A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019
Sons of Beaches 4x4 club rescues
stranded semi-truck from ocean
IN BRIEF
Convicted child abuser
dies in prison
Carl Axel Hagnas, who was sentenced in Jan-
uary to six years in prison for sexually abusing
three young girls in Clatsop County, died Thurs-
day morning at Snake River Correctional Institution
in Ontario, according to the Oregon Department of
Corrections.
The cause of death has not been released.
Hagnas, 70, was known as the “candy man” for
passing out treats to children. He was a community
volunteer and cleaned the Ocean View Cemetery in
Warrenton, which is where some of the abuse took
place.
Log truck rolls over
on Highway 202
A log truck headed westbound on state Highway
202 rolled over Friday morning near Olney Avenue.
Police said the crash happened after the driver
drove around a tight curve.
For unknown reasons, the logs shifted to the left
and rolled the semi onto the driver’s side. The high-
way was closed for several hours.
The driver had minor injuries.
Ransom scam phone calls reported
Two incidents of ransom scam calls were recently
reported to the Warrenton Police Department.
The scams involved the caller saying they have
kidnapped the victim’s child or loved one and will
release them for money. The caller was reportedly
yelling and someone was screaming in the back-
ground, creating a tense atmosphere.
Police urge people who receive this call to try to
slow the situation down, try to fi gure out where the
loved one is located and contact police.
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
The Oregonian
The Clatsop County
Sons of Beaches 4x4 club
is used to getting called
out to the shore to help pull
things out of the water. But
on Wednesday, the group of
all-terrain enthusiasts got a
surprise: a semi truck was
stranded in the ocean, and
the driver needed their help
to pull the truck out.
Ben Doney, a member of
the club, said the driver had
driven his semi-truck cab
onto Sunset Beach and been
surprised by a quickly ris-
ing tide.
“Apparently he had
driven it out to get a couple
pictures of the truck on the
beach,” Doney said. Though
there are warning signs
along the beach, Doney
said, vehicles can drive on
that portion .
“There’s no sign that
says not to bring a semi onto
Ben Doney
A semi-truck was stranded on Sunset Beach on Wednesday.
the beach,” he said.
With the tide coming in,
the 4x4 club quickly hooked
two winch lines to the truck
and used a Jeep and a super-
duty truck to pull the semi
to safety.
Doney said the driver
stayed inside the cab to steer
and help them get the semi
out.
Getting the truck out of
the water quickly was cru-
cial not only for the driver’s
safety, Doney said, but also
to keep contaminants, such
as fuel, from getting into the
water.
Though a 20,000-pound
vehicle was new territory
for the 4x4 club, members
often help rescue stranded
vehicles from the beach.
Doney said the club does a
lot of recreational activities,
but some of the members
comprise the “shore patrol,”
and have gone through
training similar to tow truck
drivers.
“None of the tow trucks
go out onto the sand, because
they’re not equipped for it,”
Doney said. “So that’s when
law enforcement will call
us.”
The group is all-volun-
teer and doesn’t charge for
rescues, Doney said.
Construction work extended
until January at North Jetty
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will extend
construction on the mouth of the Columbia River’s
North Jetty to Jan. 1.
The original plan was to reopen the area and road
on Nov. 1, but the project has taken longer than pre-
viously anticipated.
The jetty, North Jetty Road and nearby parking
lots will remain closed to the public until January.
Benson and Waikiki beaches will remain open.
Ecola State Park will close
for tree removal
Ecola State Park will close Monday through Fri-
day while crews remove trees that could pose a haz-
ard along the entrance road.
Park rangers will be working with crews from the
Oregon Department of Corrections to remove dead,
diseased and unstable trees.
— The Astorian
DEATHS
Oct. 30, 2019
JENSEN, Romaine,
90, of Astoria, died in
Warrenton. Hughes-Ran-
som Mortuary is in charge
of the arrangements.
Oct. 29, 2019
McMACKEN, David,
75, of Astoria, died in
Astoria. Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary is in charge of
the arrangements.
The Dungeness crab season pumps millions of dollars into the Pacifi c Northwest’s coastal economy.
Dungeness crab ‘meating up’
at their slowest rate in years
Troubling signs off
Washington coast
Chinook Observer
BIRTH
Sept. 12, 2019
SUITS, Sarah and Chris, of Astoria, a boy, Ezekiel
Christopher Suits, born at Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital in Astoria.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council,
7 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
TUESDAY
Seaside Community Cen-
ter Commission meeting,
10:30 a.m., Bob Chisholm
Center, 1225 Avenue A.
