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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 OPINION editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher Founded in 1873 JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager Water under the bridge JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager after long delays, Dr. David Crawford, laboratory director, reported Monday. Some minor plumbing and other final chores remain to be done, so that the transfer of the laboratory staff to the new building will probably not start until next week. Cargo handled over the Port of Astoria termi- nals in 1967 soared past a million tons, setting a new modern record. The port management reported total cargo of 1.1 million tons, compared to 970,000 tons the prior year. Compiled by Bob Duke From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers 10 years ago this week — 2008 75 years ago — 1943 A new kind of wave for sea-minded Astorians came to the city yesterday — Ensign Ellamae Naylor, first young woman from this city or district to receive her commission in the WAVES, who returned to her home city on a brief leave before being assigned to duty someplace on the West Coast. Her return created considerable interest among not only friends, but military personnel and civilians alike, to whom the first sight of a WAVE in uniform was something new and exciting. Jaunty in her navy blue uniform and coat, perky hat with gold insignia, over-the-shoulder black bag and white gloves, Ensign Naylor drew admiring stares from everyone along Commercial Street. The remains of Clatsop County’s nationally famous Sitka spruce tree will be preserved as a “nurse log” to potentially spawn future Sitka giants. An estimated 1 million visitors saw the centuries-old tree each year at Klootchy Creek County park southeast of Seaside, off U.S. Highway 26. On Dec. 2-3, hurricane-force winds snapped the tree about 80 feet above ground, along an old lightning scar. The top portion shattered as it hit the ground. Aware of the tree’s significance, county officials will let the trunk stand and the pieces lie on the ground to rot and provide nutrients for new trees and other plants, parks super- visor Steve Meshke said. The urban forests that adorn Astoria’s hillsides are part of the city’s unique character. But during the big December windstorm, the trees suddenly changed from assets to liabilities, crashing down onto houses, powerlines, streets and streams. What to do about the fallen timber and storm-damaged trees was the topic of a presenta- tion by Mike Barnes, a consulting forester, at Mon- day’s Astoria City Council meeting. He said the city is required by the state to replant the forests that were blown down, but it will be an opportunity to mimic natural conditions with a mix of cedar, spruce and hemlock. The Federal Emergency Management Agency assisted 2,600 individuals following the Dec. 2-3 storms, distributing more than $4 million in emergency aid. Its next step is to help agencies affected by the storms. Abby Kershaw, director of Oregon Emergency Manage- ment Financial and Recovery Section, told representatives from multiple local organizations gathered at the Judge Guy Boyington Building Friday it’s time to move on to giving assistance to public agencies. 50 years ago — 1968 Winds of 70 mph streaked across Clatsop The Daily Astorian/File The fallen Sitka spruce was hammered in the Dec. 2-3 storms that devastated the North Coast. County Monday night and Tuesday morning, downing utility lines, sucking out windows and playing havoc with shipping. Accompanying rain brought muck and trees down on the Sunset Highway, forcing closure of that main artery about 9 a.m. Tuesday. Trees and mud were “coming down faster than crews can clean up,” a highway department spokesman in Astoria reported. Traffic was routed along Oregon Highway 202 through Jewell to Astoria to bypass the slide a few miles east of the Necanicum junction. All equipment for the new Seafoods Laboratory building at 36th and Lief Erikson Drive has now arrived, some of it All eight Columbia River bar pilots operating out of Astoria are being taken into the Coast Guard reserve with rank of lieutenant commanders, it was learned today from Clarence Ash, secretary of the pilots’ association and the first to be inducted. Ash said state pilots all over the nation are being absorbed by the Coast Guard and pilots working out of San Francisco and San Pedro are already members of the Coast Guard reserve. Sim- ilar action among Puget Sound pilots is expected shortly. Small craft in the Coast Guard auxiliary flotilla No. 57 at Svensen met successfully the surprise test mobilization called there this week and conquered a series of simulated emergencies with exceptional efficiency, it was learned today from Coast Guard sources. Eighty percent of the flotilla membership reported at the mobilization signal, with no warning for it given. They then deployed their boats, stocked with first aid and signal- ing equipment, emergency rations and blankets, in attacks on problems. They hustled after landing paratroopers, maneu- vered around and studied the problem of the staggering obstacle of a large vessel, theoretically sunk in the chan- nel. They tackled mock incendiary fires, coped with blasted bridges and challenged unidentified craft. Their flotilla was divided into several types of boats, including craft for carrying dispatches and doing hospital work and transportation of injured and dead victim of war. