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2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018 Busy wildfire season forecast across much of West By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press Don Seabrook/The Wenatchee World U.S. Forest Service firefighters from Leavenworth cut brush near houses in northern Wenatchee, Wash., in 2015. Forecasters say they expect a busy wildfire season in much of the West. The National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Ser- vices unit said in a May 1 report that it expects warmer- and drier-than-average conditions. Fire forecasters said they are concerned about the heavy 2017 growth of brush and grasses across wildlands, cou- pled with newly grown grass that will cure by July across California, the Great Basin and Oregon. At the same time in these areas, higher timbered elevations are at greater risk of fire due to a below-average snowpack. Basil Newmerzhycky, a federal meteorologist in Salt Lake City, said in an interview he’s concerned about elevated wildfire prospects for Idaho’s west central mountains — generally from McCall west to the Oregon line — and for southeastern Oregon. “Western Idaho is a con- cern because we are expecting much warmer, drier conditions compared to the average sum- mer,” he said. Snowpack is at or just below normal there, and at or above normal to the east. Newmerzhycky sees fairly high fire risk in the Idaho-Ore- gon-Nevada border region due to lower precipitation recently. From October through April, precipitation was about 70 percent of normal in south- west Idaho and 50 to 70 per- cent of normal in southeastern Oregon. The report said southeast- ern Oregon’s warm, dry April stood out in contrast to cooler, wetter conditions in much of the Northwest. Newmerzhycky said the risk of big fires jumps in wet- ter-than-normal years at lower elevations. Grass and brush grow profusely, and when they dry — a quick process, since they are light — they leave big, less frequently interrupted areas of wildfire fuel, he said. In dry years, grass and brush often carry into the next year but do not grow as pro- fusely, making it more likely that a fire will hit a fuel-free patch quickly and burn out, he said. Forecasters also expect a heightened risk of significant wildland fires across south- west Idaho, northern Nevada and northern Utah, the report said. Higher elevations in the Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada and possibly the northern Rocky Mountains may see elevated fire potential should warmer, drier-than-av- erage conditions develop as expected, the report said. Above-normal potential for large fires is expected east of the Cascades, and in Oregon’s southwest corner. Higher snowpack typically shortens timberland fire sea- sons because the bigger plants on the forest floor take lon- ger to dry out and become fire fuel, Newmerzhycky said. A year into post, Coba is focused on improving state technology By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau ter government leadership and restore trust in government. SALEM — Katy Coba was the very public face of the department when she was director of the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture. But as the state’s chief operating officer, Coba works behind the scenes of state government The Eastern Oregon native says it’s a bit of a change from her prior post — the “cus- tomer” has changed from farmers, ranchers and consum- ers of agricultural products to the enterprise of state govern- ment itself. “But the principles and the way that I operate are very much the same,” Coba said in an interview. Since becoming COO and director of the Department of Administrative Services in October 2016, she’s been working to foster state agency leadership and upgrade state information technology. Coba’s role involves help- ing state agencies implement the policies of the governor, to communicate with each other, and finding ways to streamline state services. A year and a half later, she’s the first to say that the state will have to work hard, especially in a prosperous economy, to hire the next generation of public servants to stave off a wave of impending retirements. As of mid-2017, 34 percent of the state workforce was eli- gible to retire. Under Coba’s leadership, the Department of Administrative Services has created an online “toolkit” that state agencies can use to think through their succession planning. But she says that the state will have to find a way to make a career in government attrac- tive to young workers. “A lot of work needs to be done there,” Coba said. “A lot of opportunity for those that don’t work in government, but again, how do you convince them that you can really do cool things working in state govern- ment? I don’t think people put those two words together, ‘state government,’ and ‘cool.’” And then there’s