DailyAstorian.com //
143RD YEAR, NO. 171
ONE DOLLAR
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016
LOCALS SHINE
NEAR AND FAR
THREE PLAYS,
ONE NIGHT
HOMETOWN REPORT 7A
COAST WEEKEND
DIVE, ROBOT
Students use technology to help ¿ nd shipwrecks
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Special recall election
planned for $pril
A
select group of the top
student robotbuilders
assembled Tuesday in
physics instructor Pat
Keefe’s bottomÀ oor laboratory
at &latsop &ommunity &ollege.
The team, comprised of engi
neering, mathematics and other
technologically gifted students
from $storia, Warrenton and
Jewell, is tasked with building
a new underwater robot for the
Maritime $rchaeological Soci
ety to ¿ nd shipwrecks around
the mouth of the &olumbia 5iver
and on the 1orth &oast.
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
7KHWHDP
Organi]ing the construction
of a remotely operated vehicle, or
5O9 , is Georges Oates Larsen,
head of the college’s underwater
robotics team and a member of
the archaeological society.
“We were looking into the
possibility of having the compe
tition 5O9 do these missions,”
Larsen said. “We looked at that,
and that ended up being a lit
tle too expensive. We switched
gears and said ‘ Hey , it would
be really interesting if we could
start up an 5O9 program.’ We
could create a division of the
5O9 club that’s responsible for
constructing and working with
an Open5O9.”
The archaeological soci
ety, using a grant from the &lat
sop &ounty &ultural &oalition,
purchased a submersible from
Open5O9, a company that man
ufactures inexpensive kits for
educational programs.
Cannon
Beach
¿UHH[HFV
VWDQGSDW
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Clockwise from bottom left: Brenton Davis, Georges Oates Larse n, Jonathan Kaminski, Darby
Cullen, Sam Daire, and Ashley Fish in the physics lab at Clatsop Community College.
&$11O1 B($&H ² $ special election
will be held in $pril on the recall of three
&annon Beach 5ural Fire Protection District
directors behind the ¿ ring of Mike Bal]er as
¿ re chief last October.
President Sharon &lyde and directors
Linda BeckSweeney and Garry $dams
chose to ¿ ght the recall rather
than resign by Wednesday’s
deadline.
BeckSweeney
and
$dams issued identical
statements as &lyde ² who
announced her intention
7uesday ² citing the board’s
Mike
“¿ duciary responsibility to
Balzer
those who elected them to
provide a high level of over
sight, particularly in matters of management
and administration.”
Bal]er was dismissed “when the maMor
ity of the directors, elected by district vot
ers, became concerned about his ability to
perform the administrative skills required of
the head of a public agency,” according to
the statements delivered to &latsop &ounty
&lerk 9alerie &rafard.
See CANNON BEACH, Page 10A
The Maritime Archaeolog-
ical Society recently ad-
opted the Beeswax Wreck
Project, the long-running
search for what is believed
to be a Spanish galleon
that sank near the Nehalem
Spit in the late 17th century.
See STUDENTS, Page 10A
Submitted P hoto
Higher
wages
on way in
Oregon
Minimum wage hike
plan becomes law
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
The Maritime Archaeological So-
ciety believes the remains of the
Spanish galleon Santo Cristo
De Burgos are located near the
coastline off of Manzanita.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
$iling health practitioner now needs help
Stroke sidelines
Meno after years
of service on Long
Beach Peninsula
By LYNDA LAYNE
For EO Media Group
It’s not easy to keep a good man
down, but in Mike Meno’s case, he
has no choice.
Mostly con¿ ned to a bed at &lat
sop &are &enter in $storia, Meno, a
longtime Long Beach :ash. Penin
sula health care provider , is making
slow but sure progress with physical
and occupational therapy, ¿ ghting to
regain mobility from a stroke he suf
HOW TO HELP
The Mikey’s Road to Recover
GoFundMe page is:
https://www.gofundme.com/
z2mu9hgs
To visit Meno or send cards:
Clatsop Care Center
Mike Meno
646 16th St.
Room 318/2
Astoria, OR 97103
fered while in a hospital after &hrist
mas when he was being treated for
pneumonia. $nd as is sometimes the
case with insurance policies, the lon
ger he is in the care center, the less the
company is going to pay. Meno and
his family need help.
S$L(M ² Gov. Kate Brown signed
landmark legislation Wednesday to set a
threetier minimum wage increase schedule
around the state, with &latsop &ounty going
to . an hour by .
7he plan, which establishes a higher min
imum wage in the Portland area and a lower
amount in areas with a struggling economy,
is the ¿ rst of its kind in the nation, said state
Sen. Michael Dembrow, DPortland.
“I am so delighted to be here today to
celebrate the achievement of my top prior
ity for the short session to raise Oregon’s
See HIKE, Page 10A
Financial help
Daughter Kallie Meno set up a
GoFundMe account, titled Mikey’s
5oad to 5ecovery. $lready, ,
has been received through dona
tions, but more is needed. Kallie
Meno, a graduate of Ilwaco
High School, lives in Seattle, where
she works as a head hunter for a com
pany called Porch.
On the GoFundMe page, she
wrote, “If you’ve spent much time
on the coast of :ashington or Ore
gon, chances are you’ve met my
father. He spent years on city coun
cil and volunteered as medical aid
for our high school basketball and
football teams. $ physician’s assis
tant for plus years, he took care
See MENO, Page 10A
Anna Reed/Statesman-Journal
Gov. Kate Brown celebrates before
signing Senate Bill 1532, increasing
Oregon’s minimum wage according to
a tiered system, at the state Capitol in
Salem on Wednesday.