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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 Thomas: He misses hunting in Georgia Continued from Page 1A hunting was nothing new to him when he captured Levi in 2012. Born and raised in Geor- gia, Thomas recalled, “My dad had been taking me hunt- ing since I was 3 years old. I was just tagging along. But then, when I became able, it became less about tagging along and more about having a hunting partner, a buddy.” On this successful alligator hunt, his dad was with him on the boat. So was a man named Chris, who acted as guide — a man who, the year before, had caught his own record-setter. Chris had hunted that area be- fore. Alligator season had just started up about a dozen years before. “For so long, they were endangered,” explained Thomas. For years, he said, “Everybody was taking care to try and get the numbers back up. But I can assure you,” he paused and smiled, “they are in no way endangered now.” Speaking of a typical sit- uation on a Georgia night, he said, “You shine lights across the lakes and it’s just eyeballs everywhere.” So there they were, in a boat, with alligators aplenty. But Chris wanted to be sure they didn’t get just any alliga- tor, but the alligator. Thomas recalled that Chris knew this was to be a one-time hunt to get a trophy catch, though he says now, “I’m not sure that trophy is the right word.” Then bam. They hooked one. Thomas remembered, “:hen we had the ¿rst hook in him, he didn’t even know it. He was down on the bot- tom, trying to hide from the boat.” They hadn’t yet even seen this gator, other than its nose. Chris knew that Thomas and his father were looking for something in the 10-foot class, so he asked if, based on the pull and ¿ght, if they thought this one would be big enough. They soon found out, when they got a second line in (a Georgia state regulation) and as Thomas recalled, “He knew he was hooked and came alive. He came out of the lake like a Tarpon and tail-walked across the water. I told Chris, ‘Yeah! He’s big enough’.” There’s no such thing as a dead alligator “We fought him for a cou- ple hours. Most of the time, he stayed on the bottom and just pulled the boat around,” said Thomas. When the ¿ght was over, Thomas ¿gured the gator had died on the bottom of the lake, but by Georgia regs, they had to be sure. “Normally, you have to dis- patch them by pulling them right up next to the boat. And usually, by the time you do that, because they’ve pulled the boat around, they’re spent and don’t have any energy left to really ¿ght you. But in our case, he was de¿ant and had refused to come up.” They had to be sure. Thom- as added, “Just a little word of caution. There’s no such thing as a dead alligator. They can never be too dead.” So, a pistol made sure it was over. Thomas explained how he named the gator. “I call him Levi, short for Leviathan,” a literal animal that is described in vivid detail in the book of Job. “There’s a reference where God asks Job, ‘Who can catch the Leviathan or stick a hook in his jaw?’ And the last thing God says to Job in that section of Scripture is, ‘The hunter who attempts it will have an experience he never forgets.’” A background as a leader Thomas has a history that basically prepped him for pa- storing.. He credits years in the Air Force for that. “When I got out,” he said, “I was a captain. I’d been a section commander in Alaska. That was a phenom- enal assignment and I cannot think of anything I’ve done that has prepared me better for what I do now.” He relates to his congre- gation, both young and old. During a recent service, as a Christian rock song was be- ing played, lyrics Àashing on a screen, he stood in front of the ¿rst pew, clapping and foot tapping to the rhythm. With- out looking down, he peeled off his suit jacket and dropped it onto the fabric coated seat. He is energetic, enthusiastic and rocks out with his church members. If Thomas misses any- thing about his former years, it’s hunting in Georgia with his father (who still lives in the South) and also the beau- ty and expanse of Alaska. But he’s ¿nding similarities with peninsula ¿shermen he’s met here and those he knew far up north. “They’re similar types of folks. Kindred spirits.” New Life is a welcoming church and probably the only one in Washington State with an alligator in the of¿ce. SCOREBOARD PREP SCHEDULE Lynda Layne/For EO Media Group Tazlina Thomas, 11, (standing, wearing hat) oldest daugh- ter of “Pastor John” and his wife, Sundrea, assists anoth- er member of the New Life children’s group in decorating a gingerbread house. TODAY Girls Basketball — Astoria at Estacada, 5:30 p.m.; Gladstone at Seaside, 7:30 p.m.; Oregon Episcopal at Warrenton, 6 p.m.; Knappa at Neah-Kah-Nie, 6 p.m.; Livingstone Adventist at Jewell, 5:30 p.m.; Raymond at Ilwaco, 7 p.m. Boys Basketball —Astoria at Estacada, 7:15 p.m.; Seaside at Gladstone, 7:30 p.m.; Oregon Episcopal at Warrenton, 7:45 p.m.; Knappa at Neah-Kah-Nie, 8 p.m.; Livingstone Adventist at Jewell, 7 p.m. Swimming — Valley Catholic at Seaside, 4 p.m. WEDNESDAY Girls Wrestling — Astoria at Il- waco, 5:30 p.m. THURSDAY Boys Basketball —Ilwaco at Raymond, 7 p.m. Swimming — Astoria at Tilla- mook, 4 p.m. FRIDAY Girls Basketball — North Mar- ion at Astoria, 5:30 p.m.; Seaside at Newport, 5:30 p.m.; De La Salle at Warrenton, 6 p.m.; Vernonia at Knappa, 6 p.m.; Jewell at Country Christian, 5:30 p.m.; Ilwaco at Ta- coma Baptist, 7 p.m. Boys Basketball — North Mar- ion at Astoria, 7:15 p.m.; Seaside at Newport, 7:15 p.m.; De La Salle at Warrenton, 7:45 p.m.; Vernonia at Knappa, 8 p.m.; Jewell at Coun- try Christian, 7 p.m.; Ilwaco at Ta- coma Baptist, 7 p.m. Wrestling — Seaside Pac Rim, 3:30 p.m. SATURDAY Girls Basketball — Stayton at Astoria, 5:30 p.m.; Warrenton at Riverdale, 4 p.m. Boys Basketball — Stayton at Astoria, 7 p.m.; Warrenton at Riv- erdale, 5:45 p.m. Swimming — Seaside at The Dalles Invite, 10 a.m. Wrestling — Seaside Pac Rim, 10 a.m.
