T he C olumbia P ress
May 22, 2020
Utility customers to get credits
Thanks: Show
appreciation
for hard jobs
Continued from Page 1
ficers nationwide die every
year in the line of duty.
“I have never heard anyone
say they entered law enforce-
ment to make lots of money,”
Warrenton Police Chief Matt
Workman said. “It’s strange
that ‘risking your life’ is al-
ways very low on the list of
things officers think about or
that worry them. Only a cer-
tain type of person can enter
a profession where you may
be giving your life to protect
someone else, even a strang-
er.”
As with many police offi-
cers, law enforcement is in
Workman’s blood. His grand-
father was a police officer in
his Nebraska hometown and
his daughter, Bethany, joined
the Seaside Police Depart-
ment in 2016.
Several individuals and
businesses, including Costco
and Lum’s Auto Center, have
used this month to thank lo-
cal officers and firefighters
for all they do by delivering
treats, artwork and thank-
you cards to the stations.
“The best way to thank of-
ficers is to just tell them so,”
Workman said. “If an officer
does something special or
over and above their duties,
write a letter or send an email
to the chief.”
Workman ensures the notes
are put in the officer’s per-
sonnel file and used during
their annual evaluations.
“Many people ask if they
can buy a gift or give an of-
ficer something, but their
thanks is all we need and
many times all we can accept
given Oregon’s ethics laws,”
he said. “We appreciate our
citizens and we it makes us
feel good when we are told so
as well.”
3
Peggy Yingst
A military hovercraft unloads supplies on Sunset Beach while
emergency volunteers and curious residents watch.
Hovercraft story wins regional award
Last year’s story about an
emergency
preparedness
drill that brought a military
hovercraft to Sunset Beach
received a first-place award
for The Columbia Press in
the technology writing cate-
gory for small newspapers in
the Northwest Excellence in
Journalism competition.
The awards, which were an-
nounced Monday night, are
sponsored by the Society of
Professional Journalists and
included newspapers from
Oregon, Washington, Alaska,
Idaho and Montana.
Sisters Cindy Yingst and
Peggy Yingst covered and
wrote the story, accompanied
by photos from Peggy Yingst
and Mark Wickham.
The Astorian’s Edward
Stratton won a first-place
award in the comprehensive
coverage category for small
newspapers for his yearlong
coverage of changes at the
Port of Astoria. Hailey Hoff-
man was a runner up in the
spot news photography cate-
gory.
Ad campaign aims to spur state pride
Keep Oregon Green is
launching a new wildfire pre-
vention campaign and releas-
ing four new public service
announcements to help raise
awareness.
The announcements feature
movie, television and voice
actor Sam Elliott, who is the
official voice of Smokey Bear.
Each announcement encour-
ages residents and tourists to
practice basic wildfire safety
while enjoying the outdoors.
Elliott has a home in Or-
egon and has experienced
fire firsthand near his other
home in California.
Pride in Oregon is the driv-
ing force behind Keep Ore-
gon Green’s campaign and
new website. It’s hoped stun-
ning campaign photos of Or-
egon’s iconic landscapes will
encourage everyone to pro-
tect the state’s scenic recre-
ation areas.
The new campaign artwork,
PSAs, and additional wildfire
safety tips can be found at
keeporegongreen.org and on
its various social media plat-
forms.
NW Natural customers can
expect a credit on their June
bill.
Credits returned to Oregon
customers this year are a re-
cord $17 million.
The average residential
customer will see a credit of
$16.88, about 30 percent of an
average monthly bill. The av-
erage small commercial cus-
tomer will see a credit of $77.
“Our customers’ natural
gas bills are about 40 per-
cent lower than they were
15 years ago,” NW Natural
President David H. Anderson
said. “During such a chal-
lenging time for so many due
to COVID-19, we’re especial-
ly pleased to share these cost
savings.”
During the past 16 years,
NW Natural has issued nearly
$160 million in bill credits to
Oregon customers.
The credits result from ser-
vices provided at the com-
pany’s underground natural
gas storage facility in Mist, as
well as from pipeline capacity
management, Anderson said.