CAFE
SKETCHING
WEEKEND BREAK • 1C
145TH YEAR, NO. 125
LETTERS
TO
SANTA
INSIDE
ONE DOLLAR
WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2017
County ranks high in
juvenile justice referrals
Rate significantly higher than state average
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County has among the highest
rates of juvenile justice referrals in Ore-
gon, a mark of misbehavior that experts
link to problems with education and drug
and alcohol abuse.
Juvenile referrals involve crime and
lesser offenses like alcohol and marijuana
possession. Last year, Clatsop ranked 34th
out of 36 counties in a report prepared
by Children First for Oregon using Ore-
gon Youth Authority data. The trend line
shows the county’s referral rate was sig-
nificantly higher than the state average in
each of the past five years.
Children First for Oregon, an advocacy
group, issues county data books that track
See COUNTY, Page 7A
Juvenile referrals
(Rate per 1,000 youth, ages 0-17.)
32.7
Clatsop Co.
Oregon
30.4
29.7
25.8
24.7
20.6
17.5
2012
’13
Source: Children First for Oregon
‘YOU MAY BE ON YOUR OWN,
AND CHAOS WILL REIGN’
15.8
’14
14.7
’15
13.6
2016
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
Crab
season to
open in
January
Commercial fishermen
have been waiting
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Deputies train how to respond to an active shooter.
Clatsop law enforcement prepares for the worst at Knappa schools
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
NAPPA — Gunshots and screams
rang out as three deputies from the
Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office
made their way down a hallway at Hilda
Lahti Elementary School past fleeing stu-
dents and staff.
The officers held a tight formation,
guns at the ready, and ordered the vic-
tims toward exits as they approached
the sounds of gunfire coming from a
classroom.
With Knappa School District out for
winter break, the sheriff’s office took
over campus Monday and Tuesday,
training law enforcement from through-
out the county and the Coast Guard how
K
Officers used a variety of firearms
during the active-shooter training.
to respond to mass shootings. Simula-
tions are the closest police agencies can
get to prepare for shootings that play out
with troubling frequency in the United
States.
“It’s our commitment to being as pre-
pared as possible for a variety of law
enforcement situations that can arise,”
said Lt. Matt Phillips, who helped over-
see the training. “And also, as the larg-
est law enforcement agency in the county,
we have additional resources and person-
nel that some of the smaller agencies
don’t have, so we think it’s important to
open our trainings.”
The simulations included most patrol
divisions, along with jail and courthouse
staff at risk of ambush when they transfer
inmates. Also taking part were members
of Coast Guard maritime enforcement
teams who board vessels and provide
security on base.
Commercial crabbers will get to harvest
in mid-January off most of the Oregon Coast
and into Washington state.
The Dungeness crab fishery from Cape
Blanco to the Columbia River and into Wash-
ington state will open Jan. 15, the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife announced
Thursday.
Though the fishery is typically scheduled
to open Dec. 1, it was delayed due to low meat
yield. A tri-state agreement along the west
coast to manage Dungeness crab fisheries
only allows the season to be delayed because
of low meat yield until Jan. 15.
“We’ve seen some improvement from
the tests that we’ve done, although it’s been
slower than normal,” said Troy Buell, the
state fishery program leader.
While crabbers aren’t necessarily thrilled
about the delay, they understand that it is nec-
essary for a healthy market, said Hugh Link,
executive director of the Oregon Dungeness
Crab Commission.
“I think this is unprecedented. I can’t remem-
ber a time when all three states had this much
of a delayed opening,” said Link, a 23-year vet-
eran of the industry. “Our goal is to have good,
marketable crab. If that’s what it takes for crab-
bers to get the best price and consumers to get
the best crab, that’s what we’ll do.”
Due to low meat yield this year, officials
had been pondering whether to delay the sea-
son in all areas or whether to open it earlier
in locations with larger crabs. Tests along the
coast in October and November resulted in
meat yields around 20 percent. All areas must
have 23 percent yields, allowing consumers
to purchase meatier crab, before the season
can open.
See TRAINING, Page 7A
See CRAB SEASON, Page 6A
Church feeds the hungry at the ‘Little Free Pantry’
Ocean Park
Lutherans
widen ministry
By PATRICK WEBB
For EO Media Group
OCEAN PARK, Wash. — The only
ones who might be unhappy about
Ocean Park Lutheran Church’s new
ministry are bears.
Church leaders have installed a new
free public pantry in Long Beach. It’s
open to all to donate or receive — but it
is in a sturdy, bear-proof container.
“Pacific County is one of the poor-
est counties in Washington state,” said
Pastor Dawna Svaren. “We have a lot
of families and community members
who suffer from food insecurity.”
A group of congregants gathered
under a temporary shelter for a dedi-
cation ceremony Sunday. Svaren told
them that some 24 million adults and
13 million children in the United States
face hunger every day.
“This free pantry is a tangible way
of helping those in the community who
struggle day to day.”
The “Little Free Pantry” is an
appliance-sized brown metal con-
tainer on the corner of Second
Street Northeast and Oregon Ave-
nue North in downtown Long Beach,
across from the phone company
facility just north of the Key Bank
branch. Its door has a tight latch,
designed to foil bears.
The land is owned by congregation
member Rose Wallace, whose “little
free library” box has existed on the site
for some while.
Wallace said the Ocean Park
church’s women’s group learned of
the success of the idea, which started
a couple of years ago in the Midwest,
and led the drive to replicate it on the
peninsula.
“The pantry will be monitored
daily to ensure a clean, tidy box and
appropriate items,” said Wallace, the
church’s financial secretary. “This pan-
try is in a bear-safe container, because
of the frequent incidents with bears
being attracted to food in our area.”
Organizers are hoping commu-
nity members will donate nonperish-
able prepackaged food items, canned
proteins and vegetables, as well as
See PANTRY, Page 6A
Patrick Webb/For EO Media Group
Bishop Rick Jaech, left, of the Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church of America,
and Dawna Svaren, pastor at Ocean
Park Lutheran Church, presided at a
ceremony Sunday in which the Little
Free Pantry project was dedicated.
Church leaders see it as a practical
way of helping the less fortunate in
the Long Beach community.