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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, March 18, 2010 Page 15 Power of the People By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager, West Oregon Electric Cooperative WOEC Participates in Earthquake Exercise Over the past few months, WOEC has been involved in a series of meetings designed to identify measures that essential services in Columbia County would need to do themselves in an earthquake event, and what we need to do togeth- er to serve our communities and members. Included in this process will be an exercise to test out some of our responses. WOEC will be participating in this exercise on the morning of April 26th, and will act out an earth- quake situation in the office and with operations in the field. We would also like to pass on to our members what you should do in the event of an earthquake. This article is to inform you of the mock earthquake exer- cise and recommendations for your own protection. Are you ready for an earthquake? Do you know what you need to do if one occurs? Columbia County Emergency Management is promoting “Columbia County Quake Shake 2010” on Monday, April 26th at 10 a.m. It is a time where the department would like everyone in Columbia County to spend a few mo- ments going over their earthquake procedures and plans, specifically “drop, cover and hold on”. “Quake Shake” is based on the State of California’s Shakeout program, which promotes a day of earth- quake preparedness through California. “Quake Shake” is a Columbia County effort, however. “It is our intention to make sure that people are prepared local- ly for earthquakes, among other hazards”, says Derek White, interim director of emergency management for Columbia County. White states that it is important to be prepared for earthquakes in our area due to the location of the Cas- cadia Subduction Zone fault off the Oregon Coast. “These faults only erupt occasionally, but when they do, they release a tremendous amount of energy. Earthquakes such as the 1964 Anchorage earthquake ODFW seeks committee members The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State University announced that they are seeking three candidates for the Oregon Hatchery Research Center (OHRC) Advisory Committee. The 15-member committee ad- vises the OHRC Senior Scien- tist on activities and functions related to the operation and maintenance of the OHRC. The committee meets quar- terly, with meetings scheduled for June 14, September 20, and December 13, 2010. Three positions on the com- mittee, one each representing commercial fishing, watershed councils and sport fishing, will open May 2010. Members are appointed for three-year terms, and may be reappointed for a second three-year term. Candidates must submit a letter of interest by April 16. The letter should specify why the applicant is interested and provide three references. ODFW and OSU representa- tives will finalize selections by June 1. Members of the Advisory Committee represent the feder- al government, local govern- ments, conservation groups, sport fishing groups, the com- mercial fishing industry, tribes, resource producers (agricul- ture, timber and gravel), water- shed councils and education. Two members represent the public-at-large and four repre- sent the scientific community. For more information about the Advisory Committee or how to submit a letter of interest, contact Margaret Cleveland at 503-947-6230, or margaret.l.cl eveland@state.or.us. For more information about the OHRC, see their Web site at www. dfw.state.or.us/OHRC. Winter sports report, continued From page 11 nament and, of those nine, placed three in the top six at state. This team had a very good performance by the young men and women repre- senting Vernonia. The Loggers entered 19 athletes in the dis- trict tournament and placed 15 competitors in the top six. The top state winners for the Log- gers were; Joe Benes (6th place), Shylo Dooley (5th place) and Calvin Barnes (4th place). Thirty athletes started the season, with 20 completing the effort. In AAA wrestling three athletes qualify for the state tournament. In AA only two will qualify for the state tournament. This will make it much more difficult to reach post-season play next year, however, with only four seniors graduating, the prospects for the Vernonia Wrestling team look good. and the one in the Indian Ocean a few years ago were caused by subduction zone faults.” “Quake Shake” is intended to get folks to think about what they need to do to prepare for earth- quakes. According to scores of emergency prepared- ness and response agencies, dropping to the floor, taking cover under a sturdy table or desk (or covering the head while getting next to an interior wall or some- thing that is stable), and holding on until the earth- quake is over is the best way to respond. Once the earthquake ends, you should try to evacuate as quick- ly but as safely as possible. If you are stuck, do not yell, as this will use up oxygen and will cause you to breathe in deadly amounts of dust. Instead, knock on a nearby wall or pipe so that neighbors or rescuers may notice. For earthquake and other preparedness tips, go to http://www.oregonredcross.org . To learn more from Columbia County Emergency Management, check out its blog at http://columbiacountyem.blogspot.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/columbiacoem .