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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2017
CONTACT US
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
GO FLY A KITE
orty-two year old “snowkite pioneer” Aaron Sales of Hood
River, pictured inset, used a kiteboard and a 6-square-meter
inflatable kite to ascend Mount St. Helens recently, according to
a story on ThatOregonLife.com (http://tinyurl.com/kitemount).
He made it 3,150 feet from the base to the crater rim in an
unofficial record-breaking 35 minutes. He is pictured, at the top,
in a screen shot from the event, courtesy of Richard Hallman/
Aaron Sales — Global Sessions (www.globalsessions.org).
“This turned into a lifetime goal for me,” Sales said in a
Global Sessions press release. “I thrive on a good challenge, and
after getting denied by the conditions for more than a decade, I
decided I wasn’t going to give up until I made it.”
This time, serendipity was on his side, and the wind and visi-
bility were perfect. “The planets aligned,” he said.
F
FIDO’S HEROES
og lovers, if you don’t know about Fences for Fido (www.
fencesforfido.org), you should. It’s a Pacific Northwest non-
profit that fences in yards (free of charge) for families who keep
their dogs on chains or in small enclosures.
Astoria’s Tongue Point Job Corps Center students and staff
have been helping the nonprofit, and recently received the Chop-
per’s Hero of the Year Award at the Fences For Fido Backyard
Heroes Gala event for volunteering more than 500 hours to build
fences. You can see a video of them at work, produced by Brian
Grubb, at http://tinyurl.com/FidoHero; a screen shot is shown.
Some of the students involved, James Johnson, Jared Norvell,
Nathan Peacock and Christina Rowell, and staff members Robbi
Richeson and David Ramsey, stood on stage to receive the award,
and were met with a standing ovation.
“I’m very passionate about animals, and I’m very passionate
about unchaining animals, and I think my students definitely feel the
same way,” Richeson observed. “… My students are very engaged
with their love for animals, and I think they feel really good about
what they’re doing. And we’re going to continue doing this.”
“She gives us the chance to kind of give back,” one student said.
“Since she helps us so much, she gives us the chance to help others,
return the favor, and we’re grateful for it.”
Richeson was over the moon about the award. “I’m very
moved,” she confessed, “by the fact that my students are being
recognized.”
D
WHAT’S NEW UNDER THE SUN
he U.S. Postal Service has announced that the new Total
Eclipse of the Sun Forever 49 cent postage stamp, com-
memorating this summer’s Aug. 21 eclipse, goes on sale June 20
(http://tinyurl.com/sunstamp).
What you see initially on the stamp is a photo of a total solar
eclipse. But because it’s made using thermochromic ink, when
you rub the stamp, the heat from your fingers reveals the under-
lying image of the moon. And, on the back of the stamp sheet
there’s a diagram showing the eclipse’s path across the U.S.
Worried the post office might run out before you can get one?
Never fear, you can pre-order at www.usps.com/shop. This is so
nifty, it’s almost enough to make the Ear take up stamp collecting.
T
THE AMAZING MAPLE
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND
n early April, “I was headed down to the beach with my
dogs at the Brailler Street beach entrance in Cannon
Beach, when I found a lime green bucket with a big smile
on it,” Pam Chater wrote. “The bucket was filled to the
top with various sized tennis balls.
“Taped inside the bucket was a laminated
paper with a picture of a pretty dog named Maple.
It said ‘Come play with the Amazing Maple. Take a ball
and have fun with your four-legged friend.’ My golden
retriever trotted right over and picked out her ball of
choice.”
So who is the Amazing Maple, and why the
“buckets of happiness,” as Pam called them? Maple, who
is owned by Kim and Steve LaPointe of Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, has terminal bone cancer. She recently
enjoyed her last holiday with her family and doggie pal,
London — an extended trip to fun places on Maple’s
“doggy bucket list.”
They traveled over 5,000 miles, and saw two provinces
and seven states, including Oregon’s coast, where Maple
left the tennis balls at several beach locations for her furry
pals to play with. “We just wanted to enjoy all the time we
have left with her,” Kim said, “and make it the best time
possible for her.” Maple is shown, at Rockaway Beach,
in a photo from her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/
amazingmaple).
