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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2015)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015 COMMUNITY 1B SAD AND BLUE TWO COASTS, NO COASTING ON THE COVER L ast week a rare occurrence happened down the coast north of Gold Beach — a 78-foot blue whale washed up, KATU reports (http://tinyurl.com/whaleblu). The unfortunate critter is pictured, courtesy of Oregon State Parks, which led the effort to get the car- cass off the beach. The skeleton will be preserved and put on display in Newport, EXW ¿UVW 2UHJRQ 6WDWH 8QLYHUVLW\ +DW¿HOG 0DULQH 6FLHQFH &HQWHU students and volunteers had to strip off the blubber, which is 4 inches thick. Not to mention decomposing. Just to give you an idea of the size of a blue whale, National Geo- graphic says (http://tinyurl.com/whaleblu2): “Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. These magnif- icent marine mammals rule the oceans at up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and upwards of 200 tons (181 metric tons). Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant. Their hearts, as much as an au- tomobile.” Why the whale died is a bit of a mystery, but Calum Stevenson of Oregon Parks and Recreation mentioned that the whale had what appeared to be bite marks on it, and speculated it might have either been killed by an orca, or perhaps hit by a large boat. He also noted that normally they would bury the carcass, but this one’s a keeper because it is so rare for a blue whale to come so close to the Oregon Coast. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? W KLOHZH¶UHRQWKHVXEMHFWRIZKDOHVWKH¿UVWPRYLQJLPDJHV of a mysterious species, Omura’s whales, has been released, BBC reports (http://tinyurl.com/omurapix). A population of the crit- ters was discovered in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. A still shot is pictured, courtesy of Cerchio et al, 2015, Royal Society Open Science. Omura’s whales are a small cousin (32-39 feet) of the blue whale. The images came about because of a study done by a team of interna- tional scientists, led by Salvatore Cerchio from the New England Aquar- ium and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, to see, among other WKLQJVKRZ2PXUD¶VZKDOHV¿QGIRRGDQGZKDWVRXQGVWKH\PDNH These mammals are so little known, scientists don’t even know how many of them exist. 2IVSHFLDOQRWHLVWKDWQRWRQO\LVWKLVWKH¿UVWWLPHWKHVHPDP- PDOVKDYHEHHQ¿OPHGRUFDXJKWRQYLGHRLW¶VWKH¿UVWOLYHSRSXOD- tion of Omura’s whales that’s ever been found. M ‘W ith the popularity of Steven Spielberg’s recent movie ‘Bridges of Spies,’ and its focus on the Cold War in Berlin, I thought it would be interesting for you to know that a former Astorian was featured on the cover of ‘Life’ magazine” during that period, Jerry Ol- son wrote to the Ear. “His name is Don Cheney, who was a tank commander stationed at ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ in September 1961.” A photo of the cover is shown. If your history is a little rusty, according to Mr. Wiki- pedia, shortly before the magazine cover photo was tak- en, a barbed-wire barrier was erected to divide East Ber- lin and the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies) and West Berlin and the Western Bloc (the U.S. and its allies). The barbed wire soon become the concrete 12- foot high Berlin Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie was one of, and the most famous of, the wall’s restricted border crossings (http://tinyurl.com/CPCharlie). “Sgt. Cheney is a former member of the Astoria High School class of 1959, and now lives in Spanaway, Wash- ington,” Jerry added. “To my knowledge, he is the only Astorian ever to appear on the cover of ‘Life’ magazine.” SHIPNOTES NOTHING BEATS RUNNING A MARATHON ichael “Sasha” Miller spotted an unusual sight in the pouring rain on Oregon Highway 202 recently — unicyclist Anthony A. Jones, who was wearing rain gear and a backpack. He is pictured in photos from his Facebook page. “Essentially the story goes that I am a 20-year-old from New Or- leans,” he told the Ear, “and I decided to catch the Greyhound Bus to WKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVWWRGRWKH7UDQV$PHULFD7UDLORQP\XQLF\FOH Greyhound lost my unicycle, and I ended up stranded in Portland for 25 days until some local unicyclists took pity on me and donated a