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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2017
Johnston: Joined the Astoria Police
Department as a 28-year-old recruit
Continued from Page 1A
Johnston, who could not
immediately be reached for
comment, recalled on Face-
book how he joined the police
department as a 28-year-old
recruit and moved up through
the ranks. He was named
police chief and assistant city
manager in 2014.
Johnston stepped down as
assistant city manager ear-
lier this month, describing the
dual role as exhausting.
“When I came here I said
my goal was to change my lit-
tle corner of the world,” he
wrote on Facebook Wednes-
day announcing his retire-
ment. “I hope I have done so
for the better.”
“As I move on to other
opportunities, I will always
hold this time and place as
special. I have rolled in your
gutters with those who would
harm the community; I have
held the hands of victims in
pain. You have welcomed me
into your lives. I will leave
here with plenty of scars
inside and out but I will also
leave here with a heart that
is fuller for the experience,”
he continued. “I have had
the pleasure of working with
amazing people in the police
department, the city, and the
community.
“Your police department
is comprised of great people.
They want the best for you and
the community at large. They
cannot do it without you. They
need you to be involved in the
business of public safety.
“My departure is sudden,
but necessary. I hope it will be
good for the community and
the department. Until we meet
again, it was my privilege to
serve you.”
Johnston’s
retirement
comes as the department
struggles with a short staff.
Two officers transferred to
the Clatsop County Sheriff’s
Office earlier this year while
one more resigned. Due to the
lengthy training period at the
Oregon Public Safety Acad-
emy in Salem, the depart-
ment will likely remain short-
staffed into next year.
Officers have been required
to work overtime shifts, and
detectives have had to take on
patrol duties. Johnston admit-
ted in April that, “It’s going to
be a very difficult time for our
department.”
In a Facebook post earlier
this month announcing that
he was resigning as assistant
city manager, the police chief
spoke of the tension in the
dual roles.
“It is exhausting,” John-
ston wrote. “It is also exhaust-
ing for my department. The
members of my department
could not trust that I had their
best interest in a primary posi-
tion at all times. That is not a
healthy position to put them
in. Members of the commu-
nity have opined that I may
be a part-time police chief.
It is clear that the image of
a dual role is not one that is
healthy for the legitimacy
of the department with our
community.”
Clatsop County District
Attorney Josh Marquis said he
was surprised by Johnston’s
announcement. “I didn’t know
that was coming,” he said.
“I’m grateful for all the things
Brad has done.
“But Astoria needs to make
some changes. And I’m confi-
dent that they will.”
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
People cool off in the waters near Youngs River Falls on Wednesday as temperatures in the area climbed over 90 de-
grees in some parts of Clatsop County. Find more photos capturing people beating the heat online at DailyAstorian.com
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Case Van Dorne co-owns the new Five Zero Trees mari-
juana store with Joel Jennings and Jason Cain.
Pot shop: Employs
14 people, 12 local
Continued from Page 1A
In the former Garbo’s Vin-
tage Wear on the east side is a
showroom with 34 strains of
marijuana, along with plant
starts, edibles, extracts, mer-
chandise and paraphernalia.
Garbo’s owner Lynn Had-
ley purchased the Shanahan
Building east on Commercial
Street and relocated to the for-
mer Custom Threads site ear-
lier this year.
The former 5 Lil’ Mon-
keys children’s consignment
store on the west has been
turned into a large lobby, com-
plete with a mural of the Asto-
ria Bridge covering the west-
ern wall. With all the space,
Van Dorne said the company
hopes to add an educational
cannabis experience, similar
to an interpretive center.
Adorning the floors, walls,
counters and shelves is wood,
much of which Van Dorne
said has been reclaimed from
other places, such as a former
mill in Sheridan. Crates from
the Fred Meyer grocery store
have been turned into shelves
for shirts and a table holding
plant starts.
“We shoot for an aesthetic
that’s going to match our sur-
rounding area,” Van Dorne
said.
High concentration
Heatwave: Lower temps expected for weekend
Five Zero Trees joins
Sweet Relief Natural Medi-
cine on Commercial Street and
the Farmacy in Uppertown,
Nature’s Choice Alternative
Medicine and Hi Astoria in
Uniontown and Hi Cascade
Astoria on the South Slope.
Sweet Relief’s second loca-
tion on Portway Street closed
last year after being dam-
aged in an explosion and fire
at a butane hash oil processor
located in the basement.
Van Dorne said he feels
the knowledge of his staff will
set Five Zero Trees apart from
other stores, along with qual-
ity control of the product.
Open for less than a week,
he said Five Zero Trees
already employs 14 people,
12 of them locals put through
a rigorous training of several
weeks with two managers
from the Portland area.
The company focuses on
organic products and buys
from vendors, but the part-
ners also have their own grow
site at a farm in the Willamette
Valley where Van Dorne said
they practice Korean natu-
ral farming, which uses other
crops purposely grown and
fermented to fertilize the soil
for the company’s marijuana
plants.
Van Dorne said he is eager
to integrate into the down-
town business community
and encourages his employees
to volunteer locally in efforts
such as the Clatsop County
Regional Food Bank and
beach cleanups. “At the end
of the day, we really are just
another small, family-owned
business.”
