Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2020)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2020 South County gets emergency radio boost IN BRIEF Seaside approves $135,000 purchase Beach access on the North Coast remains closed this weekend. Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian By R.J. MARX The Astorian Beach access closed to vehicles on weekends over virus Clatsop County will close vehicle access to North County beaches for the remaining weekends in April. Gates at the entrances of Sunset Beach and Del Rey Beach will be closed beginning Friday evening and will reopen Monday morning. The beach at Seaside is closed to all and the beach access road in Gearhart is closed. State parks are also closed. Cities in the county encourage people to recreate in their own communities. Offi cials say large numbers of visitors crowding beaches will result in more restrictions. Cannon Beach extends protective measures over virus The Cannon Beach City Council has extended its protective measures in response to the coronavirus until at least May 5. On March 22, the city closed to visitors and restricted hotels from operating with the exception of people on long-term stays and essential workers. The City Council plans to keep the protective mea- sures in effect as long as the city’s state of emergency is in effect, but will continue to reevaluate every two weeks. Seaside made a big advance to improving radio communications for fi rst responders. The City Coun- cil approved $135,000 for the purchase and implemen- tation of a new simulcast radio system on Monday. A double layer of cover- age in a number of places should “greatly increase our reception and transmis- sion,” the city’s police com- munications manager, Mitch Brown, said during the lives- tream meeting. Funds will be used to replace the current radio sys- tem and upgrade to the new system in about three to four months. Additional repeat- ers, related equipment and installation are priced above $123,000. The additional $12,000 requested will go to a new pole at an emergency operations center above the site of the new middle and high school campus in the Southeast Hills. Current communica- tions consist of a single site on Tillamook Head, Brown said. That site will remain ‘THIS IS REALLY A SAFETY ISSUE. WE DON’T WANT OUR POLICE, FIRE, EMTs OUT OF CONTACT IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.’ Seaside Mayor Jay Barber operational with additional facilities at the new school near the water tower and at Humbug Creek along U.S. Highway 26. This would help Hamlet, Cannon Beach, Gearhart and Seaside radio communications for both police and fi re. Funding for the new tech- nology will come from the public safety budget, City Manager Mark Winstanley said. Current portable recep- tion for Cannon Beach is “pretty poor,” Brown said. At Humbug Creek, the city will pay a rental fee to the Oregon Department of Transportation, similar to the agreement at Tillamook Head, Seaside Fire Chief Joey Daniels said. “County sheriff’s offi ce and others are out there. We’ll go on the same pole they are. We have pretty weak to no reception, especially at Milepost 3 all the way to the (Highway) 53 junction or farther.” The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, which serves Cannon Beach to Falcon Cove, has histori- cally struggled with recep- tion because of the moun- tainous terrain between radio repeaters. Certain areas are known to be dead zones. At least six pagers for Cannon Beach fi refi ghters, including the fi re chief’s pager, did not activate for a three-alarm fi re in Seaside in February because of poor reception. The Seaside dispatch center, which handles emer- gency calls for agencies in Seaside, Cannon Beach, Gearhart and Hamlet, texts emergency responders as a backup when pagers don’t activate. Marc Reckmann, Cannon Beach Fire Chief, has called for improvements, including consolidating services and technology. Reckmann watched the City Council meet- ing remotely and said the upgrades will make a sub- stantial impact on communi- cations in South County. But Reckmann continues to press for a consolidated response center to address staffi ng shortages and delays between north and South County dispatchers. “The county has done the sep- arate studies since 1997, all saying the same thing: Consolidate.” The city may ask other jurisdictions for funding, through conversations with Cannon Beach Fire and other agencies, Winstanley said. “In the future, yes, we may see that those agencies fi nancially help, but right now we’re prepared to move forward with it with the bud- gets we have so that we can get this done,” Winstanley said. “This has been a prob- lem for quite a while down in the South County. Radio traffi c in some of those loca- tions has been very spotty, and we do a lot of mutual aid down in those areas. From a safety standpoint making this improvement is very important and we’re ready to go.” “This is really a safety issue,” Mayor Jay Bar- ber said. “We don’t want our police, fi re, EMTs out of contact in an emergency situation.” Free breakfast for emergency responders The Seaside Civic and Convention Center and Ore- gon Fine Foods have partnered to provide compli- mentary breakfast for people in need and emergency responders in Clatsop County. People can drive-thru at the northeast loading zone of the convention center from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday for pancakes and sausages while supplies last. “Due to the overwhelming success of our fi rst pan- cake feed, we decided to provide a second round to any- one in Clatsop County who is a fi rst responder or has felt the pinch of this pandemic from an economic stand- point,” said Russ Vandenberg, general manager of the convention center. — The Astorian DEATHS Feb. 21, 2020 In GRAYUM, Brief Harley W. Jr., 74, of Salem, formerly of Astoria, died in Salem. Crown Memorial Center of Salem was in charge of the arrangements. Death BIRTH March 28, 2020 Birth RICHMOND, Christina and Ryan, of Warrenton, a boy, Mark Robert Richmond, born at Columbia Memo- rial Hospital in Astoria. Grandparents are Roxann Pearson and Robert and Debra Richmond, of Ocean Park, Washington, and Diane and Ben Nofsinger, of Longview, Washington. ON THE RECORD Theft Vehicle charge On the Record • Hannah Havranek, • Lonie Charles Davis 29, was arrested Thurs- day on Marlin Avenue in Warrenton for theft in the second degree and crim- inal trespass in the fi rst degree. Jr., 41, was arrested Wednesday on W. Marine Drive near Astoria High School for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, posses- sion of heroin and posses- sion of methamphetamine. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Knappa School District Board, 5:30 p.m., (video meeting). Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. TUESDAY Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., workshop, 10 Pier 1, Suite 209, (teleconference). Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission, 5:15 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., regular meeting, 6 p.m., budget meeting, Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Seaside School District Board of Directors, 6 p.m., bud- get committee meeting immediately followed by regular meeting, 1801 S. Franklin. PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 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. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. Coast Community Radio awarded major grant By NICOLE BALES The Astorian Coast Community Radio, a nonprofi t based in Astoria, has received a $120,000 grant to upgrade broadcast equipment. The nonprofi t oper- ates three local stations, KMUN, KTCB and KCPB, which broadcast throughout the North Coast and s outh- west Washington state. The grant, awarded by the M.J. Murdock Chari- table Trust, matches funds raised by individuals and other charitable foundations since 2018. Coast Community Radio said the grant is the corner- stone for a major equip- its newsrooms in the last month. In the face of those hard choices, Wright told Ore- During the coronavi- gon Public Broadcasting’s rus outbreak, the hunger “Morning Edition” that for news and up-to-date she’s confi dent more job information has never been cuts aren’t on the horizon for stronger. her organization. But in the midst of “I don’t see more a once-in-a-lifetime layoffs coming. I event, local newspa- think we took action pers are struggling fairly quickly, and in an already fragile we anticipate that industry. we’ll be able to keep On Wednes- our current staff- day, the owners of ing level through The Oregonian — Heidi Wright this crisis,” she said. the largest paper “And we’ll come in the state — announced out the other end hope- they were cutting employee fully a stronger, sustainable pay by as much as 20% company.” from May through Decem- Despite mass layoffs, EO ber. They’re also requiring Media newsrooms such as employees to take additional the East Oregonian and the unpaid furloughs of one or Hermiston Herald are striv- two weeks, depending on ing to still meet the demand department. for accurate and timely Heidi Wright is the pub- information. lisher of the Bend Bulletin “We’ve never been bus- and the chief operating offi - ier. Our newsrooms might cer with EO Media Group, be ghost towns, but we’ve which publishes newspa- got a lot of reporters out, pers in Oregon and Wash- and we’re producing a lot of ington state, including The content, which I think is get- Astorian. The company laid ting consumed voraciously off 47 employees across in our communities,” Wright By GEOFF NORCROSS and DONALD ORR Oregon Public Broadcasting VOLUNTEER PICK OF THE WEEK Lola 5 year, 8 month old American Staffordshire Blend MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eff ective May 1, 2019 A classy lady. Easy to teach, Eager to please And adore just you. MAIL (IN COUNTY) EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00 said in a statement. “He owned a radio and appli- ance sales and service shop out of high school and went on to start Tektronix, a com- pany that manufactures test equipment used widely in audio and broadcast fi elds, as well as many others. “Lorin Dunlop, our p ro- gram d irector at the t rust, assured me that Jack and the t rust have always funded radio, and that if he were around today, he would love our station. I offer my deepest gratitude to Jack Murdock, the t rust, our community and the other foundations who have helped us raise the funds for our much needed ‘radio re do’.” Newspapers struggle fi nancially during pandemic COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2020 by The Astorian. MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. ment and facilities overhaul dubbed “Radio For Good.” The biggest upgrades were made last year when the station purchased and installed a new transmit- ter on Megler Mountain in Washington. Susan Peterson, Coast Community Radio’s devel- opment director, said the fi nancial support “helps us fulfi ll our mission. It makes the whole commu- nity better.” Peterson said the grant from M.J. Murdock is the largest grant the nonprofi t has received since she began seven years ago. “Money like that infused into a community like ours — small, rural, a little apart from the the big city for sure — it’s just so important,” she said. “It breathes so much vitality and persever- ance into our community.” Graham Nystrom, the station manager, said pro- fessional broadcast equip- ment is not cheap and that the grant was much needed. “Melvin “Jack” Murdock was a radio guy,” Nystrom Sponsored by Bayshore Animal Hospital CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER 1315 SE 19th St., Warrenton • 861- PETS www.dogsncats.org Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat ‘WE’VE NEVER BEEN BUSIER. OUR NEWSROOMS MIGHT BE GHOST TOWNS, BUT WE’VE GOT A LOT OF REPORTERS OUT, AND WE’RE PRODUCING A LOT OF CONTENT, WHICH I THINK IS GETTING CONSUMED VORACIOUSLY IN OUR COMMUNITIES.’ Heidi Wright | chief operating offi cer with EO Media Group said. “As of last night, (we had) 930 bylined corona- virus stories. That’s just on this topic, let alone the other news we need to continue to report on.” EO Media Group is get- ting help from the fed- eral government through a payroll protection loan, which covers payroll for its remaining employees . That includes everyone who works for the company, not just reporters. However, local jour- nalism was struggling to stay afl oat even before the coronavirus hit, as overall advertising and subscrip- tion revenues have been on the decline. Wright said the business model needs to adapt when hard times come. “Google and Facebook have done a really good job of monetizing the content that all of us produce … so we’ve got to fi gure out how to fi nd new revenue streams, and we’re doing that,” Wright said. In the meantime, Wright said Gov. Kate Brown and the state government could potentially step up to save local newspapers in a time of crisis. “It would be very help- ful if the governor’s offi ce would utilize the newspa- pers around the state and the other media organizations around the state that produce journalism — if they could utilize us with their ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’ cam- paign,” Wright said. “It’d be nice to see some of that money stay in Ore- gon and save some journal- ism lives.” Fre e Est Fast ima tes Call me ti Any Jeff Hale Painting • • • • Residential Commercial Cedar Roof Treatments Exterior Repaint Specialist Over 25 years local experience 503-440-2169 Jeff Hale, Contractor LICENSED BONDED INSURED CCB#179131
