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