unicycle to me ... “I actually caught the transit to Hillsboro and rode from there to Astoria with my entire home on my back. I made my way through Highway 47 and 202 ... It took me two and a half days, during which I got completely soaked, and discovered my hate for hills.” Anthony arrived in Astoria on Halloween night. His hate for hills notwithstanding, he unicycled up to the Astoria Column while he was here. “There were a surprising amount of wonderful things to be found in such a small town,” he told the Ear. Only expecting to stay for a day, he actually left Nov. 2. “It was harder to leave Astoria than I had expected,” he wrote in his blog www.2coastsnocoasting.com. “Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming, and history lessons are scattered around the town. I met a few well-traveled people in Astoria. One gentleman even tuned up his guitar and played me a zydeco song about red beans and rice, after he learned I was from New Orleans! “... But before making it out of town I got interrupted again, this time by seals! They seemed to be having a party, but I told them I FRXOGQ¶WKDQJRXWEHFDXVH,KDGWRJRWKHQ¿QDOO\,ZDVRIIDQGRXW of town along the 101, a shortcut from the scenic route, but I couldn’t afford to make any more stops for history.” PARASKEVIDEKATRIAPHOBIA D o you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia — a morbid and irrational fear of Friday the 13th, when superstitions abound? Hopefully, not. Those of a superstitious nature might be interested to note that The Thirteen Club was formed in 1881 with the lofty goal of im- proving the number 13’s reputation (http://tinyurl.com/the13club): “They met on the 13th of the month, sat 13 to a table, broke mir- rors and spilled salt with exuberance and walked in to dinner under crossed ladders.” The club’s annual reports noted member deaths each year. The Ear can just envision an entry now: Cause of death — crushed by ladder. EMPTY-HANDED • R C arla Oja called to tell the Ear that Astorian Chris Luhrs (pic- tured) competed in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, 1RY,QWULJXHGWKH(DUFRQWDFWHG&KULVWR¿QGRXWPRUH ³,DPD¿IWKJUDGHWHDFKHUDW/HZLVDQG&ODUN(OHPHQWDU\LQ$V- toria,” he replied. “It is my second year teaching there, and my 10th year overall. I spent eight years before that teaching in New York state. “The NYC Marathon was my fourth marathon. I have been doing marathon running the last three years, but have been running com- petitively since high school and college. I run because it is my way of relaxing from my day and enjoying the outdoors. It also allows me to travel to different places that I want to visit.” &KULV¶XQRI¿FLDOUHVXOWVIURPWKHPDUDWKRQ+H¿QLVKHG (out of over 50,000 runners) in 3 hours, 27 minutes and 58 seconds, averaging 7:56 minutes per mile. The Ear is exhausted just thinking about it. “The experience of the marathon was fantastic,” he declared. “Nothing beats having over a million people cheer you on over 26 miles. Everyone congratulates you after the race, and treats you like DURFNVWDU5XQQLQJWKH¿UVWWZRPLOHVRYHU9HUUD]DQR%ULGJHZLWK over 50,000 people was an amazing moment, as well.” ³1RWKLQJEHDWVEHLQJDEOHWRUXQWKURXJKDOO¿YHERURXJKV´&KULV added, “and seeing New York City in a way no other person can see it!” emember Destiny, the completely restored 81-year- old, 85-foot hermaphrodite brigantine staysail schoo- ner that was moored off Astoria for a while (http://tinyurl. com/svdestiny)? Commissioned by American playwright, VFUHHQZULWHUDQG¿OPGLUHFWRU3UHVWRQ6WXUJHVVLQDQG once owned by Howard Hughes, the Destiny also served in the Hooligan Navy during World War II. Current owners Mike and Dawn Hilliard decided to have Destiny spend the winter here in Astoria, and went look- ing for a slip where she could be safe and cozy. In the process, they had an interesting encounter. “Think you might be interested to know,” the couple told the Ear, “that the local Port Operations Manager, Matt Mc- Grath, just told us that his grandfather used to own Destiny. And, that he and his dad used to sail on her when she was in Hawaii.” How’s that for a “small world” moment? • The Ear has been taken to task for last week’s story about mega-yacht Sailing Yacht A by Alex Andreev of Eurasia Advisory, a “strategic communications and public affairs ¿UP´+HUHSUHVHQWVWKHELOOLRQDLUHRZQHURIWKHPLOOLRQ vessel, Andrey Melnichenko. Was