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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
Founded in 1873
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
Water
under
the bridge
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago this week — 2006
The threat of further À ooding at the site of a damaged dike in .nappa
prompted the Clatsop County commissioners to declare a local state of di-
saster Friday to clear the way for emergency repairs to the structure.
Crews began work Saturday morning to buttress the dike, which was
breached a week ago when a combination of heavy rain and high tides sent
water over the structure.
The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search Tuesday for a
missing Columbia River Bar Pilot who fell into the frigid waters
of the Paci¿ c 2cean in what is likely the ¿ rst bar pilot death in
decades.
Kevin Murray, 50, an area resident, was thrown into the ocean
near Buoy 2, several miles south of the mouth of the Columbia
River, during a routine transfer Monday night.
“Don’t forget, we’re not building a piano,” John Carney told a member
of his Mount Rainier National Park crew as the two ¿ nessed a log into place
on the new Fort Clatsop.
The builders of the new replica of Lewis and Clark’s winter home strive
to strike a balance between ruggedness and durability, laboring to make the
new fort sturdy but not too well-crafted.
50 years ago — 1966
Clatsop County could lose its status as a poverty-stricken area
in a re-evaluation of counties eligible for federal help under the
(conomic Development Act, Tom Current of the (DA 2regon
branch warned city and county of¿ cials at a meeting in Portland
Monday.
The EDA is a successor to the Area Redevelopment Adminis-
tration, which had classi¿ ed Clatsop as economically distressed
and eligible for federal help under the ARA program.
Current told local people Monday that by July 1 a re-eval-
uation will be ¿ nished under which Clatsop could lose this pre-
ferred status as no longer poverty-stricken.
Astoria entertained its ¿ rst vis-
itors from Walldorf, its sister city,
Monday.
They are Mr. and Mrs. Wolf-
gang Sauer who came to the U.S.
to visit Mrs. Sauer’s parents in Ta-
coma, Washington, and show them
the Sauer’s ¿ rst child, 8-month-old
Brigitte Nicole.
Number of telephone, wa-
Daily Astorian
ter and power customers in
Astoria and in Clatsop Coun- Mayor Harry Seinbock (right)
ty have risen substantially in presents certificates of honor-
1965, indicating a big upward ary Astoria citizenship to Mr.
and Mrs. Wolfgang Sauer, first
population surge.
The city public works de- visitors here from sister city,
partment reported that water Walldorf, Germany.
records show a gain of 125
families with 476 people from Jan. 1, 1965, to Jan. 1, 1966.
The foghorn on the Astoria B ridge will go under control Monday night,
to blow only when surface visibility is less than 2 miles as required by fed-
eral regulation.
Oregon Highway department of¿ cials said the department has reached
agreement with contractor American Bridge Division for control of the horn.
The agreement provides that American Bridge will provide extra help
to keep 24-hour watch on the horn and turn it off when federal rules do not
require its operation.
75 years ago — 1941
What amounts to a modest arsenal was stolen Saturday from
the home of Paul Rose, logger living at Svensen.
The loot, taken out through a window smashed out in back
of the residence, consisted of the following guns: one 22 caliber
target riÀ e, one 22 caliber riÀ e, one 0 caliber U.S. army riÀ e, and
one 2-20 caliber Smith Wesson revolver. ,n addition two sport
¿ shing reels and two sport trolling rods were stolen.
Checking on the increased riÀ e rife in the Svensen area, Sher-
iff Paul Kearney traced the source of gun ¿ re to the homes of
two brothers, the oldest about 1. They admitted taking the guns
and ¿ shing tackle, all of which were recovered. The parents told
the sheriff that they felt something was wrong with the way the
boys were behaving, but the solution of the case was no job for
amateurs.
Only in 1918 when Astoria had almost twice its present population
during the world war ship building rush, did postal receipts exceed those
for the past year.
Despite the fact that the 1940 postal receipts from stamp sales surpassed
those of 1939 by more than $7000, they fell short of the 1918 total of
$78,983.01, the record for all time at the Astoria post of¿ ce. The 1940 stamp
sales amounted to $78.295.25.
