THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2017
SPORTS
7A
Fishermen, Gulls run Astoria spikers find ‘Silver’
at Tualatin Invitational at Cascade Tournament
The Daily Astorian
TUALATIN — Run-
ners from Astoria and Sea-
side braved the smoky air of
the Willamette Valley to take
part in the 13th annual Tuala-
tin Invitational Saturday at
Tualatin High School.
Competing against a
field of runners from mostly
5A and 6A schools, the
athletes from Clatsop County
managed to find some suc-
cess in the 5,000-meter var-
sity races.
The Seaside boys did not
field a complete team, but
Gulls’ senior Rafi Sibony ran
the course in 17 minutes, 15
seconds for seventh place
individually. Jerik Embleton
of Marist took first in 15:51.
The Astoria girls placed
seventh out of 10 teams.
Freshman Sophie Long
was Astoria’s top finisher,
running the 5,000 in 22:27
for 29th overall. Teammate
McKenzie Burnett was close
behind (31st, 22:36), fol-
lowed by Kathy Perez (39th,
23:04).
The Daily Astorian
TURNER — Two days
after losing a nonleague
match at Cascade, the Asto-
ria volleyball team returned to
Turner to compete in the Cas-
cade Invitational Saturday at
Cascade High School.
And their second trip was
a lot more successful, as the
Lady Fishermen won the ‘Sil-
ver Bracket’ with victories
over Madras (25-14, 25-13),
Kennedy (27-25, 25-12) and
Seaside (25-15, 25-14).
Sisters defeated Cascade in
the top ‘Gold Bracket.’
“My
setters,
Madi
(Landwehr) and Julia (Nor-
ris) did a great job and made
good decisions all day,” said
Astoria coach Jessie Todd.
“My hitters put the ball down
and played great, and we were
just clicking at a level that
we haven’t played at this
season.”
Astoria played six matches,
“so my girls were pretty
tired,” Todd said. “There were
a lot of good teams there.”
The Fishermen open Cow-
apa League play this week,
as they host Valley Catholic
Tuesday.
Col. Perez: ‘It’s a
great opportunity’
Continued from Page 1A
In his new position, Perez
will work under a new U.S.
Army program that prior-
itizes talent specialization
after soldiers are recruited.
“It’s a great opportu-
nity,” said Perez, who plans
to return to Astoria following
his two-year tour.
A ‘gem’
Perez’ stint as the head of
90-year-old Camp Rilea did
not last long. Although Perez
described Rilea as a “gem,”
three other training centers
in the state — Adair, Biak
and Umatilla — have been
in need of improvements.
State National Guard lead-
ers identified lack of coordi-
nation between the camps as
an issue.
Soon after his appoint-
ment, he collaborated with a
group of other state National
Guard leaders to create a
more efficient system to
manage the sites. Born out
of those discussions was the
Oregon Training Command,
and Perez became its first
commander in 2013.
Oregon Training Com-
mand, with 82 soldiers at its
disposal, now decides which
camps receive the resources
and manpower necessary to
sustain themselves. The dif-
fering environments at the
camps also allow soldiers
to train for various types of
warfare.
“The model has worked
pretty well,” Perez said.
“We’ve created a lot more
capacity to manage our lands
and our facilities. We’re
much better able to serve our
soldiers with better training.”
While this transition was
taking place, Perez accepted
a position with Clatsop
County as administrative ser-
vices director. He moved to
Bothell, Washington, in 2015
to become a human services
coordinator with the Seattle
suburb, though he continued
in his role with the Oregon
Training Command.
Management skills
Perez said personnel and
resource management skills
are key to being successful in
the position.
Hoback, who lives in
Grants Pass, is also a program
director at Rogue Valley
Youth Correctional Facility.
He has more than nine years
of command experience that
includes deployments to Iraq
and Afghanistan.
“The most rewarding part
is going to be training sol-
diers throughout the state of
Oregon,” Hoback said.
Hoback, 48, said he does
not foresee many changes at
Camp Rilea. Instead, much
of his focus will go toward
improving Camp Umatilla.
“There’s nothing chang-
ing at Camp Rilea,” Hoback
said. “It’s the premier Ore-
gon National Guard training
center.”
Hoback met with Lt. Col.
Peter Helzer, the camp’s
commander, earlier this
month and will be his imme-
diate supervisor. Helzer said
he does not know Hoback
well yet, but his patience is
similar to that of Perez.
Because of Rilea’s stabil-
ity, relations with the com-
mand will mainly center on
long-term planning.
“Now it is really about
balancing the standing up
of Umatilla with not letting
things fall by the wayside at
other facilities,” Helzer said.
Staff Sgt. Anita VanderMolen
Oregon Army National Guard Brig. Gen. William J. Ed-
wards, left, presents Col. Dean Perez, outgoing com-
mander of the Oregon Training Command, with a Mer-
itorious Service Medal in recognition of his service
during a ceremony in Salem on Sunday.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Local dignitaries joined Walmart representatives in Warrenton on Friday for a ceremonial groundbreaking event at the
construction site for the new development.
Walmart: Foundation built on geopiers
Continued from Page 1A
Walmart representatives
first announced plans to build
on the North Coast in 2009,
announcing the North Coast
Retail Center as the location
in 2012.
