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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2020)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020 Broadband: Service issues also pose public safety concerns Continued from Page A1 Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian The heavily-taped CenturyLink junction box sits off of U.S. Highway 26 surrounded by trash, weeds and a destroyed traffi c cone. Coast Guard: Goal is to preserve ship traffi c on the Columbia River Continued from Page A1 “The Coast Guard, we have partnerships with our local, state, federal and private stakeholders, and developed this plan for a coordinated response. A nd we practice this through exercising on a yearly basis, if not more.” Jim Merten, a port secu- rity specialist for the Coast Guard who is responsible for the Marine Transpor- tation System Recovery Unit, used a Cascadia Sub- duction Zone disaster as an example. If a ship needs to deliver relief supplies after an earthquake, he said, the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers would dredge the channel and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would sound the channel to make sure it’s deep enough and meets all the requirements. “And then we’re going to go ahead and put the aids and navigation back so that all the ships have the abil- ity to drive there safely. And then each port will be working their own disaster recovery plans simultane- ously so that they can have their port ready to receive these vessels as well,” Mer- ten said. He said the plan will activate under three cir- cumstances — when infra- structure like a bridge, lock or dam is damaged; when traffi c is interrupted by issues such as a labor dispute or civil unrest; or when emergency response to an incident on one part of the river disrupts traffi c on the rest of the river. “So we’re going to have to potentially use c aptain of the p ort orders to move ships or authorize ships to go in different orders once the disruption is cleared,” Merten said. Last September, a navi- gation lock on the Colum- bia River at Bonneville Dam closed for 21 days after part of the lock system cracked. The Coast Guard worked with vessels to cre- ate a prioritized list of who would be the fi rst to move once the channel reopened. “What was really amaz- ing to see was with the industry people, is that they knew each other’s cargoes and they were able to pri- oritize within themselves who needed to go fi rst, who needed to go second,” Bai- ley said. “So they were actually very aware of what needed to get upriver and what needed to get down- river. And so they were able to coordinate that very well.” Merten said the recov- ery unit reports directly to the c aptain of the p ort, and the companies and agencies affected are also included in the process. “And then while we’re trying to prioritize the cargo streams and things like that, we’re identifying alternate ideas, alternate methods, whether it’s rail, whether it’s barge, whether it’s moving commodities out of different ports, dif- ferent places, things like that — we take a regional kind of holistic approach to the river system in that event,” he said. Baker serves on the board of directors for West Oregon Electric Co-op, an electric- ity provider that serves rural areas in fi ve counties. He said the c o-op has the infrastruc- ture in place with electric- ity and phone lines running to every home. He pointed to work Columbia County is doing to secure federal coro- navirus relief money to run fi ber along those lines. He said he would like to see Clatsop County do the same and take a more active role in fi nding solutions. “And I’d like to see some- body besides CenturyLink operate that (d igital s ub- scriber l ine) system, even if it’s a (p ublic u tility d istrict) type system,” he said. “Cen- turyLink has failed with all their tax breaks they’ve got- ten, all of the incentives they’ve gotten. All they’ve done is milk the system and wandered off with all the value of it until it’s in the state of disrepair it is now.” Kerry Zimmer, a spokes- woman for CenturyLink, said the company under- stands how important it is for customers to have reliable services. “We are constantly assess- ing our options so that we can provide as much sup- port to our communities as possible,” Zimmer said in an email. “To best support cus- tomers in Astoria, we made the decision to evaluate alter- nate technologies for deliv- ering services. Once a deter- mination has been made, customers will be notifi ed directly. At this time all ser- vices in the area are operating normally.” However, locals are skep- tical that the investment will be made. T.J. Hecox owns the Elderberry Inn with his wife, Emily. He is doubtful a com- pany will invest in laying more fi ber lines in the area because of the lack of return on investment. “It’s really hindered the community as a whole,” he said. “From Jewell School to Highway 26, the inter- net is mediocre at best if you do have CenturyLink. And if you get off of Centu- ryLink internet, they won’t allow you to get back on it because they’ve oversold their broadband.” He said he has to pay for CenturyLink and satellite internet just to maintain the inn and restaurant’s point of sale system. “Basically, you just have to have two to have one work all the time,” he said. Safety concerns Internet service issues also pose public