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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Tsunami zones: Clatsop County maintains a robust Emergency Management Division Continued from Page 1A AP Photo/Gerry Broome Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl leaves the Fort Bragg court- room facility as the judge deliberates during a sentenc- ing hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C., Friday. Bergdahl spared any prison time, gets dishonorable discharge By JONATHAN DREW Associated Press FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who walked off his post in Afghanistan and triggered a search that left several com- rades severely wounded, will serve no prison time, a military judge ruled Friday at the end of the politically divisive case that stirred debate during the president campaign. President Donald Trump, whose campaign-trail criti- cism loomed over the case, quickly called the sentence a “disgrace.” The charges centered on a decision by one soldier that affected many other lives. Bergdahl, a 31-year-old from Hailey, Idaho, was captured by the Taliban and held for fi ve years, until President Barack Obama traded Tal- iban prisoners to bring him back. As a presidential candi- date, Trump called for Berg- dahl to face stiff punishment. He could have received up to life in prison. The judge also gave Bergdahl a dishonorable dis- charge, reduced his Army rank from sergeant to pri- vate and ordered him to for- feit pay equal to $1,000 per month for 10 months. The judge gave no expla- nation of how he arrived at his decision, but he reviewed evidence including Berg- dahl’s time spent in captivity and the wounds suffered by Army searchers. In Astoria, the city is updat- ing its emergency response plans, researching resources and equipment. The Oregon State Police opted to move from their Astoria offi ce, out of the inundation zone, and into a new building when the opportunity arose. But then a child care center moved in. Warrenton updated its evacuation maps, but the city’s Planning Commission approved developments in areas that will be underwater when the tsunami hits. Meanwhile, in Hammond and Warrenton’s neighbor- hoods, Community Emer- gency Response Team volun- teer Sylvia Stephens passes out blue plastic bags fi lled with pamphlets and maps to help people prepare for emer- gency situations. Much of the information is specifi c to tsu- namis and earthquakes. For many years, Can- non Beach has committed resources to planning for a Cascadia event and is looking at its sand dunes, asking how these natural features could protect the community but also create a space to use in the meantime. Clatsop County maintains a robust Emergency Manage- ment Division. Still, large grocery stores are already established in the inundation zone, as are schools, neighborhoods new and old, fi re stations, police stations, all of Astoria and Warrenton’s pharmacies — with the exception of the phar- macy at Costco. All the liquor stores. Cities can’t just press a pause button, and they can’t hit rewind. At a work session in Octo- ber, Astoria City Councilor Bruce Jones said even looking into routine strategic planning or community visioning ques- tions in Astoria right now is like “changing a tire on a mov- ing car.” “The (North Coast) com- munity knows the tsunami and earthquake are a big hazard and a part of living here,” said Hannah Dank- bar, a coastal planner with the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce. But, she said, the tension is this: “The town is devel- oped, so where are we going to move things?” ‘Where we live’ Astoria Fire Chief Ted Ames has suggested estab- lishing a secondary fi re sta- tion at the top of the hill. The two existing fi re stations are located downtown, in the inundation zone. Not only would a hilltop location shorten the depart- ment’s response time — vol- unteers who live on Astoria’s South Slope have to come downtown to board an engine and then drive back over the hill to fi ght a fi re in their own neighborhood — it would move important resources onto stable ground. “Police, Fire, 911 Dispatch and Public Works are the city’s premier emergency response agencies,” a memo to Astoria city councilors in September stated. All of these facilities are located in the inundation zone, a situation that is “not condu- cive to building disaster resil- ience for the city of Astoria.” When the Shooting Stars Child Development Center announced it was moving to the building on Gateway Ave- nue, the same building Oregon State Police had left behind, some parents were concerned, said Denise Giliga, the cen- ter’s director. When the president of the local longshore union chap- ter appealed the Astoria Plan- ning Commission’s decision to let the center operate out of the building, he referenced the tsunami hazards. Giliga had also considered them. “It was one of the points that was steering me away (from the Gateway building) at the beginning,” she said. But of the few options in front of her, the Gateway build- ing remained the best. And the parents who were concerned about the new location? “They realize this is where we live, and this is almost every area,” Giliga said. She and her staff have established several evacu- ation plans and evacuation sites for the Gateway build- ing. They have emergency cribs equipped with monster wheels. Every month, they hold fi re and other emergency drills. They can quickly com- municate with parents through FlashAlerts for events as benign as snow days and as serious as an earthquake or tsunami evacuation. They have teamed up with neighboring businesses to pro- vide nearby evacuation sites in the case of a large fi re. Another evacuation site is at a park on Alameda Avenue, in the shadow of the Astoria Bridge. “But I hate that idea in an earthquake,” Giliga said. They are actively looking for another site. Small changes The next Cascadia event will affect every community differently. In Seaside, tsu- nami waves carry real men- ace, and they will destroy parts of Warrenton. In Astoria, the earthquake will do the most damage. To Corcoran and others involved in tsunami prepara- tions, there are small changes that could be made now. “The choices are not: Shut- ting down development in the tsunami inundation zones. Or: Doing whatever we want,” Corcoran said. “The question the experience is begging is to ask what kind of additional thinking can we do about development in the tsunami inundation zones now, espe- cially the worst of the inunda- tion zones, those areas that we know will get inundated ver- sus those that might.” He suggests an inventory of buildings in downtown Astoria so people renting a space know the structure, what is likely to hold up and what might be problematic. There are small fi xes like replac- ing glass skylights with plas- tic bubble windows so falling glass doesn’t injure someone below. “We will learn to thrive here in Cascadia, I am confi - dent,” Corcoran said. “But the next Big One is going to be our big learning curve.” Thai: Food cart focuses on what’s popular, including pad thai, fried rice Continued from Page 1A Sopa Burns wanted a restaurant, but the couple found fewer barriers to entry with a food cart. Getting the custom trailer built and running still took several months, but Mai Tong opened last week to more than 50 customers on the fi rst day. The food cart focuses on what’s popular, with Thai stand- bys including pad thai, fried rice, pad see ew and drunken noodles, while adding special- ties like lemongrass chicken wings. Her dishes are made with gluten-free ingredients. Looking for a spot, the two approached local real estate agent Peter Tadei, who con- nected them with Astoria Sta- tion’s Claudine Gregory, who My Hope for Your Journey. has been trying to surround Reach Break Brewing and Reveille Ciderworks with food carts. Next to Mai Tong is Hot Box BBQ. Sasquatch Sausage recently left. “You couldn’t ask for a bet- ter spot,” Robert Burns said, adding most of the customers seem to be locals who had been waiting for them to open. Mai Tong operates from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Monday, mirroring the hours of Reach Break. Join us for a Celebration of Life Kyle Gallagher, PhD Medical Physicist Quality Each diagnosis of cancer is personal, and when it comes to treatment, one size does not fit all. What every patient does have in common is the need to receive high-quality care. As a medical physicist in the CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative, I oversee the quality of our radiation treatment program and work to ensure the safety of our patients every step of their journey. Medical Excellence without the Miles. 1905 Exchange Street | Astoria, OR 97103 | 503-338-4085 columbiamemorial.org/cancer-care MaryJo Gruhlkey November 11 3-6 pm Pier 39 Banquet Room (Pot Luck) Please join us to honor MaryJo who gave so much to better this community
