NEW YEAR’S PEOPLE: LOCALS REFLECT ON THEIR LIFE STORIES
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017
145TH YEAR, NO. 128
COAST
WEEKEND
ONE DOLLAR
Boat prowler drives pickup into
Columbia River fleeing from police
Suspect plucked from water, lodged in jail
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A diver enters the waters this morning off
Tongue Point to search for a pickup driven into
the river.
Keeping
dogs safe
at state
parks
A man fleeing from police had to
be rescued Wednesday after driving his
pickup off a pier at North Tongue Point
and into a side channel of the Columbia
River.
Timofey Erofeeff, 27, from Scotts
Mills in Marion County, had been spot-
ted trespassing on boats. Officers made
contact with him about 10 a.m. as he was
driving a red F-150, police said.
They decided to charge him with sec-
ond-degree criminal trespass and were
advised to take him into custody for a
Deschutes County parole violation. He
took off as they approached his truck to
make the arrest, starting a short pursuit.
See SUSPECT, Page 7A
Timofey
Erofeeff
Fort Stevens a huge economic driver
Oregon State Parks
reminds dog owners to
keep pets on leashes
while on the trail
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
The fear associated with a pet gone miss-
ing is a feeling most owners never want to
experience.
Felix, a 2-year-old border collie, made
headlines after he went missing around 3
p.m. Christmas day while on a hike with
his owner, Sarah Stremming, in Ecola State
Park. He was rescued unharmed from a prec-
ipice 60 feet from the crest of the Clatsop
Loop trail by the Seaside rope and rescue
team.
Thousands of visitors and locals bring
their dogs on trails like the ones in Ecola
State Park each year. Since Felix’s rescue,
many Daily Astorian readers have asked why
he was not leashed. Others are concerned
with the risks taken by first responders, as
well as the resources the rescue required.
So what can owners do to keep their dogs
out of this situation?
“I know people hate to keep their dogs on
a leash. But there’s a reason we ask, and a
worst-case scenario can happen when they
aren’t,” said Richard Walkoski of Oregon
State Parks. “I would hate to see someone
have a part of their family not with them
because of it.”
See DOGS, Page 7A
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Highly trained members of the Seaside
rope and rescue team rescued a dog
that fell off a cliff while hiking with his
owner at Ecola State Park.
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Tourists visit the wreck of the Peter Iredale at Fort Stevens State Park.
Study based on
visitor surveys
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
estled along the South Jetty of the
Columbia River in the most north-
west point of Oregon, Fort Ste-
vens State Park apparently offers more
than historical significance and natural
wonder.
A six-year study by the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department found that
Fort Stevens was the second-highest eco-
nomic driver of the more than 150 state
parks. All the parks combined were found
to add $1.1 billion to the state economy.
Gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants
and bars were the primary beneficiaries.
Nearly 1.5 million visitors spend
$40.1 million in and around Fort Stevens
in a given year. The park also supports
nearly 600 full-time area jobs.
“I’m not surprised,” Park Manager
Justin Parker said. “People do come from
a long ways away. People stay longer
here than at any other park.”
N
A paraglider prepares to take flight off a beach at Fort Stevens State Park.
The study was based on visitor sur-
veys conducted at each state park for one
year, though not all parks were studied in
the same year. Figures for many coastal
parks, such as Fort Stevens, came from
2011 surveys, while the surveys in east-
ern parks were conducted last year. Over-
all, visitor coastal parks totaled roughly
half of all spending.
The park, based around a fort built
during the Civil War to guard against a
potential British invasion, does not lack
historical draws. Though it closed as an
active military site after World War II,
See FORT STEVENS, Page 8A
Family finds silver lining in Goonies house restriction
Eckhardts
moved from
Texas in
September
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Limited access to the
“Goonies house” nowadays
often leaves once-hopeful
tourists feeling downcast. But
last year, it convinced a fam-
ily of five to move to the area
from thousands of miles away.
Mitch and Alethea Eck-
hardt traveled from their
home in Texas to Portland in
OUR NEW
NEIGHBORS
HIGHLIGHTING PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TO THE COMMUNITY
the summer of 2016 to visit
friends. Avid Goonies fans,
and unaware that access to the
house was cut off by the own-
ers about a year earlier due to
a tourist surge, they couldn’t
help but drive nearly two hours
to see the iconic residence.
Instead, they strolled Asto-
ria’s streets, dined at its restau-
rants and snoozed at its hotels.
They were hooked. Rather
than wait until retirement and
potentially move far away
from their three children, the
couple relocated to the area
one year later. The Eckhardts
still haven’t seen the Goonies
house, but they have found
their home.
“If we did see the Goonies
house, we wouldn’t have fallen
in love with this town,” Mitch
said with a chuckle. “I think
See FAMILY, Page 7A
The Eckhardt family.