A5
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2022
Cascadia train on track for big bucks
OBITUARIES
Theodore Willard Swanson
By TOM BANSE
Northwest News Network
Naselle, Washington
May 30, 1929 — March 21, 2022
Theodore Willard Swanson was born on Logging. In his later years, he worked at the
May 30, 1929, in Rosburg, Washington, to Naselle Rock & Asphalt Co.
Theodore Swante Swanson and Litta Sadie
In 1980, Ted and Sally donated land and
(Knifong) Swanson. He passed
a building to house the Naselle
away on March 21, 2022, at his
Clinic. They were happy to be
home in Naselle, Washington.
able to help their community
The youngest son of eight chil-
by off ering a place for medical
dren, Teddy was the delight of his
services.
mom and six sisters, Lillian Whit-
A staunch Republican, Ted
ten, Olive Johnson, Lenore Soren-
could be found listening to Rush
son, Florence Cutsforth, Wilma
Limbaugh every day. He could
Clark Bond and Gloria Friddle
also be found enjoying happy hour
Clark. His brother, Willard, died
every afternoon. He loved hav-
before Teddy’s birth.
ing folks stop by for a visit and a
Teddy was raised on the Grays Theodore Swanson drink. Teddy loved his Tanqueray.
River at the Johnson & Swanson
He will be forever be remem-
shake mill. He grew up running on log rafts bered as “Bachi” to his 13 grandchildren
and fi nding daily mischief at the mill. Teddy and 14 great-grandchildren.
attended the brand new Rosburg School,
He was preceded in death by his six sis-
boating there daily with a few of his sisters ters; grandson, Carson Burkhalter (1998);
on board.
and his beloved wife, Sally (2020).
He was a school bus driver at the age of
Ted leaves behind his four children,
16. He graduated from Naselle High School Roxanne (Chuck) Hendrickson, Mike
in 1948. It was here that he found the love (Barb) Swanson, Mark (Karen) Swanson
of his life, Sally Sue Manula.
and Susan (Gary) Burkhalter.
After graduating, Ted enlisted in the
In his later years Ted accepted Jesus as
U.S. Air Force. He and Sally were married his savior.
in 1951, and moved to Sacramento, Califor-
There will be a memorial service for Ted
nia, where he was stationed. They moved and Sally at Valley Bible Church in Ros-
back to Naselle after Sally’s mother passed burg on April 9 at noon.
away, and they were needed to help care for
Memorial contributions may be made to
her 9-year-old brother, David.
the Carson Burkhalter Scholarship Fund, in
Ted and Sally settled in Naselle, where care of the Naselle-Grays River Education
they raised their four children. Ted worked Foundation, P.O. Box 12, Naselle, WA.,
in the logging industry with Grays River 98638.
John ‘Russell’ Graham
Warrenton
May 19, 1950 — March 24, 2022
John “Russell’’ Graham passed away Jenni (Ron) Lockwood, Kara (Sean)
peacefully in his sleep on March 24, 2022, DuRée, Dennis (Kristi) Graham, Cathie
at the age of 71.
(Don) Hogan, Joie (Brad) Bartruff , Janessa
Russ was born to John and
Graham and Debra Damico. He
Harriet Graham in Oakland, Cal-
is also survived by his siblings,
ifornia, on May 19, 1950. He
Linda (Rick) Barker and Glen
grew up in Hayward, Califor-
(Gail) Graham; grandchildren,
nia, where he attended Tenny-
Sharayah, Austin, Tommy-Lee,
son High School and enlisted in
Parker, Jasmine, Benjamin,
the U.S. Navy after graduating in
Elliot, Kendra, Alyssa, Gar-
1968.
ret, Emilee, Jaiden, Noley, Aus-
He was married to Darlene
tin, Gianni and Bonita; and four
Leger from May 1969 until 1985,
great-grandchildren, and three
and they had three children. He
more on the way.
John ‘Russell’
then married Rebecca Bartruff in
He is preceded in death by his
Graham
Vallejo, California, and with her
parents; sister, Dianthia Patter-
two daughters made a family of
son; and granddaughter, Tiana
seven.
Ballinger.
He moved the family up to Salem to be
Russ loved his family with all his heart
closer to Rebecca’s family. He spent his and was very proud of all of them.
life working as a computer engineer until
He was an avid reader in his earlier
the recession of 2007 hit, and he moved to years, and loved watching sci-fi movies and
Astoria to fi nd work. In 2014 he retired to TV shows. He also enjoyed spending time
Warrenton with his wife of 36 years and with his grandchildren as much as possible.
adopted daughter by his side.
