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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018
CONTACT US
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
IS THAT YOU, NESSIE?
L
ast month, Georgia resident Jeff Warren found a mysteri-
ous creature with a distinct resemblance to the Loch Ness
Monster, aka Nessie, on a beach at Wolf Island National Wild-
life Refuge in Golden Isles, Georgia, according to ScienceAlert.
com (tinyurl.com/GAnessie). A screen shot from his video of the
critter is shown, courtesy of Science Alert.
Just to add to the fun, local legend there tells of a Nessie-type
beastie called Altahamaha-ha roaming around the waters, and the
Ear can’t help but wonder if this critter is a distant cousin of our
own Pacific Northwest sea monster, Cadburosaurus.
Warren alerted the local news stations, and shared his film
footage, and contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about
the 5-foot long carcass, but so far, no one has a clue what it is.
Or was.
TAKING EXCEPTION
C
indy Yingst of Warrenton rightfully took exception to last
week’s rerun story about The Columbia Press being “now
defunct.” And she should know, because she is the editor/publisher
of the eminently not defunct publication (thecolumbiapress.com).
Cindy is pictured with her husband, the paper’s circulation
director, D.B. Lewis, courtesy of The Columbia Press. The cou-
ple bought the newspaper through their partnership, Clatsop
County Media Services, in January 2017.
“The Columbia Press is alive and well and continues to pub-
lish a newspaper every week, as it has for nearly a century,”
Cindy wrote. So, to clarify, the Ear should have said the Astoria
version of the paper no longer exists, as the presses on 12th Street
have not printed the paper for decades.
Cindy went on to note the historical significance of her publi-
cation. “The May 1971 edition of the Finnish American Histor-
ical Society of the West newsletter ... discusses The Columbia
Press’ importance as a chronicler of the lives of Clatsop County’s
Finnish residents (tinyurl.com/71finnpress).”
“While no longer focusing on the Finns — the focus of The
Columbia Press was changed when it was purchased by Hal and
Edla Allen in 1962, two folks that many residents of Warrenton
still remember,” Cindy added, “we continue to be a chronicler of
the things that are important in the lives of Clatsop County resi-
dents, particularly those living in Warrenton.”
LEAVE THE FUZZY ONES ALONE
T
he Seaside Aquarium reminds sand dollar collectors that
they are living creatures, related to sea urchins. One is pic-
tured, courtesy of the aquarium.
“The outside of their shell is covered with millions of tiny
spines, which look like ‘fuzz’ or hair … (which) aid in the move-
ment and feeding of the sand dollar. On the underside, in the cen-
ter of the sand dollar, is its mouth. A sand dollar’s diet consists
of plankton, which they break down with their five small teeth.
Each tooth closely resembles the shape of a bird, and many peo-
ple refer to them as ‘doves.’”
So, before you decide to take home that lovely sand dollar you
found, you’d better make sure it’s not still alive. “You may want
to leave the “fuzzy” ones on the beach,” the aquarium warns, “as
they can smell quite badly if taken to your home …”
GO WEST, YOUNG BOAT, GO WEST
GIMME SHELTER, PLEASE
he Hilda Lahti Elementary School’s mini-boat, Boat-
a-Lahti — part of a new Columbia River Maritime
Museum program to connect students in Oregon with
students in Japan through a mini-boat voyage across the
Pacific — has had almost as many misadventures at sea
at Astoria’s wayward sailor, Rimas Meleshyus. Unlike
Rimas, however, Boat-a-Lahti’s movements can be tracked
at tinyurl.com/tinylahti
Launched Feb. 11, 9 miles southwest of the New Point
Loma Lighthouse in California by the U.S. Coast Guard
Cutter Alert, Boat-a-Lahti made landfall only 10 hours
and 14 miles later on Mission Beach in San Diego.
Lifeguard Brian Zeller, who coincidentally owns a
house in Astoria, and fellow lifeguards, relaunched the
mini-boat on Valentine’s Day.
On Feb. 23, Boat-a-Lahti got into trouble again. “Found
your boat washed ashore on a very remote beach in Baja
...” Pat Conroy wrote to Nate Sandel, project manager
and education director at CRMM. “I was working as a
whale guide at a remote beach camp at the mouth of Scam-
mon’s Lagoon, and on one of my days off I took an eight-
hour round trip hike to explore that very remote section of
beach.” Pat’s photo of Boat-a-Lahti is shown.
