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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
Manager: ‘It’s
going to look
like the moon
when people
drive up I-84’
Continued from Page 1A
In her fi rst campaign, Brown spent the
fi rst day shadowing another emergency ser-
vices coordinator. For the next three days,
she worked 13-hour shifts — allowing Ayers
to take time off.
“It’ll probably be the last day off she has
in a while,” Brown said after the trip.
Working with organizations such as the
American Red Cross and Oregon Health
Authority, Brown planned evacuations
by identifying shelter sites, communicat-
ing with the public, coordinating livestock
movement and preparing for potential hos-
pital evacuations.
Brown returned for a second campaign
last weekend as efforts shifted more toward
recovery . Individuals and businesses are
beginning to fi gure out how to recoup losses,
but poor air quality once again became a fac-
tor before rain hit the area early this week.
Brown joined the Clatsop County Emer-
gency Management Division in 2010. She
has been a visible face in local preparation
for a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake
and tsunami, and her arrival came after a
major storm ravaged the region in 2007.
Working in a small county like Hood River,
as opposed to other fi re operations in Mult-
nomah or Clackamas counties, offered her a
valuable test run for future emergency situa-
tions on the North Coast, she said.
“There are such unique skill sets and
responsibilities that you don’t see very often.
We’re really an animal of our own,” Brown
said. “I’m trained to handle these situations,
but I don’t get a chance to use it that often.”
Hood River also benefi ts from having
outside voices assess situations as they arise.
“There’s also really some value in bring-
ing somebody in that doesn’t have a dog in
the fi ght,” Brown said.
During Brown’s fi rst trip to Hood River,
conversations about when to re open Inter-
state 84 to traffi c occurred regularly. A
Level 3 evacuation area with debris, rocks
and roughly 3,000 trees sprawled across
the road, the popular commercial and travel
thoroughfare opened to all westbound traffi c
last week. The eastbound lanes — just a few
feet away from some of the scorched areas
— remain closed.
“It’s interesting to see the natural tension
with the g overnor’s offi ce and economic
development bumping up with safety oper-
ations,” Brown said.
Both emergency and fi re personnel are
more accustomed to handling wildfi res than
other types of emergencies. Local organiza-
tions are not as reliant upon federal agencies
such as the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency , which is engaged in hurricane
recovery operations throughout the country.
“Wildfi re is a hazard that we’re more
familiar with,” Brown said. “Local fi re-
fi ghters are able to reach straight up to their
mother ships and get all the resources they
need.”
Still, though, the Eagle Creek F ire’s
destruction in the middle of the Columbia
River Gorge — a national scenic area —
has impacted many sentimental Oregonians.
That, of course, is not something emergency
or fi re personnel can repair.
“It’s going to look like the moon when
people drive up I-84,” Brown said. “We’ll be
reminded of it for a long time to come.”
The Eagle Creek Fire caused poor air
quality in the Columbia River Gorge.
Submitted Photo
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
While many Oregon beaches are not accessible to individuals using wheelchairs, communities like Seaside and Can-
non Beach are making access easier.
Access: ‘It means everyone from kids with a broken
foot to grandma and grandpa can go to the beach’
Continued from Page 1A
Serving a need
Manzanita, a town south of
Cannon Beach, has had three
beach wheelchairs available
for use for more than 10 years.
The outreach was provided
by a local business before the
owner retired and donated the
wheelchairs to the city, which
now operates the service from
the Visitors Center.
Dan Haag, the coordinator
of the Visitors Center, said the
center receives numerous calls
and emails asking about beach
wheelchairs .
“If we had 100 chairs I don’t
think it would be enough,”
Haag said.
T he city, he said, plans
to look into investing in one
or two more chairs. He said
having a city next door pro-
vide similar access will be
invaluable.
“I’m excited Cannon Beach
is on board. I hope more city
entities get at least one or two,
because that makes a difference
in a lot of lives,” Haag said. “It
means everyone from kids with
a broken foot to grandma and
grandpa can go to the beach.”
Court Carrier, the execu-
tive director of the Cannon
Beach Chamber of Commerce,
said the chamber frequently
receives requests for wheel-
chairs , as well.
Beach accessible wheelchairs are available in Seaside but only from a private company.
The ones planned for Cannon Beach will be free to the public like the ones in Manzanita.
“We’re anxiously moving
ahead on this,” he said. “It’s so
important.”
Making it happen
Passion for the wheelchair
project has been around for
years. Last year, the c hamber
and others in the community
came to the C ity C ouncil for
support, Carrier said.
The fi rst wheelchair was
purchased with donations from
the c hamber, Snyder and other
local contributors. But with
each wheelchair costing about
$2,500 , signifi cant fundraising
from donations, grants and cor-
porate sponsors will be needed
to pay for three more chairs
and the installation of the sheds
where they will be stored, Rice
said.
