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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017
New fire truck on display outside City Hall
Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian
A 2016-model chassis from Pierce Manufacturing, the As-
toria Fire Department’s new ladder truck has a 105-foot
ladder and a dual-rear axle.
Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Fire Department’s new ladder truck was parked outside City Hall on Monday, with the older, smaller one
behind it.
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Fire Depart-
ment parked its new ladder
truck — a 2016-model chas-
sis from Pierce Manufacturing
— outside City Hall on 11th
Street before the City Council
meeting Monday.
And, the department hopes,
the vehicle will never have to
be deployed for emergencies.
Behind it was the old truck,
the 1988 Simon Duplex that
made a cameo appearance in
“Kindergarten Cop,” which
was filmed in Astoria.
The city purchased the new
truck for $904,777 in cash. It
has a dual-rear axle, a ladder
length of 105 feet and — at
least for now — a “Goonies”
sticker affixed to the rear.
Pierce personnel added the
unordered decal after learn-
ing the truck was headed to
Astoria, Fire Chief Ted Ames
said. “The Goonies,” he dis-
covered, is a rather big deal
in Wisconsin, home of Pierce
headquarters.
Astoria Police need to fill vacancies on force
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Police Depart-
ment is looking for three new
officers for its staff of 16.
One officer resigned, while
two more accepted positions
with the Clatsop County Sher-
iff’s Office just a month later
in late March and early April.
The department had previ-
ously hired an officer earlier
this year, which filled a two-
year vacancy.
The recent departures
likely will lead to detectives
taking on patrol shifts, hav-
ing only two officers work-
ing a given shift, fewer com-
munity outreach events and
an increase in overtime pay,
Police Chief Brad Johnston
said. Johnston and Deputy
Chief Eric Halverson may
also need to respond to calls.
The strains are already
revealing themselves. One
detective, for instance, will
take some patrol shifts next
week while also spending
time preparing to testify in
the trial of accused kidnap-
per and rapist Russell Wayne
Deviney.
“It’s going to be a very
difficult time for our depart-
ment,” Johnston said.
While officers being hired
at different agencies is fairly
common, an exodus of this
kind is pretty rare, Johnston
said. Wages, jurisdiction sizes
and specialization opportu-
nities all can contribute to
an officer’s decision to apply
elsewhere.
Police Chief Brad Johnston
said the department could
have a difficult time while it
fills vacancies.
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
“Each entity has its own
personality,” Johnston said.
“In police hiring, there’s not a
lot of certainty until it’s close
to the hire date.”
Though the department
has been aware of the depar-
tures for weeks, it posted the
job openings just last week.
The delay allowed the depart-
ment to offer more competi-
tive wages after a recent col-
lective bargaining agreement
between the city and the Asto-
ria Public Safety Association.
Once a prospective officer
passes background checks and
psychological evaluations, he
or she must complete one year
of training at the state Depart-
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month, any new hires will not
be patrolling city streets any
time soon.
“I will be amazed if we
have two people filled in 11
months,” Johnston said.
Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian
Pierce Manufacturing, the company that produced the
Astoria Fire Department’s new ladder truck, affixed this
Goonies sticker near the rear of the vehicle. Fire Chief
Ted Ames learned “The Goonies” is apparently beloved in
Wisconsin, where Pierce is based.
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