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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2016 Bombings: President Obama pledged Tower: Council’s to help Belgian authorities seek justice unanimous vote was Continued from Page 1A ‘Acts of war’ “We are at war,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after a crisis meeting in Paris. “We have been sub- jected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war.” Added French President Francois Hollande: “Terror- ists struck Brussels, but it was Europe that was targeted, and it is all the world which is con- cerned by this.” (XURSHDQ VHFXULW\ RI¿- cials have been bracing for a major attack for weeks, and warned that the Islamic State group was actively prepar- ing to strike. The arrest Fri- day of Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Novem- ber attacks in Paris, height- ened those fears, as investi- gators said many more people were involved than originally thought and that some are still on the loose. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Brussels attacks, saying in a posting on the group’s Amaq news agency that its extremists RSHQHG ¿UH LQ WKH DLUSRUW DQG “several of them” detonated suicide belts. It said another suicide attacker struck in the subway. The posting claimed the attack was in response to Bel- gium’s support of the interna- tional coalition arrayed against the group. Police found and neutral- ized a third bomb at the airport once the chaos after the two ini- tial blasts had eased, said Flor- ence Muls, a spokeswoman for the airport told The Associated Press. Bomb squads also deto- nated suspicious objects found in at least two locations else- where in the capital, but neither contained explosives, authori- ties said. Michel said there was no immediate evidence linking the attacks with Abdeslam. After his arrest, Abdeslam told authorities he had created a new network and was planning new attacks. ‘We are at war. We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war.’ Manuel Valls French prime minister ‘Stand in solidarity’ U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to “do what- ever is necessary” to help Bel- gian authorities seek justice. “We stand in solidarity with them in condemning these out- rageous attacks against inno- cent people,” Obama said in Havana, where he was closing a three-day visit. Western Europe has lived for decades under the threat of violence from homegrown nationalist and revolutionary movements. Muslim extremists from North Africa and the Mid- dle East have attacked civilian targets without warning, rang- ing from France’s 1960s war in Algeria through Libya’s 1988 downing of an airline over Scotland to the 2004-05 attacks on the public transportation systems of London and Madrid. Certain neighborhoods in Brussels, like the Molenbeek quarter, have bred extrem- LVWVDQGVXSSOLHGIRUHLJQ¿JKW- ers. Plotters linked to the Paris attacks and others have either moved through or lived in parts of the city. the second, louder explosion brought down ceilings and rup- tured pipes, mixing water with victims’ blood. “It was atrocious. The ceil- ings collapsed,” he said. “There was blood everywhere, injured people, bags everywhere.” “We were walking in the debris. It was a war scene,” he said. Video taken moments after the explosions showed travelers huddled next to airport check-in counters and lying near lug- gage and trolleys as dust and WKHFULHVRIWKHZRXQGHG¿OOHG the air. Dazed people stum- bled from the scene, some with clothes and shoes blown off. Anthony Deloos, an air- port worker for Swissport, which handles check-in and EDJJDJHVHUYLFHVVDLGWKH¿UVW explosion took place near the Swissport counters where cus- tomers pay for overweight baggage. He and a colleague said the second blast hit near a Starbucks cafe. “I jumped into a luggage chute to be safe,” Deloos said. Subway bombing Airport explosions The subway bombing came Tuesday’s explosions at the after 9 a.m., killing 20 people airport in the Brussels suburb of and wounding more than 100, Zaventem came shortly after 8 Mayor Yvan Majeur said. a.m., Belgium time, one of its “The metro was leaving busiest periods. Belgian Health Maelbeek station for Schuman Minister Maggie de Block said when there was a really loud 11 people were killed and 81 explosion,” said Alexandre wounded. Eleven people had Brans, 32, wiping blood from serious injuries, Marc Decra- his face. “It was panic every- mer of the Gasthuisberg hospi- where. There were a lot of peo- tal in Leuven told broadcaster ple in the metro.” VTM. The nails apparently Near the entrance to the sta- came from one of the bombs. tion, rescue workers set up a Zach Mouzoun, who arrived makeshift medical treatment RQDÀLJKWIURP*HQHYDDERXW center in a pub. Dazed and PLQXWHV EHIRUH WKH ¿UVW shocked morning commut- blast, told BFM television that ers streamed from the metro School: It seeks to settle into a permanent site south of town FORVHGLQIRU¿QDQFLDOUHD- sons and fears for student safety. 