THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016
COMMUNITY
1B
HELP PIERCE RECOVER
PUMPKIN PADDLING
A
storian Pierce Christie (pictured), musician and owner of
The Malternative music shop, suffered a severe stroke in
September. Initially, he was 90 percent paralyzed, but he is now
in a care facility in Portland, working hard to recover.
“He is making small but steady progress every single day, but
he needs support,” Bridget Kitson wrote on Pierce’s GoFundMe
page. “Many friends and community members have reached out
for an opportunity to help, so here it is.” And here’s your chance
— you can donate at www.gofundme.com/christierecovery
You can also show your support by attending a fundraiser at 8
p.m. tonight at the Port of Call Bistro and Bar, 894 Commercial
St. The Jesse Lee Falls Band is performing. Friends are encour-
aged to bring an instrument and sit in with the band for a song.
Pierce’s daughter, Heather Christie, recently posted a hope-
ful message from him. Heather’s daughter, Christina, helped
Pierce spell out the words: “I learned a lot today. I will recover.”
“We are so incredibly grateful to feel the love, support and
prayers from all of you who have been reaching out and helping
any way you can,” Heather said. “Thank you.”
BEST BIRTHDAY EVER
‘W
hen we were at the Clatsop County Fair this year, Kayti
got a little foam police car,” Samantha Rose Stoffelsen
wrote. “She took it to school, to the store, to grandma’s, she slept
with it and bathed with it. One day she had it in her mouth and her
big sister went to pull it out of her mouth. The car ripped in half.
Kayti was devastated.”
Samantha contacted the sheriff’s ofice, and they offered to
bring Kayti a new one on her birthday. When the day arrived,
“Deputy Kimberly Barrows and Deputy Siscilee Gouge and
rolled up playing the Happy Birthday song over their loud speak-
ers,” Samantha wrote. “Kayti was so excited. She has a fascina-
tion for police oficers, so seeing them any day is excited, but on
her birthday was over the top!
“Not only did they bring her one car, but two! Along with a
huge ‘Frozen’ balloon, a cake, and a baby doll. It’s been a few
weeks, and she still hasn’t stopped talking about it. Thank you so
much Clatsop County sheriffs, for making her birthday the best
ever … how awesome our local law enforcement is!”
ROLLS ROYCE KEEPS DRONING ON
R
olls Royce is the industry leader in promoting the develop-
ment of an autonomous drone vessel leet to handle commer-
cial shipping. The idea might become a reality a lot sooner than
later, now that two Scandinavian countries are interested, accord-
ing to a story on gCaptain.com (http://tinyurl.com/dronetst). A
drone ship is pictured, courtesy of Rolls Royce.
Norway has oficially opened the world’s irst drone ship test-
ing area in a large fjord along the Norwegian Sea. “We do not yet
know how widespread autonomy will be in future shipping,” a
Norwegian Maritime Authority representative said, “but … it is
imperative to be a central participant in this development.”
The Finnish government has a pony in the race, too. In Sep-
tember, Finland set a target of having the “irst unmanned mari-
time products, services and a ‘vivid ecosystem’” by 2025.
eave it to a Paciic Northwester to tackle this challenge:
Charity Marshall of Castle Rock, Washington, paddled a
1,000-pound hollowed out Atlantic pumpkin 15 miles down the
Cowlitz River, oficially breaking the Guinness World Record
for the longest pumpkin paddle, The Daily News of Longview,
Washington, reports (http://tinyurl.com/pumppad1).
The voyage took six hours, and Charity handily beat the last
title holder, Todd Sandstrum of Massachusetts, who paddled a
mere 8 miles in September. She is pictured in photos courtesy of
her Facebook page.
“Charity’s a thrill-seeker. She’s not scared of much of any-
thing,” her husband, Lance Marshall, told TDN (http://tinyurl.
com/pumppad2). “I love watching Charity do crazy stuff … Life
is short. You only get one chance.”
