A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2019
IN BRIEF
OHSU heart transplant deaths
spiked before program shut down
A Relay for Life
PORTLAND — In 2017, the year before every car-
diologist in the Oregon Health & Science University
Hospital heart transplant program quit, the program
experienced an alarming number of patient deaths.
The Oregonian reported the hospital eventually
lost twice the number of people analysts expected.
Since then, OHSU has dropped to among the worst
places in the U.S. to receive a heart transplant.
A July 2019 report from the Scientifi c Regis-
try of Transplant Recipients shows that people who
received a heart transplant at OHSU Hospital in the
last two years are at 67% higher risk to die in the fi rst
year after the operation than patients at comparable
programs.
While OHSU Hospital offi cials say that the implo-
sion of the heart program is unrelated to the deaths,
the trend indicates that the heart transplant program
started to experience trouble over a year before four
cardiologists left.
— Associated Press
Photos by Jeff Ter Har/For The Astorian
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Relay for Life came to Seaside on
Saturday and Sunday. The 26th annual event raised money
to help friends, family and neighbors win their battles with
cancer. The event off ered hope and support for cancer
survivors and their caregivers. Lorraine Brown and Tami
Olson off er smiles as they circle the Seaside High School track.
Oregon raises objections to
Jordan Cove LNG project
Oregon says federal environmental impact fi ndings
for the Jordan Cove liquefi ed natural gas project are
inadequate and sometimes incorrect.
State agencies submitted 250 pages of comments
to federal energy regulators this month on the proj-
ect’s draft environmental impact statement. The Fed-
eral Energy Regulatory Commission has the power
to determine whether the controversial project can be
built.
The Canadian company Pembina is proposing to
build an LNG export terminal and pipeline in south-
west Oregon. Natural gas from the Rockies and Can-
ada would be piped from a new pipeline juncture in
the Klamath County town of Malin about 230 miles
across public and private property to a terminal at the
Port of Coos Bay. There, the gas would be liquefi ed
and loaded onto tanker ships bound for Asia.
Several Oregon state agencies reviewed economic,
environmental and social impacts outlined in the proj-
ect’s draft environmental impact statement, for which
the public comment period closed on July 5. The over-
all message was that Jordan Cove and federal energy
regulators do not tell the full story of how the project
will affect local communities.
Some of the most critical feedback came from Ore-
gon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Indus-
tries, which evaluated Jordan Cove’s plans to handle
landslides, tsunamis and a Cascadia Subduction Zone
earthquake.
“Geologically, it’s a very active area,” said DOG-
AMI resiliency engineer Yumei Wang of the four-
county region in southwest Oregon.
She said for natural disasters like a Cascadia earth-
quake, it’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when.
“When it happens, has the facility been designed to
be safe? You don’t want to have things exploding and
failing in a ways that hurt the public,” she said.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATH
July 14, 2019
STROM, Anita Laverne, 80, of Seaside, died in Sea-
side. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation Arrangement
Center of Seaside is in charge of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Criminal trespass
• Kegan Michael
French, 34, of Seaside,
was arrested on Saturday
for criminal trespass and
telephone
harassment
on U.S. Highway 101 in
Warrenton.
DUII
• Douglas Grant
Dickerson, 65, of West-
port, was arrested on
Sunday on McLean
Hill Road in Westport
for driving under the
infl uence of intoxi-
cants, contempt of court,
menacing and ex-con-
vict in possession of a
fi rearm.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Port of Astoria Commis-
sion, 4 p.m., Port offi ces, 10
Pier 1 Suite 209.
Astoria Historic Landmarks
Commission, 5:15 p.m., City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District,
5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm
Community Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside.
Lewis & Clark Fire De-
partment Board, 6 p.m.,
main fi re station, 34571 U.S.
Highway 101 Business.
Shoreline Sanitary District
Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart
Hertig Station, 33496 West
Lake Lane, Warrenton.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
WEDNESDAY
Seaside Tourism Advisory
Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
THURSDAY
Seaside Transportation
Advisory Commission,
6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broad-
way.
Established July 1, 1873
Circulation phone number:
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The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR
97103-0210
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Rebuilding Together seeks volunteers and donations
Help available for
homeowners
By PATRICK WEBB
Chinook Observer
LONG BEACH, Wash.
— A p eninsula group called
Rebuilding Together has
a message: Help is on the
way.
The all-volunteer group
exists to help low-income
homeowners fi x up their
homes.
And its members have
enjoyed some success,
helping fi x up 340 homes
in the past decade. This
year the group has already
assisted with 28 homes —
well on its way to matching
its annual average of 30 to
40.
Unlike
Habitat
for
Humanity, the national
group that builds new
homes from the ground
up, Rebuilding Together’s
focus refl ects its name. It
is all about fi xing existing
houses.