Three hundred and ¿ fty of 2regon national selective draft
registrants to be called into service during the week of Jan. 20
will be sent either to Camp Clatsop or to the new cantonment at
Fort Stevens.
President Roosevelt today asked C ongress for appropriations and autho-
rizations to provide “billions of dollars worth of weapons” for nations ¿ ght-
ing against the march of aggressors in all parts of the world.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Ammon Bundy, center, speaks with a reporter at a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in
January near Burns. Bundy, the leader of an armed group occupying the national wildlife refuge to protest
federal land management policies, said he and his followers are not ready to leave even though the sheriff
and many locals say the group has overstayed their welcome.
Specter of militia past clouds
ranchers’ legitimate concerns
ore than 20 years ago I
received an assignment
to go to Oklahoma City after the
bombing of the Alfred E. Murrah
Federal Building. Timothy
McVeigh and Terry Nichols
conspired to destroy a symbol of
government power — without
regard for human life.
M
One-hundred-sixty-eight peo-
ple were killed and 680 injured in
that incident.
The people of Oklahoma City
asked themselves, “Why?” and es-
pecially, “Why here?”
Jannie Coverdale lost her two
grandchildren, Elijah and Aaron, in
the blast.
Jim Denny could only identify
his 3-year-old son Brandon by a
birthmark on the boy’s thigh when
he arrived at the hospital.
One of the victims, Rebecca
Anderson, was a licensed practical
nurse who rushed to the bomb site
immediately after hearing the explo-
sion. “6he was probably the ¿ nest
woman God ever put on this earth,”
her husband, Fred Anderson, said.
In the weeks that followed, in-
vestigators determined that the
killers had links with militia groups
throughout the country. The mili-
tias and paramilitary organizations
sought a New World Order and to
create division within the country
based on racial heritage or country
of origin. All in the name of our
“constitutional freedoms.”
Scenes of bloodshed also played
out in Waco, Texas, and Ruby
Ridge, Idaho, where extremists
and the federal government dueled
in deadly standoffs .
Little has changed since that
time — in fact, some militia mem-
bers have been emboldened by
rhetoric in Congress.
Oregon’s Rep. Greg Waldman,
in urging clemency for Dwight and
Steven Hammond — the ranchers
jailed for arson on federal proper-
ty — spoke angrily on the House
floor of his constituents’ “tension,”
“frustration” and “anger” over fed-
eral land management policies.
These are words that inflame
emotions, not soothe them. Any
sympathy for armed rebellion in
Harney County is misplaced.
The lesson I’m learning in Or-
egon is many good people want
to help the Hammonds but not the
Bundys.
Our sister paper, t he East Ore-
gonian, wisely notes residents in
the sparsely populated high desert
area are “largely rebuffing” the
militant Ammon Bundy and his
followers.
SOUTHERN
“The real question is how that
land should be managed and how
grazing and natural resource ex-
traction will remain viable and
part of the multiple use doctrine
that historically governed public
lands,” t he East Oregonian writes.
“Government policy once fostered
the timber, livestock and mining
industries that became the econom-
ic lifeblood of rural Western com-
munities. Current policy — the re-
sult of environmental lawsuits and
regulatory and legislative changes
— is largely responsible for drain-
ing that lifeblood.”
On the c oast, we may be far
from Harney County, but many
of the same issues prevail. We
have thousands of acres of timber
and coastal land. We have a fed-
eral government overseeing and
considering approval of a billion
dollar pipeline over the will of
impassioned citizens of all politi-
cal persuasions. We have conflicts
between Native Americans and
management of their tribal lands.
Fishermen face national and inter-
national regulations that may, to
their eyes, defy logic.
All these issues must be vigor-
ously debated and legislated.
But nuance doesn’t play well in
a crisis.
The words “good” and “evil”
are so strictly defined by each of us
in our own way that it’s almost im-
possible to accept shades of gray.
