Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2016 Pole: Artist’s message recalls a different time Continued from Page 1A A little over a year ago, the Palette Group, a subcom- mittee of the city parks com- mittee, submitted a proposal to the city’s public arts com- mittee for a 10-foot tall cedar welcoming pole to be erected along the bank of Ecola Creek at the edge of NeCus’ Park. Working with the parks committee, the sculpture was designed by master carver Capoeman. The statue, which can be seen from the Fir Street Bridge, faces the ocean, as tribal members once did when they greeted their guests. Friday’s dedication and prayer was meant to be “fun and light-hearted,” according to Basch. But the message of the welcoming pole also recalls a different time, when tribes heading to the Columbia River or Nehalem Bay would gather for visits, celebrations and potlatches — gift-giving feasts to celebrate friendship between members. Capoeman, whose family members extend to the Clat- sop, Nehalem and Tillamook tribes, carved the colorful pole. The cedar used comes from an old-growth preserve in Quinault, Washington. Barb Linnett, who serves on the parks committee, cred- ited the Cannon Beach Pub- lic Works Department for the base on which it stands. Around the campire, Cannon Beach oficials and tribal representatives gath- ered in the mid-afternoon sun. Capoeman sang a tradi- tional Quinault melody while beating a drum to herald the installation. He described how travelers would arrive in their canoes singing, voices identifying their people to the residents of NeCus’ village. The Quinault Indian Nation, which consists of the Quinault and Queets tribes and descendants of ive other coastal tribes, were among those visitors, according to author and research professor Doug Deur. “People would stop here as they were going on canoes along the coast,” Deur said. “It’s a place that is not easy to get in and out of by canoe, but it’s also an important place.” Deur described the waters past Tillamook Head as unforgiving. Paddlers “would build up the energy and get prepared for going around that big headland of rock, and come in here,” he said. “We had travelers going up and along the coast and stop- ping at this place. People paddling here from all over, to gather, to rest, harvest resources together — often not even speaking the same language but able to ind common interests, common ground and common vision. We know this place continued to be important through time. I’d like to think that provides inspiration for what we’re doing right now.” Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Chuck Westerlund, right, adjusts an American flag on his bike with other members of the Astoria Clowns during War- renton’s Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Parade on Monday. More photos online at DailyAstorian.com Fourth: Fireworks on the coast capped the day Continued from Page 1A The parade was just the start. The Seaside Museum and Historical Society held its old-fashioned social and silent auction. The four drum and bugle corps, featuring more than 500 performers, par- ticipated in a free concert at Broadway Field. The North- west SkyLiners put on a stunt kite presentation at the Turn- around in the afternoon. The holiday was capped in the late evening with Seaside’s ireworks show, produced by Kriegshauser Family Pyro- technicians and sponsored by community partners, such as the city of Seaside, the Seaside Chamber of Commerce and multiple local businesses and enterprises. Katherine Lacaze/EO Media Group Miss Oregon 2016 Alexis Mather participated in Seaside’s Fourth of July Parade. The Warrenton way Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Carver Guy Capoeman speaks during a dedication for the new piece of art. Ag groups: Tax is estimated to slow growth in private sector Continued from Page 1A The ballot measure tar- gets C corporations, imposing a 2.5 percent tax on their Ore- gon gross sales exceeding $25 million. It’s expected to raise about $3 billion a year in new state revenue. The nonpartisan Legisla- tive Revenue Ofice says the tax will act largely as a con- sumption tax, raising prices for consumers and businesses. The union-backed cam- paign A Better Oregon says the state needs that revenue to bolster support for educa- tion, health care and senior services. Proponents also note that corporations’ income tax contributions to state revenue have declined as a percentage from 18.5 in the mid-1970s to 6.7 now, according to a study by the Oregon Public Policy Center. While the campaign says the tax targets big out-of-state corporations, it also affects some Oregon businesses with