“There is really no way to get there other than foot
along the shore,” Pat explained, “just miles of shifting sand
dunes, and a very shallow and wave-strewn ocean just off-
shore, with almost constant onshore winds … It looked to
be in great shape, but the little solar unit under the plexi-
glass had shifted a bit.
“It was more than 100 yards above the tide line when I
found it. I moved it and put it up on a nearby shrub — there
was no way I could relaunch it on that lee shore and crash-
ing waves. … You have shipwrecked in a very remote and
beautiful location!”
On March 23, Nate reported that the Captain of the Port
of Guerrero Negro in Baja, Mexico, pulled Boat-a-Lahti
off the beach, and will send an official report. “Melissa
Reid (the teacher at Hilda Lahti), and I met and sent emails
with relaunch ideas to Mexico,” Nate wrote. “We will see
what we can get arranged!”
A
AROUND THE TOWN
Y
T
L
ocal tidbits from the Tuesday, April 7, 1885 edition of
The Daily Morning Astorian:
• The Clatsop road will be built.
• The line went down last evening and no news con-
cerning Grant or any one else was obtainable.
Note: On July 23, 1885, former president Ulysses S.
Grant (pictured) died of esophageal cancer — probably
caused by the 20 cigars he was said to have smoked per
day during the Civil War. A true stogie lover, his campaign
song was “A Smokin’ His Cigar.” Also while running for
office, rivals poked fun at him with this campaign mes-
sage: “I smoke my weed & drink my gin, playing with the
people’s tin.” (tinyurl.com/grantpuff)
• Liberty Hall was uncomfortably crowded last night.
The new theater will soon be finished.
Note: Nope, it’s not the current Liberty Theatre, which
was built in 1925. Originally called the Astor Building,
and it housed the first theater to be built after the 1922 fire
wiped out most of downtown Astoria, including all of the
theaters. (tinyurl.com/libhist)
• Joe Surprenant starts with seven men this morning to
build an 80-foot bridge over the Necanicum, about a mile
and a half above Grimes.
Note: The Ear is not sure if this Aug. 18, 1890 item is
related, but suspects it might be: “Old man Grimes has ceased
demanding toll from people who cross his rickety bridge,
because the owners of land on the other side proposed to put
a gate on their end, and charge him toll for coming out.”
• “It is ordained that all men once shall die, and after
death the” funeral. That the defunct may ride in a manner
befitting the solemnity of the occasion, Coroner Ross has
imported a fine hearse, in which — under the pressure of
unavoidable circumstances — any one might ride at ease.
lice Nelson spotted what she called a “tsunami escape ball”
for sale recently at a local nursery, The Planter Box, in Long
Beach, Washington. She posted her photo of it (pictured) online
on the “Long Beach Peninsula Friends of Facebook” group April
1, noting that the price was $6,900. No, it was not an April Fool’s
Day joke.
Her post caused quite a stir of interest among the local group
members, who wondered about seasickness, claustrophobia,
bringing pets along, getting stuck underwater or in debris, etc.
Others wondered if it was the same tsunami rescue pod that
Jeanne (Johnson) Brooks of Ocean Park, Washington, bought
last year. Her purchase caused quite a splash in the media, as she
was the first U.S. consumer to obtain one.
No, the “tsunami escape ball” seen at the nursery — and now
gone — was not Jeanne’s. It was a Rescue Pod, made by Reli-
able Emergency Shelters (tsunamipods.com) of Vancouver,
Washington. A different company made Jeanne’s device.
“I still have my original two-person Survival Capsule in my
garage,” Jeanne explained. “I am trading it in for a four-person
to accommodate for guests, in the event of emergency, as soon
as Julian Sharpe, CEO of Survival Capsule (survival-capsule.
com), has the four-person U.S. version available off the produc-
tion line.”
JOIN THE CREW
ou don’t often see this sort of advertisement in this neck of
the woods: “Film Crew Needed, Hiring Film Crew, in Asto-
ria Area” (tinyurl.com/ad4crew). The crew is needed for a “fully
funded feature film,” and they’re “filling positions in all depart-
ments for shoot scheduled mid-April through early May, 2018.”
So what’s the project? They don’t actually tell you, but instead
refer you to a posting on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) for
“The Mortuary Collection,” with Ryan Spindell (pictured) listed as
the director/writer/producer (tinyurl.com/mortcoll). There’s not much
information to be gleaned unless you have an IMDbPro account.
However, a little sleuthing revealed that the film is produced
by Trapdoor Pictures, which is based in Los Angeles (trapdoor-
pictures.com). The website says, “Trapdoor pictures is Los Ange-
les-based production company with an emphasis on narrative
horror and dark fantasy content for film, television and the web.”
Interested in joining the crew for this film? Submit an email
inquiry and resume/work experience to crew.themortuarycollec-
tion@gmail.com
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
s much as the North Coast clamors to attract tourists, tour-
ism is not always a good thing. Case in point: Yahoo News
reports that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered that the island
of Boracay, in the Philippines, close April 26 for six months
to get cleaned up (tinyurl.com/messyisle). A beach at Boracay is
pictured, courtesy of Yahoo News.
Duterte has called the 3.98-square-mile island a “cesspool”
that could become a “fishpond or a sewer pool” if something
isn’t done about its deteriorating environment — largely caused
by a massive influx of tourists (2 million in 2017), which the
tiny island’s infrastructure is incapable of handling. For example,
more than 100 tons of garbage is generated daily, but the island
can only handle removing 30 tons.
Boracay is following the lead of Thailand’s Maya Bay, which is
also closing for six months to tackle the damages caused by tourism.
A
COMMUNITY NOTES
SATURDAY
Angora Hiking Club — 9 a.m.,
Lighthouse Park, 44 N. Main Ave.,
Warrenton. Hampton Lumber Mill tour
and Dike Walk. Membership is not re-
quired to participate. For information,
call Kathleen Hudson at 503-861-
2802 or go to angorahikingclub.org
Seniors Breakfast— 9 a.m. to
noon, Astoria Moose Lodge, 420
17th St. Breakfast is cooked to order
from the menu and includes coffee.
Cost is $5 for seniors 62 and older,
$7.50 for those younger than 62.
Breakfasts are open to the public.
Proceeds after expenses help sup-
port local and other charities.
Sit & Stitch — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.,
Homespun Quilts & Yarn, 108 10th St.
Bring knitting, crochet or other nee-
dlework projects to this community
stitching time. All skill levels welcome.
Detachment 1228 Marine
Corps League — noon, El Compa-
dre, 119 Main Ave., Warrenton. For
information, contact Lou Neubecker
at 503-717-0153.
Columbia Northwestern Mod-
el Railroading Club — 1 p.m., in
Hammond. Group runs trains on
HO-scale layout. For information,
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 astoriafiberarts.com
SUNDAY
Seniors Breakfast— 9 a.m. to
noon, Astoria Moose Lodge, 420
17th St. Breakfast is cooked to order
from the menu and includes coffee.
Cost is $5 for seniors 62 and older,
$7.50 for those younger than 62.
Breakfasts are open to the public.
Proceeds after expenses help sup-
port local and other charities.
Highway 26, Seaside. Participants
welcome to bring their own forge
and anvil setup. Metal available to
experiment with; coal is provided.
No charge, but donations to the
Camp 18 Loggers Memorial Muse-
um welcome. For information, con-
tact Mark Standley at 503-434-0148
or Herman Doty at 971-306-1043 or
ringinganvildesign@gmail.com
Blacksmith
Enthusiasts
Meet — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Camp
18 Blacksmith Shop, 42362 U.S.
National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI) Support Group — 2
to 3:30 p.m., Seaside Public Library,
1131 Broadway. Family to Family
Support Group, for anyone with friend
or loved one suffering from a serious
brain (mental) illness. For information,
contact Myra Kero at 503-738-6165, or
k7erowood@q.com, or go to nami.org
Line Dancing — 5:30 to 8 p.m.,
Seaside American Legion, 1315
Broadway. For information, call
503-738-5111. No cost; suggested
$5 tip to the instructor.
See NOTES, Page 4B