safety concerns. Hans Mulder, the assistant chief of the Elsie-Vinemaple Rural Fire Protection District, said the fi re district’s landline through CenturyLink became useless and they switched to using Verizon cellphones to handle district business. “But not everybody can afford to do that,” he said. “That also affects the 911 system, because if you pick up your home phone and you can’t get out to dispatch, which is in Astoria, then if you have an emergency you can’t even call 911.” The problem is Elsie is a rural community at the end of a fi ber line, and no one wants to invest in branching fi ber out, Mulder explained. “There’s only about 400 some homes around this area and they’re spread out,” he said. “It’s not worth doing from (CenturyLink’s) point of view. They keep saying someday, someday. B ut I’ll probably be very old before I see any good service out here.” County reports three new virus cases The Astorian Clatsop C ounty reported three new corona- virus cases on Monday. A woman in her 50s and another woman in her 40s living in the northern part of the county tested posi- tive for the virus. A man in his 40s living in the southern part of the county also tested positive. All three were recover- ing at home, according to the county. The county has recorded 67 cases since March 23. Fifty-fi ve have reportedly recovered and the others are convalesc- ing at home. The Oregon Health Authority reported 14,847 cases and 262 deaths state- wide from the virus as of Monday morning. The health authority tracked 3,154 test results in Clatsop County, includ- ing 64 of the positive cases. Erickson: Co-hosted ‘Caribbean Moon’ on KMUN Continued from Page A1 Last summer, he was in Australia, taking part in a reunion concert with his for- mer band. Erickson was part of a local reggae group, “Ma Bar- ley,” which, unfortunately, is no more. “Some key members of the band have moved away,” Erickson said. “So Ma Bar- ley is a legend now. We have a serious gap in dance band options in our county. So if anyone wants to start a reg- gae band, be my guest.” For a long time, Erick- son co-hosted “Caribbean Moon,” on local public radio station KMUN. The show still runs from 7 to 9 p.m. every Friday , but Erick- son has not hosted since March 13. More c oronavirus restrictions. “The radio station has been trying really hard to catch up with things,” he said, “so the shows are being broadcast remotely and on tape. There are fi ve or six volunteers who are keeping the station alive and vibrant.” Just like Erickson’s music. “I don’t have a band at the moment, but I will be baby sitting (Carib- bean Moon co-host) Jer- emy Hirsh’s piano. We’ve got some guitars and basses and three or four saxophones lying around. I play, but just Debbie Twombly Mark Erickson with Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley, in 2012. for my own pleasure and my wife’s constant displeasure.” Meanwhile, the summer of 2020 had Erickson refl ect- ing on 1968, when he was 16 and attending Mountlake Terrace High School, north of Seattle. The spring, summer and fall of 1968 included assas- sinations, riots, protests and a presidential election, all while the war in Vietnam was at its peak. “As far as the ’60s are concerned, we had a tre- mendous amount of educa- tion at Mountlake Terrace about the Holocaust and also about civil rights,” Erickson recalled. “I was a speaker in my class graduation, and the topic of the whole event was race relations. Race relations has been a super important part of my whole adult life. I felt like being in a reggae band and also playing reggae music, it’s sort of my social demonstration of positive change for our society.” After high school, he said, “My draft number was fi ve in 1971. I kept my stu- dent deferment by keeping my grades up at Linfi eld, but I was also a conscien- tious objector. I was the third conscientious objec- tor in my family. My grand- father was a conscientious objector in World War I, my dad in World War II, and I was a conscientious objector during Vietnam, on the basis that we believe in reconcil- iation. That’s been a fam- ily tradition, and I’m proud to have been a member of that line. Non violence and reconciliation.” In the 1980s, Erickson said, “I drove a Green Tor- toise bus, when I was taking a break from teaching.” The Green Tortoise line was one of several low-cost bus companies established in the 1970s, based in San Fran- cisco and Seattle, providing long-distance service. It was also referred to as a “hippie bus” company during the 1970s, for their countercul- ture atmosphere. “It covered the whole country, from San Francisco to Boston,” Erickson said. “We toured Alaska and the Yukon to Baja. I’ve been to all 50 states, as a tour guide through about 45. I didn’t put that on my résumé when I got my fi rst teaching job in the Astoria School Dis- trict, because it was kind of an alternative bus company with a seedy reputation. But I’m proud to say now that I was a Green Tortoise bus driver.” In the coming months, Erickson hopes to return to his volunteer job as public address announcer at Astoria football games. “I really miss the cama- raderie of watching local sports. I retired from teach- ing four years ago, and I miss the community of the school district. I hope that when football comes back, I get to participate in my volunteer area.” WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
