4A • January 20, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
Thoughts on the
new year ahead
‘Very confusing
little creatures’
hristmas eve service at our church was one of
scripture readings, old carols, solos from talented
members and fi nally, a lighting of the candles.
There’s a sameness about it that is reassuring. It sets the
tone for the rest of the season. Christmas Day there was
a potluck dinner for those whose families were no lon-
ger visiting because they’d either started their own tra-
ditions or were
afraid to travel
in inclement
weather. There
SCENE & HEARD
were about 30 of CLAIRE LOVELL
us who shared
the Christmas
meal. It was
great but with-
out the luxury of leftovers when holiday hunger pangs
set in later in the day. A church family is a wonderful
substitute for your own when circumstances prevent
you getting together. Happy New Year everyone!
I was heading for the Signal offi ce one Wednesday
afternoon when it began to look like a no fun trip be-
cause of the cold. Gail, who works in a fi nancial offi ce
around the corner, and was a total stranger, asked if I
needed a ride. I jumped at the chance so she delivered
me and brought me home. Truly a good Samaritan. I
was so thankful for her help.
I watched the dropping of the ball on New Year’s
Eve at Times Square in New York City. Imagine 2
million celebrants and no port-a-potties. That’s what
one might call emergency planning, and some of those
citizens arrived on scene at 9:30 a.m. If they could have
such a demonstration of self-control in that capacity,
perhaps they could try it somewhere else.
By Jan. 2, I’d already broken my resolution to cut
down on junk food. Think I’ll just take it one day at a
time.
The president-elect says computers are so vulnera-
ble, we should learn to send all-important messages by
courier. Would that be by “courier pigeons?”
Spring is just around the corner, although it’s a big
one — corner, that is. Down the street camellias are in
bloom but on my birdbath there was a coating of ice so
Snoopy’s yellow bird could go ice-skating.
Gary went to Portland on Saturday to catch a plane
for Oakland but they weren’t fl ying because of the ice
so he had to make arrangements to stay for a couple
more days. He took the train to Eugene to wait out the
time with his brother. By Monday, he arrived safely in
Oakland, although according to the TV, some planes
were still grounded in Portland. When the weather is
bad, I wish they’d all stay home. It’s so worrisome.
C
COURTESY TIFFANY BOOTHE/SEASIDE AQUARIUM
A pyrosome is categorized as a marine tunicate.
S
ome visitors to the North Coast describe them as “little
fi ngers” on the beach. Others describe them as “plastic
pickles.” Their name in Greek means “fi re body.” In
Australia giant pyrosomes can grow to 90 feet and could
consume a human being. In a sense they are like a Fran-
kenstein monster of hundreds of animals coming together to make
one organism.
“They’re all over this year for some reason,” Tiffany Boothe,
administrative assistant at the Seaside Aquarium said early this
month. “As soon as I saw one I picked it up and put it in my buck-
et and brought it to the aquarium.
“Pyro” is the Greek word for fi re and ‘“soma” means body,
Boothe said, and
are known for their
brilliant biolumines-
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
cence — pink, yellow
R.J.
MARX
or bluish and are not
typically seen along
Seaside beaches. Like
jellyfi sh, they cannot
survive when air gets in their lungs.
A fi eld guide, “Tidepool and Reef,” by Rick M. Harbo,
presents a fascinating array of sponges, mollusks, sea stars and
tunicates. According to Harbo, tunicates are “encrusting colonies
of distinct individuals in a stiff gelatin-like tunic.”
Orange social sea squirts — their real name — divide asex-
ually to form numerous rounded individuals that often cover
intertidal and subtidal rocks. Other species like the stalked hairy
sea squirt, the sea peach and sea pork, are found encrusting
rocks, barnacles and shells. Pyrosomes are classifi ed as a colonial
tunicate, a member of the only group of chordates — animals pos-
sessing a dorsal nerve chord — able to reproduce both sexually
and asexually, with hundreds of animals coming together to make
one organism.
While author Harbo writes that tunicates are not edible, Boothe
said turtles and sunfi sh consider them a “delicacy.”
“It’s not necessarily something whales and dolphins are going
to fi nd delicious,” Boothe said. “I’ve heard dogs are eating them
— that’s not a great thing, but they’re not poisonous.”
Like sea cucumbers, “When you squeeze them, water shoots
out,” Boothe added. “They’re very confusing little creatures. I
don’t like talking about them.”
Laugh line
Q: What did “Soapless” say when Annie asked if
he’d taken a bath?
A: “Why? Is one missing?”
Q: When he found a horse in the tub, how did he get
it out?
A: He just pulled the plug.
COURTESY TIFFANY BOOTHE/SEASIDE AQUARIUM
Close-up of a pyrosome.
And if you’re lucky enough to find
a pyrosome, what should you do?
‘Marvel!’ Boothe said.
‘They’re kind of cool!’
LETTERS
Thanks to Seaside police and fi re
We want to thank all law enforcement agencies and
the Seaside Fire Department for the professional and car-
ing way they handled the situation on Whispering Pines.
We appreciate you all for a job well done.
Again, thank you.
Larry & Sharon Johnson
Seaside
Davidson current
Visitors to our beaches in winter never know what they might
fi nd, whether it be a sea lion, bloated gray whale or even a salp, a
transparent invertebrate that looks like aspic.
