Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 2016)
2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016 Firework revelers race tide to free dozens of stuck cars Brave, soggy heroes By NATALIE ST. JOHN EO Media Group LONG BEACH, Wash. — A relatively orderly July 4 cel- ebration devolved into chaos when dozens of cars sank axle-deep in soft sand while attempting to exit the beach. As the city-sponsored fi re- works show came to an end at about 10:30 p.m., hundreds of cars began heading south toward the Bolstad approach, just as the tide started rolling in. F arther east on the approach, a bottleneck formed as drivers tried to pull out of angled park- ing spaces into the oncoming traffi c, and the whole proces- sion came to a dead halt. Peo- ple in four-wheel-drive vehi- cles pulled out of the line of vehicles at the water’s edge and charged across the soft sand, forming still more queues lead- ing up to the bottleneck. Natalie St. John/EO Media Group Members of the Garfias and Gonzalez families worked to- gether to free numerous cars from the sand and surf as the tide rolled in around 11 p.m. Monday. to pass the time by wading into the incoming tide. On the approach, rangers and Long Beach Police tried to fi nd a balance between help- ing individuals in distress, and managing traffi c. It is not uncommon for cars to wash into the surf, and it takes relatively little water to make it happen. As midnight approached, many vehicles started to get swamped. The increasing potential for real danger tested the patience of police and civilians alike. Time, tide and tempers By 11 p.m., the waves began fl owing around the wait- ing vehicles. Passengers and bystanders all over the area north of the approach were working frantically to free bur- ied cars. Crowds of intoxicated bystanders gathered to watch and make videos on their cell phones, while others decided When push comes to shove Virginia Painter, a spokes- person for Washington State Parks, rode with the rangers until 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Painter said offi cers had to make diffi - cult calls about how to prior- itize the multiple issues com- peting for their attention, and it became especially challeng- ing when some people refused to call tow trucks until the sit- uation became dire. While rid- ing between Cranberry and Sid Snyder Drive, Painter and the rangers stopped numerous times to help out, she said. “There were lots of places where we all got out and pushed,” Painter said. Though a rumor swept through the crowd that six empty cars had washed out to sea, Painter said she was told that three unoccu- FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT FRIDAY SATURDAY 66 55 57 Rather cloudy with a couple of showers SUNDAY 62 52 Periods of rain and a thunderstorm Cloudy with showers MONDAY 64 54 65 54 Mostly cloudy with a shower Low clouds may break, a shower Natalie St. John/EO Media Group After getting their own car unstuck, members of the Gar- fias and Gonzalez families helped free cars from the surf as the tide rolled in Monday night. pied cars had been inundated, but none washed away. Towing for fun (and no profi t) The heroes of the evening were several men with large trucks and tow ropes, including Jerry Rathman, who along with his sister Ashley Hiatt, volun- teered to haul people out. “I don’t care about fi re- works,” Hiatt said. “This is my fun. I like towing people!” Hiatt said Rathman accepted tips, but he didn’t charge a fee. The towing was just something they like to do every year as a service to a community where they have deep ties, she said. As Rathman raced to free each car from the sand, Hiatt dealt with the queue of wait- ing drivers, and supervised the onlookers who began pitching in. Rathman’s huge, white truck shuddered and dug deep wells in the sand as it strained against a dangerously tense tow chain to pull the cars out. “He’s going to get stuck himself ,” a bystander shouted. Hiatt laughed. “He’s not gonna get stuck,” she said. Sure enough, with chassis-rattling groan, the truck jumped forward and had the other car out a moment later. Port of Coos Bay receives $11 million grant for rail repairs The Daily Astorian ALMANAC Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 57/66 Tillamook 57/64 July 11 Full Newport 54/60 July 19 Coos Bay 57/62 New July 26 