A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2021
IN BRIEF
Tribes call for dam removals
Tribes across the Northwest are calling for immedi-
ate action to remove the four Lower Snake River dams.
During a two-day salmon and orca summit in western
Washington last week, the group called on President Joe
Biden and congressional members to “take bold action,
now.”
Many tribal leaders placed support behind Idaho
Republican Congressman Mike Simpson’s broad con-
cept to breach the dams while still fi nding ways to sup-
port the resulting holes in industries like energy develop-
ment and agricultural irrigation.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee spoke on the second day
of the conference, connected virtually from off site. He
continued to call for more talks on how to move forward
— at one point jumping in to tell Suquamish Chairman
Leonard Forsman, “We should have daily discussions.”
Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington
Democrat, have not signed on to Simpson’s $33.5 bil-
lion dollar concept. In May, they said solutions for the
Snake River dams controversy need more work.
During the conference, Inslee called this a “critical”
moment. Climate change, and the recent heat wave,
make the urgency even more apparent, he said.
“I believe we should be — and have to be — com-
mitted to getting down to business to defi ne what can
provide the services that these dams provide, so we can
take the next steps in this regional discussion ... to defi ne
how to replace these services so that we can build more
support in our communities to taking the next step in the
dam breaching discussion,” Inslee said.
He said that should happen “in the months ahead.”
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
DEATHS
July 12, 2021
In HANSEN,
Brief Eliza-
beth Jane “Bettie,” 99, of
Astoria, died in Astoria.
Deaths
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
July 10, 2021
KOSKELA, Lempi
Katri, 96, of Warren-
ton, died in Warrenton.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
July 9, 2021
DANIELS, John, 82,
of Astoria, died in Asto-
ria.
Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary is in charge of
the arrangements.
WHISLER, Samuel
Thomas, 26, of Warren-
ton, died in Warrenton.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
June 24, 2021
GROGAN, Merry, 67,
of Astoria, died in Asto-
ria.
Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary is in charge of
the arrangements.
SHIPLEY, Henry, 67,
of Seaside, died in Sea-
side.
Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary is in charge of
the arrangements.
MEMORIALS
Saturday, July 17
Memorials
FREESE,
Eugene
(Gene)
William
—
Memorial service at
11 a.m., Bethany Free
Lutheran Church, 451
34th St. For questions,
call or text 541-213-7763
or 949-462-4396.
LYONS,
Raphael
‘Stubby’ Jr. — Celebra-
tion of life at 11 a.m., at
the Seaside High School
football fi eld in Broad-
way Park.
SHOOP, Phillip (Phil)
George Sr. — Celebration
of life at 2 p.m., Clatsop
Post 12 American Legion,
1132 Exchange St.
Sunday, July 18
HUBLER, Esther Inga
— Memorial at 3 p.m.,
Westport Christian Cen-
ter, 91104 Hungry Hol-
low Loop in Westport.
ON THE RECORD
Theft
31, of Meridian, Idaho,
On
the
Record
• Terrance
D. Ford
Jr., was arrested Sunday near
of Santa Cruz, Califor-
nia, was arrested Satur-
day at Walmart in War-
renton for theft in the
second degree, crimi-
nal mischief in the third
degree and possession of
methamphetamine.
Disorderly conduct
• Madyson Lee Sower,
the entrance of the Astoria
Bridge for disorderly con-
duct in the second degree.
DUII
• Dereck Allen Batson,
40, of East Wenatchee,
Washington, was arrested
Sunday in Seaside for
driving under the infl u-
ence of intoxicants.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., Suite 209, 10 Pier 1.
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., work session, (elec-
tronic meeting).
Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., main fi re
station, 34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Clatsop Community College Board of Education,
6:30 p.m., (electronic meeting).
WEDNESDAY
Clatsop Soil and Water Conservation District Board,
10 a.m., (electronic meeting).
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., (elec-
tronic meeting).
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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A SUNDAY SAIL
Griffi n Reilly/The Astorian
Boats of a diff erent size were on display outside the Columbia River Maritime Museum on Sunday, as the Astoria Yacht Club
hosted remote control sailboat racing at the pond.
Astoria police offi cer remembered
as ‘over-the-top friendly guy’
Family, friends
say Whisler wanted
to help people
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
An Astoria police offi cer
died at home Friday.
Sam Whisler, 26, had
worked the graveyard shift
and returned home early in
the morning. His wife found
him dead in the home later
that day.
Astoria Police Chief Geoff
Spalding said it appears
Whisler died of natural
causes, though the exact rea-
son is still unknown. Fam-
ily members say Whisler suf-
fered from seizures as a child.
“It’s just a tremendous loss
for the department and his
family, and his law enforce-
ment family,” Spalding said.
Whisler was an “over-the-
top friendly guy,” the police
chief said.
The youngest in a large
family, Whisler was known
for both his genuine kindness
but also the pranks he liked to
pull on older siblings.
From an early age, he felt
drawn to a life in service. His
father, Mark Whisler, worked
for the Clatsop County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce for decades,
assigned for some time to the
county’s n arcotics t ask f orce.
Others in his extended fam-
ily had served in law enforce-
ment and the military.
When he was 13 , Sam
Whisler started volunteer-
ing with the s heriff ’s o ffi ce
search and rescue team.
He became an enforce-
ment cadet with the sheriff ’s
offi ce in 2013 and a reserve
deputy in 2017. He joined the
Astoria Police Department in
January 2020. He was also
Sam Whisler, shown at left, with his family, died at home on Friday.
a volunteer with the Gear-
hart Fire Department and a
lifeguard and rescue swim-
mer for the Seaside Fire
Department.
