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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Exchange students from Brazil and Norway in Seaside New school, new language, new customs By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Among the 461 students enrolled at Sea- side High School this year are three exchange students from overseas. Arthur Brugneratto Prada and Fernanda Vasconcellos, both of Brazil, and Mathilda Gunleiksrud of Norway appeared with returning exchange student Sam Thorn- ton at the school district’s board of directors meeting Tuesday night. “I’m really enjoying my time down here,” Vascon- cellos said. “Last weekend R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Fernanda Vasconcellos of Brazil, Seaside’s Sam Thornton, Mathilda Gunleiksrud of Norway, and Arthur Brugneratto Prada of Brazil are participants in the school district’s for- eign exchange program. I went to my fi rst football game. I couldn’t understand what was going on, but it was fun.” Gunleiksrud, of Dolmen, Norway, will be living with her host family for the year. So far she’s traveled to Can- non Beach, Nehalem and Portland, and will be visit- ing Boston in November. She plans on participating in the drama club’s fall play. She likes her host family’s home cooking and the availability of local takeout food. Brugneratto Prada , a senior, said he liked the elec- tives at the h igh s chool. The most fun he’s had in the U.S. was at a wedding in the Cal- ifornia redwoods. “It was really cold,” he said, before adding, “Every day here is really cold.” He plans on joining the wrestling team and participat- ing in the Key Club. New friends, new dreams The exchange program has a long history at Seaside High School, said Natalie Osburn, the school’s assistant princi- pal . Students typically take their exchange period during their junior year because they want to spend their senior year with peers. Thornton returned from a year in Mexico . “I went in with no Spanish at all,” she said. Thornton lived with two host families and developed her language skills by speak- ing Spanish every day. “I really connected with them,” she said. “I met some of the best friends of my entire life.” Shayla Tsuji, a senior from Seaside who went to Brazil last year as an exchange stu- dent, was not at the school dis- trict meeting, but in a letter read by Osburn, said the expe- rience brought “not only new friends, but new dreams.” “I am still in contact with many of my friends from the trip,” Tsuji wrote. “I left an average high school student, and came home with a Brazil- ian heart.” Osburn said she expects this year’s visitors to Sea- side to fi t right in. “I’ll check in two or three times formally to see how they’re doing,” she said. “But the students at Sea- side are so wonderfully inclu- sive and are so excited to hear from students from around the world, that they really get involved in activities and have the opportunity to get to know different cultures without trav- eling themselves.” ‘Most wanted’ fugitive arrested near Raymond County unemployment arrived home to dis- C a b r e r a - G u t i - Raymond. The Pacifi c County creeps up in August cover that Cabre- errez was charged Sheriff’s Offi ce took over from By NATALIE ST. JOHN EO Media Group SOUTH BEND, Wash. — Pacifi c County Sheriff’s depu- ties arrested a kidnapping sus- pect Monday who had been on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugi- tives list for almost three years. In fall 2014, Berks County, Pennsylvania, resident Maria Evelia Cabrera-Gutierrez, 46, was in a custody battle with ex-boyfriend Guy Markus over their 2 -year-old son, Daniel. According to a news release from Pennsylvania Crime Watch, “the court pro- ceedings did not appear to be going in her favor.” On Nov. 14, 2014, Markus ra-Gutierrez had fl ed with interference with Daniel and her with custody of chil- older son from a pre- dren and concealment vious relationship. of the whereabouts She left behind a note of a child in Berks that said, “When I County. A state war- fi nd legal help, I’ll rant was issued for Maria Evelia contact you.” her arrest. S he was Cabrera- Police learned also charged in fed- Gutierrez that she took the chil- eral court with unlaw- dren to Texas in vio- ful fl ight to avoid lation of the custody order for prosecution, and a federal war- Daniel. She stayed with fam- rant was issued for her arrest . ily members and in hotels in On Monday , FBI agents San Antonio and Austin before contacted the Raymond police lost track of her. Inves- Police Department, saying tigators suspected she was they believed Cabrera-Gutier- headed for Mexico, where she rez was staying at a home