4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager Water under the bridge JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager The Chamber of Commerce is asking opinions of its members this week on a solution for down- town highway congestion. A special chamber committee has been study- ing the problem for several weeks, particularly with respect to possible rerouting of the highway through the Astoria business district. Howard Hendricks is chairman. Compiled by Bob Duke From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers Work is progressing at the Northwest Aluminum com- pany’s plant site as much as weather permits. Construction West equipment is working on drainage of a gulch in the northwest corner of the 200-acre cleared tract. Construction West officials said it is still too wet under the earth surface for real grading work to start, but drying is progressing fast. 10 years ago this week — 2008 Leaders of a revolutionary project in oceanography have spent the past year drafting designs for an ocean observatory off the Pacific Northwest coast. Now, the team of experts at the University of Washington has preliminary approval to build their elaborate underwater research lab, part of which will use power and bandwidth from Warrenton to study the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Program Director John Delaney, an oceanography profes- sor at UW, toured the Oregon Coast this week with assistant director Michael Kelly and project manager Pete Barletto to discuss their vision with community members. The project would install powerful fiberoptic cables on the seafloor, allowing scientists to deploy robots, cameras and sensors to study underwater biology, chemistry and geology in greater detail then before. While there’s little evidence today, salmon once ran so thick down the Skipanon you could cross the river walking on their backs. Old-timers say the fish were so fat and juicy, they could satisfy a farmer’s livestock. Wild stocks may never return to the abundance of local lore, but Warrenton High School students are working to bring salmon back to a place they haven’t lived for decades: the Skipanon River. “See How They Run: WHS Fisheries Project” has students rearing fish, tracking their migra- tion patterns and measuring their effects on the Skipanon River ecosystem. The idea is to develop specific school programs related to salmon hatch- ing, nurturing and growth, working closely with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries biologists. A new Australian reel, first of its kind to be sent from Australia to the U.S., will be on display in Cannon Beach when the Volunteer Beach Patrol here dedicates a new rescue truck Saturday after- noon to the memory of the late Delno McCoy. The rescue reel is aluminum, on a stainless steel frame, and has 45 yards of line that a swimmer can carry into the surf to attach to a person in distress. 75 years ago — 1943 1968 — Kirby Grant, idol of millions of younger tele- vision viewers as “Sky King,” will star Wednesday at two performances of the four-ring Carson and Barnes circus in Tapiola park. 50 years ago — 1968 Victor Ogunnubi, a 21-year-old Nigerian, is a world traveler and he likes Astoria better than any other place he’s been. “The people in Astoria are much more friendly than they are on the east coast and in England and in other parts of the world. Astoria’s much more of a ‘community’ city,” Ogun- nubi said Monday. The African has just finished spring term at Clatsop Community college. He plans to work in a fish cannery this summer, then enroll at a California college in the fall. It’s fortunate Ogunnubi likes Astoria, because he’s somewhat stranded here. The most hectic week’s business in local shoe store his- tory is coming to a close today with footwear emporiums still swamped with customers, who have forced the locking of shoe store doors several times in the past few days, when their numbers taxed the facilities of establishments. “We’ve done a normal month’s business in the last six days,” declared a Commercial Street shoe man. “What does it mean? Well, your guess is as good as ours. We proba- bly won’t be able to replenish our stocks to the point where they were before the rush began. We may just sell what we’ve got and then out to the shipyard.” Similar conditions in the shoe business here are under- stood to exist in all parts of the country. The meat supply situation in Astoria is again approaching the critical stage today as retail meat operators comb the countryside to secure beef to replenish their scant stocks and deluge the whole- sale meat establishments with inquiries about when they may expect to be able to buy something in the more regular trade channels. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR This is America? n June 14, the U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders both attempted, on national TV, to justify, by using the Bible, the current administration’s new policy of taking innocent children away from their parents, and incarcerating them in South Texas detention centers. Hot! Got it? In the U.S. today, there are thousands of church groups who claim to follow the Bible; so which denomination, group or individual’s interpretation of the Bible is being used to jus- tify this horrific action? Here’s a hint: It’s not the church I attend. This seems to me to be a clear violation of America’s 242 years of separation of church and state. One of the reasons the founding fathers wrote the Constitution carefully was to avoid this danger. Lock ’em up. Does that sound familiar? Using the Bible in a way that clearly hurts others (especially children), seems contrary to the central theme of the Bible, which is love and specifically, the second greatest