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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, MAy 10, 2022
Arch Cape: ‘I feel that public engagement was duly done’
work with an advisory group,
the land conservancy, Lewis
and Clark Timberlands and
the National Park Service to
complete the plan.
Chick said the goal with
the process is to maintain
the character of the land and
its traditional local uses and
gather community feedback.
The water district also
needs to complete a forest
management plan, which will
be developed by the district’s
forester and a forest advisory
committee.
“Managing a water source
is exactly the kind of work
that a water utility should be
focused on — on protecting
its source water and provid-
ing clean, safe water to the
people that it serves,” Chick
said. “Owning the source
achieves this in perpetuity.
“Although
community
forestry isn’t especially com-
mon right now in this neck
of the woods, there are some
municipalities that have
owned their own watersheds
for many years,” he added.
“And the people that are
responsible for making those
decisions — the city coun-
cils, the staffs — those orga-
nizations have little to no for-
est management experience
in house either. They rely on
professional consultants to do
that, in much the same way
that we rely on engineers and
different partners to operate
our wastewater and our water
utility service.”
Continued from Page A1
Campbell claims the water
board has not addressed ques-
tions from the community. He
said the petition, which was
sent to the board in March,
has also been ignored.
“I am trying to repre-
sent the community’s inter-
est in getting the commu-
nity to make a decision,” he
said. “Sure, I have an opinion
on everything. But I’m not
weighing in on whether the
forest should be purchased
or not. Whether there should
be recreational use or not. It’s
really about, let’s have full
transparency by the board
with the correct complete
information. And let’s get the
community to be involved in
making the decision. That’s
what I’m all about.”
Campbell has served on
Arch Cape’s sanitary district
board and is on the board of
the Castle Rock homeowners
association, which represents
a 35-lot subdivision that bor-
ders the forest.
“We share a direct bor-
der with the proposed forest,”
Campbell said. “So clearly,
people at the 35 lots in this
community definitely have
concerns, but I think they’re
concerns that are represen-
tative of the full Arch Cape
community.”
Phil Chick, the water dis-
trict’s manager, said the forest
purchase has been an agenda
item for the water district’s
Arch Cape is moving forward with a purchase of timberland to protect drinking water.
board for years. There have
also been numerous work-
shops, tours and town halls.
A Facebook page and
website were set up for the
project, which includes sur-
veys, answers to frequently
asked questions, project
information and timelines.
The water district hired
an outreach coordinator in
2018 through a state grant.
A finance committee was
formed in 2019 to develop a
feasibility plan.
The water district held a
town hall in March with pre-
sentations from various proj-
ect partners and a question
and answer period. The dis-
trict also followed up with
a document with written
responses to questions raised
during the meeting.
“I feel that public engage-
ment was duly done,” Chick
said. “All of our meetings
have been public, and this
has been a long, very inten-
tional, deliberate process in
not only planning, but public
engagement.
“And that process is going
to do nothing but continue,
even after acquisition is com-
plete, which we’re anticipat-
ing will happen in the early
part of June.”
The water district will
begin developing a recreation
and access plan for the for-
est beginning in May, a pub-
lic process that will last sev-
eral months. The district will
Veterans: The veterans transport service has
Sisley: Has added her name to the list
of great jumpers in recent school history one volunteer, and is struggling to find more
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
“With my asthma when I
came into high school, I was
like, ‘I don’t think I can do
the 300,’” she said. “I used
to play basketball. I did
summer ball my freshman
year, then I just chose to
focus on two sports (soccer
and track). For training, I’m
usually in the weight room
during the winter, or out
hurdling for coach Donna
(Sunell).”
In addition to her main
track events — at first just
the long jump and 100 hur-
dles — Sisley found herself
with free time during meets
in her junior season. So
toward the end of the year,
she took up the triple jump.
Less than a year later,
Sisley is ranked No. 1 in
the state at the 4A level,
and she has added her name
to the list of great jump-
ers in recent school his-
tory, including former state
champions Charlene Harber
and Darian Hageman.
Another Sisley specialty
is the 100 hurdles, where
she’s ranked second in the
state behind Molalla’s Eliz-
abeth Grandle. She’s also
second in the long jump.
Sisley is first in the triple
jump, by nearly 2 feet; and
she runs a leg on Astoria’s
400-meter relay.
Not bad for having just
two-and-a-half years of
track. The 2020 season was
canceled, and 2021 was just
half a season, with no offi-
cial state meet.
With help from a few
other athletes, and the
points Sisley could bring at
state this season, it could be
another top three team finish
for the Astoria girls.
The 2022 season also
brings Sisley together for
one last victory lap with
her young sister, Ashley,
a sophomore sprinter who
spent two years with Mad-
die as a teammate in soc-
cer. Now the two are on the
same track as part of the
short relay.
Last year, “I tried to get
Ashley to do track,” Sisley
said. “All her friends tried
to get her to do track. We
pushed her this year too, but
she didn’t come out the first
week.
“But three weeks into the
season, I see her walk in the
door at practice, and I said,
‘What are you doing here?’ I
thought she was waiting for
me or just to hang out with
friends.
“Harlie
(Wiedmaier)
said, ‘She’s doing track!’
And I was super excited. It’s
Gary Henley/The Astorian
Maddie Sisley was also an aggressive player on the soccer
field for the Lady Fishermen.