“The bucket remained at the beach access for about a
week,” Pam added, “until all the balls were gone. Sweet
Maple got her wish.”
“We are beyond pleased to hear that so many
people enjoyed the tennis balls that we left on the
beaches,” Kim wrote. “Maple is our sweetheart, and
knowing that she has touched so many people warms our
hearts.”
I
WORLD WAR II COMES TO OREGON
oday is the 72nd anniversary of the only time Amer-
icans were killed in an enemy action on continental
U.S. soil. And, believe it or not, it happened right here in
Oregon.
According
to
the
Oregon
Encyclopedia
(http://tinyurl.com/blybomb), in late 1944 and early 1945,
Japan launched about 9,000 70-foot tall balloon bombs
into the jet stream in the hopes they would reach U.S.
mainland and wreak havoc and cause forest fires. One is
pictured, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force. Most of the bal-
loons are presumed to have been lost over the Pacific, but
361 have been found that made it to the U.S., Canada and
Mexico. Who knows how many more there are still lying
around.
On May 5, 1945, Archie Mitchell, a minister
from Bly, and his pregnant wife Elsie (the couple are pic-
tured), and five children from his Sunday school class,
went on a picnic about 13 miles northeast of Bly in what
is now known as the Mitchell Recreation Area. He parked
the car, and his wife and the kids headed to the nearby
creek.
“As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the
others were not far away and called to me they
had found something that looked like a balloon,” the
minister recalled. “I heard of Japanese balloons, so I
shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was
a big explosion. I ran up there — and they were all dead.”
The blast made a foot deep, 3-foot-wide hole, and bomb
fragments were found as far as 400 feet away from where
it exploded.
A memorial at the site, the Mitchell Monument —
which has been recognized by the National Register of
Historic Places (http://tinyurl.com/blymem) — honors the
six unwitting casualties of war, ensuring they will not be
forgotten.
T
here hasn’t been much news about wind power happening here
in the U.S., which is why a story in Longview, Washington’s
The Daily News about the Port of Longview unloading the “lon-
gest wind blades to date” in mid-April caught the Ear’s attention
(http://tinyurl.com/bigblade).
Each blade was 177 feet long, and they are pictured, courtesy of
the Port of Longview. It took 25 longshoremen three and a half days
to unload 60 of them for rail transport to Illinois. Thirty are still at
the port, because there’s no room for them yet at the wind farm.
The blades came from Vestas Wind Systems, a Danish com-
pany with 59,000 turbines installed in “more than 70 countries
across six continents” (www.vestas.com), many offshore. They
chose Longview because it’s one of the few (if not the only) direct-
to-rail shipping system on the West Coast, capable of unloading
directly from the ship to a rail car.
In case you’re wondering why Oregon doesn’t have any off-
shore wind farms (there’s no lack of wind, certainly), the Wind-
Float Pacific project (http://windfloatpacific.com), which was to be
built 15 to 18 miles off Coos Bay, officially went belly up last fall.
It turned out the power it could generate would be too expensive
(http://tinyurl.com/byebyewind). Heavy sigh.
T
LOCAL BREVITIES
nippets from The Daily Morning Astorian, Wednesday,
May 8, 1889:
• There are seven newspapers and nine churches in Astoria.
• A very large panther was killed at Gray’s River yesterday morning.
• On the ceiling of Robb & Parker’s office, gold and pearls
are strewn in careless profusion.
• The Clara Parker started up yesterday afternoon to bring
down the first lot of railroad iron for the Astoria and South
Coast Railway Co. (In 1888, the railway company was incorpo-
rated to build a railroad south to Tillamook County; by 1891, the
railway was operating the 15 miles between Skipanon and Sea-
side. (http://tinyurl.com/ASCoRail)).