L
A
few snippets of this and that for your perusal:
• Gimme shelter: The Ear knows you don’t need
any more bad news, but Kiplinger.com has come out with a
bummer of a report naming Oregon as No. 4 in the top 10
of “least tax friendly states for retirees” in 2016 (http://
tinyurl.com/ORtaxed). They only found one “bright spot”
for Oregon: No sales tax.
Just so you know — Vermont came in at No. 1 for least
tax friendly, and the No. 1 most tax friendly state is Alaska.
Go igure.
• In Jeopardy: Astoria has hit the big time. Laura Sell-
ers-Earl noted our city was included in a question on the
ABC TV show “Jeopardy” question Monday Night. Ques-
tion: There’s a maritime museum named for this river near
its mouth in Astoria, Oregon. Answer (but you already know
this): Columbia.
• Light ’em up: Thinking about Halloween already? Get
in the spirit with Mike and Teale Adelmann, who own the
DK Warren house, 107 N.E. Skipanon Drive in Warren-
ton. The couple are putting on a Halloween light and music
show every night from 6 to 10 p.m. through Oct. 31. It’s
5,000-plus lights, synchronized to music — just pull up and
tune the car radio to 95.7 FM to get the full effect.
• Gimme shelter 2: The prodigal chicken has been ram-
bling around the U.S.Bank parking lot area since April, but
winter is coming, and she’s going to need shelter. Sharon
Stanovich has tried to catch the wily hen a few times, but
igures what’s really needed is a long pole ishing net to
get the job done. Is there a ishermen out there who would
be willing to loan Sharon one? If so, please call her at 503-
325-3211, ext. 237, or the Ear at 503-325-3211, ext. 257.
“I feel really bad for her,” Sharon told the Ear. “It’s getting
cold out there.”
SET IN STONE
ou never know what gems you’ll ind perusing old
issues of The Daily Morning Astorian. In the Friday,
Oct. 16, 1885 issue, for instance, there’s a story, “Early Set-
tlers and Settlements on Clatsop Plain.”
One of the most prominent historical igures featured
is Celiast (aka Helen) Coboway Smith (1801-1891),
daughter of Chief Coboway, and wife of Solomon How-
ard Smith. The couple are pictured. With her son, Silas B.
Smith interpreting, she repeated the oral tradition of how the
Clatsops came to settle on the North Coast.
Tahlipas, “a great and superior being” brought her tribe
the plain, she said, and gave the land to them. He also taught
them how to hunt, ish, make canoes, cross the waters,
weave nets and make ire. Mrs. Smith explained that the
word Clatsop “was handed down from father to son from
generation to generation, as the name by which that part of
the country was known.”
Tahlipas was always watching over the Clatsops not
only so he could reward the good, but so he could punish
the wicked, who were sometimes changed into inanimate
objects. And that, according to Indian tradition, is how Til-
lamook rock and its smaller surrounding rocks came into
being. A tribal member and his family disregarded Tahlipas’
teachings and waded into the water, and they were turned to
stone to serve as a warning to others.
Some still didn’t listen. Pillar rock on the lower Columbia
is a warrior who disobeyed Tahlipas, and disregarded “the
customs of his forefathers” by wading into the river instead
of using a canoe. Maiden rock, off Chinook Point, was once
a young Indian woman who was punished for “bathing in
too public a manner.” The Ear can’t help but wonder how
many others there are.
Surely Mrs. Smith must have had several more tales to
tell, but that’s another story for another day.
Y
‘A TRULY EXCEPTIONAL MAN’
S
ome time ago, this column carried a photo (shown) sent in by
Astorian Jeffrey Nelson of his father, Donald T. Nelson, taken
in 1948, when he was a deckhand on the Pilot Boat Columbia,
standing on Buoy No. 2. The elder Nelson, now in his 80s, wound
up holding the record (50,000 plus) for the most crossings of the
Columbia River bar in his long career as a bar pilot.
