Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2016)
143RD YEAR, NO. 242 WEEKEND EDITION ONE DOLLAR FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016 CRABBING BONANZA CONGRATS SEASIDE GRADS COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL • INSIDE PAGES 10A-12A CASCADIA RISING Megaquake minded Disaster exercises reveal strengths and gaps in county preparation By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Astoria High School students Ben Williams, left, and Halie Korff walk through the halls of John Jacob Astor Elementary School as students congratulate them during a graduation walk Thursday . The graduating class visited multiple schools in the district before walking down Commercial Street to the Liberty Theater. A walk to remember Astoria High School seniors march across the city By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian A s Astoria High School’s C lass of 2016 walked into the bot- tom-fl oor hallway of John Jacob Astor Elementary School in full purple- and-gold regalia, they were greeted like celebrities by lines of adoring elementa- ry-schoolers on a proverbial red carpet. The graduating seniors spent Thurs- day morning snaking their way through Astor, Lewis and Clark Elementary School, Astoria Middle School and through the high school. Their fi rst audience was dressed up in their dream jobs as police offi cers, prin- cesses, cowgirls and A ir F orce pilots — and one as a character from the video game “Mortal K ombat.” Graduates kept a brisk pace, spending 15 minutes hand- ing out high-fi ves and hugs to students, teachers and staff before a fi nal walk down Commercial Street past residents and business owners. Clatsop County isn’t as far along in prep- ping for a Cascadia earthquake and tsunami as Tiffany Brown, the county’s emergency manager, would prefer . But that’s noth- ing to be ashamed of, given that the region only realized the full magnitude of the threat within the last decade. “We’ve known about it for 20 years or so, but it’s really that additional study that has occurred since 2011 that has left us with a greater understanding of how big the threat is, and that’s why everybody is really pay- ing attention to: What are we doing, and how ready are we?” she said. “Relative to how long we’ve understood the enormity of this hazard in our community, we are where I would expect us to be.” Brown took stock of the county’s disas- ter readiness this week during Cascadia Ris- ing, a Tuesday-through-Friday focus on preparing agencies in Oregon and Washing- ton state for the Cascadia Subduction Zone megaquake, a rare but cataclysmic event that could cause a humanitarian crisis in the Pacifi c Northwest. See MEGAQUAKE, Page 9A Different paths lead top students to college One had a drug problem, the other was a home-schooler By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian ABOVE: The graduating class walks down Com- mercial Street Thursday . LEFT: Tru Baca-Valero, k in- dergartner at John Jacob Astor Elementary School, high-fives Astoria High School students as they walk through the halls of the elementary school . Jesse Miller wanted to turn his life around after three years in prison. Alex Autio was getting his fi rst introduction to public education. Both hit their stride at Clatsop Commu- nity College, where they have been awarded the Student of the Year Award, voted on by their peers. “It’s just a big deal for me, considering where I’ve been in my past,” Miller said, still somewhat in disbelief about the award. Miller, 30, dropped out of Sam Barlow High School in Gresham his junior year, left for Sunriver and spent the next several years working construction. In 2008, after earning his diploma from Clackamas Community College, Miller said he felt as if the world was in his hands. See WALK, Page 12A See STUDENTS, Page 9A America’s beauty hasn’t faded. Has its greatness? The dream is alive, if distant Part of an occasional series By JAY REEVES Associated Press A mericans agree on this much: They are dis- gusted with politics. They look toward Wash- ington, D.C., and see a bro- ken federal government, a place where politicians seem more interested in self-pres- ervation than We the People. Things don’t seem much bet- ter in state capitals, and, who knows? Lead-tainted water may be pouring out of their kitchen faucet next. Yet Americans say they still believe in America, the exper- iment in democracy that the founders described as a place where the government should protect the rights of ordinary people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There’s something at the core of Amer- ica they long for, even if it’s hard to defi ne and seems dis- tant in 2016. Donald Trump proclaims See AMERICA, Page 8A This combination of 2016 photos shows, top row from left, Dana Craig, 15, of River Falls, Wis.; Kimberly Jung, 29, of Chicago and Rodney Kim- ball, 74, of West Bethel, Maine; middle row from left, Allene Swanson, 22, of Chicago; Craig House, 32, of St. Louis and Mike Poling of Delphos, Ohio; bottom row from left, Amal Kassir, 20, of Colorado; John Moore, 74, of New Orleans and Russ Madson, 45, of Birmingham, Ala. The Associated Press interviewed a wide range of Americans to get a sense of what they think about the nation’s greatness in the twilight of President Barack Obama’s eight years in office. AP Photo
