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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016 Dolphin: ‘Most likely it was sick’ Coin: It could be Continued from Page 1A “There wasn’t anything we could do for him,” Tif- fany Boothe of the Seaside Aquarium said. Boothe said responders don’t know yet if the cut caused the dolphin’s death. “Most likely it was sick. When a cetacean is on the beach, there’s usually a rea- son. Most of the time they’re sick,” she said. Boothe is part of the Ore- gon Marine Mammal Strand- ing Network, a coalition of scientists and volunteers who help with rescue and recovery of stranded ocean mammals and research the causes of strandings. She and her aquarium colleague Keith Chandler coordinate responses to beached whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals and other marine mammals on the northern Oregon and south- ern Washington coasts. Northern right whale dol- phins are social animals that often travel in packs of 100 or more members, accord- ing to the NOAA website. Worldwide, there are about 68,000 of the animals. They are protected under the fed- eral Marine Mammal Protec- tion Act, and since the 1970s, there have been international efforts to protect this and other dolphin species. How- ever, northern right whale dolphins are still sometimes accidentally caught in gill- nets, driftnets and purse seines, and are sometimes deliberately taken in Japan. Northern right whale dol- phins inhabit the “deep, cold temperate waters of the north Pacific Ocean” off the coasts of northern Baja California, the West Coast, Alaska, Russia and Japan, according to NOAA. In the U.S., Boothe said, the spe- cies tends to concentrate in the waters off the coast of central California. “It’s a very unique ani- mal for us to have in this area. They tend to stay in warmer waters. But there is warm-water current that runs off the Oregon Coast that sometimes gets pushed up north,” Boothe said. “That’s when you’ll see them in our area.” Leonetti said this dolphin was about 5 feet long, and worth between $350 to $1,000 weighed about 90 pounds — a bit small for males, which usually range in size from about 6 to 10 feet. Boothe and Leonetti did not know the dolphin’s age. Researchers at Portland State University collected the dolphin’s body on Mon- day. They will do a necropsy at their lab, Boothe said. The Portland State biologists will study the animal’s stomach contents for clues about his diet, check for signs of illness and injury, and check for par- asites, traces of heavy metals and other threats to cetacean health. “A lot of it is to see what’s going on generally with the animals in our area, and why the animal died, if we can ¿g- ure it out,” Boothe explained. Continued from Page 1A found in cleanups in Cannon Beach. Buried treasure The opening of North Holladay Drive to renova- tion was a treasure hunter’s dream. When bulldozers ripped up the street earlier this year, a secret city was revealed, “like it must have been in the early days,” is how Seaside City Manager Mark Win- stanley described it. For a treasure hunter, it was fertile soil. “Immediately I was like, ‘Oh my God!’” Wolslagel said. Employees advised him the street was off limits during work hours for his safety and the safety of others, but he was welcome to return after 6 p.m. and weekends. “I started swinging,” Wolslagel said, referring to the use of his Garrett AT Pro Detector, the same one used on the National Geographic Channel’s “Diggers.” Wolslagel quickly found — well, nothing is quick for hunters — buffalo head nick- els and Mercury dimes. He scraped through dirt and uncovered Indian war buttons, a 1903 Barber quarter. “I kept swinging, Indian heads — Indian heads all over the place,” he said. Wolslagel worked “as Beware: Company has 1.6 million customer contracts Continued from Page 1A the category of home service agreements, which are not reg- ulated by the state Department of Consumer and Business Services. “If you look closely at it, they’re not using the word ‘insurance,’” said Jake Sun- derland, public information of¿cer for the state agency. “They’re not violating the insurance code in any way, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re giving it the green stamp. We’re just saying it’s outside of our authority.” What’s more, the com- panies are not working with regional utility providers, another common point of confusion. “Customers call us asking if it’s something that the city promotes,” Sue