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 11:06 a.m. 11:26 p.m. Low -0.6 ft. 2.0 ft. City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Lakeview 50/71 Ashland 61/72 REGIONAL CITIES City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend Hi 84 78 62 75 61 82 87 70 62 66 Today Lo 53 51 53 57 57 51 62 58 54 57 W pc pc pc c sh s pc c c sh Hi 69 67 57 69 63 68 73 68 60 64 Fri. Lo 51 46 52 53 55 47 59 54 52 54 W t c sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 66 83 70 79 72 62 77 75 69 81 Today Lo 56 59 61 61 59 58 57 58 60 58 W sh pc c pc c sh pc c c pc Hi 70 76 69 70 68 64 73 67 68 81 Fri. Lo 52 56 58 57 56 56 56 54 57 54 W sh t sh c sh sh t sh sh sh TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — Wearing saggy pants could get expensive in tiny Tim- monsville, South Carolina. A new town ordinance out- laws wearing sagging pants, trousers or shorts that inten- tionally display a person’s underwear. After initial warn- ings, third and subsequent offenses carry a fi ne ranging from $100 to $600. Town administrator Mary Bines says the ordinance, which also bans nudity, passed the Town Council 5-1 on Tues- day night. The sagging style has been W t t t pc t pc t sh s t t s pc s s t pc t s t pc s pc sh t Hi 94 76 86 91 85 90 100 75 86 87 88 105 79 96 92 95 94 92 94 95 92 98 69 71 95 Fri. Lo 77 64 64 61 65 66 76 55 73 67 68 80 63 77 79 75 79 75 75 77 72 72 58 56 78 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W t pc pc pc s t s c s t s s pc pc pc pc t t pc t pc pc pc sh t Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. CLATSOP POWER EQUIPMENT, INC. SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS THURSDAY Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. FRIDAY Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer District Board, 2 p.m., special session, 34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business. LOTTERIES OREGON Wednesday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 5-7-9-5 4 p.m.: 4-8-0-7 7 p.m.: 1-4-5-9 10 p.m.: 1-2-1-6 Wednesday’s Megabucks: 2-4-24-27-32-48 Estimated jackpot: $7.1 million Wednesday’s Powerball: 2-24-31-57-66, Powerball: 18 Estimated jackpot: $288 million WASHINGTON Wednesday’s Daily Game: 5-5-5 Wednesday’s Hit 5: 18-25- 33-35-38 Estimated jackpot: $150,000 Wednesday’s Keno: 06-07- 13-14-16-19-22-27-31-33- 35-45-46-50-53-54-64-68- 74-79 Wednesday’s Lotto: 21-24- 36-39-44-49 Estimated jackpot: $1.9 million Wednesday’s Match 4: 02- 04-08-24 MONDAY Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, 6 p.m., Fire-Rescue Main Station, 188 Sunset Ave. Youngs River Lewis & Clark Water District Board, 6 p.m., regular meeting and executive ses- sion, 34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. ON THE RECORD Harassment • At 10:48 a.m. Friday, War- renton Police arrested Charles E. Westerlund, 56, Astoria, for harassment and second-degree disorderly conduct after wit- nesses claimed he was inap- propriately touching a young girl in Fred Meyer. DUII arrest • At 5:49 p.m. Friday, War- renton Police arrested Thai D. Clappe, 33, Astoria, for driv- ing under the infl uence of intoxicants on the 1600 block of Harbor Street. • At 11:39 p.m. Friday, June 24, Warrenton Police arrested Nicholas J. Spliethof, 33, Astoria, for DUII at Second Street and Birch Court. • At 5:23 p.m. Tuesday, Oregon State Police arrested Gary Leonard Goodenough, 51, Gearhart, for driving under the infl uence of intox- icants on U.S. Highway 101 and Garden Terrace Road in Gearhart. • At 8:53 p.m. Tuesday, Oregon State Police arrested Glenn Arthur Crist Jr., 43, Gearhart, for DUII on U.S. Highway 101 in Gearhart. SCOREBOARD SPORTS SCHEDULE TODAY Junior State Baseball — Tilla- mook at Astoria Ford, 6 p.m.; Clats- kanie at Warrenton (2), 4 p.m. FRIDAY Junior State Baseball — Mad- ison at Astoria Ford, 5 p.m.; West Salem at Astoria Ford, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY Junior State Baseball — Madi- son at Astoria Ford, 10 a.m.; West Salem at Astoria Ford, 11:30 a.m.; Madison vs. West Salem, 2 p.m.; Warrenton at Clatskanie (2), 1 p.m. GO ONLINE • www.dailyastorian.com The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 www.dailyastorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 34912 HWY 101 BUS • ASTORIA 503-325-0792 • 1-800-220-0792 popular for years among young people and hip-hop artists. The