Clatsop
Residents
Against Walmart formed in
2010 to oppose the retailer,
successfully appealing ele-
ments of the new store to
the state Land Use Board of
Appeals. The group also sued
the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers in U.S. District Court
for granting a wetland fill per-
mit to Walmart. The case was
dismissed in August 2016, but
an appeal was filed in 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tim Beshone, the project
manager for general contrac-
tor Deacon Construction, said
ground work began in October
and cost more than $10 mil-
lion to turn the shrub-covered
dunes into a level site for the
supercenter.
“We had 151,000 cubic
yards of dirt that had to be
removed from the site,” said
Eric Evenson, construction
manager for Walmart, of the
soils taken out for neighboring
developments.
Deacon Construction took
out 20 feet worth of soil in
some spots, leveling the entire
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held at the construction site of the new Walmart in
Warrenton on Friday as work on the building continued in the background.
site to 42 feet above sea level.
The company brought in more
than $2 million worth of rock
from the Teevin &Fischer
Quarry in Seaside for use in
the foundation.
Deacon had to move a city
sewer lift station and storm-
water pond out of the main
building site, while construct-
ing its own stormwater facil-
ity to handle up to 2.5 inches
worth of rain in a day. The site
has faced at least one day with
4 inches of rain, but did not
experience any spills into the
surrounding wetlands, Even-
son said.
“This is sand and silt,
and it’s got clay in it,” Even-
son said. “It’s just absolutely
unsuitable to build on. You
have to do something to stabi-
lize it.”
The foundation of the store
is built on geopiers dug 35 feet
into the ground and rammed
full of gravel to stabilize the
building. Tiered, caged-in
gravel beds line the south end
of the building site to keep the
store from slipping toward the
adjacent wetlands. A compac-
tion layer of rock in the foun-
dation can hold 420 pounds
per square foot.
“Once the ground has
stopped moving and settled,
then we can start building the
pad,” Evenson said.
Building the outer shell
of the building before the
rainy season is the first step,
Beshone said, after which inte-
rior work can start.
Henri: ‘I don’t think this is a
Probe: ‘I believe in all our officers’
Workman. He is a good
“The city takes our relation-
temporary home. ... This is heaven’ Continued from Page 1A Chief
man. He has the highest of eth- ship with the DA’s office seri-
Continued from Page 1A
office. Once a week, though,
she has to commute to Port-
land. It can be an isolating
schedule, she said.
Henri, who grew up in
Bend and Issaquah, Wash-
ington, wanted to connect
more with her new com-
munity. When Commu-
nity Development Direc-
tor Kevin Cronin suggested
applying for the open plan-
ning commission posi-
tion, the volunteer aspect
of the appointment as well
as the clear commitment it
required appealed to her.
“Before I knew it, I was
a planning commissioner,
which I think is such an
honor,” Henri said. She
said she has asked herself,
“Is it OK for me to be mak-
ing these (land use) deci-
sions when I moved here
16 months ago?” At the
same time, with her back-
ground and experience, she
feels she has something to
contribute.
She is especially happy
to find herself in the com-
pany of other women, Com-
missioners Jan Mitchell and
Jennifer Cameron-Lattek.
“Places like that I often
find I am the only woman,”
Henri explained.
And she says it is clear
she is part of a very commit-
ted group. “We try to stick
to the city codes, but when
it comes to making a deci-
sion, we’re often interpret-
ing code,” she said, “and
we help each other with
these deliberations. It’s very
transparent.”
Astoria feels like a place
where she can, as she says,
“make places for people
while we are also being
good stewards of the earth.”
She points to a track record
of urban reclamation here
— taking old buildings and
making them useful again
while retaining historical
characteristics — as well
as the care and interest citi-
zens show in the woods sur-
rounding Astoria and the
Columbia River.
“I don’t think this is a
temporary home,” Henri
said. “For me this is
heaven.”
not been publicly identified by
the city or prosecutors — were
on administrative leave.
Warrenton swore in new
police officers in February and
April. Pierce was promoted to
sergeant in February, a move
widely praised because of
his experience. He had been
a Warrenton Police sergeant
in the 1980s before his long
career with the state police.
Engbretson said she could
not speak about specific per-
sonnel actions at the police
department. She said in an
email that the investigation
shows that “the system works.
We investigate concerns thor-
oughly and take necessary
steps and appropriate action
where necessary.”
The city manager also said
she has “full confidence in
ics. He works extremely hard
— goes above and beyond
really. He is totally commit-
ted to this community and that
shows in all he does for the
community.
“I believe in all our officers;
they work hard for Warrenton,
and I think you will find the
majority of the community has
high confidence in our depart-
ment and that is demonstrated
in the many ways folks support
our officers.”
Mayor Henry Balensifer
said he could not comment on
personnel matters within the
police department, but stressed
that the city took the district
attorney’s concerns seriously.
The mayor and the City Com-
mission oversee Engbretson,
while the city manager super-
vises the police chief.
ously, just as we did with his
suggestions,” Balensifer said in
an email. “Appropriate actions
have been taken, as evidenced
in the DA’s statement. We look
forward to a continued, posi-
tive working relationship with
the DA’s office.
“Force levels are an issue
across the county. That said,
Warrenton has come a long
way. It was not long ago we
didn’t have 24-hour police
coverage. We currently do. The
commission has added offi-
cers over the past few years,
and recently we added a ser-
geant and drug dog. We have
one officer just getting out of
the academy and another soon
to be going.
“You ask if citizens should
have confidence in our police
department — they should.”