Dohaniuk, operations supervisor in the Astoria Finance Department, said. “We have nothing to do with that.” HomeServe USA, in par- ticular, has a history of attracting bad press because of controversial marketing practices. Residents nation- wide have alleged that the company has engaged in deception by sending out mailers that appeared to come from local govern- ments or utility companies. That said, the forms sent to North Coast communities this year haven’t crossed that line and make it clear that HomeServe USA is an inde- pendent company. On the other hand None of this suggests that the companies are peddling scams. In addition to offering several thousand dollars’ worth of coverage, Ameri- can Water Resources deploys its own trained contractors within service areas to do repair and replacement work, whereas HomeServe USA shops around for contractors on behalf of customers. “It’s a product that some people might think is neces- sary and valuable to them, and that’s why it’s actually speci¿cally de¿ned in law — in case someone does feel One of the mailers arriving at homes offering a “water line protection program.” that’s appropriate for them,” Sunderland said. American Water Resources and HomeServe USA — both of which have an A-plus rat- ing with the Better Business Bureau — correctly point out that homeowners are ¿nan- cially responsible for water and sewer lines that run from the house to the meter. “The city stops all respon- sibility at the meter,” Terry Ager, a water-quality techni- cian for the city of Warren- ton, said. “So, basically, it’s the customer’s responsibility from the meter to the home and throughout the house.” In some states, the two companies are classi¿ed as insurance and do partner with municipalities. The Better Business Bureau lists 156 customer complaints closed against American Water Resources — a New Jersey-based com- pany owned by American Water — within the last three years, and 59 complaints closed within the last 12 months. But the company also has 1.6 million customer con- tracts, Denise Venuti Free, a company spokeswoman, said. Compared to the size and scope of the business, “I would say that that’s pretty good,” she said. As for HomeServe USA — a Connecticut-based subsidiary of HomeServe PLC — the Better Business Bureau lists 221 complaints closed within the last three years, and 77 closed in last 12 months. That’s from a base of 2.3 million customers and 3 million service plans, according to Myles Meehan, HomeServe’s senior vice president of public relations. “While we don’t like to have complaints from any of our customers, the number we have is relatively low,” he said. Buyer beware Sunderland encourages potential customers to do their homework and pro- ceed with caution before pur- chasing a plan. Homeowners should know exactly what the companies cover, what they don’t and what conditions would void a contract. American Water Resources, for example, will Forrester: µI’m con¿dent that this next transition will be a success’ Continued from Page 1A As editor and publisher, Forrester introduced an array of features to the Astorian – such as In One Ear, Everyday People and Friday Extra – and related publications, including Coast Weekend and Our Coast mag- azine. The newspaper produced a number of special series under his leadership, including three examinations of child care in Clatsop County, three on the Port of Astoria, another titled “Teachers Talk About Teach- ing,” as well as others. The company’s newspapers also collaborated on a yearlong series on climate change, which won one of three awards of merit in the Grantham Awards for environmental journalism in 2007. Another companywide series covered changing pat- terns in forest land ownership. Both efforts were initiated by Forrester. In the 1990s, Forrester committed the resources of The Daily Astorian and his extended family to restoration of the Liberty Theater. For about a decade, the Astorian absorbed the administrative costs of the nonpro¿t Liberty Restoration Inc. The most recent innovation Forrester pushed is EO Media Group’s collaboration with the Pamplin Media Group that established a statehouse news bureau and Oregon Capital Insider, a digital newsletter. “Steve has made an indel- ible mark on this newspaper and the greater Astoria com- munity,” Perry said. “His community leadership helped restore the Liberty Theater and put Astoria on the map as a vibrant, historic city.” The transistion Astorian Advertising Direc- tor Betty Smith said, “My