Extremism triumphs.
Events like the Malheur Nation-
al Wildlife Refuge occupation only
set back the conversation — there
is little value to legislation from
the barrel of a gun or in the after-
math of tragedy.
The bombing of the Murrah
Federal Building seems long ago
and far away, but the lives lost in
Oklahoma City in 1995 are irre-
placeable.
“The Oklahoma City blast had
repercussions that went far beyond
the death toll,” we wrote in 1995.
“The American people suddenly
got a glimpse of a new terrorist
threat — a threat from within.”
“The antigovernment movement
has experienced a resurgence since
2008, when President Obama was
elected,” writes the Southern Pov-
erty Law Center. Factors fueling
the movement include changing
demographics driven by immigra-
tion, a struggling economy and the
election of the first African-Ameri-
can president.
The “inspiration” provided by
many in the militia movement is no
more of a divine message than that
of the jihadists.
We conclude with this message
from the Oregon State Police, who
issued this statement last Wednes-
day, on behalf of all 36 sheriff of-
fices in the state. “The sheriffs of
Oregon are united in the support of
Harney County and its residents.
We are supplying logistical and op-
erational support to the community
while the FBI works for a peace-
ful resolution with the militants
at the Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge,” they said. “We want the
good people of Harney County and
the state of Oregon to know that
we will always unite to provide
support and assistance to ensure
the safety of our residents, for any
length of time, whenever criminal
activity or an emergency, fractures
the peace and security in our com-
munities.”
It is those men and women, and
all those on the front lines of our
nation’s defense, who are our real
constitutional heroes.
R.J. Marx is the editor of the
Seaside Signal and Cannon Beach
Gazette and the South County re-
porter for The Daily Astorian.
senate.gov
• State Rep. Brad Witt (D):
State Capitol, 900 Court Street N.E.,
H-373, Salem, OR 97301. Phone:
503-986-1431. Web: www.leg.state.
or.us/witt/ Email: rep.bradwitt@
state.or.us
• State Rep. Deborah Boone
(D): 900 Court St. N.E., H-481, Sa-
lem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-
1432. Email: rep.deborah boone@
state.or.us District of¿ ce: P.O. Box
928, Cannon Beach, OR 97110.
Phone: 503-986-1432. Web: www.
leg.state.or.us/ boone/
• State Sen. Betsy Johnson (D):
State Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E.,
S-314, Salem, OR 97301. Tele-
phone: 503-986-1716. Email: sen.
betsy johnson@state.or.us Web:
www.betsyjohnson.com
District
Of¿ ce: P.O. Box R, Scappoose, OR
97056. Phone: 503-543-4046. Fax:
503-543-5296. Astoria of¿ ce phone:
503-338-1280.
• Port of Astoria: Executive Di-
rector, 10 Pier 1 Suite 308, Astoria,
OR 97103. Phone: 503-741-3300.
Email: admin@portofastoria.com
• Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners: c/o County Man-
ager, 800 Exchange St., Suite 410,
Astoria, OR 97103. Phone: 503-325-
1000.
EXPOSURE
B Y
R.J.
M ARX
But nuance
doesn’t play
well in a
crisis. The
words ‘good’
and ‘evil’ are
so strictly
defi ned by
each of us in
our own way
that it’s almost
impossible
to accept
shades of gray.
Extremism
triumphs.
Where to write
• U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
(D): 2338 Rayburn HOB, Washing-
ton, D.C., 20515. Phone: 202- 225-
0855. Fax 202-225-9497. District
of¿ ce: 12725 SW Millikan Way,
Suite 220, Beaverton, OR 97005.
Phone: 503-469-6010. Fax 503-326-
5066. Web: bonamici.house. gov/
• U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D):
313 Hart Senate Of¿ ce Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510. Phone:
202-224-3753. Web: www.merkley.
senate.gov
• U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D):
221 Dirksen Senate Of¿ ce Building,
Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone:
202-224-5244. Web: www.wyden.