high sales receipts but rela- tively low proit margins, said Dave Dillon, executive vice president of Oregon Farm Bureau. Wilco typically nets income of 2.5 to 3.75 percent of gross sales, Hoffman said. In some years, such as 2009, the company doesn’t make a proit. One reason he opposes IP 28 is that even companies that lose money have to pay the tax as long as their gross sales exceed $25 million. Backing the petition Supporters are unmoved. “A Better Oregon was spe- ciically designed to protect farm co-ops and it won’t raise taxes on the supplies farmers buy through their co-ops,” said Katherine Driessen, a cam- paign spokeswoman. “A Bet- ter Oregon was also designed to make large pesticide com- panies like Wilco and Mon- santo pay their fair share in taxes. Based on the claims that Wilco has made, it has to do at least $100 million in non-farm co-op sales. It can and should pay more to support our schools and critical services.” Dillon said those extra costs will be passed onto farmers. The impact of the tax could be felt at every point of sale, as suppliers and retailers increase prices to cover their additional costs. The gas and diesel that Wilco sells, for instance, changes hands several times before it gets to the end con- sumer, Hoffman said. By that time, the tax may push the cost up 5 to 7 percent, he said. That will impact farmers who have to drive their prod- ucts to market. The tax also will drive up the cost of fertil- izer, farming equipment and other necessities for produc- ing and selling a crop, Dillon said. “We are going to have folks out of work, and there isn’t going to be an economy to pick them up,” said Katie Fast, executive director of Orego- nians for Food and Shelter. The tax is estimated to slow growth in private sector jobs by 38,000 in the next ive years years, but public sector jobs would grow by 17,000 in the next ive years, accord- ing to the Legislative Revenue Ofice. A recent study by Portland State University, commis- sioned by A Better Oregon, found that the tax would boost public sector jobs by 33,600 by 2027 and slow growth in private sector jobs by 13,500. “You don’t see Wilco take a stand on many things,” Hoff- man said. “We believe we have the story that touches people in a small way It will affect us and our consumers. We couldn’t let it stand and suck it up and not get involved.” The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Spectators staked out spots along South Main Avenue in Warrenton hours before the annual Independence Day parade began. Others like Holly Scheel and Jeanne Beckner procrastinated, put- ting out their chairs at the very start of the event. “We’ve only been here about 10 minutes, but we got lucky,” Scheel said. The self described “retired Coastie” has been coming to the celebration for the last 10 years. “I like this parade. The Seaside one is always crowded and it’s hard to ind parking there.” Before the parade began, the crowd was fed by the Warren- ton Fire Department’s annual barbecue. “It’s our chance to give back to the community,” Capt. Chris Penno said. The station expected to feed around 1,600 people with free burgers and hot dogs. Right after the food was served, the volun- Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian John Deruchia marches with the color guard Mon- day during the Old-Fash- ioned Fourth of July Pa- rade on Monday. Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Cub Scouts in Pack 509 listen to directions before march- ing in Warrenton’s Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Parade on Monday. teer ireighters hopped in their trucks and got in line for the parade. The parade featured a wide range of loats, vehicles and cyclists honking and throwing candy to the crowd. The Asto- ria Clowns passed out balloons from tall bicycles. The 2016 Regatta Court and local politicians waved as they rolled their way down the main stretch. Locals like Penno and Scheel have seen the cele- bration in Warrenton grow in terms of spectators and loats, but for Deryl and Vicki Cripps, the parade was a brand-new experience. The couple on vacation from Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada, said it was their irst Fourth of July cel- ebration. “Canada’s indepen- dence day is on the irst of July, so we’re just a few days ahead of you guys,” laughed Deryl. Eli Stillman and Kather- ine Lacaze contributed to this article. D.J. Short: Professor of pot began growing in ’70s Continued from Page 1A A year after legalization of recreational marijuana in Ore- gon, Short continues to keep a low proile, awaiting changes to federal law. In the few pho- tos of him online, he inevita- bly sports