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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 Hammond Marina loses out on state money for dredging Grant application was denied By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — The group steering development of the Hammond Marina must look elsewhere for money to dredge the increasingly silted property. A grant application to the Oregon State Marine Board for dredging funds has been denied, Warrenton City Commissioner Pam Ackley announced at a City Commis- sion meeting Tuesday. The city set aside some money for dredging, but was told the work — identified as the top priority for the marina — may cost as much as $1.3 million. Grants and other funding will be necessary to bridge the gap. City Manager Linda Eng- bretson said staff is looking at a variety of options. Harbor- master Jane Sweet said she is now looking at smaller grants available through the Ore- gon Business Development Department, also known as Business Oregon. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Warrenton has dredging concerns at the marina. Either way, the city missed the window for dredging the marina before the busy sum- mer fishing months on the Columbia River. Hammond is an especially popular spot for anglers participating in the Buoy 10 salmon fishery. “We should have gotten it,” Ackley said about the grant, commending Sweet for her hard work. Ackley, who serves on the Hammond Marina Task Force, believes the fact that War- renton does not yet own the marina complicated the grant application. Warrenton is still waiting on a promised trans- fer of ownership from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Corps representatives plan to be on site today for an envi- ronmental assessment, one of several assessments required before the agency will pass on ownership to the city. The Hammond Marina had one of its best years in 2017, hitting several revenue records, and was on track to exceed its budget thanks to camping and launch fees alone. Behind the success looms concerns about what happens if Warrenton can’t dredge the marina soon, however. Last year Ackley and Sweet said they couldn’t wait for the city to have full ownership before dredging takes place. Fishermen had reported that at the docks there were some- times only a couple of inches of water under their boats at low tide. “If we don’t dredge that marina, we’re not going to have a marina to put boats in,” Ackley said in March when asked for an update on the work. Dredging, she said, is the “first and foremost thing that we need to accomplish in order to expand and do all the other things we’d love to do there.” An engineering firm is con- tinuing to develop a feasibility study for dredging. The marina task force has until November to update a master plan for the site and hopes to have a com- pleted feasibility study in hand before then. Governor signs ‘net neutrality’ rules By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau PORTLAND — Gov. Kate Brown has signed into law a bill requiring public bod- ies to contract only with inter- net providers that practice net neutrality. House Bill 4155 passed both legislative chambers with bipartisan support earlier this year. The law is meant to dis- courage broadband companies from blocking, slowing down or charging more for certain content. “I’m so pleased and very proud that Oregon passed this legislation due in part to the voices of young people who made their voices heard,” Brown said before the signing the bill at Mount Tabor Middle School in Portland Monday. The Federal Communica- tions Commission repealed a federal rule or universal net neutrality in December. The move prompted about 20 states, including Oregon, to urgethe federal government to restore the protections and for dozens of states to consider laws to counteract the decision. Washington in March became the first state in the nation to enact statewide net neutrality regulations that make it illegal for broadband providers to block or slow down certain content, accord- ing to the Washington Post. The two new laws could mark the beginning of patch- work internet regulations around the nation, the paper reported. Consult a PROFESSIONAL Q: Do you service Apple computers? LEO FINZI We are experienced with Astorias A: making both software and Best.com hardware repairs on Macbooks. Upgrades to macOS High Sierra, startup problems, data backup and restore, hard drive Computers, $79.99 replacements, upgrades to Solid to $1999.99, and State hard drives and memory everything in upgrades are all services we between. can provide Mac users. Have a M-F 10-6 Sat . 11-4 77 11th Street, Suite H question? Feel free to call. We Astoria, OR love to help. 503-325-2300 Q: I don’t drive any longer, are you able to come to my home for an appointment? Steve Putman Medicare Products 503-440-1076 Licensed in Oregon and Washington putmanagency@gmail.com A: Yes, in fact most of my appointments regarding Medicare products take place in the privacy of your own home. With the latest technological advancements of mobile devices along with paper, information is at our fingertips. And please, feel free to invite a friend or a family member to sit in on the meeting. Q: Is it true that Hughes-Ransom also does pet cremations? If so, what is the cost? John R. Alcantara - Funeral Director Governor’s Office Gov. Kate Brown signs House Bill 4155 at Mt. Tabor Middle School on Monday. “We faced on this issue a unique challenge of balancing what we could do legally as a state with something that actu- ally would be effective in mov- ing the policy forward,” state House Majority Leader Jenni- fer Williamson said Monday. “I think this bill, House Bill 4155, will achieve that balance with a perfect middle ground. “The internet should create, encourage and grow oppor- tunities. It should allow us to develop the potential of all of our people.” as a full-service mortuary & A: Yes, crematory, Hughes-Ransom will also handle fi nal arrangements for the beloved family pet. We do ask that you make arrangements to bring your beloved pet to the crematory in Astoria. Cremation costs depend on size/ weight of the animal, so it is recommended that you call us to receive an accurate quote (the median average is approximately $115.00) which includes cremation and a plastic urn. While the majority of requests are for cremation I have Astoria: 576 12th St. had the occasion to embalm a pet. Any inquiries 503.325.2535 Seaside: 220 N. Holladay about embalming a pet would best be addressed directly with myself or our other licensed funeral 503.738.6622 www.hughes-ransom.com director in Seaside, Eric Anderson. Hughes- Ransom