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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2015
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Volunteers Richard Cook, left, and Georgeann Silvermann, right, watch for gray whales at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park, Wash., Monday.
The whales are in the peak of their southern migration to Mexico.
Whales: Whale watching week has been around since late 1970s
Continued from Page 1A
Some visitors came specif-
ically to watch the whales, and
others were just passers-by.
“It’s nice to be out on the
beautiful ocean, whales or not,”
said Christine Bernsten, who de-
cided to visit the coast with her
two small children — not the
most patient whale watchers.
Huddled on a sleeping bag
with her boyfriend and bundled
in warm winter clothes for whale
watching Wednesday was Siera
Flintoff of Vancouver, Wash.
“I looked for the place with
the most hits and came here,”
said Flintoff, who found out
about whale watching week last
year and decided to make the
early morning trek.
Bringing people
to parks
Whale watching week, which
has been around since the late
1970s, is partially an informal
census of migrating whales, and
partially a promotional effort to
drive people to the coast around
the holiday and spring breaks.
“The ultimate goal is to en-
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Volunteer Georgeann Silvermann looks out over the ocean
for gray whales at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center
at Cape Disappointment State Park, Wash., Monday. Over
a five-day period, Saturday to Wednesday, volunteers at
the center count whales that pass by.
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Dick Tilbury, Seattle, sets up a spotting scope for whale watching at the Lewis and Clark
interpretive center at Cape Disappointment State Park Monday.
courage visitors from around the
U.S. to come experience where
we are,” said Renee Fowler of
the Whale Watching Center.
According to statistics by
volunteers, the Whale Watching
Spoken Here program engaged
with more than 10,000 people.
While it’s impossible to tell
how many came speci cally for
whale watching, Fowler said she
does feel like the event draws
people to the coast.
While it helps track the mi-
gration of whales, she said, it
Murder: Both suspects will be arraigned today
Continued from Page 1A
unlawful sexual penetration,
rst degree sex abuse, thee
counts of rst-degree assault
and three counts of criminal
mistreatment. The sex abuse
charges relate to Roden subject-
ing Evangelina Wing to sexual
contact by touching.
An autopsy found Evangeli-
na Wing was the victim of ho-
micide and apparently died from
blunt force trauma.
Both Dorothy Wing and Ro-
den will be arraigned in Clatsop
County Circuit Court at 1:15
p.m. today.
Roden, who made an initial
court appearance on Christmas
Eve, is being held in jail without
the possibility of bail. The ag-
gravated factor because the vic-
tim is under 14 years old could
carry the possibly of the death
penalty for Roden.
The murder by abuse charge
against Wing is not a death pen-
alty offense.
At about 5:20 a.m. Saturday,
the Seaside Police Department
received a 911 call that a child,
later identi ed as Evangelina
Wing, was not breathing. They
responded to the Salmonber-
ry Knoll Apartments, 1250 S.
Wahanna Road. The child was
found dead.
Wing’s two sons, ages 5 and
2, were found injured, hospital-
ized and placed in state protec-
tive custody. Wing is facing six
counts of rst-degree criminal
mistreatment for leaving her
three children unattended with
Roden and for withholding
necessary medical attention, ac-
cording to the indictment.
Court records show Roden,
a former Georgia resident who
stopped school after 11th grade,
was indicted on 52 counts of do-
mestic violence and sex abuse
charges in 2012 involving anoth-
er woman. The charges included
strangulation, menacing, attempt
to commit murder, unlawful sex-
ual penetration and coercion.
He pleaded no contest to the
coercion charges and was sen-
tenced to 18 months in prison
and 60 months of probation.
The other charges were dropped
as part of the plea deal.
The District Attorney’s Of-
ce has not commented on why
so many charges were dropped
at the time.
Roden served his prison time
from March 2013 to January
2014. He recently violated his
probation by possessing a con-
trolled substance and changing
his residence without Depart-
ment of Corrections permission,
according to court documents.
Astounding rainbow a good omen for Seahawks?
Crindalyn Lyster/EO Media Group
Crindalyn Lyster and her son Kaeden (pictured) took a quick break from the Seahawks game at about 3:30 p.m.
Sunday to rush out and take this stunning photograph of a double rainbow over the beach.
also helps people know more
about the habits of whales. The
whales are tending to stay longer
in their Alaskan feeding grounds,
she said, and some stay along
the Oregon coastline from May
through October to feed, while
some mothers and calves also
show up during summer months.
The southward migration
of whales begins with pregnant
females, followed by males,
nonpregnant females and nally
juveniles, who sometimes turn
north again before ever reaching
Mexico.
Whale Watching Spoken Here
will be ready when the whales
head north again. Fowler said it
already has wait lists for its volun-
teer sites during spring break.
For more information on
Whale Watching Spoken Here,
visit http://bit.ly/1gUEg2X
Estrada: She
enjoys hikes in
Ecola State Park
Continued from Page 1A
She started a job in the
accounting department at Es-
cape Lodging’s headquarters
in Cannon Beach in August.
Escape Lodging manages
several properties in Cannon
Beach and Seaside, as well
as elsewhere in the state.
Although her career has
turned toward nancing,
Estrada still is involved with
theater. She declined an offer
to stage manage for Coast-
er’s winter production of
“Beauty and the Beast,” but
had two acting roles in the
production as a Silly Girl
and Monsieur D’Arque. She
leans more toward the pro-
duction aspect of theater, but
she believes the acting ex-
perience gave her a helpful
perspective to apply when
working with thespians, es-
pecially volunteers, in the
future.
Her next involvement
with Coaster will be stage
managing for its production
of Agatha Christie’s “Murder
on the Nile,” which opens in
March.
Estrada resides in Sea-
side, primarily because
Cannon Beach had nothing
available when she and her
roommate were searching
for a place to live this sum-
mer. While she enjoys cer-
tain aspects of Seaside, such
as the shopping and dining
options and having a gym
facility in close proximity,
she would prefer to live in
Cannon Beach, which is
where she spends most of
her time.
“ de nitely feel more
part of the community here
than in Seaside,” she said.
She enjoys Cannon
Beach’s small-town feel,
with its lack of chain stores
and the sense of community,
which is more conspicuous
throughout the holiday sea-
son.
In addition to theater, she
likes to hike in Ecola State
Park and other nearby areas,
and she also enjoys that she
can get off work and go to
the beach.
“It really reminds you to
be thankful, no matter what’s
going on,” she said. “There’s
that beautiful creation out
there that’s phenomenal. It
gives you perspective.”
While in Cannon Beach,
she enjoys hanging out at
the Driftwood Restaurant &
Lounge or having bon res
on the beach. In Seaside, The
Irish Pub is one of her favor-
ite places.
She enjoys visiting Asto-
ria when she can, especially
to enjoy its historical appeal
and interesting hot spots.