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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2015)
4C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015 PARTING SHOT A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers Charred grass and trees stand near the South Jetty in Fort Stevens State Park after a brushfire i n August . Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian ODDITY A sign of the (high) times Idaho replaces mile marker 420 with 419.9 to thwart stoners ‘Having a sign removed from a highway is pretty rare. In Idaho, people will shoot at them or write on them before stealing them completely. We spend more time mending signs than replacing them.’ By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press BOISE — If you’re look- ing for milepost 420, you won’t ¿ nd it in Idaho. Idaho transportation of¿ - cials say the mile marker has been replaced with 419.9 signs to curb thieves eager to own a number associated with mari- juana enthusiasts. Turns out, Idaho isn’t alone in this problem. States like Washington and Colorado have also replaced 420 signs with 419.9 after consistently having to replace them after thefts by supposed sticky-¿ n- gered stoners. Adam Rush of the Idaho Transportation Department says of¿ cials have replaced the old sign along U.S. High- way 95 with “MILE 419.9,” just south of C o e u r d’Alene. Rush added that this is the only 420 sign the de- partment has re- placed in Ida- ho, a state known for its strict an- ti-marijuana laws despite be- ing nearly surrounded by states with relaxed pot regulations. Oregon spared Most highways in the country don’t cover more than 400 miles. For exam- FREE PUBLISHED THE FIRST FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH January 2015 — Adam Rush Idaho Department of Transportation Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review In this August photo, vehicles pass a 419.9 milepost just south of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Idaho joined Colorado in replacing milepost 420 signs with milepost 419.9 designations in an effort to thwart thievery. ple, Or- egon has been spared the spike in sign thefts due to having no highways long enough to reach past a 400 mile- post, even though it recent- ly legalized marijuana. “Having a sign removed from a highway is pret- ty rare,” Rush said. “In ess Chronicling the Joy of Busin in the Columbia-Pacific Region Idaho, people will shoot at them or write on them before stealing them com- pletely. We spend more time mending signs than replacing them.” Rush said that the depart- ment didn’t want to leave the milepost empty because the signs can be valuable for drivers tracking their jour- ney. striverbusinessjournal crbizjournal.com • facebook.com/coa Volume 10 • Issue 1 stry spo allenges Inside: Indu copes with ch Shellfish farm an conditions oce nging s optimistic despite cha tlight: Taylor remain NEWS County makes a splash PacifIc in the pot biz page 10 Because, pot The number “420” has long been associated with marijuana, though its origins as a shorthand for pot are murky. Washington state has two highways long enough to have 420 mileposts that have both been plagued by thieves snatching the sign over the years, said Barba- ra LaBoe, spokeswoman for the Washington State De- partment of Transportation. That all stopped three years ago — the same time vot- ers legalized pot — when officials replaced one of the signs with 419.9 along Highway 20 near the Idaho border. The other sign on U.S. Highway 12 remains miss- Now inserted into The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer For more information call 503-325-3211 NEWS Seaside Muffler and Off-Road 21 revs up its reputation page BOAT OF THE MONTH The Sadie out of South Bend, Wash. page 24 ing, with no immediate plans to be replaced, LaBoe said. Sometimes a 420 mile- post doesn’t need to be sto- len to make the news. In Montana, the state’s largest pot busts occurred while pulling over a driver at mile- post 420 along Interstate 90. Law enforcement officials found 115 pounds of mari- juana hidden in the car. crbizjou rn a l.com