As luck would have it, Ed Jahn, senior producer of OPB’s
Oregon Field Guide saw the photo and story, and wrote to the
Ear. The show was doing a story on the Columbia River bar pilots,
and Donald Nelson looked like a good it. And so he was. The
show airs at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, again at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23, and
later online at www.opb.org
“We spent an afternoon with Donald T. Nelson,” Ed told the
Ear, “and got to hear from a truly exceptional man with an amazing
life experience. Our story captures Donald’s experience, as well as
the larger story of modern-day pilots, the history of the Peacock
and the evolution of piloting as helicopters came onto the scene.
“… We certainly captured the hair-raising aspects of the job,
but we also aimed to give our audience a greater sense of the peo-
ple who do the work, the history of the job, as well as its impor-
tance for the economy of our region. I wanted people to look at
those ships that pass by the Astoria waterfront and truly rethink
what it took to navigate those ships safely to that point.”
“And thank you for leading us to Donald Nelson,” Ed added.
“He was a joy to be around.”
POOP DU JOUR
O
regon State University researchers are in the news
again, according to a story on KGW.com for a rather
unusual study: For the last two summers, they have
been pooper-scooping whales (http://tinyurl.com/poop-whale)
off the Oregon coast. And it’s serious business. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funded project aims
to ind out how ocean noise is affecting whale health. If there’s
a negative impact, it’s hoped new regulations may go into effect
to lower the volume.
But collecting the “specimens” is no easy feat. Marine ecologist
Leigh Torres and her team follow the whales in a small inlatable
boat and wait. And wait. “When it happens somebody yells out
‘POOP!’ and we all spring into action,” Torres told KGW. Over-
head drones let the scientists know when the deed is done.
“Yeah, poop doesn’t seem great,” Torres noted, “but it’s actu-
ally a rich biological gold mine of information.”
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
or go to http://astoriaiberarts.com
Document Shredding Event
— 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Seaside High
School parking lot, 1901 N. Holla-
day Drive, Seaside. Free event.
Canned food donations welcomed
for Clatsop Community Action Re-
gional Food Bank.
Cannon Beach American Le-
gion Women’s Auxiliary Break-
fast — 9 to 11:30 a.m., American
Legion, 1216 S. Hemlock St., Can-
non Beach.
Sit and Stitch Group — 11
a.m. to 1 p.m., Custom Threads,
1282 Commercial St. Knitting, cro-
cheting and needle work. For infor-
mation, call 503-325-7780.
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.
Chair Exercises for Seniors
— 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in-
formation, call 503-325-3231.
Spinning Circle — 1 to 3 p.m.,
Astoria Fiber Arts Academy, 1296
Duane St. Bring a spinning wheel.
For information, call 503-325-5598
SUNDAY
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., 1111 Exchange St. Cost
is $6. For information, or to have a
meal delivered, call 503-325-9693.
Warrenton Senior Lunch
Program — noon, Warrenton
Community Center, 170 S.W. Third
St. Suggested donation of $5 for
seniors and $7 for those younger
than 60. For information, or to vol-
unteer, call 503-861-3502 Monday
or Thursday.
Astoria Rotary Club — noon,
second loor of the Astoria Elks
Lodge, 453 11th St. Guests always
welcome. For information, go to
www.AstoriaRotary.org
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
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.
Line Dancing for Seniors — 3
to 4:30 p.m., Astoria Senior Center,
1111 Exchange St. Not for begin-
ners. For information, call 503-325-
3231.
Mahjong for Experienced
Players — 1 p.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in-
formation, call 503-325-3231.
Astoria Alzheimer’s & Other
Dementia Family Support Group
— 2 to 3:30 p.m., irst-loor confer-
ence room, Clatsop Care Center,
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 Christa Svensson at
206-790-2869.
TUESDAY
Stewardship Quilting Group
— 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., First
Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St.
All are welcome. Donations of
material always appreciated. For
information, call Janet Kemp at
503-325-4268.
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.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do-
nation of $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., 1111 Exchange St.
The cost is $6. For information, or
to have a meal delivered, call 503-
325-9693.
See NOTES, Page 2B