entire career has been in work- ing for family-owned compa- nies, directly with the owners. I spent 20 years working for Nordstrom and watching their transfer from the fathers to the sons. I came to the beach and joined another family owned business with a legacy. I’m con¿dent that this next transi- tion will be a success.” Forrester is one of three principal owners of EO Media Group. Others are his brother, Mike, and a cousin, Kathryn Brown, who is publisher of the East Oregonian. “We know that a hallmark of healthy family-owned busi- nesses is that they plan ahead for the retirements of key fam- ily members,” Brown said. “Our family began actively planning for success more than 20 years ago, and has managed smooth transitions as Steve’s parents, my grandmother and my mother retired over the years. I’m con¿dent that we will manage well through this transition.” not cover “pre-existing con- ditions,” like longstanding leaks, or claims arising from acts of nature like Àoods or hurricanes. The coverage is meant for the normal wear- and-tear associated with underground plumbing, such as tree-root invasion. Property owners may also want to investigate whether their water and sewer lines need coverage at all, whether the piping is even likely to experience damage that will demand attention. And, of course, it can be instructive to read through online user reviews and look into consumer complaints ¿led with the Oregon Depart- ment of Justice. “I would just be ‘buyer beware’ on this,” Ager said. “I would de¿nitely read the ¿ne print.” Barbara Aguirre, a War- renton resident, read the mailers and thought it all sounded like a great idea. But something triggered her skepticism. “There’s so many of us that could just sign on the dotted line and send money before we realize that we might have made a mistake,” she said. much as he could” his ¿rst time out, and came back again the next day. “I’m walking up the streets and kept walking and pulling all kinds of dimes out,” he said. His big catch was the gold coin, a shiny glint about an inch in the dirt that set the detector singing. Last call In the next few days, the city of Seaside will asphalt North Holladay Drive and the street will be sealed up once again. In the meantime, Wolsla- gel and Sillett are out hitting the street. They won’t have much time, as the city expects to be laying down curbs this week and paving the streets by Memorial Day weekend. They’d prefer the North Holladay Drive renovation to remain on the down low. “I don’t want anyone to know — people would go crazy,” Wolslagel said. “People from Portland and everywhere.” As for the gold piece, “There will be a lot of hunt- ers wanting to see it,” Sillett said. “Finding it is better than keeping it.” Although Wolslagel beat him this time, the two trea- sure hunters plan to compare year-end tallies. “He got me on this one,” Sillett said. “But I’m rocking on the gold rings.” Ryan Wolslagel holds a glass buoy he found along the beach in Gearhart. R.J. Marx The Daily Astorian P resc h o o l a n d ea rl y c h i l d h o o d R ESO U R CE R EFER R A L FA IR Warrenton Grade School 820 SW Cedar St. Warrenton, OR 97146 P arents of soon-to-be preschoolers e r ’ u o Y ited! Inv Saturday April 16 TH 10 AM -1 PM Come meet the local preschools and early childhood providers – learn about their curriculum, philosophies, tuition and more! Free! and Activity area provided for kids C LATSOP K INDER R EADY , NW P ARENTING , AND OTHER LOCAL RESOURCES WILL BE ATTENDING TO PROVIDE INFO TO PARENTS Sponsored by: MOMS Club of Astoria, Clatsop Kinder Ready & NW Parenting momsclubofastoria.org Early Childhood Health & Education Clinic For Clatsop County Kids SIGN UP TODAY! FREE For all 2-5 year olds, regardless of income April 13, 2015 Astor Elementary School 3550 Franklin Ave., Astoria April 19, 2015 Seaside Convention Center 415 First Avenue, Seaside Early screening is an important step to successful learning. Your child will receive the following exams and screenings: ~ Physical ~ Hearing ~ School Readiness ~Speech ~ Nutrition ~Vision ~Dental ~Immunization Call your local elementary school or Head Start center for an appointment by April 6 for the Astoria clinic or April 14 for the Seaside clinic. Limited transportation help is available upon request. se habla espanol. Sponsors are NW Early Learning Council, NW Educational Service District and Clatsop Kinder Ready. Major health & education groups of Clatsop County are partnering to make this clinic possible.