Port of Astoria Commis-
sion, 4 p.m., Port offi ces, 10
Pier 1 Suite 209.
Seaside Library Board,
4:30 p.m., Seaside Public
Library, 1131 Broadway.
Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District,
5:15 p.m., workshop, Bob
Chisholm Center, 1225
Avenue A.
Miles Crossing Sanitary
Sewer District Board,
6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway
101 Business.
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DailyAstorian.com
LONG BEACH, Wash.
— Dungeness crab in Long
Beach Peninsula waters
have the lowest percent-
age of meat in at least fi ve
years of late-October test-
ing. More than 85% of local
crab also are too soft to com-
mercially harvest.
This is bad news for the
traditional Dec. 1 open-
ing date, which has often
proved illusory in the past
two decades.
Samples gathered Oct. 23
in the Long Beach test area
had a meat-recovery rate
of 19.1%. This compares
to 20.9% in 2018, 19.9%
in 2017, 23% in 2016 and
23.8% in 2015.
Samples from the West-
port area collected on Oct.
24 had a recovery rate of
21%, compared to 19.7% in
2018, 20.2% in 2017, 22.9%
in 2016 and 24% in 2015.
All areas must be at least
23% before a commercial
Pick
domoic acid, which crab
ingest from clams and other
things they eat. No domoic
testing will be conducted on
crab until November. Tests
on Washington razor clams
this autumn have found little
cause for concern.
Washington’s most lucra-
tive commercial Dunge-
ness crab area from Klipsan
Beach south to the Columbia
River has opened on its tra-
ditional Dec. 1 date in only
seven of the past 19 years,
most recently for the 2014-
15 season.
Before that, there was a
run of fi ve Dec. 1 start dates
from the 2006-2007 season
through the 2010-2011 sea-
son. The season also started
Dec. 1 for the 2003-2004
season. The 2017-18 season
had the latest start ever: Jan.
15, 2018. Last season got
underway on Jan. 4, 2019.
Only Washington exer-
cised the option per the t ri-
s tate a greement with Oregon
and California to conduct
an October test. Oregon
and California plan tests in
November.
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Week
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
Nova
COPYRIGHT ©
Entire contents © Copyright,
2019 by The Astorian.
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
3 year old Yellow Lab/
Sheperd Blend
Blissfully robust and
outgoing, Nova will be
perfect for giggling games
in a heap of leaves.
Printed on
recycled paper
Subscription rates
Eff ective May 1, 2019
MAIL (IN COUNTY)
EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25
13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00
26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00
52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00
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Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214
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of the
Shell conditions were
slightly better off Westport
as of Oct. 24, with 2.4%
grade 1A and 17.4% grade
1B. This means more than
80% of Westport crab are
currently unmarketable.
Harvesting crab before
they are at their best results
in a lower price. This has
a major impact on profi ts
for the entire season, since
around three-quarters of
crab are caught in the sea-
son’s opening weeks.
Dungeness crab typically
are the most valuable fi sh-
ery in Washington state and
Oregon.
Local crabbers and their
families always hope for
a hefty paycheck or two
before the Christmas hol-
idays. Season-start delays
are more common than not,
however.
Besides not reaching the
23% meat requirement, sea-
son starts also are sometimes
delayed due to price negotia-
tions with processors. Some
recent seasons have faced
delays due to the presence
in crab of the marine toxin
WANTED
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MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF
CIRCULATIONS, INC.
crabbing season can com-
mence under terms of the
t ri-s tate protocol that gov-
erns crabbing in the waters
of Washington state, Oregon
and California.
In another potential prob-
lem for a timely season start,
Washington coast crab are
especially slow to harden
this autumn.
In Long Beach waters on
Oct. 23, only 2.4% of sam-
pled crab were in the high-
est 1A shell grade and 11%
in the less desirable but still
acceptable grade 1B. In late
October last year, 15.3%
were either grade 1A or 1B,
and 34.7% were good grades
in 2017.
Grade II crab — with
some fl ex in both body and
legs — are unmarketable.
The Oct. 23 testing found
86.6% of Long Beach crab
to be grade II, slightly worse
than last year’s 84.8%. Tests
in October 2017 found
65.3% were grade II. These
past three rounds of October
tests are lousy when stacked
up against only 25.7% grade
II in 2016 and 38.9% in
2015.
Sponsored
By
C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER
1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS
www.dogsncats.org
Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat
Bethany Free Lutheran Church
Fall Festival
Sunday, November 3 rd , 5 p.m.
Program of music and sharing about
Alaska, followed by food and fellowship.
451 34th Street • 503-325-2925