‘IT’S FuN BEING ON THE SAME
TEAM WITH A SIBLING. AT THE
SAME TIME, IT’S A LITTLE HARd.
WE GOT TO PLAy SOCCER
TOGETHER FOR TWO yEARS, ANd
WE SNAPPEd BACK ANd FORTH
AT EACH OTHER A LITTLE. BuT
OVERALL IT’S FuN ANd I LOVE IT.’
areas with access to firearms.
Rural veterans have a
20% increased risk of death
by suicide, due to contrib-
uting factors such as isola-
tion, firearm access and lim-
ited access to mental health
services.
In 2020, Oregon had
the 13th highest rate of sui-
cide in the country, 18.3 per
100,000 of population, with
833 deaths, according to the
federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Sui-
cide rates on the North Coast
are typically higher than the
state average.
“There’s amazing peo-
ple doing really amazing
work out here, but you’re not
close to a VA, there’s not a
vet center out here, and we
feel like this is an area where
we can actually make some
changes,” Drucker said.
Around 30 attendees
at the American Legion,
including homeless liaisons,
veterans services officers,
case managers and clinical
teams, were asked to dis-
cuss the strengths and weak-
nesses of services for veter-
ans in the community. The
majority of attendees were
veterans.
During
discussion,
one theme stood out:
accessibility.
“Right now, for a veteran
to get into the North Coast
Clinic at Camp Rilea, it’s a
three-month wait,” said Josh
Davis, the veterans services
officer for Clatsop County,
where around 4,000 veter-
ans live.
“It’s everything from the
VA not paying practitioners
enough to come to work for
the VA, to low availability
of housing for profession-
als coming to work way out
here. It’s a lot,” he said.
For those needing ser-
vices, getting there is a chal-
lenge. During the discussion,
the word “transportation”
elicited groans from a table
in the back.
The Sunset Empire
Transportation District has a
van service in place to drive
veterans to local health care
appointments. Sometimes it
takes them as far as Portland.
Jason Jones, the transit
district’s mobility manager,
said the majority of veterans
live off of the fixed-route bus
system and can’t afford to
repeatedly call taxis.
The veterans transport
service has one volunteer,
and is struggling to find
more.
“There’s a lot of need out
there in this community,”
Jones said. “We need to get
to medical appointments.
This seminar has a lot to deal
with what ails our commu-
nity of veterans out there:
mental health. We want to
make sure that if there’s
someone in crisis, that we
can be available to them to
take them where they need
to go.”
Attendees also discussed
a lack of internet access or
understanding of technology,
especially for the elderly.
They said services often
require email addresses.
Further marginalization
can increase suicide risk.
Jones said homeless vet-
erans, veterans of color,
LGBTQ veterans and those
who have been incarcerated
need additional support and
resources.
Together With Veterans
is receiving $100,000 over
three years from the VA,
and is working on an action
plan for the funding, which
will incorporate suggestions
from the event.
“We are being creative as
to how the funding is used,”
Davis said. “The sugges-
tions from the SWOT event
will help us determine the
community’s readiness to
tackle rural veteran suicide
prevention.”
Davis said he was pleased
with the turnout. He hopes
it will start a longer con-
versation about suicide
prevention.
“I would like to see folks
who are part of our commu-
nity take an interest in how
we can make it a priority. If
you look at the long-term
plans of the county commis-
sion, or long-term plans of
the city, or long-term plans
of Clatsop Behavioral Health
or any number of agencies
that would assist veterans or
families in crisis, suicide pre-
vention is not even on their
radar,” he said.
“So what are we, as a
community, going to do to
make it a priority and have it
be in front of us?”
Maddie Sisley
fun being on the same team
with a sibling.”
But, “at the same time
it’s a little hard,” she said.
“We got to play soccer
together for two years, and
we snapped back and forth
at each other a little. But
overall it’s fun and I love it.”
Ashley — the fifth-
ranked 100-meter runner in
the Cowapa — “is quick,”
Sisley said. “I knew if she
and the soccer girls came
out, they would do well.
Track is a sport that a lot of
kids do to keep in shape for
other sports. Then they grow
to love it. I think (Ashley)
will stay with it. She and
Harlie both have a chance to
go to state. Our 4-by-1 is sit-
ting pretty high right now.”
At this time next year,
Sisley will be attending
Washington State Univer-
sity in Pullman. She has no
plans to play varsity sports.
“I had some offers from
different schools. I went
back and forth on it. I’m
committed to Washington
State, to study athletic train-
ing and sports medicine.
“I thought about walk-
ing on and competing, but
they don’t allow you to take
that major and also com-
pete as an athlete. So I just
take it as a sign that it’s time
to hang up the cleats,” she
said, although she has not
ruled out competing in club
sports.
The move to the Palouse
will bring another chal-
lenge, once she experiences
one of those harsh eastern
Washington winters.
“It felt like the lon-
gest drive of my life when
I went to visit,” she said.
“Two hours away, and it felt
like we’re in the middle of
nowhere. I was like, ‘Where
did I decide to go?’ But once
we entered Pullman, it felt
like home. It’s very much
a college town. Everything
is involved in and around
the college campus. I’m
excited.”
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PAMELA
Clatsop County Commissioner • District 3