• There are seven canneries at Karluk, Alaska (on Kodiak
Island). Two years ago there were two there. Work like that will
soon leave famous Alaska waters fished out. (Over-fishing of the
area forced the canneries to close in the late 1930s; after a 1978
storm, the village was relocated. (http://tinyurl.com/Karlukfish))
• Before Judge Jewett yesterday appeared Chas. Sandwark
and A. W. Anderson, charged with fighting. They presented
rather a battered appearance but averred that they had only been
playing. The judge humored the joke and assessed each one $10
(about $250 today), just for fun.
S
AL JAZEERA CALLING
news update from Asto-
ria’s favorite ex-patri-
ate, Chef Daymon Garrett
Edwards in South Korea: “As
many of you know, I am going
through a marathon of remod-
eling my pie cafés and bar-
becue restaurants … So (the
other day), while I was stain-
ing the table for our alfresco
seating at Rusty’s Smoke-
house in Itaewon (in Seoul),
a camera crew from Al Jazeera TV showed up to ask me about
Trump and North Korea, good gads!”
Interviewer Divya Gopalan was roaming around Seoul asking
Americans who live in South Korea specifically how they felt about
living with the danger of nuclear attack coming from the north.
Most felt the threats were old hat, and had been going on for years.
“It just doesn’t affect me,” the chef concurred. “I mean, until they
drop a bomb on Seoul. But for 21 years that I’ve been here, they’ve
been saying that.” He is pictured in a screen shot from the interview,
which you can see here: http://tinyurl.com/cheftalk
“As you will see, I didn’t slow down for the interview,” he noted,
“I got that staining finished, and customers are being served today.”
“I am half way around the world, and think I am removed from
USA politics,” he mused, “but no such luck … international TV
wants to know!”
A
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Angora Hiking Club — 9 a.m., Sixth
Street parking lot. Neahkahnie Mountain hike.
For information, call Kathleen Adams at 541-
261-3458.
Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Home-
spun Quilts & Yarn, 108 10th St. Bring knitting,
crochet or other needlework projects to this
community stitching time. All skill levels wel-
come.
Detachment 1228 Marine Corps
League — noon, El Compadre, 119 Main
Ave., Warrenton. For information, contact Lou
Neubecker at 503-717-0153.
Columbia Northwestern Model Rail-
roading Club — 1 p.m., in Hammond. Group
runs trains on HO-scale layout. For informa-
tion, call Don Carter at 503-325-0757.
Spinning Circle — 1 to 3 p.m., Astoria
Fiber Arts Academy, 1296 Duane St. Bring a
spinning wheel. For information, call 503-325-
5598 or go to http://astoriafiberarts.com
p.m., Ocean Park Lutheran Church, 24002 U
St., Ocean Park, Washington. Performance
by the Bayside Singers, directed by Barbara
Poulshock, accompanied by Barbara Pate.
Free event, donations accepted.
SUNDAY
Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m., Seaside
American Legion, 1315 Broadway. For infor-
mation, call 503-738-5111. No cost; suggest-
ed $5 tip to the instructor.
MONDAY
Sweet Songs of Spring Concert — 2
Chair Exercises for Seniors — 9 to 9:45
a.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange
St. For information, call 503-325-3231.
Scandinavian Workshop — 10 a.m.,
First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. Needle-
work, hardanger, knitting, crocheting, embroi-
dery and quilting. All are welcome. For infor-
mation, call 503-325-1364 or 503-325-7960.
Mothers of Preschoolers — 10 to 11:30
a.m., Crossroads Community Church, 40618
Old Highway 30, Svensen. MOPS group is a
time for moms to relax and enjoy each others’
company. For information, call Tracy Wilson at
727-514-1611.
Astoria High School Class of 1970 — 11
a.m., Koffee Klatch at Rod’s Bar and Grill, 45
N.E. Skipanon Drive, Warrenton. For informa-
tion, call ShawnAnn Hope at 503-791-1231.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m., Bob Chisholm
Senior Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Sug-
gested donation $3 for those older than 60;
$6.75 for those younger than 60. For informa-
tion, call Michelle Lewis at 503-861-4200.
See NOTES, Page 2B