“We always knew he
would wear a uniform,” his
mother, Lisa Whisler, said.
“We just weren’t sure which
one.”
Whisler himself didn’t
seem to know. He thought
about pursuing a career as a
medic, fi refi ghter or police
offi cer.
He told his father , “I want
to help people. I’m just not
sure how yet.”
When the Astoria Police
Department hired him, every-
thing seemed to have come
together for him: wife, kids,
home and career.
“His life, in his eyes, was
complete,” said Amanda
Laird, his sister. “He had
everything he wanted.”
Whisler and his father had
brief conversations nearly
every day while he was driv-
ing to work. They would talk
about the previous day, the
calls he had responded to as a
police offi cer. It had become a
conversation between peers.
With the hiring of Whis-
ler and two other offi cers in
the p ast year and a half, the
Astoria Police Department
Marbled murrelet gets endangered status in Oregon
Climate change
among the factors
By DAVID STEVES
Oregon Public Broadcasting
A seabird that depends on
coastal old growth forests has
been designated for greater
endangered species protec-
tions in Oregon.
The Oregon Fish and
Wildlife Commission voted
Friday to reclassify the mar-
bled murrelet’s status from
threatened to endangered
under the Oregon Endan-
gered Species Act. The deci-
sion comes fi ve years after
a 2016 petition to uplist it
from its 1995 classifi cation as
threatened.
While it signals Oregon’s
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The
marbled
murrelet
has been listed under the
Endangered Species Act
since 1992. The latest studies
by federal researchers show
signifi cant population decline
in one range of its habitat.
offi cial position that the bird
needs greater protections to
avoid extinction, the com-
mission’s 4-2 vote triggers
only voluntary conservation
measures on the part of pri-
vate landowners.
Marbled murrelets spend
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was on its way to being at full
strength with 17 sworn offi -
cers for the fi rst time in years.
The department had lost
offi cers to retirement or other
job opportunities. All posi-
tive, normal things, Spalding
said, but he and Deputy Chief
Eric Halverson had just been
talking about how nice it was
to be up to the department’s
full strength.
Whisler was out of train-
ing and patrolling on his
own by the end of last year.
Though Whisler’s time with
the department was brief, the
community already loved
him and his upbeat, positive
personality, Spalding said.
A GoFundMe campaign
Laird organized to help sup-
port Whisler’s wife, Chris-
tin, and the couple’s children
hit its goal of $10,000 within
hours of launching. The cam-
paign had raised just over
$20,000 as of Monday.
Christin called “Sammy”
— her nickname for her hus-
band — the most compas-
sionate, non judgmental per-
son she had ever met. She felt
she could tell him anything,
even her darkest thoughts.
“I knew I would just
receive love,” she said. “No
matter what I was saying, I
just got back love.”
They would have been
married two years this
August and had one daughter
together. Whisler was also a
devoted and engaged stepfa-
ther for Christin’s 5-year-old
son.
In the days since Sam
Whisler died, Christin has
considered if she wants
to move away. She said
she’s already dismissed the
thought.
“To leave is to leave his
memory,” she said.
She wants to stay in the
home they shared, take a
shower in the same bath-
room, sleep in the same
bedroom.
The loss is fresh. Many of
the memories Sam Whisler’s
family reach for are more
sensory than story — simple,
even mundane moments, as
if his life has only paused.
Lisa Whisler thinks of his
smiles, his hugs, his face,
how he always loved to be
home and around his family.
“Let’s stay home sweet
home,” he used to tell her
when he was very young.
She sees his eyes when
she looks at his 2-year-old
daughter’s face.
Christin thinks about
the quiet weekends spent
at home, just her and Sam
and the kids hanging out in
the backyard, doing nothing
together.
“We could be sitting
nowhere with nothing going
on,” she said, “and we’d just
have the best time.”
The memory Mark Whis-
ler keeps thinking about is
being at his son’s house and
watching Sam walk down a
hallway. He’s watching Sam
at an angle from behind —
“just looking at this young
man, big and burly and
friendly as can be” — as he’s
walking away from him.
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much of their lives at sea, just
off the coast. But they nest
in the canopy of coastal, old
growth. That places the birds
among the Northwest’s more
controversy-stirring species,
caught between the drive to
conserve the region’s diver-
sity of wildlife and their nat-
ural habitat and the economic
benefi ts of resource-extract-
ing industries.
The commission, how-
ever, was barred from con-
sidering economics in deter-
mining whether to reclassify
the marbled murrelet. Fri-
day’s action represents an
acknowledgment that mar-
bled murrelets are in danger
of extinction within Oregon,
and that coastal, state-owned
and managed forests can help
with their conservation. The
vote also signals the need for
greater protections for the
murrelets than those in place
at the state and federal levels.
Commissioner
Greg
Wolley said the decision
“shouldn’t strike fear in peo-
ple’s hearts,” given that all
it does is require the Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife to
work collaboratively with
other state land management
agencies to develop and agree
on guidelines to prevent mar-
bled murrelet extinction.
“It’s not like some rules or
regulations are coming down
on high from somewhere and
telling everyone what to do,”
said Wolley, a program man-
ager with the city of Portland.
Most of the robin-sized
seabird’s population is lim-
ited to the northernmost
reaches of its historic breed-
ing range, which extends
south along the Pacifi c coast-
line from Alaska’s Aleutian
Islands to c entral California.
Murrelets’
survival
depends on old growth; they
build their nests in mossy
depressions in the branches
of large trees — the kind
of trees the logging indus-
try prizes. Densely-packed,
smaller trees in replanted for-
ests have not provided the
kind of habitat that murrelets
need to survive.