U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER DELIVERS FIRST BABY TO SURVIVE CONDITION TRADITIONALLY DIAGNOSED AS FATAL

United States Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and husband Daniel Beutler today announced the birth of their daughter, Abigail Rose Beutler, born Monday, July 15 at 3:13 a.m. at Emanuel Legacy Hospital in Portland, Ore. Abigail is considered by her doctors to likely be the first baby to survive a diagnosis previously considered fatal.

While in utero, Abigail was diagnosed with Potter's Syndrome, caused by bilateral renal agenesis. Potter's Syndrome is a condition associated with a deficiency in amniotic fluid often caused by a baby's prenatal kidney failure. In Abigail's case, absence of the kidneys resulted in anhydramnios, or a complete absence of amniotic fluid in the womb, which is critical to lung development. The condition often results in terminated pregnancy, as babies born with the condition suffer from pulmonary hypoplasia, or severely undeveloped lungs, and are unable to breathe once outside of the womb.

Board of Clatsop County Commissioners Meeting Highlights July 24

Code enforcement ordinance

The board adopted an ordinance establishing a civil citation process for code enforcement and nuisance abatement and replacing the existing enforcement process. The ordinance is designed to provide the county’s code compliance officer with a more efficient process for responding to non-criminal violations of the county’s land use ordinance and building codes. It clarifies the definition of public nuisance, revises the schedule of fines and creates an Abatement Fund to hold revenue from fines to help fund enforcement actions.

The ordinance replaces the existing “notice-order” nuisance abatement process, which is labor-intensive and results in compliance orders that are difficult to enforce.

Clatsop Community College Fall Enrollment and Registration Open

Enrollment and registration at Clatsop Community College is open for beginning and returning students. Fall Term classes start September 30.

Contact Student Services at 503-338-2411; visit the Student Services Center at 1717 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, 12pm-4pm, Monday – Thursday through August; or register online at www.clatsopcc.edu/register.

FATAL TRAFFIC CRASH - HIGHWAY 101 NORTH OF GEARHART IN CLATSOP COUNTY

     An 87-year old Seaside man died Saturday night following an afternoon single vehicle traffic crash along Highway 101 north of Gearhart. Preliminary investigation indicates the victim may have had a medical emergency prior to driving off the highway and crashing his vehicle.

     On July 20, 2013 at approximately 5:26 p.m., a 1997 Lincoln Continental driven by WALTER B. CADMAN, age 87, from Seaside, was southbound on Highway 101 near milepost 17. For an unconfirmed reason, the Lincoln traveled across the center turn lane and northbound lane, and then went through a grassy section along the side of the highway. The Lincoln then struck a fire hydrant, post, tree, and two driveway access points before coming to a stop.

SERIOUS INJURY TRAFFIC CRASH - HIGHWAY 26 IN CLATSOP COUNTY

Five people were seriously injured Sunday morning in a two-vehicle head-on traffic crash on Highway 26 about eight miles east of Highway 101 in Clatsop County. Oregon State Police (OSP) is continuing the investigation.

Preliminary investigation indicates on July 21, 2013 at approximately 9:15 a.m., a 1990 Subaru Legacy four-door driven by SAMUEL M. KITTO, age 19, from Astoria, was westbound on Highway 26 near milepost 8. For an unconfirmed reason, the Subaru traveled across the centerline where an approaching eastbound 2006 Toyota Corolla driven by KAREN E. ANDERSON, age 27, from Eugene, took evasive action to the right. Both vehicles collided head-on near the eastbound lane fog line.

Coast Guard assists in rescue of two women near Cannon Beach, Ore.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew and a Cannon Beach Fire Rescue crew rescued two women from a cliff near Cannon Beach, Ore., on Sunday, July 21.  

At approximately 4:50 p.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River, in Warrenton, Ore., received a call reporting two women stuck on a cliff at Chapman’s Point, near Cannon Beach.
Columbia River watchstanders dispatched the Coast Guard aircrew, which then safely hoisted one of the women. She was transferred to the Cannon Beach Fire Rescue crew and evaluated by Cannon Beach Emergency Medical Services at approximately 5:15 p.m.

The second woman was assisted off the cliff by the Cannon Beach Fire Rescue crew and transported to Cannon Beach Fire Station and EMS. There were no reports of serious injuries.

OSP & DOJ AGAIN WARNS OREGONIANS OF WARRANT PAYMENT COLLECTION SCAM

Following another reported phone scam attempt to get money for a non-existent arrest warrant, Oregon State Police (OSP) is again urging everyone to be aware of scammers making these calls to Oregon residents. OSP and the Oregon Department of Justice warn these calls are fraudulent and should be ignored.

Oregon Employment Outage Resolved, Some Claims Need Refiling

Due to an outage of a Network Attached Storage array at the State Data Center, many Oregon Employment Department systems were down from 7:00pm Monday, July 15th through about Noon or so on Tuesday, July 16th.

All systems are back on line, though unemployment insurance benefit payments will be delayed a day and call volumes at theCall Center are  heavy.

Due to when the outage occurred, a small number of Oregonians using the Online Claims System to make an initial claim, did not get their claim filed. Any claim filed from 6:00pm or after on July 15th until the system came back online was lost.