Mortuary Q: Does Medicare cover chiropractic care? Brown backs Cleaner Air Oregon program By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau PORTLAND — Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday signed into law a bill that assesses a fee on industry to fund a program designed to reveal health risks posed by emissions from spe- cific factories. Brown proposed Cleaner Air Oregon in Senate Bill 1541 as a response to the discovery of toxic metals in Portland’s air in 2016. “Now communities will know what they’re being exposed to and what risks are posed,” said state Rep. Karin Power, D-Milwaukie, during a speech asking lawmakers to pass the bill in March. The initial legislation would have strengthened state regula- tors’ authority to require indus- try to reduce air pollution. But in the interest of getting enough votes to enact the new fee and to give industry more predict- able expectations on allowable emissions, the bill’s proponents said they had to agree to limit the state’s authority to respond to pollution. The law authorizes the Environmental Quality Com- mission to adopt rules to dis- cover and, on a limited basis, address the public health risks from emissions of toxic air contaminants from individual industrial sources and to estab- lish a schedule of fees to cover the cost of the program. The law also calls for the commis- sion to develop a pilot program to assess the potential cumula- tive health effects from emis- sions from multiple sources. Many lawmakers, includ- ing House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, expressed mixed emotions about the ultimate product. While Kotek voted for the bill, she later wrote that the compromise “undermined an 18-month public process that brought together stakehold- ers from all sides of the issue” to address the air toxics prob- lem and propose the original legislation. She said the program would still make “Oregon a leader in air quality programs nationwide.” “Since the program addresses both new and exist- ing facilities, it provides stron- ger protections than many air toxics programs across the country.” The Capital Bureau is a col- laboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Report: Oregon off track on mentally ill prisoners Isolation can exacerbate symptoms By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau PORTLAND — Inmates with severe mental health con- ditions at Oregon State Pen- itentiary in Salem spend an average of nearly 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, according to a report released Tuesday by Disability Rights Oregon. The state in many cases may be violating the inmates’ constitutional rights, the non- profit advocacy group alleged. Isolation can exacerbate symptoms of mental illness, including depression and anx- iety, and many prison systems around the nation have discon- tinued the practice, said Eliza- beth Seaberry, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group. The report recommends that the Oregon Department of Corrections end solitary con- finement, transfer acutely men- tally ill patients to a therapeu- tic environment and improve access to mental health care. A Department of Correc- tions spokeswoman did not immediately return messages Tuesday. Oregon State Penitentiary holds inmates from around the state. More than three dozen men in the prison’s behavioral health unit spent almost 23 hours a day confined to “dark, cramped cells” during the final quarter of 2017, the study showed. The progress report fol- lows revelations by Disability Rights Oregon two years ago that about 40 male inmates in the behavioral health unit were kept in isolation and received inadequate mental health care. In some instances, prison staff acted violently toward the inmates, according to the advo- cacy group. In early 2016, Department of Corrections leaders agreed to take steps in the subsequent four years to improve the con- ditions for inmates in the spe- cialized unit. “The agreement strives to reshape this unit to live up to its original vision: an environ- ment that’s safe for prisoners and the prison staff who work with them, where prisoners can heal through effective treat- ment for their mental health conditions, and where their intrinsic human dignity is safe- guarded,” said Joel Greenberg, report author and staff attorney with Disability Rights Oregon. Tuesday’s report marks the midpoint of that four-year improvement plan. Disability Rights Oregon alleged that the corrections department is failing to ensure that inmates with mental health conditions are released from their cells for a minimum of 20 hours a week. That number is the minimum to protect inmates with mental health conditions from “cruel and unusual pun- ishment” as defined by the Eighth Amendment. “Unless there is a dramatic shift, DOC is unlikely to meet the goals it agreed to within the timeframe,” Greenberg said. The Capital Bureau is a col- laboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 ASTORIA it does! Medicare A: Yes, covers chiropractic 503-325-3311 services. If you have secondary insurance, that can help as well! Call us today for more information or to schedule your appointment. 2935 Marine Drive Astoria, Oregon Now accepting new patients. CHIROPRACTIC Barry Sears, D.C. Q: Why don’t my dentures fi t anymore? teeth are lost the gum and A: Once bone have a tendency to shrink and JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR DMD, FAGD 503/325-0310 1414 MARINE DRIVE, ASTORIA www.smileastoria.com recede. Just like a leg in a cast for several months getting no stimulation, then removing the cast and seeing a withered leg, the dental jaw bone is stimulated by the function of the teeth and the forces of chewing. When teeth are removed this stimulation is lost and for many denture wearers the bone will shrink resulting in a change of bone volume and a stable denture fi t. If your situation does require loss of teeth or you now have dentures ask about dental implants which can help support dentures and minimize loss of bone volume. Please contact our offi ce at 503-325-0310 for an evaluation. Q: Do you offer classes on raising poultry? A: Yes! Thursday, April 12 at 6pm BRIM’S Farm & Garden 34963 Hwy. 101 Business Astoria • 503-325-1562 For beautiful gardens & healthy animals www.brimsfarmngarden.com we will host our free Purina ‘Flock Talk’ at our store for every- one interested in backyard poultry projects. Learn about best manage- ment practices from chick to retire- ment stage. Mark Silva will present feeds for your birds, Kathrine Kahl will talk about care in raising birds and Daniel Lacey will cover unusu- al and popular breeds.
