ecuting Attorney Eric Weston
argued that Goelz’s decision
wasn’t valid, asserting that
under Washington law only
Superior Court judges have
the authority to make land-use
decisions.
“If this decision by the
South District Court is allowed
to stand, it impermissibly
short-circuits the land-use
process,” Weston wrote. “The
South District Court’s mishan-
dling of a quasi-criminal case
… instead of as a (land-
use case) appeal has created
a quagmire of issues.” In
response, Driscoll’s attorney,
Ben Cushman, ¿led a motion
to dismiss the appeal.
On Jan. 13, visiting
Superior Court Judge William
Daily Astorian/File Photo
A pint of Fort George’s Vortex IPA sits on a bar inside
Fort George Brewery.
Brewery: Plans to
purchase about 10
acres for $700,000
Continued from Page 1A
Keith Cox/StonyPix
Despite a positive Superior Court ruling this month, Oysterville Sea Farms remains in
legal limbo when it comes to some business activities beyond oysters.
Faubion granted Cushman’s
motion to dismiss the appeal.
In a very brief court document,
Faubion said the county had
“no basis to appeal.”
“As I understand it, Goelz’s
decision has been upheld by
the dismissal. It just shows me
Paci¿c County had a funda-
mental
misunderstanding
of its own rules and regula-
tions,” Driscoll said in a phone
interview last week.
Driscoll said that while
the dismissal is good news
for him, he still can’t operate
his business the way he’d
like to, because a “stop work
order” is still active, and the
Community Development still
has not granted his request
for a license that he needs to
legally operate a food-related
establishment.
“At this point, it doesn’t
mean anything,” Driscoll said.
“What any business needs to
survive is stability and predict-
ability. What I am looking for
is a reasonable voice in the
county government to work
with.”
Permit still unsettled
In a phone interview
Tuesday, McClain said the
District Court ruling did not
obligate the county to issue
the food permit to Driscoll.
County of¿cials say they don’t
have to allow Driscoll to sell
hot foods because his business
is in a zone that doesn’t permit
that type of activity.
“We’re saying ‘Look, I’m
sorry, the District Court ruling
is only related to whether or
not you violated the law,’”
McClain said. He explained
that the county is evaluating
its policies related to devel-
opment and use of shoreline
areas.
“How (Oysterville Sea
Farms ) will operate is a
question that will be answered
by the Shoreline Master
Program, future zoning and the
State Department of Ecology,”
McClain said.
Last year, wetland miti-
gation threw a wrench into
the county’s plans to develop
the park. Just as the county
was hoping to take offers
from interested businesses,
it learned no mitigation has
been done on any of the site’s
wetlands.
A 1,200-page applica-
tion for the entire park —
submitted in October to
the Oregon Department of
State Lands and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers —
could take 18 months for
approval, pushing develop-
ment into 2017.
Fort George will submit
its own application for the
speci¿c 10-acre lot. The
smaller application can be
processed within a year.
The county peeled four
credits out of its application and
is giving them to Fort George.
Wetlands on other proper-
ties around Warrenton will be
preserved to allow develop-
ment in the business park.
‘Hit a home run’
The North Coast Business
Park has become more
attractive to businesses in
the past year. The park was
designated by the state as a
5egionally Signi¿cant Indus-
trial Area and was one of the
reasons behind the Clatsop
Enterprise Zone, where
property tax exemptions can
be offered to encourage new
projects.
The park has sat vacant
for years. In the mid-1960s,
a large developer planned to
build an aluminum smelting
plant but the project was
never built. The land was
leveled, and wetlands grew.
If the park was not on
wetlands, county of¿cials
believe, it would likely
already be developed.
Scott Lee, the chairman of
the Board of Commissioners,
complimented county staff
Wednesday for sticking
with the project and helping
to bring in the park’s ¿rst
tenant. Developing the park
has been a top priority for the
county.
“For a moment there, I
was like, ‘We are in a pickle
here,’” Lee said. “You have
been able to hit a home run.”
Wings: Clatsop Community College Smith: State law
calls
for
local
option
is reaching out to female population
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
Turner, who moved to
Warrenton from Flagstaff,
Arizona, nearly 20 years ago
and spent the next 15 years
teaching Spanish, world
studies, government and
economics at Warrenton High
School, recently retired and
went to work for the college.
“This demographic is
extremely overlooked,” Turner
said of Spanish-speaking
women. “In a culture such as
ours, an American culture,
you’re always going to have
a hierarchy. You’re always
going to have white males.
You’re going to have that
progression of who gets the
opportunity.”
While she understands
mothers both fall lower on the
hierarchy and face the same
daily challenges, Turner said,
opportunities come twice as
hard when someone lacks the
WINGS REGISTRATION
The Women Interested in Going to School
conference, along with its Latina counterpart, will
be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 6 in Columbia
Hall. The conference is free and provides child
care and lunch. For more information or to regis-
ter, visit www.wings-clatsop.com or call organizer
Patricia Lehman at 503-717-1852.
ability to speak English.
Transiciones Costa Uno,
the ¿rst of two classes, helps
women build their self-con¿-
dence, learn about college and
explore career and educational
opportunities. Noting the chal-
lenges some women face with
child care and their work
schedules, the college recently
added Cynthia Livar, who
works at Providence Seaside
Hospital, as an evening Tran-
siciones Costa instructor.
Transiciones Costa Dos
transitions primarily into
English and teaches students
how to comfortably navigate
the Internet, use various
computer programs and build
reading and writing skills.
“In the middle of all that,
we’re encouraging these
women, these Latinas, to
pursue their GEDs,” Turner
said.
Both Turner and Frimoth
said they have seen the full
spectrum of educational
abilities, from women who
only ¿nished portions of
primary school to others
who have already earned
comparable college degrees
internationally.
By the end of Transiciones,
Turner said, some women are
ready to enter the workforce
better prepared, while many
others choose to keep studying.
Frimoth said she treads
protectively with Latinas,
who, as part of the Hispanic
community, still face bias
locally. None of the prior
Latina WINGS participants
were willing to speak to the
newspaper about their experi-
ences for a story. But Frimoth
said there are a lot of skills and
experience Latinas have to
contribute to the community
— if only they can speak the
language.
Clatsop
Behavioral
Healthcare must provide a
written report to the court
with its determination. An
oI¿cial with the mental
health provider could not
be reached for comment
Wednesday.
The court order stems
from a state law that gives
criminal defendants the
opportunity to be evaluated
locally by a community
mental health program
before a decision is made on
sending them to the Oregon
State Hospital.
The defense and prose-
cution each submitted four
recommendations for other
mental health experts to
examine Smith.
A status hearing to
address the results of
Smith’s evaluation —
whether from a local, private
or state expert — is set for
late March.
Clatsop County District
Attorney Josh Marquis has
said in court he has grave
concerns about resources
being available locally
to examine Smith. Last
summer, Marquis said he
believed the county was in
crisis on mental health and
that law enforcement was
frustrated by a limited ability
to help people in urgent need
of care.
“Given that Ms. Smith is
charged with capital murder,
my guess is (the defense)
would
probably
have
considerable concerns about
some agent of the state inter-
viewing her about her mental
state and prescribing medi-
cations for her,” Marquis
said in court. “I’m not trying
to say anything negative.
With a capital murder case,
the chances resources are
available locally, I think, are
limited.”