Less than 50 claims were lost. If someone filed their initial claim during that time period, they should refile the claim online, or call the Call Center at 877-File4UI.

ASTORIA SENIOR CENTER RENOVATION OPEN HOUSE July 22, 2013, 2 PM

The Astoria Senior Center and City of Astoria will be hosting an open house at the Astoria Senior Center, Monday, July 22nd, 2pm, at 1111 Exchange Street.  The open house will introduce the Senior Center Renovation project and project team to the community and to get input from community members regarding the remodel of the facility.  The architectural consultant will give a general overview and description of the goals and scope of the project and describe the process anticipated. Thoughts and ideas from the public regarding the remodel of the Senior Center will be welcomed.

Ilwaco kicks off parks plan process

Public invited to Open House July 25th

The City of Ilwaco Parks and Recreation Commission will host a Parks, Trails and Natural Area Plan Open House on Thursday, July 25, 2013, at the Ilwaco Community Building, 158 First Avenue North in Ilwaco. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m., with a short talk starting at 5:00 p.m. The public is welcome to drop by anytime between 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

The open house will kick off the city’s first parks, trails and natural area planning effort.

Bonamici to Meet Monday with St. Helens Seniors Affected by Meals on Wheels Cuts

On Monday, July 15, 2013 at 12:00 p.m., Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici  will meet with senior citizens at the St. Helens Senior Center located at 375 S 15th Street in St Helens, Oregon to discuss the impact of federal cuts to the Meals on Wheels program. 

 

According to the Community Action Team that administers the home-delivery meals program in Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook counties, automatic cuts due to sequestration will result in approximately 7,000 fewer meals being served in the tri-county area. Bonamici is working to pass legislation to repeal the cuts. 

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SURVEY FOR WAHKIAKUM COUNTY

The Wahkiakum County Department of Emergency Management is asking residents to participate in a survey that will assess the county’s readiness for natural disasters.
In a statement, Emergency Manager Beau Renfro said beginning July 22, surveys will be mailed to every household and post office box in Wahkiakum County. Residents can also complete the survey online,
Every participating household will be entered into a drawing for an emergency NOAA weather radio.
The survey will help emergency responders better understand and plan for residents’ needs and concerns in the event of an emergency.
The voluntary survey, which takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete, must be returned to the county by Aug. 19.
Residents may take the survey online, or print additional paper copies at http://www.co.wahkiakum.wa.us/dem.html.

Fire Training Exercise Saturday and Sunday, July 13, 14 in Warrenton

The Clatsop County Firefighters Association along with the Oregon Army National Guard  and Camp Rilea will be conducting a prescribed fire training exercise.  The annual training event called “Wildfire 2013” is scheduled for Saturday July 13 – Sunday July 14 at Camp Rilea in Warrenton.  Approximately 85 fire fighters will be training during the exercise.

Board of Clatsop County Commissioners Meeting Highlights Wednesday July 10

Code enforcement ordinance

The board opened a public hearing on an ordinance establishing a civil citation process for code enforcement and nuisance abatement and replacing the existing enforcement process. The ordinance is designed to provide the county’s code compliance officer with a more efficient process for responding to non-criminal violations of the county’s land use ordinance and building codes. It clarifies the definition of public nuisance, revises the schedule of fines and creates an Abatement Fund to hold revenue from fines to help fund enforcement actions.

The ordinance would replace the existing “notice-order” nuisance abatement process, which is labor-intensive and results in compliance orders that are difficult to enforce, according to Code Enforcement Officer Bart Catching.

The public hearing is continued to the board’s July 24 meeting.

Coal Ports on the Columbia? Hearings in Portland, Hermiston, link to online comments

Ambre Energy proposes a coal export terminal at the Port of Morrow in Boardman.  The Coyote Island Terminal is a coal export project that would bring up to 8.8 million tons of coal a year by train from Montana and/or Wyoming to Boardman. The company would store the coal in covered storage buildings at the Port of Morrow before transferring it to barges using an enclosed conveyor system. The barges would then take the coal down the Columbia River to Port Westward in Clatskanie, where crews would transfer it onto ocean-going ships bound for Asia.

OregonDEQ will hold hearings 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Mountain Community College, 975 SE Columbia Drive in Hermiston and at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland.   

Testimony can be submitted online at www.oregon.gov/DEQ/Pages/CoalExport.aspx

POSTAL PROTEST SCHEDULED FOR PORTLAND WEDNESDAY

Opposition to cuts to the US Postal Service will continue today in Portland.  A protest is planned to take place at the Portland Air Cargo Center sometime in the next 24 hours. 

In a statement, organizers said they expect a dozen people to occupy and risk arrest near the airport mail facility to protest the subcontracting of postal jobs.  Jaime Partridge is a retired postal mail carrier and an organizer of the protest.   

“We’re going to be demanding that the corporation who is subcontracting with the postal service to drop the contracts to do mail processing and mail handling of the people’s mail.  They have an agreement with the Postal Service to negotiate a contract to do mail handling and mail processing since the Salem mail processing plant last month.  This is the first time we know of where the postal service is actually contracting out the work to the private sector.”