Continued from Page 1A
Portland beat the record
for Aug. 2 with a high of 103
degrees. The previous record
for that date had been 96
degrees in 1986 at the Port-
land Airport and 100 degrees
in 1939 in downtown Portland.
The all-time record still stands
at 107 degrees.
The heat wave triggered a
state of emergency announce-
ment by Gov. Kate Brown as
the hot, dry and windy condi-
tions combined with forecasts
for thunderstorms increased the
threat of wildfires. The decla-
ration will enable the Oregon
National Guard to mobilize
resources to help the Depart-
ment of Forestry and the Ore-
gon State Fire Marshal’s Office
with firefighting efforts.
An excessive heat warning
remains in place today for the
region. Temperatures in Asto-
ria are expected to soar above
Wednesday’s with a predicted
high of 97 degrees; in Portland,
today could end up being the
hottest day of the year at 106
degrees.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Bud tender Bob Roughton waters the vegetative starts
sold at marijuana store Five Zero Trees.
Participants in the 4-H competition at the Clatsop County Fair in Astoria cool down their ani-
mals on Wednesday as temperatures in the area rose to more than 90 degrees in some places.
Heat wave
The heat wave hit the coast
at a time when dozens of boats
were out on the Columbia
River for the Buoy 10 recre-
ational fishery and the Clatsop
County Fair was in full swing.
It caught everyone by
surprise.
Temperature is relative. In
other parts of the country, and
even the state, no one would
think twice about a 93-degree
day in the middle of summer.
On the coast, such high tem-
peratures are rare and the peo-
ple and animals who live here
aren’t used to them.
Or, in the words of National
Weather Service meteorologi-
cal technician Gerald Macke,
“We’re not accustomed to this
107-degree nonsense.”
When issuing warnings —
whether for excessive heat or
snow — meteorologists must
take regional differences into
account.
Pig woes
At the fairgrounds, 4-H
organizers, kids and parents
Hundreds of people flocked to the waters off Cannon
Beach on Wednesday as temperatures in the area soared
and were expected to rise even higher today.
rushed around trying to keep
animals cool. They spread ice
donated by local seafood pro-
cessing plants on the floors of
chicken, sheep and pig pens.
Rabbits stretched out next to
frozen bottles of water. There
were box fans everywhere:
some on the floor, pointing at
the backs of cows; others dan-
gled from poles above enclo-
sures, kept in place by twine or
daisy chains of plastic zip ties.
“Last week, they didn’t say
it was going to be this hot,”
said Sandra Carlson, Clatsop
County 4-H coordinator with
Oregon State University Exten-
sion Service.
At the outdoor arena, girls
wearing full equestrian gear —
breeches, boots, shirts buttoned
to the throat, long-sleeved rid-
ing jackets and helmets — lined
up with their horses. Later, Kait-
lyn Landwehr leaned back in a
chair outside her horse Jake’s
stall. She was resting, but also
keeping an eye on him to make
sure he didn’t start to show any
signs of heat sickness.
The animals everyone was
most worried about, however,
were the pigs. Swine can’t reg-
ulate their body temperature by
sweating in the way people can,
or by panting as dogs can. They
find other ways to keep cool,
like wallowing in mud, for
example. At the fairgrounds,
they’re stuck. They can bur-
row through the wood chips in
their pens and reach the indoor
arena’s concrete floor, but this
only provides a small amount
of relief.
To keep the pigs cool, swine
supervisor Tim Clark and his
crew rigged up a misting sys-
tem, last used in 2015, all along
the pig enclosures. Many 4-H
kids supplemented this with
hand-held spray bottles, giving
their pigs an extra misting here
and there.
On top of worrying if their
pigs will behave in front of the
judges, kids in 4-H now also
had to worry about their ani-
mal’s health overall.
“They’ve been working for
this all year and to have over-
heating animals is an extra
layer of stress,” said Carlson.
But, she added, “It’s also about
learning lessons.”
The coast is expected to cool
down somewhat this weekend
with temperatures in the 70s.
Bistro: Stevenson
hopes to research more
dog-friendly dishes
Continued from Page 1A
“It’s the only restaurant
that I know of that actually
offers a meal for a dog,”
Hayes said. “It was great. I
came down right from work
and didn’t have to worry
about feeding Gracie.”
With popularity grow-
ing, Stevenson said he plans
to expand by working with
local dog shops to sell his
dog dinner to-go in refriger-
ated, compostable cups.
“When people go to the
beach, they aren’t thinking
about bringing dog food. So
owners could benefit from
the convenience of having an
on-the-go dog meal they can
buy,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson hopes to
research more dog-friendly
dishes to diversify the menu.
But, for now, it seems like
the dogs are loving every-
thing about the dish except
for one thing.
“Gracie cleaned the
bowl,” Hayes said, “but she
left the parsley garnish.”
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The Bistro in Cannon Beach now offers a new menu for
dogs and chef/owner Jack Stevenson said the recep-
tion so far has been overwhelmingly positive.