Nationwide, there are
about 140 groups, and the
Long Beach operation is
one of the smallest.
“The whole idea of this
is to keep people in their
homes — safe and warm,”
said Magen Michaud, trea-
surer of the local chapter.
Members of the group
are mindful that Pacifi c
County often appears on
listings as one of the poor-
est counties in Washing-
ton state. The year-round
population, especially on
the Long Beach Peninsula,
consists of many low-in-
come people, often elderly;
many are veterans needing
help.
People who would like
help must apply through the
i nformation and a ssistance
center on Pacifi c Highway
just north of Long Beach.
They must own and live in
their own homes, and meet
low-income criteria.
These applications are
then reviewed by a sev-
en-member
board
of
Rebuilding Together.
“Everybody who calls
gets considered,” Michaud
said.
The board puts together
all-volunteer teams to get
jobs scheduled. They call
on about 20 volunteers, but
basically it’s a core of about
10. Because of this, leaders
are eager for more volun-
teers to step up.
Projects have included
fi xing or eliminating dry rot
on decks, removing trip-
ping hazards, adding rails
Photos by Patrick Webb/Chinook Observer
Rebuilding Together board members Dick Lenahan and Jean
Stauff er clean up a client’s yard on the Long Beach Peninsula.
President Joe Cade, left, and Nick and Magen Michaud, board
member and treasurer, are among leaders of the peninsula
chapter of Rebuilding Together, which exists to help low-
income people stay in their homes by fi xing them up.
to
handicapped-access
ramps, replacing old win-
dows or old worn carpet
with more durable fl ooring,
installing grab bars in bath-
rooms and installing new
hot water tanks.
In one recent case, vol-
unteers installed an inciner-
ator-style toilet.
“We have a lot of people
in need,” Michaud said.
The average age of the
people they have helped is
71, with an annual income
of about $16,000. The aver-
age beginning value of the
houses is $52,000.
“This is a really harsh
coastal environment. We
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have a lot of mobile or
manufactured homes that
don’t do well in this envi-
ronment,” she added.
“People tend to defer
maintenance, but we want
to help them stay healthy
and safe. Summer is the
best time to get ready for
winter. It is the best time
to replace the roof or fi x
leaks.”
Roof work is conducted
by local licensed con-
tractors, many of whom
give the group favorable
rates. So, too, is plumb-
ing and electrical work that
requires an expert. The vol-
unteer group makes sure it
buys locally when gather-
ing materials for its repair.
Churches, Boy Scout
troops and fraternal groups
like the Eagles Aerie,
Moose and Elks lodges are
among those whose mem-
bers have pitched in to
assist.
The board of Rebuild-
ing Together especially
appreciates Long Beach
Mayor Jerry Phillips’ sup-
port recruiting help and get-
ting the word out about the
program.
Phillips, in turn, com-
mended their work. “It is
a fantastic program for
our seniors and people on
a tight budget,” the mayor
said. “There are some very
sad stories and a lot of peo-
ple don’t know it exists.
“It is an organization
that needs people who have
skills with construction,
and have their own tools, as
well as donations.”
Michaud, a retired gov-
ernment worker, came to
the p eninsula from Renton
in 2015 with husband,
Nick .
“I like using my skills
and talents to give back
to the community and as
a way to help other peo-
ple,” Michaud said. “It was
always our plan to build a
house and join up with this
sort of thing.”
That belief was echoed
by her husband, who serves
on the board and lends con-
siderable practical exper-
tise from his work as a
contractor.
“You get a good feel-
ing,” said Nick Michaud.
“Life has been good to us
— we want to give back.”
The jobs are varied.
“One man leaned against
his home and went through
to the plaster board,” Nick
Michaud
added.
“We
replaced two sides with
siding.”
The group’s president is
Joe Cade, a retired Bonne-
ville Power Administration
energy conservation offi cer
who moved to the p enin-
sula from Portland in 2009.
He has similar anecdotes
about projects. One house
in Long Beach had walls
that were leaning in two
directions.
“We jacked up the house
and successfully cleared up
the yard, too.” Cade said.
And for him, the cama-
raderie of recruiting oth-
ers into the organization is
rewarding.
“I enjoy helping peo-
ple and seeing the commu-
nity improved,” he said. “I
enjoy seeing people help
other people — when you
are working with a band of
volunteers and they all say
that it feels really good.”
The Rebuilding Together
board meets on the last
Wednesday of each month
at 5:15 p.m. at the Ocean
Park Library. Visitors are
welcome to attend to learn
more about the program
and how they can help.
The group is also look-
ing for donations which can
be mailed or brought to the
meeting.