on was born. South Fork Road, outside of there, because the home is in the county’s jurisdiction, Chief Criminal Deputy Pat Matlock said. “One tip said she was living in that area under an assumed name with her two boys,” Mat- lock said. He and Lt. Jim Berg- strom spoke with detectives in Pennsylvania, met with Ray- mond Police Chief Chuck Spoor, then went to the home. Daniel’s story received wide media attention in Penn- sylvania. He was found one day after a segment about his kidnapping aired on the CNN television show, “The Hunt With John Walsh.” Body of hiker who fell in Oswald West recovered The Daily Astorian The body of Joseph Les- cene, who fell to his death off a cliff in Oswald West State Park Sept. 10, was recovered Tuesday at Short Sands Beach. Oregon State Police received a report Tues- day morning of a deceased man washed up on the beach. The state police and Nehalem Bay Fire & Res- cue responded and located the body, which was posi- tively identifi ed as Lescene. The Tillamook County Med- ical Examiner assisted with the investigation. Lescene, 51, of British Columbia, was hiking with his wife near Devil’s Caul- dron when he reportedly lost his footing and fell 800 feet to the water below. No foul play is suspected. Nehalem Bay Fire & Res- cue recovered the backpack he was wearing in the water Recycling the topic of Fort George lecture The Daily Astorian Astoria residents are jug- gling multiple garbage bins following the roll out of a new curbside pick up program that added glass and compost ear- lier this month. But organizers of an event Thursday night at Fort George Brewery and Public House want to help people make better use of the options available to them now, send less material to the landfi ll and maybe save money on their garbage bill. The “Waste Zero Work- shop,” led by Renee Johnson, sustainability director at Fort George, and Recology repre- “If you ever wanted solar, now is the time!” — Stan the Solar Man sentatives, will kick off the Fort George’s popular Thurs- day lecture series for this season. Adding the compost and glass curbside pick up ser- vices added several dollars to everyone’s monthly garbage bill when the Astoria City Council voted 3-2 in June to approve these changes. Though people can opt out of having the extra bins, they still pay the increased fee. “We want to help people fi nd a way to make it work for them,” Johnson said about the w orkshop. Also, she added, recycling “is not always as intuitive as people think it is.” There are some “do’s” and “don’ts” that may be sur- prising or confusing. The free lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in Fort George’s Lovell Showroom . W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 SOLAR SALE! So la r p rice s h a ve b e e n cut! OUNTY’S CLATSOP C Y L ON R V ICESSOLA FULL- SER R E ID PROV Attention businesses: Eliminate your high electric bills and high taxes by going solar FREE HOME ENERGYAUDIT 3.99%Financing LowMonthlyPayments CALL (503)861-1687 P R EC ISIO N H EA TING 503-861-1687 & Indoor A ir Q uality w w w .usa-heating.com P below the cliff. The Coast Guard searched with life- boats and a helicopter but was unable to fi nd his body. A GoFundMe account was set up by family friend Nancy Sheppard at http:// tinyurl.com/4JoesFamily to help his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Ofelia and Sofi a. The Daily Astorian Seasonally adjusted unemployment in Clatsop County rose above 4 per- cent in August, according to the state Employment Department. Unemployment, which reached its lowest real- istic level over the sum- mer, has slowly crept up over the past few months, at 3.8 percent in July and 4.1 percent in August. Last month’s unemployment rate was still nearly 1 percent lower from the year prior, matched the statewide fi g- ure and was lower than the national rate at 4.4 percent. A loss of 150 jobs in the county was expected for the month, but the county only shed 70. That left total non- farm payroll employment at 18,170, 10 higher than the year prior. The private sector cut 60 jobs in August, and gov- ernment employment fell by 10. Food services and drinking places gained 40 Jobless rates for August * Area Clatsop Aug. July 1-yr. 2017 2017 ago 4.1 3.8 5 Columbia 5.2 4.8 6.3 Tillamook 4.3 4.1 5.1 Oregon 4.1 3.8 5 U.S. 4.4 4.3 4.9 *Preliminary, seasonaly adjusted rates. Source: Oregon Employment Department Daily Astorian graphic jobs, but accommodations cut 40. Food manufacturing shed 50 jobs, and the retail trade dropped by 30. The industries adding the most jobs over the year were leisure and hospitality (160) and fi nancial activ- ities (50). This was offset by a loss of manufacturing jobs (210).