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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 Gillnetters: ‘We’ve seen a lot of heartache in our communities Continued from Page 1A Species Act, we all know that non-selective gillnet ¿sheries have no place in the future of our Columbia River ¿sher- ies,” the conservation associ- ation said on its website. The group argues that sport¿shing brings more money to river communi- ties. Guide fees, license fees, hotel stays and other income circulate as recreational anglers have greater access to salmon in the Lower Columbia, the organization maintains. The management plan was approved by the Oregon Leg- islature in 2013. In addition to shunting gillnetting to side channels, it allocates 70 per- cent of the salmon catch to recreational anglers this year and 80 percent next year. The gillnetting ban has political backers, as well. In a March 14 letter, state Sens. Fred Girod and Rod Monroe urged the ¿sh and wildlife commission to “con- tinue implementing this com- mon sense plan.” The senators praised the economic impact of a gill- netting ban and said more selective ¿shing methods “are critical to conserving wild salmon populations and maintaining hatchery production.” Salmon For All represen- tatives respond that the com- mercial industry has lost part of its valuable spring and summer Chinook har- vest, side channels haven’t been improved as promised and alternative gear, such as seines, is prohibitively expensive. Group member Irene Martin said the man- agement change was based on a policy decision that turned out wrong. “We’ve seen a lot of heartache in our communi- ties,” Martin said. “ “Pol- icy without science is a gam- ble. We gambled the science would work.” Lyra Fontaine/EO Media Group Wildlife rehabilitator Josh Saranpaa uses a net to help bring in an injured eagle Friday in Gearhart. Eagle: Necropsy was inconclusive Continued from Page 1A The rescue Fennerty called the Wild- life Center of the North Coast. Josh Saranpaa, the center’s director, headed to Gearhart. In the intervening time, Dudley and Fennerty screened the injured eagle from gawkers and dogs. “In the space of an hour, the eagle did seem to recover,” Dudley said. “It started walk- ing up toward the bank, and then it took a few short Àights, so we could tell that the wings were apparently all right.” Dudley said the eagle made his way up to the logs at the embankment. “I got to about 30 feet from him, and he was pretty passive at that point,” Dudley said. “He looked alert, but through my lens I could see he had been battered. It was apparent the attack had disabled him, at least temporarily.” Saranpaa and volunteer Lynette Scribner attempted to net the bird in the estuary, but the eagle Àapped and tried to Ày away. “When Josh followed him into the shallows of the estu- ary, the eagle sort of landed or crash-landed in the shallows of the estuary,” Dudley said. At that point, Saranpaa was able to net the bird and pass it to Scribner, who sheltered the bird in a mesh blanket. “Once the eagle was wrapped up, it turned passive and allowed Josh to examine him, and his conclusion was the eagle was underweight, was really battered by the ¿ght,” Dudley said. He said he frequently sees eagles in the estuary, and they tend to be “very territorial.” Continued from Page 1A Lyra Fontaine/EO Media Group Lynette Scribner of Seaside cradles the injured eagle Friday after rescuing it following a fight with another eagle. Saranpaa and Scribner took the injured bird for treatment at the center’s rehabilitation facility in Astoria. Signs of trauma At the center, Saranpaa gave the eagle Àuids and put him in an enclosure with heat to help him dry. “I noticed right away that he began leaning against the wall with his head,” Saranpaa said. Head-pressing is a serious symptom in all animals, a sign of head trauma, neurological issues or toxins. When eagles exhibit this symptom, wildlife rehabili- tators think of lead poison- ing, Saranpaa said, “which is, unfortunately, too common.” Blood drawn from the eagle was sent to the Audubon Soci- ety of Portland, where it tested negative for lead. Cause unknown A necropsy performed on the eagle by Saranpaa and veterinarian Lisa Lewis of Bayshore Animal Hospital in Warrenton was inconclusive. “All we can say is that the eagle certainly had internal damage and hemorrhaging from the eagle ¿ght,” Saranpaa said. The eagle also had signs of some underlying illness within his air sacs, an extension of the avian respiratory system. “This illness, though we don’t know exactly what it is, certainly could have cause(d) the bird to lose weight, and ultimately not fare well in a ¿ght with a much healthier bird,” Saranpaa said. Hygienist: ‘We really strive for every visit to be positive’ Continued from Page 1A “I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. We all get along like sisters, in a good way,” she said of the Gearhart Dentistry crew. “I was very, very fortu- nate to be working with Dr. White within a month of grad- uating. A full-time position opened up right after I ¿nished school.” Kirkpatrick has had to keep up with advances made in oral care, Must over the last ¿ve years. “The biggest thing is the laser,” she said. “The quality of the laser and what you can do with lasers in