another workforce challenge Coba has been focused on: leadership. Next generation Katy Coba Gov. John Kitzhaber created the position of COO in early 2011, part of his effort to make state government more efficient. It can partly be described as that of a “manager’s manager” — the person in between the gov- ernor and state agency heads. Coba estimates that about 75 percent of her time is spent on COO duties, and the remaining 25 percent leading the Department of Administra- tive Services, which oversees a broad range of statewide ser- vices such as procurement and risk management, and houses the offices of the state econ- omist and chief information officer. When she was appointed, Coba made a list of her prior- ities in the new post: recruit a younger and more diverse state workforce; advocate for accountability and transpar- ency in state government; fos- DEATHS May 5, 2018 ROBINSON, Thomas John, 72, of Sea- side, died in Seaside. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation Arrangement Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 62 53 49 ALMANAC Cloudy with a shower in the area Partly sunny Salem 51/75 Newport 47/59 Coos Bay 48/65 Full May 21 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 2:08 a.m. 2:38 p.m. Low 3.5 ft. 1.2 ft. Hi 82 59 70 82 82 67 96 52 81 73 83 99 78 86 86 80 90 70 89 73 79 82 68 70 76 Baker 38/82 of Longview, Washington, was arrested by the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office on Old High- way 30 in Knappa and charged with DUII. • At 2:37 a.m. Sunday, Douglas Evelsizer, 60, of Sea- side, was arrested by Seaside police on the 430 block of Hol- laday Drive and charged with DUII. • At 9:09 p.m. Saturday, Ste- ven Mark Crane, 63, of Forest Grove, was arrested by Warren- ton police on the 100 block of Main Street and charged with DUII. He allegedly admitted to using drugs prior to driving. Assault • At 1:03 a.m. Sunday, Tra- vis Lyman Tait, 47, of Asto- ria, was arrested by the Clat- sop County Sheriff’s Office on Lewis and Clark Road and charged with fourth-degree assault, menacing and harass- ment. He allegedly punched his adult son in the head and threatened other people at the residence. TUESDAY Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., Hurdles Yet other hurdles lie ahead. The state has had mixed suc- cess updating legacy technol- ogy systems. A new statewide phone system has encountered hiccups. The state’s human resources system, which is 30 years old, is also in need of updating. Rather than building its own system, the state is using software-as-a-service technol- ogy that the contractor, IBM, will continually update. Coba is looking for ways to streamline state technology, says Sumption, who chairs a state government leadership steering committee on infor- mation technology. “She’s focusing in on the efficiencies of government to say, ‘Hold on, we don’t need 100 payroll systems or 100 HR systems. We need one, and we’re not really that unique,’” Sumption said. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. LOTTERIES Burns 38/83 Klamath Falls 43/79 Lakeview 40/79 Ashland 54/81 REGIONAL CITIES City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend Hi 77 76 60 72 60 77 83 73 60 61 Today Lo 38 47 47 48 50 43 54 51 47 49 W pc pc s pc pc s s pc pc pc Hi 82 80 60 74 60 79 82 73 59 62 Tues. Lo 51 48 50 51 53 45 54 53 50 52 W s pc s c s s pc pc pc pc s s pc pc pc pc s pc pc pc s pc pc pc pc Tues. Hi Lo 81 62 62 49 76 58 78 51 78 60 74 50 98 68 63 36 80 71 75 54 83 62 101 76 79 61 85 66 85 71 80 56 90 69 70 54 88 67 75 50 79 61 82 59 67 56 75 54 77 57 W pc pc sh pc pc s pc pc sh sh City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 73 78 77 77 74 62 70 73 74 84 Today Lo 49 51 55 52 51 50 51 50 53 51 W pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc Hi 75 84 78 79 75 63 78 75 76 85 Tues. Lo 51 56 56 55 53 53 55 51 54 57 W pc pc pc sh pc pc pc pc pc pc Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W pc pc s s c s pc c pc s t s pc s sh pc s pc pc s s s pc pc s Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. Judge Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St. Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., regular meeting and work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 7 p.m., main fire station, 34571 Highway 101 Business. Ontario 48/87 TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Today Lo 60 46 53 53 58 46 71 35 72 48 61 73 56 60 72 55 68 52 66 51 56 56 53 52 58 La Grande 45/81 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Tonight's Sky: The moon will be prominent in the dawn sky, rising at around midnight. DUII • At 8:44 p.m. Sunday, Brandon J. Campuzano Luna, 18, of Seaside, was arrested by Oregon State Police on U.S. Highway 101 and Second Ave- nue in Seaside and charged with driving under the influ- ence of intoxicants. Officers allegedly smelled marijuana in the car, which contained a 16-year-old passenger, during a traffic stop. • At 3:23 p.m. Sunday, Emily Rachel Castiglione, 33, MONDAY Seaside Budget Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Roseburg 52/79 Brookings 48/60 May 29 John Day 48/83 Bend 47/80 Medford 54/82 UNDER THE SKY High 6.7 ft. 6.9 ft. Prineville 46/83 Lebanon 50/75 Eugene 48/74 First Pendleton 51/84 The Dalles 54/87 Portland 55/78 Sunset tonight ........................... 