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Headlight Herald
TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • MARCH 28, 2012
LONGEST RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY • SINCE 1888
City loses $1.5M lawsuit
Clark pleads
BY ERIN DIETRICH
Former officer and coach gets probation for hindering, tampering
edietrich@countrymedia.net
The City of Tillamook was found in breach of contract with Big River Construction in Circuit Court March 20 and the company was awarded more than $1.5 million in damages. The suit stems from the 2007 expansion and upgrade of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, completed in March 2010. The $15 million project was initially slated for completion
BY ANTHONY RIMEL arimel@countrymedia.net Aaron Clark, a former Rockaway Beach Police officer, pleaded guilty in court March 26 to hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence. Clark was sentenced to 36 months of probaAARON tion for the charges. CLARK Clark was originally charged with using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and encouraging child sex abuse, over allegations that while a varsity softball coach at Neah-Kah-Nie High School, he encouraged a 14-year-old female player to send him sexually explicit photos of herself.
‘If all else fails, we could go to voters, asking them to approve a special bond to pay for it.’
of
– Mayor Suzanne Weber in June 2009. According to Astoriabased Big River, major problems with the project’s engineering and incomplete design work led to eight additional months of work, for which the City
Tillamook failed to compensate Big River Construction. Immediately following the verdict, city officials met in an executive session to begin talks on how to move for-
TILLAMOOK COMPANY TAKES OFF
ward. “We’re still digesting this info,” said Tillamook City Manager Paul Wyntergreen. “It’s kind of a shock.” Wyntergreen said the city is now exploring their options now, ranging from appeal to acquiescence. “We’re finding out what Oregon allows, you can’t bankrupt a city in Oregon,” he said. “We’re asking our attorneys to analyze options for us.”
See LAWSUIT, Page A3
HOME & GARDEN SHOW RETURNS
T
his weekend, the free, 25th annual Headlight Herald Home & Garden Show returns to the Tillamook Fairgrounds, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 31, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 1. Along with more than 60 vendors showing household and gardening items, we’ve added helpful presentations from the Tillamook County Master Gardeners and Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. Both groups will have booths at the event in case you have a question not addressed at the following seminars:
See PLEADS, Page A2
INDEX
25
Classified Ads .........................B5 Crossword Puzzle....................B2 Fenceposts ..............................B2 Letters .....................................A4 Obituaries................................A6 Sports......................................A9 Tides .....................................A11
YEARS
WEATHER STATS HIGH LOW RAINFALL 46 37 .07 46 34 .12 53 32 .00 58 42 .00 53 39 .23 54 42 .09 53 45 -PRECIPITATION PAST WEEK: 0.51 MONTH TO DATE: 10.27 MARCH NORMALS HIGH: 56 LOW: 38 TOTAL PRECIPITATION: 9.74 MAR 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Saturday:
Near Space will be building and flying at least three balloon platforms, similar to the Near Space balloon shown here at the Tillamook blimp hangar, for the NASA Flight Opportunities Program.
Near Space gets NASA contract, new building BY ANTHONY RIMEL arimel@countrymedia.net Tillamook is the land of dairy and timber, but few people would guess that it is also home to a high-tech company that contracts with NASA. Tillamook-based Near Space Corporation (NSC) conducts high altitude balloon flights, testing equipment in conditions similar to those encountered in space. Since 1996, NSC has designed, built and flown more than 160 high altitude balloon platforms for both public and private customers, including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The balloons NSC manufactures can
WEATHER COURTESY OF WEATHER UNDERGROUND
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be used internally for NSC-operated flights, or sold to outside customers. “Our customers might be looking to test new space technology in a relevant environment,” said Eric Byers, who does project management and business development for NSC. Byers said a test with an NSC platform can allow customers to see how their equipment will function when exposed to space-like radiation and temperatures and low air density, among other things. “They [NSC’s customers] have something that works in a lab, but before they can get funding, they need to demonstrate it,” he said. “That is a
situation when they would come to Near Space Corporation.” NSC’s website says they can suspend payloads up to 3,000 pounds and reach a maximum altitude of 130,000 feet. Byers said NSC can launch balloons ranging in size from a couple of feet to many hundreds of feet in diameter. Byers said the process for planning a flight usually takes around six months, but NSC can do flights in as little time as a month. The company currently has 14 employees and works on multiple projects for multiple customers concurrently.
10:30 a.m.: Worm Bins – Evelynn VonFeldt will show you how to set up and use a worm bin to recycle kitchen waste and make your own compost. Bins will be available for purchase at the show. 11:30 a.m.: Rose Care and Pruning for the Coast presented by Debbie Lincoln. Tips for caring for and pruning roses in our cool, foggy climate. 1 p.m.: Kitchen Gardens – Gary Johnson will talk about growing vegetables on your kitchen counter. 2 p.m.: Propagation Tricks – Debbie Lincoln will present two (almost) foolproof methods for propagating plants from seeds and cuttings. 3 p.m.: TEP will talk about the type of plants that work well in riparian areas, invasive species, and their Backyard Planting Program that helps private landowners.
See SHOW, Page A2
See SPACE, Page A2
Capes residents move to higher ground BY ERIN DIETRICH edietrich@countrymedia.net
NETARTS – About 555 residents and visitors, more than 100 volunteers, 51 dogs and three cats took part in the community-wide tsunami evacuation drill for the “Cape to Cape” communities of Cape Meares, Oceanside, Netarts and Cape Lookout on March 24. The drill followed the recent release by the Department of Geologic and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) of new tsunami inundation maps and tsunami evacuation brochures for communities at risk from earthquake and tsunami hazards along the Oregon coast. The drill provided an opportunity to familiarize residents, visitors and businesses with the local tsunami warning system and practice walking
local evacuation routes that lead to higher ground. Deb Dyson of Netarts, along with her husband, Jim Carlson and their dog, a Newfoundland named Buoy, were ready to evacuate when the sirens went off at 10 a.m. Saturday. They had been visited by the local fire department ahead of time, and a large sign on Hwy. 131 heading toward the beach alerted passers-by of the drill for a week prior to the event. “We were well aware of the drill and were waiting for the siren to evacuate,” she said. “When the alarm went off, Jim and I grabbed our rain gear, put our boots and vests on, grabbed the pack and the dog and went walking up Crab Avenue to our evacuation point on Phelps Street,” Dyson said.
See CAPES, Page A2
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Oceanside residents, carrying their pets, walk toward higher ground during the March 24 evacuation drill.
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