dentistry. “Hand and water instruments are pretty much the same (and cleaning is still done manually), but the laser helps with disin- fecting the tissue, getting the bad bacteria out and stimulating Processor: Fire left 140 full-time workers without jobs healthy cell growth. It makes the cells metabolize faster, so you heal a lot faster.” Teaching people at an early age is important to Kirkpatrick, which is why she loves working and educating children. In addition to presenting her young patients with certi¿- cates to the ‘No Cavities Club,’ she said, “Having fun names for everything, not using any scary names, and having positive atti- tudes and being cheerful with the kids is important. And let- ting them play and touch things really helps them know that there’s nothing for them to be scared of.” That wouldn’t be a bad idea for some of us adults, too. “We really strive for every visit to be positive and comfort- able one,” she said. — Gary Henley “The state is just validat- ing the important role that ¿sh processing plays,” said Johnson, who was named the Regional Leader of the Year by the Columbia 3aci¿c (co- nomic Development District for her efforts. “These guys are going to spend millions of dollars, so this is a true pub- lic-private partnership.” State Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach, also helped secure the fund- ing, but was not present Sat- urday because of a family medical emergency. The Legislature set aside $3 million in lottery-backed bonds last session, adding to the $650,000 from the gov- ernor’s Regional Solutions Team and $350,000 from the state’s Strategic Reserve Fund. The state investment is a small part of the more than $20 million the com- pany estimates it will take to rebuild the dock and process- ing plant. Occhipinti said getting the economic development package took the commit- ment of Johnson, Boone and local of¿cials who traveled to Salem and testi¿ed about the importance of 3aci¿c Sea- food to the local economy, and of the ¿shing industry as a whole to Oregon. “Days after the plant burned down, Frank Dulcich made a commitment that he wanted to rebuild in Warren- ton, and he stuck with it that whole time,” said Warrenton Mayor Mark Kujala about 3aci¿c Seafood’s C(O. “It was amazing what it took to get it put together.” Quick recovery Submitted Photo Cathy Jo Kirkpatrick, with two more members of the “No Cavities Club.” Federal and state inves- tigators found that a roo¿ng contractor using a propane torch to adhere materials had caused the space between two roof layers to catch ¿re June 4, 2013, destroying the plant and leaving as many as 140 full-time and 100 addi- tional seasonal workers out of a job. Within 48 hours, the company had re-estab- lished the of¿ce, ice facility and fuel dock to accommo- date the vessels still deliver- ing in Warrenton, with Dul- cich vowing the plant would return. Within two weeks, the company was processing whiting and sardines in a for- mer seaplane hangar at North Tongue Point subleased from Del Mar Seafoods, which leases from the Port of Asto- ria. Paci¿c Seafood received Clatsop (conomic Devel- opment Resources’ (co- nomic Development Award two years ago for the quick recovery. The sublease at Tongue Point runs through spring of ne[t year, but Paci¿c Sea- food has already been work- ing on surveys, designs, per- mitting and energy studies for a new plant on the Ski- panon. The old plant was built in 1941 and acquired in 1983 by Paci¿c Seafood, which has more than 30 facil- ities spread over seven states. “What we want is state- of-the-art, brand-new facil- ity,” Occhipinti said, add- ing the company thinks there will be a similar number of jobs as before, and hopefully more. If all goes well with plan- ning, he said, Paci¿c Sea- food could kick off con- struction on the dock this spring. The dock will pro- vide part of the foundation for the new plant. Insurance issues Paci¿c Seafood docu- mented more than $32 mil- lion in damage from the ¿re, and within a year had received $10 million, the full policy limit with its primary insurer, Westport Insurance Corp. But the company ¿led suit last month against its supplemental insurance car- rier, Alterra ([cess Sur- plus Insurance Co., claiming the insurer did not honor a contract to provide up to $15 million in excess of West- port’s policy. “Despite extensive work by Paci¿c to provide infor- mation to Insurer estab- lishing that the total loss because of the June 4, 2013, ¿re was well in excess of $10,000,000, Alterra has paid nothing to Paci¿c,” wrote lawyers for Dulcich Inc., the plaintiff in the case. “More than two years after the ¿re and after Paci¿c spent hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars at Alter- ra’s request to determine how much Alterra owes under its insurance policy, Alterra belatedly has taken the posi- tion that Paci¿c was overpaid by Westport, the primary insurance company.” In May, the suit claims, a representative from Alterra promised in writing more than $1.5 million to Paci¿c Seafood as an interim pay- ment, but reneged on the agreement in June, claim- ing Paci¿c Seafood had been overpaid by Westport. Paci¿c Seafood seeks attorney fees and whatever amount of insurance coverage the court deems fair, lawyers said. Alterra has yet to respond to the suit.