A celebration of life ceremony will be
He is survived by his wife, Rebecca held at Peace First Lutheran Church, 725
Graham; his children and stepchildren, 33rd St. in Astoria on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
For more than fi ve years, Washington
state, Oregon and British Columbia have
collaborated on studies of a possible Cas-
cadia bullet train to run between Portland,
Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. This win-
ter, the Washington Legislature approved
money for yet more studies. But state law-
makers also set aside a much bigger sum to
attract federal support that could advance
the bullet train dream toward being
shovel-ready.
Project supporters envision a train with
a top speed of at least 250 mph operating on
a dedicated track. That could whisk travel-
ers from Vancouver to Seattle in one hour
and from Seattle to Portland in another
hour, in a climate-friendly manner to boot.
The top speed of Amtrak trains today
in the Pacifi c Northwest is 79 mph. Those
passenger trains are routinely delayed
by congestion on a mainline shared with
freight trains.
“Look at Spain. Look at France. Look
at Germany. Look at Italy. Look at China,
look at Japan,” said state Sen. Marko Liias,
D-Mukilteo, who serves as chair of the
Washington Senate Transportation Com-
mittee. “We’re not the fi rst ones to this
game. Candidly, we’re probably in the tail
end. We’re sort of getting in last into this
space following the lead of many of our
global competitors.”
Democrats in control of the Washing-
ton Legislature tucked $150 million into
a recently approved state transportation
infrastructure package for what they are
branding as “ultra-high speed rail.” Liias
said the goal is to attract four times as much
in matching dollars from the new federal
infrastructure law . If the federal Depart-
ment of Transportation gets onboard, that
could total up to $750 million to get a Cas-
cadia bullet train off the drawing board.
In an interview, Liias said such a sum
of money would allow the states and their
consultants to “do community outreach,
environmental work, designing and plan-
ning to get a signifi cant proposal in front of
decision makers in British Columbia, Ore-
gon and Washington and our federal fund-
ing partners.”
He added that the partners still need
to fi gure out how to pay the high cost of
right-of-way acquisition and actual con-
struction. A feasibility study completed in
2017 pegged the cost of building a Vancou-
ver-Seattle-Portland bullet train at between
$24 billion to $42 billion dollars depending
on how much tunneling is involved.
Skeptics are already raising cries of
“boondoggle” together with warnings to
heed what is happening in California. The
underway Los Angeles to Bay Area high-
speed rail project is suff ering from bal-
looning costs, slow construction and end-
This month, the Washington Legislature
allocated a surprisingly large sum to get high-
speed rail rolling so bullet trains like these seen
in Tokyo might one day traverse the Northwest.
less lawsuits.
“The $150 million is both a large sum
of money and also surprising,” said trans-
portation policy analyst Mariya Frost of
the conservative-leaning Washington Pol-
icy Center. “For me, it’s surprising because
the state has far bigger and more meaning-
ful priorities in maintaining existing roads
and building out the projects they promised
in (2015).”
Even within the community of rail
advocates, there are mixed opinions about
what track to take in Cascadia. Bill Moyer,
of Vashon Island, Washington, who co-au-
thored the book “Solutionary Rail,” said
he fears lawmakers have been seduced by
a bright, shiny object, meaning the bullet
train.
“It’s obscene,” Moyer said. “It really
takes all the oxygen out of the room for
off ering common sense solutions in a
timely manner.”
Moyer argued taxpayers and travel-
ers could get better bang for the buck and
environmental goals would be achieved
quicker by prioritizing improvements to
the existing Amtrak service.
Power players like Microsoft, Ama-
zon, Costco and governors past and pres-
ent are vocally backing the Cascadia bul-
let train proposal and sending thank-yous
to the Legislature.
Liias said an ideal outcome would be to
win federal funding for both a future bullet
train and upgrading existing Amtrak Cas-
cades service.
Washington state lawmakers put strings
on their bullet train down payment. The
$150 million in state money can’t be spent
unless it unlocks a federal match. It will
probably be another year before the Fed-
eral Railroad Administration divvies up the
billions in competitive grants for new pas-
senger rail projects across the nation.
In the meantime, the Washington Leg-
islature’s latest transportation budget
included a separate $4 million in state tax-
payer money to continue planning and out-
reach on ultra-high-speed rail contingent
on Oregon and British Columbia making
“meaningful fi nancial contributions.”
Pictured: The Rosebriar Mansion
Benedine Mary Cram
Seaside
May 23, 1944 — Dec. 29, 2021
Benedine Mary Cram, 77, loving wife, gardening.
mother, grandmother, great-grandmother,
She is preceded in death by her hus-
sister and aunt passed away peacefully in band, Douglas Cram; father, Carl Green;
her home on Dec. 29, 2021.
mother, Kathleen Benfi eld; step-
She was born to Carl and
father, Latt Benfi eld; daugh-
Kathleen Green on May 23,
ter, Carla Cram; granddaugh-
1944, in Tillamook.
ter, Chelsea Strickland; and her
She went through school in
brothers, Carl Green Jr. and Wil-
Tillamook, where she met the
liam Green.
love of her life, Douglas Cram.