a fedora and sun- glasses. During rare interviews, he cagily avoids sharing much personal information. The professor of pot opened up a bit recently while dining on bagels and lox at the Great Paciic Wine & Coffee Co. in Pendleton. His sunglasses and fedora were nowhere in sight, revealing vivid blue eyes and gray hair pulled into a pony tail. He rose to his full 6-foot-3-inch height, smiled and stretched out his hand before sinking back into his chair. While sipping a micro- brew, he disclosed why he lives locally, rather than a more mari- juana-friendly locale. “I love Eastern Oregon,” said Short. “It is my favorite place on the planet to be. The environ- ment, the climate, the people — it’s special here.” Started growing in 1978 He said he started grow- ing pot in 1978 under a luo- rescent desk lamp at the foot of his bed. Using knowledge of phenotypes and genotypes gar- nered from his college botany classes, the 21-year-old exper- imented with light, soils, fer- tilizers, terpenes and cloning techniques. Eventually, the lu- orescent lamps became halide lights and then sodium lights. He succeeded in crossing Sativa and Indica plants to cre- ate fast-growing varieties with various aromas and physical effects. In 1979, he started sell- ing clones. In 1988, he moved to northeast Oregon. The Michigan native said he comes by his marijuana-whis- pering skills naturally. His Romanian great-grandmother, a gypsy herbalist who grew can- nabis and other herbs for medic- inal reasons, passed her skills down the line to her daughter. According to family lore, his grandmother’s cannabis cultiva- tion landed her in jail. “She got busted in 1938 for growing pot in the city of Detroit shortly after it was made illegal,” Short said. His grandmother often sewed with hemp, a variety of cannabis used for its iber. “Tablecloths, curtains and my mom’s baptismal gown were all made of hemp,” he said. Short’s irst taste of pot didn’t come from his grand- mother’s pharmacy, but in a more typical way when he and friends purchased a bag. At the time, Short said, he was a skinny teenage boy who struggled with depression sparked by his par- ent’s divorce. “I started with cannabis when I was about 14,” he said. “In essence, it saved my life. It gave me an appetite I lacked and set me on my path.” Not dangerous Short said he was shocked at the gentleness of his irst expo- sure to pot, calling it “a benign, intimate, natural experience.” This was in the early 1970s, shortly after President Richard Nixon had launched the War on Drugs and declared them “pub- lic enemy number one.” Short, then and now, chafes that mari- juana is considered a dangerous drug. In truth, he said, shaking his head, cannabis heals more effectively than most pharma- ceuticals and is “the safest sub- stance known to human beings,” except for maybe oxygen. “Even water you can drink enough to kill yourself,” Short said. “Cannabis is a mild, non- toxic inebriant that doesn’t allow us to put enough in our- selves to harm ourselves.” In addition, cannabis heals, he said. Marijuana soothed his mother’s pain after a stroke. His girlfriend, after undergoing che- motherapy for her irst bout of Stage 3 breast cancer, survived a second bout by taking massive doses of cannabis oil. Like ine wine Short often compares the subtleties of pot to ine wines. The olfaction chart used by can- nabis connoisseurs is much like the wine wheel. Tasters can detect a diverse array of aro- mas such as fruit and berries, grasses, teas and even ozone, funeral parlor lowers or chem- ical astringents. The latter, much like in wine, aren’t necessarily bad, he said. The breeder said he watched with interest as recreational can- nabis become legal in Colo- rado, Washington state and, a year ago, in Oregon. The legal- ity gives people like Short some elbow room, but he still operates outside the state. Even wholly in-state cannabis operations face obstacles: zoning restric- tions, problems getting bank accounts, black market weed and local bans on businesses. The prices, he said, are out of whack — cannabis is “grossly overpriced” and hash (a byprod- uct) is “grossly underpriced.” It’s a gray market with all of the outlines blurred to some extent, but Short isn’t worried. “I’ve been functioning underground for so long,” he said. “I’m going to do what I’m going to do regardless.” Short resists coming com- pletely into the open. He avoids cameras. He doesn’t invite reporters and most others to his home or workspace. “I’m optimistically pessi- mistic. Things will get better, but for whatever reason, they have to get worse irst,” he said. “There’s no crystal ball for the future of cannabis law.”
