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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2017)
GIRLS BASKETBALL: SEASIDE, ILWACO TEAMS ADVANCE SPORTS • PAGE 10A DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2017 144TH YEAR, NO. 172 ONE DOLLAR Wyden promises to fight for Oregon way Astoria town hall draws hundreds After his 799th town hall since joining the U.S. Senate in 1996, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, took pictures with local organizers and students at Asto- ria High School Friday. By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden faced numer- ous concerns from constituents about President Donald Trump and a Repub- lican-controlled Congress during his 799th town hall Friday. In response, Wyden, D-Oregon, promised the audience at Astoria High School that he would fight for what he Edward Stratton The Daily Astorian called the Oregon way. The first break for Congress this year has been referred to as the “resis- tance recess,” with protests greeting many congressional representatives at town halls across the country. Hundreds of students and residents showed up with questions for Wyden Friday, holding signs to agree or dis- agree with the senator’s comments. Support was essentially unanimous, the crowd applauding often. “My approach in Washington D.C. — and this was true before Donald Trump became president — was to Fish tales set sail in Astoria 20TH ANNUAL FISHERPOETS NETS A CROWD practice something that I called the ‘Oregon way,’” Wyden said. “And we just have a different approach, as you know. We’re much more independent than many parts of the country. We like to think creatively, some might say ‘out of the box.’ We’re compassionate.” Wyden said he has opposed many of Trump’s policies, such as remov- ing protections for LGBT students and trying to ban immigrants and refugees based on religion, because the policies do not follow the Oregon way. See WYDEN, Page 7A Finding faith and forgiveness after tragedy After Sandy Hook, parents share journey By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian on Broderick summoned his inner state Department of Fish and Wildlife ranger. “FisherPoets will be allowed from 5 p.m. Friday until 12 p.m. Sunday,” he announced to an audience at the Astoria Event Center. The proclamation marked the opening of the 20th annual FisherPoets gathering in Astoria this weekend. About 100 people with connections to the fishing industry presented poems, stories and songs in seven venues around town. The Voodoo Room bar, Wet Dog Cafe, Liberty Theater, Columbian Theatre, Fort George Lovell Showroom and KALA art center also hosted the fisherpoets. A photo projection on the wall of a building on 11th Street and Marine Drive, films at the Colum- bian Theatre and a dance at KALA were among some of the other fisher-themed events throughout the weekend. Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Parents of a 6-year-old girl murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School relived their story of grief and forgiveness at Astoria’s Mormon Church on Saturday, offering a per- sonal example of striving to make sense of tragedy through the teachings of their faith. Robbie and Alissa Parker lost their old- est daughter, Emilie, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people — 20 of them children — at the school in Newtown, Con- necticut, on Dec. 14, 2012. More than four years later, the trauma remains raw. And, for the Parkers, heal- ‘My heart ing has meant confronting was broken. what forgive- It was just ness means, particularly in shattered.’ the context of the Church of Robbie Parker Jesus Christ father of a 6-year-old girl of Latter-day who was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School Saints. The Park- ers, who now live outside Vancouver, Wash- ington, remember Emilie as a girl who loved to draw and color, and would not give up on a picture until she got it right. At Emilie’s funeral, Robbie said he wanted to apply her “never-give-up” spirit to how he handles grief, because “I knew it was going to be really hard, and I knew I wasn’t going to be really good at it.” Thousands of letters had poured in offer- ing support, condolences, prayers and well- wishes — an overwhelming response to over- whelming evil. But the Parkers were not ready to forgive; Robbie even resented that he kept encounter- ing messages of forgiveness in scripture, such as: “If ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your tres- passes,” from the Gospel According to St. Mark. “I have to tell you, it felt awful — I mean, awful,” Robbie said, casting his struggle in a self-deprecating light. “I was like, ‘Are you See FISHERPOETS, Page 7A Hobe Kytr from Astoria sings and plays his guitar in the Voodoo Room during the FisherPoets Gathering on Friday. The event has grown quite a bit since 1997. See SANDY HOOK, Page 7A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian FisherPoets organizers Jay Speakman, left, and Jon Broderick perform at the Astoria Event Center during the 20th annual Fish- erPoets Gathering on Friday in downtown Astoria. About 100 people presented songs, stories and poems over the weekend. By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian J From marine science to historic preservation Rathmell followed her interests A fter relocating to Astoria, Katie Rathmell’s career path shifted more dramati- cally than a Northwest winter weather report. Rathmell came to Asto- ria with her partner, Mindy Stokes, in 2007 from Flor- ida. She had recently earned her master’s degree in marine science from the University of Southern Florida and began working as an Astoria-based research associate for The Center for Coastal Margin ‘I wanted to do something more creative and be able to be out in the world.’ Katie Rathmell Observation and Prediction in Portland. But as the years floated by, she increasingly became involved in other pas- sions. Always interested in do-it-yourself projects, she recalled performing historic preservation on a 1920s-era bungalow in Orland, Califor- nia, in the late 1990s. She and Stokes bought an Astoria home that was built in 1937. She restored the cedar Astoria-based former research associate who now does restoration work on windows home window frames and Douglas fir hardwood floors. Shifting gears A conversation in 2012 with Pam Chestnut, an instructor at the Clatsop Com- munity College Historic Pres- ervation and Restoration pro- gram, prompted her to think of new outlets to exercise her passion. She enrolled in the program later that year. “I didn’t realize there was a career where you could work on historic buildings,” Rathmell said. “I wanted to do something more creative and be able to be out in the world.” Submitted Photo See RATHMELL, Page 7A Katie Rathmell does resto- ration work on windows.