The vision is to build
code-protected storage sheds
where wheelchair users can
check out beach wheelchairs
while safely storing their own,
Rice said. Until money is
raised for the sheds, however,
users will be able to check out
wheelchairs starting in October
from the Cannon Beach Police
Department.
“Our aging population
affects a lot of us. People hav-
en’t been as vocal as we need
to be for those who are mobil-
ity impaired,” Rice said. “Can-
non Beach is looking toward
changing that so everyone can
access the beach. Our beaches
are already free to the public
— let’s make sure it is free for
everyone.”
Carrier: Leader plans to depart on Nov. 20
Continued from Page 1A
Carrier started with the
c hamber in 2014 after a
27-year tenure as the pro-
gram director and instructor
for the Mt. Hood Community
College h ospitality and t our-
ism p rogram. Before then, he
spent 20 years in the hospital-
ity industry .
“It has been a joy to work
here,” Carrier said. “I’ve been
blessed to live in this heavenly
place and make signifi cant
progress. I’m disappointed,
but it’s what I need to do to
take care of myself.”
The decision came after the
chamber board was already
evaluating Carrier’s three-year
contract. Chamber President
Greg Swedenborg said Carrier
didn’t feel he was in a position
to extend the contract past the
c hamber’s fi scal year because
of “personal and extended
family health reasons.”
“Through discussions with
Court, (the b oard) felt the
timing was right to make the
change rather than postpone
the inevitable for a few quar-
ters,” Swedenborg said in a
statement. “Court graciously
offered to stay on past his con-
tract date, which will help in
the execution of our succes-
sion plan.”
Carrier will depart on Nov.
20.
Carrier will be moving
back to Portland with his wife
to pursue his own medical
treatment as well as help take
care of other family members
facing illness.
In his time as e xecutive
d irector, Carrier helped estab-
lish a contract with the city
to invest lodging tax revenue
for tourism-related marketing
support. He also played a large
role in organizing celebrations
for the 50th anniversary of the
Oregon Beach Bill.
Ryan Snyder, the Travel
Oregon chairman and CEO of
Martin North, met Carrier in
1997 when his wife was in one
of Carrier’s hospitality classes
at Mt. Hood Community Col-
lege. Through that personal
connection grew a profes-
sional one when he heard Car-
rier was chosen for the director
position in 2014.
“I was elated when he found
out he was going to be execu-
tive director, so the emotional
pendulum really swung when
he told me he was stepping
down,” Snyder said. “He’s a
tremendous asset to the indus-
try, and his knowledge in tour-
ism has been invaluable to the
small town of Cannon Beach
— more than people realize.”
City Councilor George Vet-
ter worked with Carrier when
he served as a chamber board
member, and said that Carri-
er’s high energy will be “hard
to replace.”
“Court has been a great
asset to the chamber and to the
community. It’s through his
energy and leadership that we
are competing with other des-
tinations throughout the coun-
try and the state,” Vetter said.
In Snyder’s view, what
cemented Carrier’s legacy
was his ability to get people
to work toward a common
mission.
“We shared a spirit of love
for people and love for shar-
ing experiences,” Snyder said.
“He will truly be missed.”
Center: There is a lack of detox beds for people in crisis
Continued from Page 1A
Part of the high rate of
relapse among opioid addicts
is the intense pain they feel
during withdrawal. Hems-
ley’s medical addiction spe-
cialists are some of the few
in the region who can provide
medications such as Suboxone
and Vivitrol, which can help
reduce the pain and prevent
relapse.
While providing drug treat-
ment, the center also tries to
identify the personal needs of
patients, whether it’s housing,
employment or mental health
services, Ferguson said, refer-
ring patients to other local pro-
viders such as Clatsop Behav-
ioral Healthcare, the county’s
mental health contractor.
One of Hemsley’s frus-
trations, felt by many private
providers, is her inability to
accept patients on the Oregon
Health Plan, the state’s version
of Medicaid , the health insur-
ance program for the poor. A
community health assessment
in 2014 estimated a third of
Clatsop County residents are
on the state plan. Many lack
affordable local options for
medical and substance abuse
treatment.
“I would love to be able to
accept OHP,” she said. “We
have the infrastructure.”
Another sore spot for
Hemsley, chronicled by The
Daily Astorian, is the lack of
detox beds for people in crisis.
The closest option is Bridge to
Pathways more than 60 miles
away in St. Helens.
“If we could even have just
a few beds, it would be a huge
assistance,” she said.
Despite the gaps in service,
Hemsley said, Astoria is a very
recovery rich community, and
providers of drug treatment
work together.
“I just respect and appreci-
ate anyone offering drug and
alcohol treatment,” she said.
“The demand far outweighs
the resources we have.”