6L[WHHQ ¿UVWJUDGHUV ZHUH The building, now shuttered, lies in the tsunami inundation enrolled as of March 1. The academy did not provide zone. information on how many pro- spective kindergarten students The vision were planning to attend. In 2013, community resi- Dougherty and Roley said dents sought to bring a charter without enough students, the dis- school to Cannon Beach, with trict would be unable to make the goal of hosting kindergarten- necessary adjustments in pro- HUVWKURXJK¿IWKJUDGHUV JUDPVFODVVVL]HDQGVWDI¿QJ The school planned to open Cannon Beach Academy in fall at a temporary location at met the condition of provid- 171 Sunset Blvd., in a vacated ing a Common Core instruc- space that once housed the Can- tional plan. However, it lacked non Beach Athletic Club. a state-approved English lan- Last week, the Cannon Beach guage learners program, the let- Design Review Board approved ter read. The program the school the academy’s application for proposed to use was outdated. ³PDMRU PRGL¿FDWLRQV´ WR WKH All charter schools are required existing building, to convert the to use programs approved by the space into a charter school. state. The school seeks to eventu- Cannon Beach Elementary ally settle into a permanent site Continued from Page 1A south of town and east of U.S. Highway 101. The district has denied the academy’s proposal several times, citing lack of an adequate location and not enough startup funds. In October, the Seaside School District board of directors unanimously approved a three- year contract with Cannon Beach Academy. Under the district’s conditions, the charter school would serve at least 44 kinder- JDUWHQDQG¿UVWJUDGHVWXGHQWVLWV ¿UVW\HDU0RUHJUDGHVFRXOGEH added over time. Hull was unavailable for comment Monday. In October, Hull said none of the conditions were unreasonable. “I think we can achieve every condition imposed,” he said at the time. Columbia Memorial Hospital tXXXDPMVNCJBNFNPSJBMPSH entrances as police tried to set up a security cordon. The airport was ordered closed for the rest of the day and CEO Arnaud Feist said the facility would be closed all of Wednesday and perhaps even ORQJHU0RUHWKDQÀLJKWVWR Brussels were diverted or can- FHOHGDFFRUGLQJWRÀLJKWWUDFN- ing service Flightradar24. The metro also was ordered closed as the city was locked down. By the end of the work- GD\FLW\RI¿FLDOVVDLGUHVLGHQWV could begin moving around on the streets of the capital and train stations were reopening. But Peter Mertens of the Bel- gian crisis center said the threat of more attacks “is still real and serious.” Travelers Àed At least one and possibly two Kalashnikovs were found in the departure lounge at the airport, according to a Euro- SHDQ VHFXULW\ RI¿FLDO LQ FRQ- WDFWZLWKD%HOJLDQSROLFHRI¿- cial who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the ongoing investigation. It was not immediately clear whether WKH ¿UHDUPV ZHUH XVHG LQ WKH attacks. 7UDYHOHUVÀHGWKHDLUSRUWDV quickly as they could. In video shown on France’s i-Tele tele- vision, men, women and chil- dren dashed from the terminal in different directions. Security RI¿FHUV SDWUROOHG D KDOO ZLWK blown-out paneling and ceiling SDQHOVFRYHULQJWKHÀRRU Marc Noel, 63, was about to ERDUGD'HOWDÀLJKWWR$WODQWD to return to his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. A Belgian native, Noel said he was in an airport shop buying automotive PDJD]LQHV ZKHQ WKH ¿UVW EODVW struck about 50 yards away. “People were crying, shout- ing — children. It was a horri- ble experience,” he said, adding that his decision to shop might have saved his life. “I would probably have been in that place when the bomb went off.” a lifeline after several years of frustration Continued from Page 1A Verizon will seek a one- year extension of a lease at Coxcomb Hill that is set to expire in August to give the company time to identify a site. A second one-year exten- sion might be necessary. “I think that’s a pretty good deal,” Sandstrom said of the terms. A lifeline While the city and Verizon must work out lease arrange- ments at Reservoir Ridge for a new tower that could attract interest — and revenue — from other tenants, the City Council’s unanimous vote was a lifeline after several years of frustration. Police Chief Brad Johnston, who has led the negotiations for the city, said partnering with Verizon on a new tower can help the city reduce costs. “From the very beginning of this project, we’ve been try- ing to convince a private com- pany to do something that ben- H¿WV WKH FLW\´ -RKQVWRQ VDLG “That’s been one of those over- arching things in this. We’re trying to compel them to do things for us, to save us money. “We’re tying our wagon to their horse, if you would, to make sure that we can get to where we want to go.” In the middle City staff has been caught between the City Council, Verizon and the Friends of the $VWRULD &ROXPQ WKH LQÀXHQ- tial private benefactors who have raised money to preserve the historic landmark and tour- ist attraction. The City Council directed city staff in 2013 to move the overburdened communica- tions tower off Coxcomb Hill after the Friends objected to a new pole. A master plan at Coxcomb Hill, according to the Friends, will not get completed unless the tower is removed. “It can’t be done with those facilities there. It simply can’t,” said David Olson, a Portland tele- communications expert who serves on the board of direc- tors for the Friends of the Astoria Column. Working with the Friends and Converge Communica- tions, a private telecommuni- cations consultant in Portland, the city had reached an agree- ment last year with Verizon on new towers at Reservoir Ridge and Shively Park. The His- toric Landmarks Commission and the Planning Commis- sion approved the monopole at Shively Park. On appeal But Ron Zilli, a forester who lives near Shively Park, appealed the approvals to the City Council, arguing that the monopole was incompatible with the historic park. Zilli demonstrated that the monopole would have been much more visible than the city and Verizon had origi- nally described, convincing a majority on the council to uphold his appeals and reject the monopole. City Councilor Drew Her- zig, who sided with Zilli, said Monday night that it would have been better had the pub- lic been involved sooner in the negotiation process. Herzig had pressed the city last year to itemize the roughly $70,000 the city spent to reim- burse the Friends of the Asto- ULD&ROXPQIRUWKHQRQSUR¿W¶V behind-the-scenes work with Converge Communications and Verizon. “I think what we’ve learned is that, as much as pos- sible, from here on in, we need to keep it as public, as trans- parent, as possible,” he said.
