Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2016 Memorial: Goodding’s friends, family celebrate his life Continued from Page 1A At the start of his tribute, Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin slapped a sticker in the shape of a smile on the podium. He said the ¿rst thing everyone always noticed about Goodding was his smile. “He always made every sin- gle person he talked to feel like you were his best friend,” Ber- gin said. Bergin, who was Goodding’s next-door neighbor, shared sto- ries about them four-wheeling together and sharing beers on his front porch. “I am so proud to have known Jason,” Bergin said. “He is just an incredible man.” Seaside Police Chief Dave Ham considered Goodding a close friend. “Our hearts are heavy. We are grieving the loss of our department leader, team member and friend,” Ham said. “As we celebrate Jason’s life today, our tears of sadness are going to turn to joy soon.” Ham spoke about fun mem- ories boating, ¿shing and hiking together. Ham enjoyed visiting Goodding and getting to know his wife, Amy, and two daugh- ters, Joslyn, 13, and Jayden, 10. When he came over to visit, Ham joked, the girls would always mispronounce his name Member of the ceremonial honor guard kneel in front of Sgt. Jason Goodding’s casket during the presentation of the flag at the memorial service. Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin attaches a sticker reminding him of Jason Goodding’s smile as he speaks at the memorial. View more photos online at www.dailyastorian.com and say, “Damn Ham is here.” Ben Ward, a childhood friend of Goodding’s, and Roger Schenk, Goodding’s high school coach, each spoke about Good- ding’s upbringing in Sherwood. Goodding was a star athlete who grew up rooting for the Univer- sity of Oregon Ducks athletics and Los Angeles Lakers. Schenk remembers Good- ding’s charisma and leadership. He had a knack for making peo- ple feel special, Schenk said. “I wanted him to be a teacher or a coach, and he did a little bit of that,” Schenk said. “He found his calling and passion was law enforcement, and he made the right choice.” The memorial was mostly a moment for Goodding’s friends and family to celebrate his life. While the tone was often casual and humorous, the grief over Goodding’s death in the line of duty was never far from the surface. Gov. Kate Brown recog- nized Goodding’s commitment with the Medal of Ultimate Sac- ri¿ce, which she presented to Goodding’s wife. State Sen. Betsy John- son, D-Scappoose, passion- ately spoke out against those who criticize law enforcement of¿cers. The state senator speci¿- cally called out fellow lawmak- ers in the state Legislature who have been experimenting with justice reinvestment programs that keep some criminals out of prison. Phillip Max Ferry, the man who allegedly killed Goodding and was shot dead by police, was a habitual criminal who spent no more than ¿ve years in prison. “The very of¿cers expected to be on the front lines so the rest of us can stay safe have been relegated to minor players in a political experiment called justice reinvestment,” Johnson said. Goodding’s memory should be honored by acknowledg- ing what is asked of the police, Johnson said, and not by criti- cizing them when they do their jobs. “How tragic so many will mourn Sgt. Goodding’s death today, and in the days to come will disrespect public safety pro- fessionals by making their jobs more dif¿cult through ill-con- ceived policies ripe with unin- tended consequences,” Johnson said. Seaside: ‘I think Jason would have loved to see this show of love and support’ Continued from Page 1A Inside the convention center hall, the sheer magnitude of men and women in uniform, the reg- imental precision and the pro- found respect resonated. Claudio Diaz of Brooklyn, New York, is a member of Broth- erhood of the Fallen. They turn out when an of¿cer is killed in the line of duty. “We come out, we also have multiple chapters, we have a Chicago chapter and an Aurora, Colorado, chapter,” Diaz said. “We come and we share support for people around the nation. We all wear uniforms, we all do the same job, and we’re all one big family. Six people, two for the honor guard and four from the brotherhood.” Earlier Friday, the most eerie thing was the quiet. U.S. Highway 101, as if in mourning itself, joined in the moment of silence. The road was cleared in Goodding’s memory. The city came to a standstill and people hugged one another and cried in the streets. Ameri- can Àags Àew everywhere, trail- ing the ¿retrucks that came from throughout the state, proudly poised to share the mem- ory of an ultimate hero, sacri- ¿ced in the line of duty. Baker County, Marion County, Doug- las County, Clark County, Ore- gon State Police, City of Sweet Home, La Grande and Union County. On they came. “With our small commu- nity, and you think of the larger picture of law enforcement that protects us,” Seaside’s Kevin Leahy said. “I’m very good friends with Astoria Police Chief Brad Johnston and Can- non Beach