Mr. Andreev distressed because the boat was men- tioned as being possibly one of the ugliest yachts ever built? No. He objected to the use of the name White Pearl, which has been bandied about in several publications as being the vessel’s actual moniker. But it ain’t so. Not at all. “Sailing Yacht A is the only existing name of the vessel,” Mr. Andreev wrote. “There is no yacht or project called White Pearl, which is incorrect.” The Ear stands, and sits, corrected. Sailing Yacht A it is. F or Veronica Castillo of Beaverton, Friday the 13th came early, and with a wallup. According to KOIN.com, she was playing on a slot machine at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washing- ton, and the machine said she hit the jackpot for $8.5 million (http:// tinyurl.com/nope8mil). She is pictured, courtesy of KOIN.com She was over the moon, of course — but not for long. Casino staff came over, told her the machine malfunctioned, and printed up a ticket for $80 instead. Their reasoning? There’s a sticker on the machine that says a machine malfunction voids all pays and plays. The casino has sent out a lengthy press release defending them- selves, declaring the $8.5 million was a “display malfunction,” and not only claiming that the most she could have won was $6,000, but that “the win claimed by Ms. Castillo is not legally or practically possible on the machine.” (www.luckyeagle.com/press-releases) Oh yeah? Ms. Castillo ain’t buying it. “To me, it’s cheating, may even be fraudulent,” Castillo told KOIN 6 News. Guess who’s look- ing for a lawyer? COMMUNITY NOTES SATURDAY SUNDAY Lower Columbia R/C Society — 8:30 a.m., back room at Uptown Cafe, 1639 S.E. Ensign Lane, War- renton. Local Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) chartered radio control model aircraft club meets for breakfast and business. All model aircraft enthusiasts are welcome. For information, call 503-458-5196 or 503-325-0608. Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m., Seaside American Legion, 1315 Broadway. For information, call 503-738-5111. No cost; suggested $5 tip to the instructor. Columbia Northwestern Mod- el Railroading Club — 1 p.m., in Hammond. Group runs trains on HO-scale layout. For information, call Don Carter at 503-325-0757. MONDAY Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Needlework, hardanger, knitting, crocheting, embroidery and quilting. All are welcome. For information, call 503-325-1364 or 503-325-7960. Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m., Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do- nation $3 for those older than 60; $6.75 for those younger than 60. For information, call Michelle Lew- is at 503-861-4200. Columbia Senior Diners — 11:30 a.m., Peace Lutheran Church (lower level), 565 12th St. Cost is $5. For information, or to have a meal delivered, call 503-325-9693. Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro- gram — noon, Warrenton Commu- nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Sug- gested donation of $5 for seniors and $7 for those younger than 60. For information, or to volunteer, call 503-861-3502 Monday or Thursday. Astoria Rotary Club — noon, second Àoor of the Astoria Elks Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always welcome. For information, go to www.AstoriaRotary.org Knochlers Pinochle Group — 1 p.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Cost is $1 per regular session per person. Players with highest and second highest scores split the prize. Game is designed for play- ers 55 and older, but all ages are welcome. Astoria Alzheimer’s & Other Dementia Family Support Group — 2 to 3:30 p.m., ¿rst-Àoor confer- ence room, Clatsop Care Center, 646 16th St. Open to all family members of people with dementias. For information, call Rosetta Hurley at 503-325-0313, ext. 222, or email support@clatsopcare.org Astoria Toastmasters — 6:30 p.m., Hotel Elliot conference room, 357 12th St. Visitors welcome. For information, go to www.toastmas- ters.org or call 503-894-0187. Line Dancing for Seniors — 6 to 7:30 p.m., Astoria Senior Center, temporarily located at 1555 W. Ma- rine Drive in the old Astoria Yacht Club. For information, call 503-325- 3231. TUESDAY Do Nothing Club — 10 a.m. to noon, 24002 U St., Ocean Park, Wash. Men’s group. For informa- tion, call Jack McBride at 360-665- 2721. See NOTES, Page 2B