“In the summer we have a current that comes down from the
north that cools our water down,” Boothe said. “In the winter, the
Davidson Current comes up and warms our water up a little bit, so
we tend to stay at the same temperature all year round.”
According to the Oregon Coastal Management Program, the
Davidson Current begins 600 feet below the surface in Baja,
California. In winter, southwesterly storms drive the Davidson
Current’s warmer, saltier fl ow northward along the coastline 6 to
12 miles per day, displacing currents offshore, even at the surface.
If winds change, warm weather animals may be stranded in
cold water
Results are apparent on our beaches. Over the past year and a
half, at least fi ve sea turtles washed to shore dead on arrival.
Last winter two olive ridleys, Thunder, which washed ashore
in Gearhart, and Lightning, in Pacifi c City, were malnourished,
hypothermic and comatose — but still alive.
A Coast Guard escort and rehabilitation team transported the
turtles to San Diego’s Sea World. Sadly, Thunder was discovered
fl oating in her rehabilitation pool a few weeks later, but Lightning
continues to receive care.
Curator of fi shes Mike Price said Lightning remains in
SeaWorld’s care, rehabilitating in a 12-foot deep, 90,000-gallon
holding pool along with two other rescued olive ridley turtles.
Sea turtles — olive ridleys, green turtles and leatherbacks
— may continue to wash to Seaside’s sand beaches this winter,
putting the aquarium on “sea turtle watch.”
“They don’t have to die,” Boothe said. “They can just get
stressed out.”
Big thanks for gifts
For “warming up” an audience, there is none better than
sweet-spirited “leave ’em laughing” personality Shirley
Marie Patterson, daughter of Seaside resident Laura Meek.
For a loyal, “get ’er done” partner, who shares my com-
mitment to the homeless community, and proves it year
after year, there is none better than Laura Meek, herself.
So it is with sincere gratitude that Laura joins me
in thanking all others who gave of their product, time
and hearts to support our annual Christmas gift giving
to Seaside’s homeless shelter residents. These include
The Dress Barn and, among other merchandisers, store
managers and department heads such as Troy Kerr and
Tracy Hudson. It also includes Alli, who donated enough
premium quality wrapping paper to make almost 100
Christmas presents “pop.”
Finally, and foremost, Laura and I wish to thank both
Seaside’s homeless shelter founder Alan Evans and his
wife, homeless shelter manager Susan Evans, for provid-
ing us the forum, together with their love, encouragement
and support.
Thank you. And God bless you as you continue to
change lives for the better.
Anna Ryan
Seaside
COURTESY SEAWORLD
Thunder and Lightning were transported to San Diego’s
SeaWorld from the Oregon Coast last winter, where they
received treatment. Thunder died in April but Lightning is
still under care.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Thunder, an olive ridley
turtle, received care after
washing ashore in Gearhart
last December.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Who are the real haters?
A pyrosome fi ts into a gloved
hand, but a giant pyrosome
is a fearsome thing.
Hum, I wonder how one should identify a hater? Is
it a person who categorizes people indiscriminately and
then calls them names?
Is it those who intentionally or unintentionally sup-
port policies that are detrimental to the weakest members
of our society?
Is it those who have actively attacked members of
their own nation because those members believe differ-
ently about certain issues?
And fi nally, is it those who despise a strong defense/
safe borders and refuse to accept the fact that America
has been a positive infl uence among other nations and a
defender of basic human rights?
If so, then I strongly advise the liberals everywhere
‘Marvel!’
Like the western snowy plover, which leaves its subtle nest
among 19 acres of Gearhart dunes, the message may be to pay
close attention to the world under our feet, what Seaside naturalist
and photographer calls “a carpet of living phenomena.”
“These are living, dynamic systems,” Maine said at a De-
cember lecture celebrating Haystack Rock. “They’re just not as
conspicuous as some systems like fi sh in the stream or elk coming
across the meadow.”
In a year dedicated to the 50-year anniversary of Oregon’s
Beach Bill, Maine said he hopes to help recast Oregon beaches
as an ecosystem and “reconnect the beaches to the landscape.”
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
David F. Pero
R.J. Marx
He suggested citizen-level efforts to expand the discussion on
beaches.
With General Manager Keith Chandler, Boothe is among those
leading that effort as the Seaside Aquarium continues to foster
education and awareness.
While she’s yet to collect any live pyrosomes, she goes explor-
ing every day so visitors “know what we’re fi nding on the beach
and talking about.”
And if you’re lucky enough to fi nd a pyrosome, what should
you do?
“Marvel!” Boothe said. “They’re kind of cool!”
ADVERTISING
MANAGER
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Betty Smith
John D. Bruijn
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Heather
Ramsdell
Carl Earl
ADVERTISING
SALES
Brandy Stewart
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Katherine Lacaze
Claire Lovell
Eve Marx
Esther Moberg
Jon Rahl
See Letters, Page 6A
Seaside Signal
Letter policy
The Seaside Signal
is published every other week by
EO Media Group,
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR
97138.
503-738-5561
seasidesignal.com
Copyright 2017 © Seaside Signal.
Nothing can be reprinted or copied
without consent of the owners.
The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the
editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to
publication. Letters must be 400 words or less
and must be signed by the author and include a
phone number for verifi cation. We also request
that submissions be limited to one letter per
month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive,
Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N.
Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285.
Or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in
and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR
97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR 97138 and
at additional mailing offi ces. Copyright 2015 © by
the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper
may be re-produced without written permission.
All rights reserved.