text of the law says the town about 70 miles east of Columbia wishes to maintain decorum on its streets. Coun- cil members have also said the ordinance is aimed at help- ing young people make better choices. PUBLIC MEETINGS TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi Lo 92 76 77 65 88 72 89 57 86 68 91 72 98 75 72 53 87 73 87 75 92 70 103 79 79 63 96 82 93 79 91 77 95 81 93 78 97 77 95 78 89 78 92 71 67 56 66 59 94 78 The Daily Astorian Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016 Tonight's Sky: Mercury will be at superior conjunc- tion. High 8.1 ft. 7.9 ft. Burns 51/72 Klamath Falls 51/68 was among 18 selected out of more than 200 applicants nationwide to receive the program’s funding. The port’s nine tunnels along the 134-mile rail line are all around 100 years old. DeFazio’s offi ce says age and weather conditions have caused deterioration and drainage issues in the tunnels and along the rail line, known as the Coos Bay Rail Link. The port should receive the award money within 60 days. Droopy drawers draw fi nes in S.C. Ontario 64/86 Roseburg 61/70 Brookings 51/56 Aug 2 Baker 53/69 John Day 59/72 Bend 51/67 Medford 62/73 UNDER THE SKY Time 4:21 a.m. 5:36 p.m. Prineville 54/70 Lebanon 58/67 Eugene 57/69 Last La Grande 58/71 Salem 59/68 SUN AND MOON Sunset tonight ........................... 9:08 p.m. Sunrise Friday ............................. 5:33 a.m. Moonrise today ........................... 9:17 a.m. Moonset today ......................... 11:10 p.m. Pendleton 59/76 The Dalles 60/76 Portland 61/69 Precipitation Wednesday ....................................... Trace Month to date ................................... 0.07" Normal month to date ....................... 0.27" Year to date .................................... 39.29" Normal year to date ........................ 36.43" First EUGENE — The U.S. Department of Trans- portation has awarded the Port of Coos Bay $11 million to repair nine aging tunnels along its rail line from Eugene to Coquille. The Register-Guard reports that U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio said Tuesday the federal grant is being pro- vided through the department’s Nationally Signifi - cant Freight and Highway Projects program. The Port of Coos Bay’s grant application REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Wednesday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 70°/53° Normal high/low ........................... 67°/52° Record high ............................ 91° in 1908 Record low ............................. 42° in 1932 After getting their own car unstuck around 11 p.m., about 10 men from the extended Garfi as and Gonzalez fami- lies, a group of relatives from Portland and Yakima, began working with Rathman and Hiatt. Lying on their bellies in the surf, they dug car after car out of the wet sand, then raced around to push the cars as the truck drivers pulled. At 12:30 a.m., the men freed one of the fi nal cars — a brand - new yel- low Kia Soul, just as the car came close to being swamped. Its owner, an older man who had taken his daughter and young grandson to the beach at their request, looked visibly relieved . A half hour before, the grandson had been stand- ing by the car, hands clasped in prayer, as his mother tried to scoop away the wet said in front of the tires. A crowd cheered as the sand-covered car surged onto the packed sand and sped away. “We did it because we know how it feels,” Eddie Garfi as said, as he hiked down the beach approach in his soaked street clothes. “When you’re sitting in your car like that, you get nervous, you get scared — you have a panic attack.” The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. SUBSCRIBER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Effective July 1, 2015 HOME DELIVERY MAIL EZpay (per month) ................$11.25 EZpay (per month) ............... $16.60 13 weeks in advance ........... $36.79 13 weeks in advance ........... $51.98 26 weeks in advance ........... $70.82 26 weeks in advance ......... $102.63 52 weeks in advance ......... $135.05 52 weeks in advance ......... $199.90 Circulation phone number: 503-325-3211 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Daily Astorian become the property of The Daily Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2016 by The Daily Astorian. Printed on recycled paper