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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016 Filling Empty Bellies needs a county license Buck provides free lunches downtown By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Corri Buck is learn- ing even good deeds require paperwork. Buck, who has served free lunches to the homeless in Astoria on weekdays since November 2014, has been told by Clatsop County she needs a license or she has to stop. The county has determined that Buck’s Filling Empty Bellies mission is a “benevo- lent meal site,” so she needs a temporary restaurant license from the county to satisfy state food sanitation rules. “I am going to have a picnic in the park with my friends,” Buck said deiantly Thursday afternoon while serving spaghetti, peaches, rolls and snickerdoodles to the homeless from the back of her Ford Edge at Peoples Park. Michael McNickle, the county’s environmental health supervisor, said he wants to work with Buck on obtaining the license quickly. Buck said she already has a food han- dler card, another government requirement. The state’s food sanita- tion rules apply to organiza- tions and individuals who dis- tribute home-prepared food to Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Corri Buck hugs Chris Crone before handing out food and supplies to people in the parking lot of 12th Street and Exchange Street in 2015. the needy. The intent is to help make sure the food is safe and wholesome. “What it does is gives us a record so in case there is a foodborne illness or another illness that comes from that, we have a way to track those back,” McNickle said. McNickle said the county is not trying to stop Buck. “I don’t want to shut her down. I just want to make her legal,” he said. “And, also, it protects her as well as us.” Location issues Buck has said she started her mission after God told her to feed the homeless. She used to drive around down- town before setting up noon outposts outside the American Legion, at the Astoria Armory and, now, at Peoples Park at 16th Street. Filling Empty Bellies left the Armory in July after com- plaints from some neighbors and concern from Armory board members. While most of the homeless who would come for lunch behaved, there were instances of pub- lic defecation, squatting, drug exchanges and drunkenness. “Unfortunately, like is often the case, there’s a few bad apples that ruin things for everybody,” said Bruce Jones, the president of the Armory’s board. Riverfolk, which has the proper licensing, now pro- vides food to the homeless at the Armory on Sundays. Buck, Jones said, seemed resistant to regulation. “She was frustrated, because what she wants to do is serve lunch, and she does that very well,” Jones said. “She doesn’t want to deal with the other issues. That’s not what she wants to be bothered with.” Jones, a former com- mander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River who is running for City Council, said the food sanitation rules are not overly burdensome. “You have to kind of expect, in 2016, you can’t just serve meals out of a car and not expect the health department to eventually show up,” he said. Some social-service experts discourage giving free food to the homeless without also steering peo- ple toward housing assis- tance programs, mental health counseling or drug and alcohol abuse treat- ment. Free lunches, some worry, enable people to live on the streets instead of seeking help. But Buck shakes off phil- osophical questions about the best way to respond to homelessness and zeroes in on the basic fact that hungry people need to eat. “These people are hun- gry,” she said. “They have the absolute right to eat a meal.” Multiple agencies help in serious rollover on Highway 26 The Daily Astorian A log truck that rolled over after a crash on Highway 26 Thursday caused serious inju- ries and closed the highway for several hours. Hamlet Fire was called to assist Elsie-Vinemaple ire with the incident in front of Baker’s General Store. Units from Banks and Seaside ire departments were called in to assist as well. The investigation found that a loaded log truck, oper- ated by John Thomas Budge, 55, of Vernonia, was traveling westbound on Highway 26, just passing the Elderberry Inn Restaurant, when it struck the rear of a 2003 Ford F550 tow truck, operated by Fred Baltin Miller, 72, of Seaside. The log truck traveled off the roadway, struck an embankment, overturned and lost the load of logs across the roadway. At the time of the crash, several Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division Troopers had just arrived at the Elderberry Inn Restau- rant for a scheduled meeting and quickly took control of the scene, supplying irst aid to the injured operator of the log truck. The troopers utilized their patrol vehicles to stabi- lize the truck and trailer until ire personnel arrived, as well as assisted Hamlet Fire & Res- cue in extricating Budge, who was trapped. Budge was transported to Oregon Health & Science Uni- versity by Life Flight with serious injuries. Miller, sus- tained minor injuries and went to a local hospital. The investi- gation continues. Highway 26 was closed for 4.5 hours for the investigation. “When we arrived, there were logs on the highway, on the shoulder — a little of SHANGHAIED IN ASTORIA S 3 EA 2 S O N N D Tickets on sale ONE HOUR before all shows! SHOW RUNS THRU SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 Thursdays to Saturdays 7pm (July 7th-Sept. 10th) and Sundays 2pm (7/24, 8/14, 9/4) RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED For tickets go to astorstreetoprycompany.com Or by phone: 503-325-6104 ASOC PLAYHOUSE 129 W. BOND ST (UNIONTOWN) ASTORIA Submitted Photo Crews respond to a log truck rollover in Elsie. (Behind the Chamber of Commerce) Astor Street Opry Company Is searching for experienced directors and staff for the 2016/2017 calendar year Shows include: • Scrooged In Astoria • The Real Lewis and Clark Story • Teen and Children’s Theatre Please send resumes to: Attention Markus Brown P.O. Box 743 Astoria, Oregon 97103 Please direct all inquiries to: Info@AstorStreetOpryCompany.com Home of Shanghaied In Astoria and so much more! 129 W. BOND ST (UNIONTOWN) ASTORIA (B EHIND THE C HAMBER OF C OMMERCE ) 503-325-6104 WWW .A STOR S TREET O PRY C OMPANY . COM everywhere,” Seaside Fire Chief Joey Daniels said. “We helped picking stuff up, helped with trafic control after they shut down the highway.” Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Construction started this week on a new Panda Ex- press at the corner of Ensign and Discovery lanes in Warrenton. New Panda Express coming to Warrenton The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — Panda Express is coming to Warrenton. The American Chinese food chain started construction this week on a new location at the corner of Discovery and Ensign lanes in the North Coast Retail Center, slated to open in December. “We see tremendous poten- tial in this region so we are very excited for the opportunity to offer additional jobs to resi- dents and become ingrained in the community,” Thien Ho, a spokeswoman for Panda Express, said in a statement. The company is the larg- est Asian-themed restaurant chain in the U.S., with more than 1,900 locations. Warren- ton’s is the irst coastal loca- tion north of the San Francisco metro area. The nearest loca- tions to Warrenton are in Hills- boro, Cornelius and Longview, Washington. Vince Ibarra, senior real Submitted Photo American Chinese food chain Panda Express re- cently updated its logo and building exteriors. estate analyst for Panda Express, said Warrenton had been on the company’s radar for about three years because of retail activity in the area and the proximity to Astoria and Seaside. “Warrenton has deinitely been a top target for us, but we will continue to look at all mar- kets along the coast,” he said. “Each store opening gives us the opportunity to welcome 20 (to) 25 new associates from the local community into the Panda family, and we’re very optimistic about our growth prospects in the area.” In Loving Memory of Annabel Margaret “Ann” Myers The family of Ann Myers invites you to sign the guestbook of her online memorial at www.OceanViewAstoria.com. Please share a favorite memory or story while you are there. Thank you for your thoughts and support. Lorraine Smith, Daughter John Myers and Bruce Myers, Sons Ocean View Funeral and Cremation Services 1213 Franklin Avenue | Astoria, Oregon 97103 503-338-7200
