The daily Astorian., April 19, 2018, Image 24

IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY AT THE LIBERTY THEATRE
A CALL TO LIFE
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018
145TH YEAR, NO. 208
FIREFIGHTING | THREE-DAY COURSE
‘Not gonna die today’
ONE DOLLAR
Longtime
Port tenant
leaves for
Tongue Point
Bergerson will move
storage and offices
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Firefighters practice rescuing a colleague during a training exercise in Astoria.
Firefighters convene in Astoria
for survival and rescue training
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
T
he mood started to shift as a few dozen firefighters fin-
ished their lunch break Friday inside a damp, aban-
doned building on Marine Drive.
“We’re done taking it easy,” said Jason Bostron, a
Sterling, Colorado, firefighter, as “Welcome to the Jungle” by
Guns N’ Roses blared on a stereo. “We started out a little timid.
Now we’re going to ramp it up a notch.”
Firefighters were about to continue the first day of survival
and rescue training. The Randy Carpenter Memorial Fund —
named after a Coos Bay fireman who died when a roof col-
lapsed in a burning building — sponsors the training. Classes
have taken place as far east as Wisconsin, and firefighters often
use vacation time to learn how to handle life-or-death scenarios.
“It’s just nice being around people who want to be good
at their job, being around passionate people and pushing the
limit, really,” said Tyler Myers of the Hoodland Fire District.
“It was the best ‘worst class’ I’ve ever taken.”
They escape or rescue others from obstacles in full fire gear,
with blinders over their face shields and music ringing out in
the background.
“I think this class is really good at teaching you about you,”
said instructor Ron Schmitt, of the Estacada Rural Fire District.
“These are the 1-percenters.”
As the next series of drills after the Friday lunch break
drew closer, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine”
boomed.
See TRAINING, Page 7A
Firefighters with blinders installed in their face masks prac-
tice a rescue operation.
Personnel from fire departments across the state take a
break during a three-day training exercise in Astoria.
Marine contractor Bergerson Construc-
tion Inc., a tenant of the Port of Astoria for
more than 40 years, is moving its operations
from the central waterfront to Hyak Mari-
time’s North Tongue Point marine fabrica-
tion and repair yard.
“The recent purchase of North Tongue
Point by Hyak has presented us with the best
possible location in the local area for stag-
ing our marine construction activities,” said
Greg Morrill, president and majority owner
of Bergerson. “We are very excited as this
will provide superior moorage for our float-
ing assets, yard space with better access to
the water and without competition from
other operations.”
The relocation will take place in phases
over the next six to eight months, Morrill
said, starting with the company’s storage and
moorage on the central waterfront and Pier
3. The company will either lease or sell its
offices at 55 Portway St.
Matt McGrath, the Port’s director of oper-
ations, said Bergerson’s move will allow the
Port to lease more land on Pier 3 to Astoria
Forest Products and potentially bring in sev-
eral more log ships each year, increasing the
agency’s revenue.
Bergerson Construction was founded in
1968 by Darryl Bergerson, who transferred
the company in 1997 to Dennis Bjork, his
general manager at the time. Bjork in 2009
transferred the company to Morrill, his gen-
eral manager, and then-Project Manager
Mike Puckett, now a vice president. The
company has been involved in many of the
region’s marine construction projects, from
rebuilding the city’s 17th Street Dock to
repairing the Port’s piers.
The Port Commission voted late last year
to relinquish the remainder of the agency’s
10-year lease at North Tongue Point, a for-
mer Navy and Coast Guard base valued for
its access to both a derelict rail spur and a
side channel of the Columbia River but in
need of major work.
The Port had struggled to find big tenants
or make a profit on the property. Staff esti-
mated the Port lost around $2 million oper-
ating the site since 2009. Marine contractor
J.E. McAmis, a tenant at North Tongue Point
since the 1980s, left in 2016 for land it pur-
chased and built into a new headquarters at
the confluence of the Columbia and Cowlitz
rivers.
Ending the Port’s lease allowed Hyak
Maritime to purchase the property from pre-
vious owner Washington Development Co.
Hyak is developing North Tongue Point
into a full-service marine fabrication and
repair facility for tugs, barges and commer-
See PORT, Page 7A
STATE HOUSE | DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
STATE HOUSE | DISTRICT 32
Forestry issues a dividing
Industry, incumbents back
Tillamook commissioner Josi line for state House
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Tim Josi, a Tillamook County com-
missioner and former state represen-
tative, has gathered the backing of
the regional business community and
incumbents in the state Legislature
in his Democratic campaign for state
House.
Josi is running in the May primary
against political newcomers John
Orr and Tiffiny Mitchell to replace
state Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Can-
non Beach, who will retire after her
seventh term ends in January. He has
raised more than $75,000 as of Thurs-
day, compared to nearly $45,000 for
Mitchell and around $13,600 for Orr.
Timber interests Hampton Lum-
ber and Warrenton Fiber have each
donated $3,000 to Josi, who also
received $5,000 from the Orloggers
Political Action Committee represent-
ing the timber industry and $1,500
from Teevin Bros. Land and Timber
Co.
The Davis Wright
Tremaine Client PAC,
run by the law firm rep-
resenting Tillamook and
13 other counties in a
$1.4 billion timber law-
suit against the state, also
gave Josi $2,500. Clatsop County has
opted out of the lawsuit.
See HOUSE, Page 7A
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Opinions on forest management
among the Democratic candidates for
state House District 32 appear, in some
ways, to be as different as two sides of
a timber line.
Clatsop County and
local school districts haul
in more than $20 million
a year from timber har-
vests. The revenue has
led to debates over how
to balance the economic
reliance on timber with environmen-
tal protection.
While Tim Josi is generally sup-
portive of modern timber harvesting
practices, Tiffiny Mitchell and — to a
lesser extent — John Orr have called
for changes.
Discussions at the state and county
levels lately have revolved around a
$1.4 billion lawsuit in which coun-
ties are suing the state, claiming the
Department of Forestry has not held
up its agreement to maximize timber
harvests. Clatsop County was the only
one of 15 eligible counties to opt out of
the class-action suit.
In March, the county also with-
drew from the Council of Forest Trust
Land Counties, a subcommittee of the
Association of Oregon Counties com-
prised of commissioners from areas
See FORESTRY, Page 7A