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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2017)
‘BLITHE SPIRIT’ HAUNTS THE COASTER THEATRE COAST WEEKEND • INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 59 ONE DOLLAR A window into an emergency Emergency manager helped with response to Eagle Creek Fire By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Clatsop County was spared from the rush of wildfi res that spread throughout the state the past few weeks. But the county has still been playing a part in evacuation and recov- ery efforts. County Emergency Services Manager Tiffany Brown has traveled to Hood River twice to help with emergency services at the Eagle Creek Fire. As fi refi ghters from around the state work to contain the blaze, Brown has helped offi cials in Hood River make arrangements. Hood River Emergency Program Man- ager Barbara Ayers called Brown two weeks ago to ask if she could work out of the coun- ty’s emergency operations center, located in the sheriff’s offi ce. An intergovernmental agreement allows employees from through- out Oregon to work for other counties , while still being paid by his or her home county, for a limited number of days during an emergency. Photos Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Cannon Beach will soon offer beach accessible wheelchairs to the public. Public, but not always accessible See MANAGER, Page 7A BEACH WHEELCHAIR PROGRAM MOVES ALONG IN CANNON BEACH By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian C annon Beach will soon join the small but growing number of communities on the Oregon Coast that offer beach accessible wheelchairs . It’s an idea that has been in the works for several years. T he Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Haystack Rock Awareness Program joined forces to purchase the fi rst beach accessible wheel- chair, which are chairs with 4- to 5-inch- wide tires that ride on top of sand. The goal is to eventually have two wheelchairs at Tolovana State Park and two at the Gower Street beach entrances available to the public to check out for free . The city will follow Manzanita and Seaside as the third on the c oast to pro- vide any type of beach wheelchair, and the second to provide them for free as a public service. Pooka Rice, the outreach coordinator for the Haystack Rock Awareness Pro- gram, said the group got involved earlier this year to help write grants and facili- tate a program. The group is at the center of many school fi eld trips and educational programs, and Rice said that she wanted to make sure anyone who wanted to par- ticipate in these activities could have access. Submitted Photo Base camp at the Hood River County Fairgrounds for emergency responders. Cannon Beach will soon join Manzanita and Seaside as the only coastal com- munities to offer beach accessible wheelchairs . Manzanita has had three of the specially designed wheelchairs available to the public for over 10 years. “There is a hugely underserved pop- ulation,” Rice said. “I am a caregiver for disabled people myself. It is so important this program exists so kids (with disabili- ties) can be included.” Travel Oregon Chairman Ryan Sny- der, who was part of the initial push two years ago, said after developing Cannon Beach’s program that he hopes to work with Travel Oregon to make beach wheel- chair access a coastwide reality. “Today is Cannon Beach. But this is a topic I plan to bring up at the Travel Ore- gon level. Regardless of mobility, you should be able to experience the Oregon Coast line.” See ACCESS, Page 7A ‘THIS IS A TOPIC I PLAN TO BRING UP AT THE TRAVEL OREGON LEVEL. REGARDLESS OF MOBILITY, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE OREGON COAST LINE.’ Cannon Beach chamber leader to step down Carrier resigns due to medical issues By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH – Court Carrier, the e xecu- tive d irector of the Cannon Beach Chamber of Com- merce, will leave his posi- tion in November due to medical issues. Court Jim Paino, the cham- Carrier ber’s e xecutive a ssistant and m embership c oordina- tor , will serve as the interim director as the chamber’s board searches for a replacement. Ryan Snyder | Travel Oregon chairman, who was part of the initial push two years ago See CARRIER, Page 7A Treatment center a path to sobriety Outpatient option for drug abusers By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian When she opened the North Coast Medical Clinic last year, Wendy Hemsley said she had found a dearth of primary care providers in the region. Noticing a similar lack of outpatient drug treatment options , Hemsley opened North Coast Recovery this spring in the same building as her clinic on 30th Street in Astoria’s Mill Pond neigh- borhood. She gathered health care and government partners Wednesday to offi cially cut the ribbon on the recovery center, but also to talk about the need for more services for those struggling with substance abuse. North Coast Recovery is one of several outpatient treat- ment centers in the region. “We’re basically the transi- tory step between a controlled inpatient environment and functioning in a world with drugs and alcohol,” Hemsley said. The recovery center is staffed with substance abuse counselors and two medical addiction specialists Hems- ley recruited from the Portland area. When patients come in, counselors sit down with them to assess what level of treat- ment they need, said Sandy Ferguson, a chemical depen- dency counselor. The recovery center offers varying levels of intensity to help patients transition from withdrawal to daily life, from 20 or more hours of structured programs a week and daily monitoring to one or two hours a week in meetings about how to maintain a sober lifestyle. Outpatient services can last up to a year, Hemsley said. See CENTER, Page 7A Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear, left, cut the ribbon Wednes- day at North Coast Recovery, a drug and alcohol treat- ment center opened this spring by Wendy Hemsley on 30th Street in the same building as the North Coast Medi- cal Clinic she opened last year.