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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2020)
147TH YEAR, NO. 82 Investigators knock Warrenton fi re readiness DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2020 $1.50 KING TIDES OFFER A TASTE OF SEA LEVEL RISE City faces more than $10,000 in fi nes By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian WARRENTON — The city faces $10,800 in fi nes from the state for safety violations at the Warrenton Fire Department. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inves- tigation after anonymous complaints. It fi ned the city $7,500 for not ensuring a proper respiratory protection program, $2,100 for not ensuring employees wore the right protective equipment, $420 for improper training, $420 for not main- taining a safety committee, $180 for a lack of equipment inspections and $180 for not keeping a hazard communication program. Tim Demers, the former fi re chief , resigned amid the investigation. The fi nd- ings come shortly after the city hired Brian Alsbury, the former deputy fi re chief and volunteer, to replace Demers. See Warrenton, Page A5 Photos by Oregon King Tides Project Waves crash in Yaquina Bay during the king tides in December 2018. Researchers say these tides hint at what could become a new normal along the Oregon Coast as sea levels rise due to climate change. Tracking changes along the coast How would life go on?” King tides occur when the E arth, moon and sun are all perfectly positioned to have a particularly ing tides will once again hit the Oregon strong effect on tides. T he highest tide during a Coast this weekend, giving residents a taste king tide can be very, very high, especially if a of what life could be like in the near future. winter storm gives it an extra boost. Researchers say the tides are a preview of the “It’s kind of a glimpse at the future,” said rising sea levels caused by climate change that, Ed Joyce, a board member for the c onservation under current projections, could eventually sub- c oalition. merge much of the coast . Joyce, who teaches geology at Clatsop Com- A rmed with cameras and cellphones, citizen munity College, oversees marine debris surveys at scientists in Oregon have a site near the South Jetty documented these tides in Fort Stevens State Park ‘YOU LOOK AT THAT each winter for nearly a and has photographed the decade as part of the Ore- king tides there for the AND YOU THINK THIS gon King Tides Project p ast few winters. It dove- coordinated by the Oregon MAYBE HAPPENS ONCE, tails nicely with work he Coastal Management Pro- has been doing in a collab- TWICE A WINTER. WE gram and Oregon Shores oration between the col- Conservation Coalition. lege and the state to mon- GET FLOODING THIS They’ve snapped shots itor long-term changes in of water and waves rush- beach profi les. BAD AND WE’RE USED ing up against houses or Sea level rise — caused TO IT. BUT THEN YOU sloshing across highways. by a warming ocean and Photos taken from the air melting from ice sheets THINK, WHAT IF THIS above the Nehalem River and glaciers — as well show just how much estu- as other climate change WERE A DAILY HIGH ary shoreline the water is impacts are diffi cult to TIDE? HOW WOULD capable of gobbling up. predict for any one loca- One main purpose of tion on the coast. LIFE GO ON?’ the project is to turn peo- In some places, includ- ple’s attention to the water. ing at the mouth of the Phillip Johnson | executive director Phillip Johnson, the Columbia River, sea level of the conservation coalition executive director of the rise appears to be declin- c onservation c oalition, ing, offset by shifts in thinks of the aerial view of the Coquille River the tectonic plates that are causing areas like the Valley, a productive area south of Coos Bay, Columbia River estuary and Clatsop Plains to during king tides. gain elevation. But eventually, researchers pre- Farmhouses were surrounded by water and dict, the water will catch up. water was nearly a foot from a levee that protects A decade of king tide photos is not enough to the town of Coquille. “It looked like an inland document dramatic change on the Oregon Coast. sea,” he said. Not yet. And the king tides themselves can be “You look at that and you think this maybe almost a non event in some places without a win- happens once, twice a winter,” he said. “We get ter storm behind them. fl ooding this bad and we’re used to it. But then See King tides, Page A5 you think, what if this were a daily high tide? By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian K Preservation society wants to spare old farmhouse County plans to burn it down By NICOLE BALES The Astorian In a last-ditch effort to save a farm- house on the Clatsop County Fairgrounds, the Lower Columbia Preservation Soci- ety is urging c ounty c ommissioners to halt a planned burn . In December , the Fair Board decided to donate the farmhouse to the Oregon State Fire Marshal for fi refi ghter train- ing instead of paying for demolition. The board agreed not to spend any more money on the house. The F air B oard had looked at several options to restore the house over the years, including a partnership with the preserva- tion society, but none panned out. See Farmhouse, Page A5 Songstress brings some love to the PAC Shannon plans concert on Valentine’s Day By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Kelley Shannon loves painting, cooking, cutting hair — any positive inter- action that brings joy to people . “I love anything that gives me the ability to interact with people,” she said. On Valentine’s Day, Shannon, a jazz vocal- Kelley ist and stylist at Panache Shannon Hair & Nail Lounge in Astoria, will put her twist on decades of love songs with the help of pianist George Colligan at the Performing Arts Center . See Shannon, Page A5 King tides push water levels up along Ecola Creek in 2018.