Chief Jason Scher- merhorn. They’re family guys, just thinking about that part ...” His voice drifted for a moment. The president of Seaside Rotary, Leahy and others shared memories of Goodding at the group’s Thursday luncheon. “There were words and mem- ories about Sgt. Goodding, so many memories of the commu- nity members. He coached their daughter’s team, or they knew him through his other volunteer work. He was always there from beginning to end, just to rein- force what a special community we had.” The memorial was not con- ¿ned to a single location ² there were too many friends, family members, community members, of¿cials, law enforce- ment of¿cers and emergency service personnel who wished to say “goodbye.” To accommodate the throng of locals and out-of-towners, venues throughout the North Coast simulcast the memorial service. The Seaside High School gymnasium, one of the satel- lite locations live streaming the ceremony, started ¿lling up just after noon. For some people, putting their grief into words was too hard. “The thing about Jason is he touched a lot of dif- ferent people in a lot of differ- ent ways,” said Kevin LaCoste, of Gearhart. “He was well-liked wherever he went.” He was one of Goodding’s “poker buddies,” and the of¿- cer also coached LaCoste’s son in football. Goodding “died way too young,” LaCoste said, and the incident serves as a reminder to appreciate the ones you love, as Goodding did. LaCoste said “there is no doubt” Goodding would have been at the memorial if it was one of his colleagues who had fallen. The turnout in honor of Goodding is “amazing,” he said. “I think Jason would have loved to see this show of love and sup- port for him,” LaCoste said. North Coast Family Fellow- ship and other venues in Asto- ria, Gearhart, Seaside and Can- non Beach were hosting groups to watch the service. Of¿cer Randy Huserik, with the Seattle Police Department, vacations in Seaside with his family, so he feels a personal connection to the loss of Good- ding and how it impacts a small agency like the Seaside Police Department. “I felt compelled to be here for the Goodding family, as well as the Seaside department,” he said. “For them, something like this is devastating.” However, this sort of inci- dent affects the law enforcement community as a whole, as well. All across the country, men and women face risks while on their jobs serving their communities. For all of them, Huserik said, “the goal at the start of the shift is to go home at the end of the shift.” “You never know when it’s going to go bad, when some- thing will go wrong,” he said. R.J. Marx and Kather- ine Lacaze contributed to this report. HEALTH N OTIFIC ATIO N Are Y o u Ha rd o f Hea rin g ? A m ajor n am e bran d h earin g aid provider w ish es to field test a rem ark able n ew digital h earin g in stru m en t in th e area. T h is offer is free of ch arge an d you are u n der n o obligation . T h ese revolu tion ary 100% D igital in stru m en ts u se th e latest tech n ology to com fortably an d alm ost in visibly h elp you h ear m ore clearly. T h is tech n olog y solves th e “stopped u p ears” an d “h ead in a barrel” sen sation som e people experien ce. If you w ish to participate, you w ill be requ ired to h ave you r h earin g tested in ou r office FR EE O F C H A R G E to determ in e can didacy an d review you r resu lts w ith th e h earin g in stru m en ts w ith ou r h earin g care speci alist. A t th e en d of th is evalu ation , you m ay k eep you r in stru m en t, if you so desire, at a trem en dou s savin g for participatin g in th is field test. Special testin g w ill be don e to determ in e th e in creased ben efits o f th is tech n ology. Ben efits of h earin g aids vary by type an d degree of h earin g loss, n oise en viron m en t, accu racy of h ea rin g test, an d proper fit. T h is is a w on derfu l opportu n ity to determ in e if h earin g h elp is available for you r h eari n g loss an d get h earin g h elp at a very affordable price. CA LL N O W IF Y O U W ISH TO BE IN CLU D ED IN TH IS FIELD TEST THIS W EEK O N LY N O W Thro ug h Frid a y, Feb rua r y 19, 2016 Ca ll to d a y to m a ke yo u r reserva tio n fo r a Hea rin g Aid Field Test M ira cle-Ea r C en ter Yo u n g s Ba y Pla za 173 S . Hw y 101 W a rren to n , O R 97146 (503) 836-7921 w w w .m ira cle-ea r-w a rren to n .co m M ira cle- Ea r C en ter 2505 M a in Ave N , S u ite C Tilla m o o k, O R 97141 (503) 836-7926 w w w .m ira cle-ea r-tilla m o o k.co m Sin ce 1990 the M ira cle-E a r F ou n d a tion (™) ha s been provid in g hea rin g a id s, follow -u p ca re, a n d ed u ca tion a l resou rces to people w ith hea rin g loss w ho d em on stra te person a l in a bility to fin a n cia lly provid e for their hea rin g hea lth n eed s. W e d o this beca u se w e believe everyon e in ou r com m u n ity d eserves q u a lity hea rin g in stru m en ts. Specia l N otice Sta te Em ployees Y ou m a y qu a lify for a hea rin g a id ben efit u p to $4,000 every 4 yea rs. Ca ll for eligibility sta tu s.
