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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2016)
144TH YEAR, NO. 116 ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016 Fighting bias: Astoria Police try new training ‘If you start out with bias, that bias will affect your performance.’ Department is fi rst to use tool By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Warrenton Police Officer Jim Pierce partici- pates in a training simulation with other officers Wednesday at the Astoria Police Department. Police offi cers are liable to face any number of adversaries, and the ones they should never underestimate are subconscious biases that can affect how they approach certain people. This week, Astoria Police became the fi rst department to use a new offi cer training tool that focuse s on recognizing, and Astoria Police Chief Brad Johnston rooting out, “implicit biases” — the beliefs and assumptions that people form about others based on race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality, class, weight, disabil- ity and other features that lend themselves to stereotypes. Most people allow biases to infl uence their behavior, often without realizing it. And, in law enforcement, implicit biases can shape offi cers’ decisions and interactions, including whether to use lethal force. “If you start out with bias, that bias will affect your perfor- mance,” Police Chief Brad John- ston said. Johnston invited two Wash- ington State University research- ers, Lois James and Stephen James, to run the Counter Bias Training Simulation in the department’s conference room Tuesday and Wednesday. Most of Astoria’s offi cers, and some from the Warrenton Police Depart- ment, took part. Scenes from the beat One by one, the cops — armed with a Glock 22 pistol retooled for the exercise — stood See POLICE, Page 6A Lead testing, abandoned tanks delay Armory deal Nonprofi t, lender want to ensure safety By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian The Friends of the Astoria Armory and lender Craft3 have held off closing on a $500,000 building purchase and improve- ment loan to ensure the community center is environmentally safe. A story in The Oregonian this week docu- mented lead contamination at other armories statewide, and two abandoned oil tanks were recently discovered on the site. “Our goal is to ensure that the Armory provides a safe, healthy environment for all users, and we are being proactive in ensur- ing that is the case,” Bruce Jones, the chair- man of the Armory’s board of directors, said in an email. Jones said that after The Oregonian article, he met with Craft3, and everyone decided the building should be tested for lead to ensure the community’s safety. Craft3 is contracting with a company to do the testing. A woman crosses 14th Street as snow falls in downtown Astoria on Thursday. More photos online at www.dailyastorian.com 74-year-old building Craft3, a community lender , acquired the Armory from the Columbia River Maritime Museum more than two years ago and rents it to the Friends as the group tries to develop the building into a successful events center. Walt Postlewait, chief lending offi cer with Craft3, said there appears to be little threat of widespread contamination in the 74-year-old building. “There is limited evidence that a fi ring range even existed in the Astoria A rmory — and if one did, it hasn’t been used in at least 50 years,” he said in an email. “That said, we are prepared to work with (the Friends) to fi nd out and take the steps necessary to make sure we transfer an asset that is safe for the community to use.” Postlewait said there is no mass forced- air circulation from the basement to the main gym, but that Craft3 and the Friends want to be prudent about the building’s safety. The Friends are seeking a $500,000 loan through Craft3 to purchase the Armory and make major improvements. The building used to hold events with around 3,000 peo- ple in its heyday but has been limited to 750 in capacity by various infrastructure issues, which the nonprofi t and volunteer groups have been fi xing over time. The Friends have Snow blankets the coast then gives way to rain The Daily Astorian wintry mix of snow, ice and rain showered fear and excitement in much of the Northwest, a region that typically lives under a cloud of mist and drizzle. Heavy, swirling snow fell downtown, making for slick driving. Forecasters expected a couple inches of snow to stick to the ground, followed by freezing rain. The forecast called for just rain eventually this morning. All area school districts canceled classes before the fi rst fl urries fell. Jewell School was still closed today. There were no reports of signifi cant power outages locally and area police depart- ments report no weather-related events. A See ARMORY, Page 6A You’ve got mail — maybe Astoria residents wait for mailboxes after September break-in By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Residents near Irving Avenue and 22nd Street are still waiting for new mailboxes, almost three months after the existing boxes were broken into. In September, the cluster box consisting of 12 lock boxes, and a separate box for larger packages, was reported vandalized and forced open. “It looks like they took a pry tool and pried the doors,” Astoria Deputy Police Chief Eric Halverson said. No mail was reported stolen. Since then, the residents have been picking up their mail at the Astoria Post Offi ce. Sarah Green, the post offi ce supervisor, said the new collections box has arrived, but the post offi ce is waiting for the hardware to assemble it. She said she doesn’t know when the box will be installed. Astoria Postmaster Chris Carpenter said he’s hoping the replacement project will be fi n- ished soon “because it’s been so long. The poor patrons … I mean, at least they’ve been patient.” A private mailbox near the dead end of Irving Avenue was also discovered with a broken lock and reported the same day. “It looks like whoever did this was on a path,” Halverson said. Residents on Irving Avenue and 22nd Street have been waiting for new mailboxes after a break-in. Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian
