145TH YEAR, NO. 200 DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018 WILD WEATHER WEEKEND ONE DOLLAR Elk culling an option for public safety New pilot program offers a pathway By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Curt Atkinson takes photos of waves crashing against the cliffs at Cape Disappointment. GEARHART — A new state pilot pro- gram intended to control the urban deer pop- ulation could help cities like Gearhart cull the elk herds that roam the North Coast. Cities that declare deer a public nuisance can petition the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for help to reduce population levels starting next January. “It’s not specifically about elk,” Doug Cottam, the state wildlife division adminis- trator, said at a Gearhart City Council meet- ing last Wednesday. “It lays out a very good pathway for a community like this when considering something as controversial as lethally removing animals from an urban area.” The state has to adopt rules for how deer would be taken, but the law that created the pilot program specifies that darts or lethal injection are prohibited. Any deer harvested would be shared to the extent feasible with local food banks or other charities. See ELK, Page 5A Dan Cox stands on piled up logs at Cape Disappoint- ment to get a look at waves crashing against cliffs. Kess and Brenda Sandstrom maintain their balance in high winds at the South Jetty in Fort Stevens State Park. The Daily Astorian trong winds and rain soaked the North Coast over the weekend. The storm led to the postponement of the 30th annual Daily Astorian Invitational track meet on Saturday and prompted the Star Princess cruise ship to cancel a planned stop in Astoria on Sunday. The vessel was heading from San Francisco to Van- couver, British Columbia, and had been scheduled to stop in Astoria carrying up to 2,600 passengers. Bruce Conner, cruise ship marketer for the Port of Astoria, said the decision was made to stay at sea because of safety and scheduling concerns. “We figure any given cruise ship day, there are 150 people impacted,” he said. “This is kind of rare. I’m glad they gave us a couple days.” The track meet was rescheduled for today. The National Weather Service has issued a high wind watch for late tonight through Tuesday morning for beaches and headlands. Photographers try to capture photos of big waves at Cape Disappointment. A kite surfer catches some waves at Fort Stevens State Park as high winds pound the coast. S New sign honors Sikh in Astoria Ghadar Party wanted independence for India By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian A sign commemorating the history of East Indians in Astoria was stolen last year, but the rededication of a new plaque Sat- urday afternoon gave the city and the Sikh community a chance to re-examine their shared past and plan for the future. The sign — the one that was stolen in October and, now, its replacement — memo- rialized a history that had been long forgot- ten in Astoria and beyond. In some ways, this history is still playing out now in East Indian communities that have settled on the West Coast, speakers said at Saturday’s event. “We have something in our hearts that belonged to them,” said Bahadur Singh, president of a Sikh temple in Salem, the larg- est in Oregon, of those predominately male Sikh workers who came to Astoria in the early 20th century and founded the radical nationalist Ghadar Party, whose members fought for independence from British rule in India. Historian Johanna Ogden was among the state and city officials, including state Sen. Betsy Johnson, and representatives of regional Sikh communities who spoke at the rededication event. See SIKH, Page 7A Beauty gears up to direct the ‘Beast’ Old fairytale has relevance today By PATRICK WEBB For The Daily Astorian CHINOOK, Wash. — “Beauty and the Beast” may appear like a delightful chil- dren’s story, but its core mes- sage is deep. Brooke Flood is gear- ing up to direct the show on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. Auditions are next week and the show will open in July. The play is based on an old French Patrick Webb/For The Daily Astorian fairytale, but offers relevance about accep- Brooke Flood chats with the cast of ‘She Loves Me’ during rehears- tance in today’s social climate. At times the als for last year’s Peninsula Association of Performing Artists’ mu- villagers seethe with anger. One of the five sical in Chinook. This year she will direct ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ chorus pieces is called “The Mob Song.” They sing, “We don’t like what we don’t understand — and in fact it scares us. … Let’s kill the beast!” At an early rehearsal, Flood will share a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., “Dark- ness cannot drive out dark- ness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” “The real beast is Gaston,” she said, describing how the womanizing villain’s selfish behavior is condoned by an adoring pop- ulace so he acts as if entitled to take what- ever he wants. “The whole show is about finding the See PLAY, Page 7A