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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2017)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 57 ONE DOLLAR Jim Young Waterspout observed at 10:40 a.m. from Oceanside in Tillamook County. Tornado warning rattles coast Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Coast Guard personnel perform routine maintenance on one of their helicopters last week in a hangar at Air Station Astoria. By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Maintenance never stops for Coast Guard helicopters A tornado warning for portions of Clatsop County and Washing- ton state’s Pacifi c County came to nothing Monday afternoon, but res- idents did report seeing water spouts in some areas and there could be another round of thunder and light- ning on Wednesday. The rare warning rattled nerves and was a reminder of the tornado that touched down in Manzanita last October, causing signifi cant damage. Aging aircraft must last until 2035 See WARNING, Page 4A By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian W ARRENTON — On the main hangar fl oor at Air Station Astoria last week, two Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters sat in vary- ing stages of disassembly. Coast Guard avionics and mechan- ical technicians at the air station disas- sembled, checked and put the helicopters back together . They repaired one after an avionics malfunction and conducted scheduled maintenance on another. The air station’s three MH-60Ts are part of a fl eet delivered to the Coast Guard in the early to mid-1990s, upgraded to a new model in the 2000s and originally meant to fl y 10,000 hours. Each of the aircraft in Astoria have logged more than 13,000 hours of fl ight. And with a directive to keep fl ying them through at least 2035, maintenance never stops. A Band-Aid approach to Seaside’s old schools Coast G uard personnel lift a part into place during maintenance work . A continual cycle An estimated 24.4 hours of mainte- nance goes into each aircraft for every hour in fl ight. The maintenance starts with inspections before, during and after daily operations. Another list of required checks must be performed after 200 hours in the air. Zach Painter, an avionics electri- cal technician, is one of about 50 main- tenance personnel at the air station, split between avionics and aviation main- tenance . The Coast Guard syncs peri- ods of maintenance based on calendar days and fl ight hours to create a sched- ule of upkeep . Many of the components inside a helicopter have their own lifes- A Coast Guard technician makes re- pairs to a helicopter . pan. No. 6002, one of three Jayhawks at the air station, has more than 14,000 fl ight hours . Since last week, the helicop- ter has been grounded during a scheduled maintenance period after reaching its lat- est increment of 200 fl ight hours. Each fl ight-hour maintenance period builds in intensity to an 800-hour disas- sembly, said Chief Warrant Offi cer John Mitchell, the maintenance offi cer at the air station. “The whole head gets disassembled,” he said of the 800-hour period. “We inspect everything on it. The blades come off. And then (we) put it all back together and we basically reset, so we start another 200-hour cycle again.” A main issue is corrosion, with Coast Guard helicopters operating in harsh environments and close contact to saltwa- ter. Technicians actively monitor for cor- rosion, replacing worn parts of the frame, spreading sealants to prevent water in between parts and putting dehumidifi ers in the aircraft overnight. ‘A freshly built helicopter’ The yellow helicopter Air Station Plugging holes until new campus in 2020 By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Gearhart Elementary School, Broadway Middle School and Sea- side High School were built with an expected lifespan of 45 to 50 years. Each school has been used well beyond that span. A new school campus is not expected to open until fall 2020. Until then, schools deemed old and at risk in a Cascadia Sub- duction Zone earthquake and tsunami con- tinue to house students. A fact sheet by proponents of the suc- cessful $99.7 million bond measure for the new campus last year described the three schools as in a state of deterioration, including crumbling concrete that is See HELICOPTERS, Page 4A See SEASIDE SCHOOLS, Page 4A Drumheller was a hospitality industry leader Key fi gure in Cannon Beach tourism growth By R.J. MARX and BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — Tom Drumheller, chief executive offi - cer of Escape Lodging and co-owner of Tom’s Fish & Chips, died Sunday morning at his home after a short ill- ness. He was 64. Drumheller, a former chairman of the city’s Tourism and Arts Commis- sion, played a key role in the region’s hospitality industry and beyond, serv- ing on the board of directors of Travel Portland and most recently as founder of the 62,773-square-foot Columbia Point Hotel in Richland, Washington. “I’ve known Tom for 30 years, and we’ve been business partners since 1999,” Patrick Nofi eld, the president of Escape Lodging, said . “There’s nobody like him. It’s a huge void — not just for those who loved him, but for our community, and the people of eastern Washington where he grew up.” According to Nofi eld, Drumheller was diagnosed with metastasized colon cancer in August . “When they were in the hospital they found cancer was all over his body,” Nofi eld said. “It was totally unexpected.” Nofi eld said Drumheller did not want to spend his last days in the hos- pital, so he returned to home hospice in Cannon Beach. He had friends and family mem- bers come from all over the Northwest, Nofi eld said. “For the last week of his life it was like one continuous party. Tom was greeting everyone, engaging people, meeting with employees, shar- ing stories, sharing humor.” A career in hospitality John Thomas Drumheller, known as “Tom,” was born and raised in Walla Walla, Washington, on Aug. 15, 1953. Drumheller’s family worked in the hardware business for generations. Growing up, he watched how his father used humor and respect to develop strong relationships with customers. Submitted P hoto See DRUMHELLER, Page 4A Tom Drumheller, a key figure in Cannon Beach tourism, died on Sunday.