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Death penalty latsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis’ stand on the death penalty is cruel and outdated. The risk of an innocent person being exe- cuted cannot be eliminated. In the U.S., 150 prisoners sent to death row have been exon- erated since 1973, and there is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty deters crime. Furthermore, data from the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice show that one is more likely to be sentenced to death if you are poor or belong to a racial minority. Also, mental ill- ness and child abuse are closely linked to those being executed. According to a recent article in The New York Times, 20 out of the 23 people put to death in the U.S. in 2017 were mentally ill, suffered child abuse, or had poor legal rep- resentation (“Capital Punishment Deserves a Quick Death,” Dec. 31). Eight were younger than 21 when they were accused. The death penalty is a racially biased, arbi- trary and pointless punishment that becomes rarer each year. Nineteen states and the Dis- trict of Columbia have already banned capi- tal punishment, and many states have not car- ried out an execution for years. It’s well past time to bring our country in line with the rest of the civilized world and end this barbarous practice. Let’s hope that Marquis’ replacement is more enlightened. ED JOYCE Astoria lusioned by Democrat bills passed forcing all Oregonians to pay for all abortions, and extending free health care to children of ille- gal immigrants. Esquivel, whose father immi- grated legally from Mexico, is now a chief petitioner against Ballot Measure 101. A “no” vote on Measure 101 will repeal this new tax. Instead of a new tax, why not make bet- ter use of the ones we already have? Oregon is now the sixth biggest spender among the 50 states. School-based clinics can sign kids up for Medicaid without telling their parents — and then collect $212 for services that would cost $25 in a private market. A November 2017 audit of the Oregon Health Authority revealed 41 percent ineligi- ble recipients. Oregon also made illegal use for $1.8 million in federal funds to cover abortion. Plenty of money is obviously available for TV in favor of a “yes” vote on this new tax. Recall that large corporations, unions and insurance companies do not have to pay it. We do. We’re voting “no” on Ballot Measure 101. JOSEPH M. HERMAN JEAN M. HERMAN Astoria C ‘Yes’ on Measure 101 easure 101 should not even be on the ballot, let alone in a special election. In June, the Oregon House and Senate passed House Bill 2391 after it proceeded through both chambers and the governor signed it. That is what legislators are elected to do. They debate the issues, write bills and vote on them. That is called governing. We are having a special election because three representatives did not like the final vote on House Bill 2391. Reps. Julie Parrish, Ced- ric Hayden, and Sal Esquivel decided to have the taxpayers of Oregon pay for a special election because they disagreed with the valid vote on House Bill 2391. How much is this costing the taxpayers? The secretary of state should tell us. Over 160 organizations endorse a “yes” vote on Measure 101, including AARP Ore- gon, Kaiser Permanente, and the Oregon Medical Association. Without Measure 101, uninsured people would go back to relying on emergency rooms, which bankrupts hospitals M Living wage y boyhood hero, Robert Kennedy, used to say that “Jobs are better than wel- fare.” As a liberal/progressive Democrat, I agree. But I would add that having a job that pays a good and living wage, that is well above the federal government’s “official pov- erty line” is the human right of every Amer- ican who is willing to lead a responsible and productive life. Therefore, I am proposing that follow- ing the November elections, our president and Congress reverse the 2017 tax cuts and instead spend $1 trillion on a new federal gov- ernment jobs-creation bill and poverty-end- ing bill, that guarantees a job with dignity and respect to all Americans, that not only pays well above the official poverty line, but also pays well above the official “near-poverty line,” which is between 100 to 125 percent of the official poverty line. It is the humane and just thing to do. STEWART B. EPSTEIN Rochester, New York M LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar, and, on occasion, fac- tual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the and raises insurance premiums. We should demand that Reps. Parrish, Hayden and Esquivel learn to work with their colleagues in the Legislature, and accept the decisions of the majority. Legislators should do their jobs, not spend taxpayer money on unnecessary elections. JOANN WILTRAKIS Astoria writer by name, should refer to the head- line and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Letters in poor taste will not be printed. Send via email to editor@dailyas- torian.com, online at dailyastorian. com/submit_letters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or 1555 North Roosevelt in Seaside, or mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. ‘No’ on Measure 101 regon House Bill 2391 is a sales tax on health care. Large corporations, unions and insurance companies are exempt. Schools, hospitals, small businesses and indi- viduals will pay. Rep. Sal Esquivel, the only Republican to vote “yes” on HB 2391, was later disil- O Oprah n antidote to President Donald Trump that would restore our institutions and our direction for truth, justice and dignity would be Oprah Winfrey. MARY TANGUAY WEBB Astoria A