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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2017
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
Water
under
the bridge
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago
this week — 2007
The North Coast woke up a week after the storm, eager to
get back to normal after a tumultuous week that no one will
soon forget.
At least four people died as the winds — with gusts up to a
reported 147 mph — pummeled the region Dec. 2-3, accompa-
nied by near-constant rain. Some other deaths, including resi-
dents in Tillamook and Grays Harbor may also have links with
the storm.
Today the power was back on for all but Pacific Power cus-
tomers whose homes are too damaged by falling trees or floods
to have power restored. At the height of the storm, and for much
of last week, more than 22,000 Clatsop County customers were
out and thousands more in neighboring counties.
The Port of Tillamook Railroad suffered some of the most visible damage from the storm that hit Dec. 2 and 3. Tracks
here buckled as support ground was washed away.
WHEELER – The biggest, most visible damage
in Tillamook County was the Port of Tillamook Bay
Railroad, which buckled like a soft stick of licorice.
About 25 miles of the line were severely damaged.
At least $20 million damage forced Port officials to
curtail outbound shipments of lumber and inbound
shipments of grain for dairy farmers.
No rail cars can come in or go out, as the photo-
graph on this page attests.
ered likely to affect rights to a large amount of ocean-
front property.
In a decision written by Associate Justice Hugo
L. Black, the Supreme Court held under federal law,
Mrs. Stella Hughes, and not the state of Washington,
was the owner of a strip of such “accretion” land.
Attorney Charles B. Welch, who for 25 years has
been fighting the state’s attempts to win title to miles
of ocean beaches, today said he was “pleased but not
amazed” that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with
him.
The yellow object bobbed off the coast following last week’s
fierce windstorms, sparking concerns from at least one Long
Beach, Washington, resident, who worried a boat sank while
trying to fish in rough waters.
She called the U.S. Coast Guard for help.
But what looked like a life raft adrift off the Oregon-Wash-
ington coastline turned out to be the bottom half of a yellow
buoy that ripped loose from its mooring in last week’s storm.
A new economic study of the Pacific Northwest predicted
Thursday that population in the area will increase by 1.7 mil-
lion to 7.5 million by 1980 and to more than 10 million by the
year 2000.
The study was prepared by the Columbus, Ohio, laborato-
ries of Battelle Memorial Institute and sponsored by 14 banks
and utilities. It covered Oregon, Washington, Idaho and 11
western counties of Montana.
50 years ago — 1967
The Supreme Court today held that federal law
governs property rights of tidewater land built up by
deposits from the sea.
The Supreme court reversed a decision of the
Washington State Supreme Court in a case consid-
Despite the talk we hear today about an “affluent
society,” there is still too much poverty. The county
welfare department reported 142 families in the Asto-
ria area and eastern Clatsop, totaling 411 people, who
were eligible for Christmas baskets from charitable
organizations because otherwise they would not be
able to provide adequate Christmas for themselves. It
also reported 82 families with 235 people in the Sea-
side-Gearhart-Cannon Beach area in the same condi-
tion. This is a somewhat surprising number to those
of us who never see any poverty and therefore find it
hard to believe that any exists here.
75 years ago — 1942
The Astoria city council last night appointed Mrs. Robert W.
Lucas as the city’s official representative to sponsor and chris-
ten the U.S. Navy’s new heavy cruiser Astoria when the big
ship slides into the Delaware river at Philadelphia, Pa., some-
time next month.
Six “incidents” created to test the efficiency of
Astoria’s civilian defense divisions were met promptly
and with a new high for performance in a test air
raid held between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Monday, it was
reported today from civilian defense headquarters in
the old city hall.
Negotiations are reported under way for the Navy’s use of
part of the Hotel Astoria for naval personnel, it was learned
today. Details of the extent of Navy occupation have not been
revealed. However it was known that warning to some of the
tenants asking them to prepare for moving has been given by
the management in view of the negotiations, so that occupants
of the hotel would not be left homeless in the event and when
the Navy’s decision is announced.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Senior housing programs
under attack and underfunded
joy and self-sacrifice. Until the evangeli-
cal church rediscovers this, it deserves to be
abandoned.
DON ANDERSON
Astoria
T
hank you for bringing much-needed atten-
tion to the housing challenges faced by
low-income seniors. (“On the edge: Hous-
ing for the elderly a challenge in Astoria,” The
Daily Astorian, Dec. 8).
My family just celebrated my mother’s
89th birthday. As her daughter and caregiver, I
know firsthand how vulnerable many seniors
are, and how important it is to maintain our
social safety net. In Congress, I helped to pass
the Older Americans Act so seniors have pro-
tections and supports they need to age with
dignity.
It is unacceptable that seniors like Marge
Glaser are facing possible homelessness, espe-
cially when Republican leadership in Con-
gress is jamming through a tax plan that adds
$1.5 trillion to the debt, benefits big corpora-
tions and the wealthiest Americans, and jeopar-
dizes bond programs that help fund affordable
housing.
In the article several programs were men-
tioned, such as Section 8 housing vouchers,
that have been under attack and underfunded
for too long. I will continue to be a staunch
advocate for affordable housing and the many
programs that help seniors stay healthy, safe,
and in their homes.
Addressing housing insecurity is a team
effort, and I thank the dedicated partners in
Clatsop County — including elected officials,
the Astoria Senior Center, Clatsop Community
Action, Helping Hands, and North West Ore-
gon Housing Authority — for their hard work.
