144TH YEAR, NO. 106
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2016
ONE DOLLAR
Sneaker
waves
are in
season
Be careful at the beach
By JAMIE HALE
The Oregonian
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Robbie Buckman, left, is served some cranberry sauce by Charlet Robinson at Riverfolk Homeless Coalition’s Thanksgiving
meal Thursday. The group served more than 100 people dinner at the Armory, while providing meals for thousands more with
$15,000 worth of donated food from the Astoria Safeway’s Turkey Bucks program.
RIVERFOLK HELPS THOSE IN NEED
GIVE THANKS
WITH SAFEWAY DONATION, THOUSANDS
DINE ON THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
PORTLAND — Never turn your back to
the ocean.
That’s probably the best piece of advice
when it comes to surviving sneaker waves
— the sudden, unpredictable surges of water
that can knock you over or pull you out to
sea. And while there’s no official season for
sneaker waves, plotting out major incidents in
Oregon shows an undeniable seasonal trend.
Since 1990, all major sneaker wave inci-
dents have occurred between October and
April, peaking in November and March. In
that time, at least 21 people have been killed
by sneaker waves on the Oregon coast, and
several others have been severely injured.
Victoria Hansen, a rescuer with the U.S.
Coast Guard, told The Oregonian/Oregon-
Live (http://bit.ly/2fS5RFp ) the seasonal
occurrence could be the result of a more tur-
bulent ocean. Winter storms toss the ocean
about more violently, and the runoff from the
land only adds to the volume. Tides also tend
to be more extreme in the colder seasons, she
said, drawing people to the beach when the
water is low but pushing them back further
come high tide.
See WAVES, Page 8A
Brown aims
to reduce
investment
price tag
E
stablished in September, the nonprofit Riverfolk
Homeless Coalition has experienced quick growth to
become one of the region’s foremost advocates for
those in need.
With about $15,000 worth of turkeys, mashed pota-
toes, stuffing and gravy from the Astoria Safeway’s Tur-
key Bucks fundraiser, the group became this year’s hub
for Thanksgiving dinners, distributing food for more than
1,800 people and feeding more than 100 at the Astoria
Armory Thursday.
Riverfolk
Liz Bartell, one of Riverfolk’s five board members,
said the group started as a gathering of like-minded
friends and associates. On the board
with her is Mike Doran, Nicole
Adamczyk, Mary Docherty and
Hilary Levine.
“We talked about the troubling
… presence of people who were
homeless in Astoria, and wanted to
step forward and do something pos-
itive,” Bartell said.
Docherty said her husband,
Scott, had produced an annual fund-
raising concert called Winterfolk
Liz
for Sisters of the Road, a nonprofit
Bartell
cafe in Portland that has been feed-
ing the homeless since the 1970s. The group attended the
concert, she said, and decided to create their own, calling
it Riverfolk, which the group held at Clatsop Community
College’s Performing Arts Center in June.
Since then, the group has been focused on helping the
homeless with the simple things of life.
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
‘I was nowhere’
Two weeks ago, Mary Tucker didn’t have an ID,
which prevented her from doing anything as simple as
going to the library or big like applying for a job or find-
ing place to live.
See RIVERFOLK, Page 9A
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Mary Docherty, center, a board member with new nonprofit Riverfolk,
fits Mary Tucker, right, and her partner, Joshua Gianuario, with donated
new rain jackets. The nonprofit provides clothing, rain gear and assis-
tance with getting IDs to the local homeless community.
SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
plans to advance a bill in the upcoming leg-
islative session aimed at maximizing returns
on the state’s investments, according to her
office.
The Oregon State Treasury oversees the
state’s investments, although it outsources
some investment work to outside firms. It
appears Brown would bring some of that
work back to Salem to reduce costs.
Kristen Grainger, a spokeswoman for the
governor, said in an email Tuesday that the
treasury “needs to be resourced adequately
to expand the amount of funds they manage
internally.”
In previous legislative sessions, Treasurer
Ted Wheeler — who will be replaced by state
Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton, come Janu-
ary — introduced similar legislation aimed
at reducing the cost of investing by bringing
more outsourced functions in-house.
The gist of both proposals is that reducing
costs could increase the state’s net returns.
See BROWN, Page 8A
Festival of Trees is ‘winter wonderland’
Meet Princess Belle, Sugar Plum Fairy
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For EO Media Group
SEASIDE — For Veronica Rus-
sell, Providence Seaside Hospital
Foundation’s development special-
ist, “Christmas is about kids.”
To create an especially enchant-
ing experience for children at this
year’s Festival of Trees community
open house, the Dec. 3 event will
feature a new Candy Cane Lane,
with expanded activities and offer-
ings for young attendees.
An actress portraying Disney’s
Princess Belle will sing and read
stories on the mezzanine at the Sea-
side Civic and Convention Cen-
ter, where the event will take place.
The Sugar Plum Fairy, inspired by
“The Nutcracker” ballet, will over-
see the making of Christmas magic
wands. Children also will get to
decorate cookies, get their picture
taken with Santa Claus, have their
See FESTIVAL, Page 9A
EO Media Group
Gov. Kate Brown’s office says she will
propose legislation to maximize state
investment returns, including reduc-
ing costs by ending the outsourcing of
some investment management.
Columbia Memorial Hospital
2111 Exchange St., Astoria
(503) 325-4321
www.columbiamemorial.org
Give a Gift with Heart
Remember your loved one by donating a heart for a community tree. See ad on page 3A for details.