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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017
Documentary: ‘Cleaning up the Port: ‘We want
beaches is a job that never ends’ to get it back in
Continued from Page 1A
five years. Multiple cleanup
events have happened through-
out the spring and summer,
and a program that turns plas-
tics into jewelry for awareness
launched earlier this year.
Pollution and people
While there have been many
documentaries made to address
the consequences of microplas-
tic pollution in the ocean, this is
one of the few to focus solely
on the United States. The Ocean
Blue Project is also focusing on
the people who conduct and
volunteer at beach cleanups.
One of the goals of the docu-
mentary, outreach coordinator
Karise Boyce said, is to con-
duct an ethnographic study of
beach communities to share
the stories of those who face
coastal pollution every day.
“It’s in their face every day,”
Boyce said. “We want to share
their stories with people who
live inland who may be mak-
ing decisions about the pol-
lution that may end up on the
beaches.”
A large part of the docu-
mentary will be dedicated to
educating people about the
dangerous effects of plastic
pollution in the ocean as it per-
tains to sea life and environ-
mental health. Microplastics
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach looms in the background
as plastic debris lies discarded in the sand.
never biodegrade, and the tiny
plastic pieces have an affinity to
absorb chemicals — which are
often carcinogenic — through
broken edges and surfaces.
But as an anthropologist,
Boyce is looking to study the
effects of pollution past physi-
cal health.
“We’re looking to see how
communities are affected. How
is their well-being emotionally
and mentally? And what are
the economic impacts? Can we
feel a difference in tourism and
industry?” Boyce said. “We
want to help people see how
land-based pollution is impact-
ing these communities in every
way.”
The inspiration
While the Ocean Blue
Project is based in Bend,
Arterbury’s
passion
for
environmental activism is
drawn from a love of the
coast.
“I’ve spent the summers
on the coast for the last eight
years and fell in love with it.
It’s the most beautiful place,”
he said. “And what keeps me
going back is the volunteers
wanting to do another beach
cleanup. Because cleaning up
the beaches is a job that never
ends.”
Moving forward, Boyce
and Arterbury plan to reach
out to local businesses and
community leaders associated
with each beach to gather local
perspectives.
With more than 8 million
tons of plastic deposited into
the ocean each year, focusing
on educating people on what a
beach cleanup can accomplish
is an important step toward
eliminating plastic pollution
on Oregon’s beaches, Arter-
bury said.
“We want to allow every-
one to see what inspires us to
continue doing (beach clean-
ups). Making a documentary
about what a beach cleanup
is will honestly make it eas-
ier for everyone,” he said. “We
want people to go to the beach,
know you can grab a bit of
plastic to help out and know
why.”
Train wreck: Investigators will talk to crew members
Continued from Page 1A
along a fast, new 15-mile
bypass route. Investigators
are looking into what train-
ing was required of the engi-
neer and other crew members
to operate on the new stretch
of track, said Ted Turpin, the
lead NTSB investigator of the
crash.
“Under Amtrak policy he
couldn’t run this train with-
out being qualified and run-
ning this train previously,”
Turpin said of the engineer.
At least some of the crew
had been doing runs on the
route for two weeks before
the crash, including a Friday
ride-along for local dignitar-
ies, Dinh-Zarr added.
The conductor training
in the cab was familiarizing
himself with the new route,
which is expected of conduc-
tors before they start work
on a new itinerary, she said.
A second conductor was in
the passenger sections of the
train at the time.
In an accident with strong
similarities, an Amtrak train
traveling at twice the 50 mph
speed limit ran off the rails
along a sharp curve in Phila-
delphia in 2015, killing eight
people. Investigators con-
cluded the engineer was dis-
tracted by reports over the
radio of another train getting
hit by a rock.
In September, a judge
threw out charges of involun-
tary manslaughter and reck-
less endangerment against
the engineer, saying the crash
did not appear to rise to a
crime. Prosecutors are trying
to get the case reinstated.
Amtrak agreed to pay
$265 million to settle claims
filed by the victims and their
families. It has also installed
positive train control on all
its track between Boston and
Washington.
Balsamo reported from
Los Angeles. Associated
Press writers Phuong Le and
Sally Ho in Seattle, Michael
Sisak in Philadelphia, Gil-
lian Flaccus in Portland,
Rachel La Corte in Olym-
pia and Manuel Valdes in
Dupont contributed to this
report.
shape and hold
events dockside’
Continued from Page 1A
public money to help a pri-
vately owned boat. The Port
has several hundred boat
owners who could see this
as a precedent, Campbell
said. He and Stevens, a for-
mer Coast Guard commander
who said he helped with the
floating of the USS Missouri
memorial in Honolulu, won-
dered whether the Astoria
Ferry Group has the where-
withal to get the ferry back on
the river.
“The highest bar the Coast
Guard has for vessel inspec-
tion and approval is when you
carry passengers for hire,”
Stevens said.
Brownson
estimated
$500,000 to get the boat ready
for inspection by the Coast
Guard. Inspectors had been
aboard the ferry and didn’t
see anything that would get
in the way of certification, he
said.
In August, the ferry
group’s leadership called out
for $100,000 and new mem-
bership, warning the resto-
ration effort would end oth-
erwise. After the appeal, local
hotelier and restoration advo-
cate Robert Jacob helped
marshal support to keep the
effort going.
Lint started visiting Asto-
ria to help fix up the ferry.
Tongue Point Job Corps Cen-
ter’s seamanship program
provided student labor. The
group went to work polish-
ing the vessel for a move to a
more accessible, visible space
at Pier 39, where work would
continue in a more public
setting.
“In the next couple years,
we want to get it back in
shape and hold events dock-
side,” Brownson said.
Last month, the ferry was
added to Restore Oregon’s list
of the state’s most endangered
places, opening avenues for
possible support. The group
recently raised about $5,000
through Fort George Brew-
ery’s Magnanimous Mug
charity drive and has other
pending grant requests. The
group hopes to move the ves-
sel to Pier 39 early next year.
In other action:
• The Port Commission
voted unanimously to renew
the contract of Airport Man-
ager Gary Kobes for a year.
Kobes is a contractor for the
Port through his company,
Landside Resources Inc. The
Port originally hired Kobes,
a pilot and former member of
the Astoria Regional Airport
Advisory Committee, two
years ago.
• The Port Commission
voted unanimously to con-
tract Advanced Remediation
Technologies for $38,968 to
characterize sediments along
the central waterfront for a
new dredging permit.
• Hunsinger questioned
Port Executive Director
Jim Knight about a litany of
issues, including the status
of how the agency planned
to pay off a $1.7 million loan
taken out to finance construc-
tion of a stormwater treat-
ment system on Pier 3. Knight
had previously said the Port
would go to tenants served by
the system about a cost-shar-
ing agreement once the Port
could be sure it worked. The
system was recently activated.
Knight said staff would
appreciate a fair opportu-
nity to discuss the stormwa-
ter system, instead of an off-
the-cuff question. He claimed
Hunsinger, a frequent critic,
was just trying to publicly
slam him. After broach-
ing several different issues,
Hunsinger’s questioning was
eventually cut off by Rohne.
C olum bia M em orial H ospital
2111 E xch ange St., A storia
(503) 325-4321
www.colum biam em orial.org
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