command- ment, “thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39). I’m curious how Bible-thumping govern- ment officials justify this new policy of incar- cerating children, who are guilty of no crime, to their own children. If it were their children being incarcerated, would they believe in this inhumane policy as fervently as they talk like they do? If the government really wants to quote the Bible on this issue, then they might try the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) CARL DOMINEY Astoria O An invitation to earthly heaven would encourage you to enjoy my “trail of surprises.” I enter the Warrenton Water- front Trail at Seventh Place and Main Avenue. I follow the trail north to what I refer to as my Walden Pond. It’s a pond that forms as Alder Creek flows into the Columbia River. There are comfortable benches that are stra- tegically located for perfect viewing. Usu- ally, on my morning jaunts I see deer, elk and eagles, and occasionally a ship or fishing boat traversing the mighty Columbia. However, on this morning, I was treated to an unusual performance by our Creator’s cre- ation — a kingfisher was hovering over my Walden Pond, then spotting a fish and div- ing in for a catch. Nearby was a beautiful blue heron stalking in a few feet of water, seeking its morning breakfast. All of a sudden, a playful otter surfaced, and the kingfisher made a dive for it as though say- ing “this is my territory, stay out of it.” To top it off, out of seeming nowhere, a coyote came sneaking out on the sand flats seeking its prey. In addition to all the wild creatures, there was an array of beautiful foxgloves, salmon berries and snow on the mountains in full bloom. As a bonus, you get the aroma of nature I and almost pure oxygen to fill your lungs. “O Lord, how great are thy works!” (Psalms 92:5) Why not treat yourself to the beauty, won- der and peace of a visit to the Warrenton Water- front Trail? JIM BERNARD Warrenton We are not those kind of people y father was an immigrant. He came to this country and could not speak English. He learned English, and built busi- nesses that hired people. This was the coun- try of opportunity for those “tempest tossed” foreigners who were looking for freedom and opportunity. Our country seems to be mimicking the period of time in Germany, when the German citizenry silently lost freedom after freedom and then went to war. Attorney General Jeff Sessions joined in this right-wing circus when he quoted the Bible with a passage that was used by the folks who brought us apartheid, slavery and the Holo- caust. We are not those kind of people. We are Americans. I also take umbrage with the Christians who support President Donald Trump. That means they support lying, debauchery, sleazy business practices, abject racism and more. I don’t understand this at all. It does not seem to fall within the beliefs of true Christians. I remember hearing a saying … “The only thing about Christianity is that it hasn’t been tried.” I’m beginning to think that may be true. Would Trump and Sessions subject their precious and pampered grandchildren to M this treatment at the border of abuse and mistreatment? This last Saturday was the 143rd day of this presidency that Trump golfed. Write letters, contact Congress, talk to your neighbors, join protests, vote and thank Sen. Jeff Merkley. We shall overcome. MARY TANGUAY WEBB Astoria Our president is proving himself untrustworthy resident Donald Trump is a liar. He can- not be believed. Over 3,000 of Trump’s lies have been documented in a period of 466 days, according to CNN (cnn.it/2jyODPP). That is six or seven lies a day that Trump has made in the execution of his office as president of the U.S. To blatantly accept his lying, as a fair number of Americans do, does not bode well for our country. It is almost as if Trump sees his survival in the defeat of truth. To be Trump is to swear allegiance to falsity. To be in his administration is to promote his falsity and deny truth. Lying is not a virtue. Liars lose trust and fidelity. Our president is proving himself untrust- worthy. When the president of the U.S. can- not be trusted, then America’s standing in the world is weakened. What will happen to the loyalty and sup- port of America’s allies, as they are lied to constantly? What will become of our nation, as it P accepts Trump’s lies as truth? DARRELL CLUKEY Cannon Beach Confession of a sea lover have always loved the sea. I have seen the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediter- ranean and the Caribbean, but most of all, the Pacific. I have had a love affair with the Pacific Ocean, from the Gulf of Alaska to San Diego, for almost all my life. I have loved the changing beauty of the Pacific Ocean — the tides, the angry ocean and the still waters. I have loved the birds, especially the gulls, the fish, the animals and the other life of the sea. I have loved the ships and different boats, the wharf, the bridges and the beaches. But with all my love I have a problem: a fear of being on the sea. To me, there is a dif- ference between having a fear of, and a respect for, the sea. I have both. Not that I haven’t sailed in different boats. I have sailed in the waters of Alaska from Gustavus to Haines (Inside Passage), much of this trip in a fetal position from seasickness. I have sailed to land near Homer, Alaska. I have been fishing off Cozumel, Mexico, again getting seasick. I have gone on cruise ships. These don’t count. Now I have a chance to sail around the world. I probably will not do this, although it would be the envy of many people. What I will gratefully do instead of sailing is love the sea, and look at Young’s Bay from my deck in Astoria. Hopefully, some of my ashes will go to sea. NORM HOOGE Astoria I