8:31 p.m. Sunrise Tuesday .......................... 5:52 a.m. Moonrise today ........................... 2:20 a.m. Moonset today ......................... 12:05 p.m. May 15 a statement that Coba “has become invaluable to my vision for effective and effi- cient government services.” PUBLIC MEETINGS Tillamook 48/64 SUN AND MOON City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC A little morning rain, then a shower 59 46 Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 49/62 Precipitation Sunday ............................................. 0.00" Month to date ................................... 0.02" Normal month to date ....................... 0.75" Year to date .................................... 32.72" Normal year to date ........................ 30.79" Time 7:34 a.m. 9:32 p.m. FRIDAY 56 46 REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Sunday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 61°/48° Normal high/low ........................... 59°/44° Record high ............................ 80° in 1987 Record low ............................. 31° in 1965 May 7 THURSDAY 58 49 Partly sunny, a shower in the afternoon Clear to partly cloudy New more training for new agency directors. “Katy saw the gap, and said, we need a new agency direc- tors’ forum,” Sumption said. Sumption and state Depart- ment of Transportation Director Matt Garrett are both quick to praise Coba. “She focuses, I think, her attention on doing what is right, what is just, rather than doing what is politically expedient,” Garrett said. “I’m a big Katy Coba fan.” Garrett describes Coba’s leadership style as both collab- orative and consistent. Sumption says Coba is also helpful in “navigating” discus- sions about state agency bud- gets at the Legislature. State Sen. Alan DeBoer, R-Ashland, who sits on legis- lative committees focused on information technology and general government operations, says he’s “impressed” with her work so far. “I can only tell you from my experience meeting with her and her testifying in front of committees, that I’m very impressed with her,” DeBoer said. “I think she’ll do a great job.” Gov. Kate Brown said in ON THE RECORD May 6, 2018 BIRKBY, Jack Lester, 92, of Arch Cape, died in Arch Cape. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cre- mation Arrangement Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. Last While critics of the governor have pointed to turnover among state agency heads, Coba says she doesn’t think the amount of turnover is abnormal, espe- cially in an era where people move more frequently between positions and employers. “We’re seeing workforce turnover more often any- way,” Coba says. “We see that at the agency director level for a whole host of different reasons.” Not all of those agency direc- tor departures, of course, were voluntary, such as the August departure of Oregon Health Authority Director Lynne Sax- ton and, in March, State Librar- ian MaryKay Dahlgreen. But most director depar- tures, Coba says, were retire- ments and directors moving on to other jobs. Coba, who works “in con- cert” with the governor’s office to help and evaluate state agency leaders, says each situ- ation is different. “There isn’t a standard pro- cess we use,” she says. “It is sit- uation specific.” Lisa Sumption, direc- tor of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, says Coba recognized the need for OREGON Sunday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 9-4-5-1 4 p.m.: 6-5-4-6 7 p.m.: 1-2-7-0 10 p.m.: 1-9-3-6 Sunday’s Lucky Lines: 02-07- 09-14-18-21-26-29 Estimated jackpot: $36,000 Saturday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 8913 4 p.m.: 8331 7 p.m.: 8620 10 p.m.: 0612 Saturday’s Lucky Lines: 01- 05-11-13-17-24-28-30 Estimated jackpot: $34,000 Saturday’s Megabucks: 21- 24-26-32-33-35 Estimated jackpot: $5.6 million Saturday’s Powerball: 14-29- 36-57-61, Powerball: 17 Estimated jackpot: $233 million Friday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 2508 4 p.m.: 6599 7 p.m.: 5805 10 p.m.: 5358 Friday’s Lucky Lines: 02-06- 09-15-17-23-25-30 Estimated jackpot: $33,000 Friday’s Mega Millions: 4-5- 10-12-18, Mega Ball: 21 Estimated jackpot: $40 million WASHINGTON Sunday’s Daily Game: 7-3-2 Sunday’s Keno: 15-16-18-19- 23-26-29-32-34-46-48-49-50- The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. 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