She is survived by her son,
The couple married on June 9,
Robert (wife Dawn) Cram; seven
1962. They would go on to have
grandchildren; 14 great-grand-
two children, Robert and Carla,
children; her brothers, Leonard
whom they raised in Seaside.
Green, Gordon (wife Janet) Ben-
She worked for seafood can-
Benedine Cram
fi eld, Joseph (wife Pemina) Ben-
neries in Astoria for many years,
fi eld and Kenneth (wife Brenda)
and retired from Fred Meyer . She loved Benfi eld; and her sisters, Peggy Larson,
spending time with her large family and Kathleen Morgan and Traci (husband
hosting family gatherings. She enjoyed Rudith) Liboy.
stained glass, collecting antique glass and
A private memorial service will be held.
SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
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REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Seattle
50 38
50 41
54 40
Some sun, then
An a.m. shower
Mostly cloudy
clouds
or two
52 44
51 40
52 38
57 43
Clouds, showers A couple of
A couple of
Breezy with rain
around
showers
showers
Aberdeen
Olympia
53/42
53/40
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Tuesday
Tonight’s Sky: Before midnight,
emerging in the eastern horizon
is Spica, of Virgo.
Astoria / Port Docks
Temperatures
High/low ................................ 46/39
Normal high/low .................. 54/40
Record high .................. 73 in 1964
Record low .................... 28 in 1938
Precipitation
Tuesday ................................... Trace
Month to date ........................ 6.46”
Normal month to date ......... 7.44”
Year to date .......................... 25.48”
Normal year to date ........... 25.21”
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Time
1:34 a.m.
1:37 p.m.
8.2 7:46 a.m.
8.1 8:02 p.m.
Cape Disappointment
1:13 a.m.
1:15 p.m.
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Sunrise today .................. 6:58 a.m.
Sunset tonight ............... 7:43 p.m.
Moonrise today .............. 7:07 a.m.
Moonset today .............. 7:19 p.m.
New
First
Full
8.1 6:58 a.m.
8.1 7:14 p.m.
0.9
0.2
8.4 7:18 a.m.
8.5 7:32 p.m.
0.7
0.0
8.6 7:30 a.m.
8.4 7:46 p.m.
0.8
0.1
8.5 8:47 a.m.
8.3 9:03 p.m.
0.6
0.0
12:26 a.m. 8.2 6:27 a.m.
12:29 p.m. 8.2 6:42 p.m.
0.9
0.1
Hammond
SUN AND MOON
Last
1:23 a.m.
1:26 p.m.
Warrenton
1:29 a.m.
1:32 p.m.
Knappa
2:11 a.m.
2:14 p.m.
Depoe Bay
Mar 31 Apr 8 Apr 16 Apr 23
0.7
0.0
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Honolulu
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Wash., DC
Today
Hi/Lo/W
Fri.
Hi/Lo/W
75/48/pc
59/53/r
41/29/sh
71/46/s
62/34/pc
83/71/sh
78/52/s
66/53/pc
84/77/pc
67/54/t
81/59/pc
63/47/c
74/52/t
67/45/pc
60/36/sh
48/32/pc
74/52/s
57/31/pc
84/71/sh
81/58/pc
70/54/pc
87/75/t
58/39/pc
84/60/pc
64/47/s
60/37/pc
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy,
c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.
47/30
Kennewick Walla Walla
55/36 Lewiston
62/33
54/35
Hermiston
The Dalles 60/35
Enterprise
Pendleton 45/24
55/33
61/38
La Grande
49/28
56/37
NATIONAL CITIES
High (ft.) Time Low (ft.)
Pullman
60/31
55/38
Salem
52/33
Yakima 61/32
Longview
50/38 Portland
56/40
Spokane
57/34
54/37
55/37
Astoria
ALMANAC
Proceeds benefit the 2021/2022
“Operation School Bell” program that will
provide school appropriate clothing to over
700 children in need in Clatsop County.
Corvallis
56/35
Albany
55/34
John Day
Eugene
Bend
57/36
52/29
50/29
Ontario
59/32
Caldwell
Burns
52/22
57/30
Medford
62/35
Klamath Falls
55/24
City
Baker City
Brookings
Ilwaco
Newberg
Newport
Today
Hi/Lo/W
51/22/pc
57/43/c
50/40/sh
54/36/pc
50/37/c
Fri.
Hi/Lo/W
58/31/pc
58/45/pc
50/43/c
58/41/pc
50/41/c
City
North Bend
Roseburg
Seaside
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Today
Hi/Lo/W
53/39/c
58/37/pc
51/38/sh
55/36/c
55/39/c
Fri.
Hi/Lo/W
56/42/c
64/43/pc
50/43/c
61/42/pc
58/44/pc