Everyone should have the security of sta-
ble housing. In Congress, I’ll continue to stand
up for seniors and the most vulnerable in our
communities.
U.S. REP. SUZANNE BONAMICI
Washington, D.C.
Camp Rilea facilities should
be good enough for Air
National Guard
O
pen letter to U.S. Senators Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley, state Sen. Betsy John-
son, Gov. Kate Brown and the Clatsop County
Commission:
I have served in the Oregon Army National
Guard for 20 years, and my father, Lt. Col.
Larry Haskell (retired) served for 44 years. All
of my time, and most of my father’s career,
was spent stationed out of Camp Rilea in
Warrenton.
My concern is that millions of dollars were
spent on Camp Rilea not too long ago to make
it the place to train, certify, and house hundreds
Robin Hood continues
O
of troops. I do know the Oregon Air National
Guard is being put into the Elliott Hotel in
Astoria. I also know the commander of the Air
Guard has said that the facilities at Camp Rilea
are not adequate to house his soldiers — yet it
is the same place that was adequate for the sol-
diers who actually face battle.
The military is the one place no one is dif-
ferent, except for rank. Yes, rank does have
its privileges, but when one part of the team
has an elitist attitude and behavior, it makes
the team fail. That is proven behavior for Ore-
gonians and most places. And elitism is not
acceptable behavior anywhere.
Having recently gone through the Veterans
Administration’s recognitive therapy, I must
state the following:
The evaluation that was given in the begin-
ning needs to be part of every military person’s
profile/personnel record and medical record.
Maybe there should be an enlistment quiz,
even. Then, if that person has issues, at least
there may be a place to start.
In conclusion, please tell me how to help
with this, and /or maybe provide an answer to
what I see as waste, fraud, and abuse of my
money — which I have very little of. It is an
insult to this veteran.
TROY J. HASKELL
Astoria
Evangelicals have
lost moral authority
F
or years the evangelical church has held
itself up to be America’s conscience.
Despite their various problems, the evangel-
icals saw (and still see) themselves as carry-
ing the torch of morality by having a “bibli-
cal” view of humanity. Their demigod, Ronald
Reagan, even wrote a book, “Abortion and the
Conscience of the Nation,” which trotted out
right-wing-Christian morality with scant view
to science, compassion or the constitution.
Sound familiar?
Many Christians, like myself, have decided
to leave evangelicalism as it became apparent
that the church, for whatever reason, embraced
Donald Trump. As soon as evangelicalism
did that, it lost any pretense to moral author-
ity, and men like Jerry Falwell Jr., James Dob-
son and Franklin Graham bound themselves in
a phantasmagorical deal with the devil, espous-
ing misogyny, racism, guns, conspiracy theory,
pseudo-science and self-deception. By the way,
the “devil” in this deal, in case you were won-
dering, is President Donald Trump. The actual
devil, if there is one, is laughing his pointy red
head off.
The church has often been knocked for
being hypocritical, and that is understandable,
because the church is made up of real people.
But now, the evangelical church has made it a
special point to act in opposition to the values
of Jesus Christ.
If Jesus was walking the earth today, how
would he treat the refugees? How would he
feel about a judge and would-be senator who
sexually assaulted teenagers? Jesus said that if
anyone leads a child astray, it would be better
for that person to drown himself. Hmmm.
True Christian values are found in the per-
son of Jesus Christ, a man of compassion,
n Dec. 1, The Daily Astorian printed an
editorial comparing some of the fictional
characters in the Robin Hood story with some
of our present-day politicians (“Robin Hood”).
Within the article there were some mistaken
comparisons, such as comparing the Sheriff
of Nottingham to Jeff Sessions, but really Eric
Holder and Loretta Lynch fit that profile much
better. The Sheriff of Nottingham was the
main villain, and keeping the law meant noth-
ing to him.
Comparing Prince John to President Don-
ald Trump is not accurate, either. Prince John
is President Obama. Obama, like Prince John,
was having issues with the barons of Republi-
cans because of his illegal schemes, crushing
the working class, harboring fugitives, bur-
dening the people with high taxes, creating an
unbearable health management crisis, racial
tension, bad economic and foreign policies,
and corruption everywhere within his court.
The real Robin Hoods of today I consider
to be men like Ted Cruz, who continually and
willingly put themselves out there to cham-
pion and fight for what is right for the people,
instead of what is right for the Prince.
Then comes King Richard, who defeated
and rescued the people from Prince John’s
evil empire. President Trump supports Amer-
icans, small business, family values, the Con-
stitution, tough immigration and trade policies,
lower taxes, making sound financial, social
and foreign policies, and religious freedom.
He is concerned, and responds to the issues of
today.
Communist/monarch regimes require the
support of the media to propagandize or hyp-
notize the American people into their way of
thinking. Someday, someone will snap their
fingers, and they will wake up only to find out
they were goofs.
Everyone knows that the truth is from the
stand-alone Fox News, who puts out an hon-
est analysis and profile regarding each of their
reports, along with facts and commentary to
substantiate an honest and complete news
story.
It has been a long time since we the peo-
ple have had leaders who want to accom-
plish what Robin Hood wanted for his people.
Finally, we are heading in the right direction
as a nation. Let’s keep it going.
RAYMOND GARDNER
Warrenton