The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, April 05, 2022, Image 2

Historic Oregon Newspapers

The daily Astorian., April 05, 2022, Page 2, Image 2

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2022)

Prev Page of 14 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (1.4 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Prev Page of 14 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextA2 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2022 Freshwater mussels facing decline IN BRIEF Challenges include warming waters Place Matters conference to focus on climate change This year’s Place Matters conference will focus on the impacts of climate change in Clatsop County. The virtual event will take place from April 19 to April 21. Clatsop Community Health Advocacy Resource Team, or CHART, hosts the conference. The Place Matters Oregon project comes from the Oregon Health Authority. More information and registration is available online at Clatsop CHART’s website, clatsopchart.org. Astoria man charged after bicycle thefts Cyrus Galen Grabenhorst, 27, of Astoria, was charged on Thursday for a series of bike thefts from March. He allegedly stole a bike, worth about $2,000, oﬀ Harrison Avenue in Astoria. Grabenhorst then allegedly stole four more bikes — totaling about $13,400 in value — days later from a detached garage oﬀ Duane Street. For the initial case, he was charged with ﬁ rst-de- gree theft and violation of a release agreement. For the second case — which involved him ﬂ eeing police oﬃ cers trying to take him into custody — he was charged with second-degree burglary, second-de- gree theft, third-degree escape and two counts of tam- pering with evidence. All the bikes have been recovered, police said. — The Astorian DEATHS April 3, 2022 Deaths BOREN, Margaret, 86, of Warrenton, died in Warrenton. Ocean View Funeral & Cremation Ser- vice of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. April 2, 2022 JASPER, Ronald Les- ley, 88, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. MEMORIALS Wednesday, April 6 Memorials REYNOLDS, Liz — Graveside service at 2 p.m., Ocean View Cem- etery, 575 S.W. 18th St. in Warrenton. Reynolds, 70, of Seaside, died Thursday in Seaside. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. Saturday, April 9 SWANSON, Theo- dore Willard “Teddy” and Sally Sue (Manula) — Memorial at noon, Valley Bible Church, 4723 State Route 4 W. in Rosburg, Washington. Assault • Samuel Alvin Dar- On Record • Toni the Lee Ramvick, ling, 47, of Portland, was indicted on Wednesday for second-degree bur- glary, ﬁ rst-degree theft and second-degree crim- inal mischief. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in January 2021. DUII • Ashley Anne Wilkins, 34, of Astoria, was arrested on March 23 on Lewis and Clark Road for driving under the inﬂ uence of intoxicants. PUBLIC MEETINGS TUESDAY PUBLIC MEETINGS Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., 10 Pier 1, Suite 209. Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m, 1131 Broadway. Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., (electronic meeting). Clatsop County Fair Board, 5:30 p.m., 92937 Walluski Loop, Astoria. Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E Gower Ave. WEDNESDAY Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 10 a.m., work session, (electronic meeting). Warrenton Community Library Board, 6 p.m., special meeting, City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Clatsop Community College Board and Foundation, 6 p.m., Columbia 219, 1651 Lexington Ave, Astoria. Warrenton-Hammond School District Board, 6 p.m., work session, Warrenton High School Library, 1700 S. Main Ave. Knappa School District Board, 6:30 p.m., work session, Knappa High School Library, 41535 Old U.S. Highway 30. Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 698 Paciﬁ c Way. THURSDAY Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com The Northwest’s fresh- water mussels are in trouble, rapidly declining in almost every population biologists study. Take 2005, when biolo- gists counted historic num- bers of freshwater mus- sels in the North Fork of the John Day River. They counted around 500 mus- sels per meter squared, sim- ilar to what Lewis and Clark noted on their westward expedition. “They said you couldn’t step into the river without stepping on 100 mussels,” said Alexa Maine, the lead biologist for the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Fresh- water Mussel Research and Restoration Project. By 2007, every mussel in the North Fork of the John Day River was gone, Maine said. “When mussels start dying en masse like we see now, that, to me, signals there’s a greater issue going on that we’re not yet recog- nizing,” Maine said. Biologists aren’t sure what’s going on. They’re working to ﬁ gure it out quickly. Freshwater mussels face challenges that include warming waters caused by climate change, an abun- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service A western ridged mussel in the Chehalis River. dance of non native ﬁ sh spe- cies, habitat destruction and pollution. In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking a closer look at one species of freshwater mussels, the western ridged mussel. The service conducted a 90-day initial assessment that found western ridged mussels might be a good candidate for the Endan- gered Species List. Now, the service will take an even closer inspection, known as a species status assessment, of the western ridged mussel throughout the ﬁ ve states in its range, including in Oregon, Wash- ington and Idaho. The assessment will help researchers learn more about the western ridged mussel’s life history and current con- ditions. In addition, the assessment will predict what the future might look like for the western ridged mussel. Only a handful of fresh- water mussels can be found in the West, compared to the up to 300 species found east of the Continental Divide, Maine said. “It’s pretty diﬃ cult these days to ﬁ nd two species in one location together, let alone a population that is what we call self-sustain- ing,” Maine said of mussels in the West. Freshwater mussels, which live 60 to 100 years, clean the rivers and streams where they’re found. One mussel can clean 10 gallons of water in around 30 min- utes, said Courtney Newlon, a ﬁ sh and wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service. “The mussels do a lot of work behind the scenes, such as maintaining water qual- ity, ﬁ ltering out sediments like pollutants and bacteria, Washington approves ﬁ rst statewide missing Indigenous people alert By GILLIAN FLACCUS and TED S. WARREN Associated Press ON THE RECORD 38, an inmate of the Clat- sop County Jail, was arrested on Thursday at the jail for assaulting a public safety oﬃ cer. Burglary • Kyle Brandon Bean, 41, of Stevenson, Wash- ington, was indicted on Friday for ﬁ rst-degree burglary and ﬁ rst-degree criminal trespass. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in February 2021. By COURTNEY FLATT Northwest News Network and they provide food and habitat for other aquatic spe- cies,” Newlon said. As a species that these ecosystems depend on, known as a keystone spe- cies, freshwater mussels could be an indicator that not all is well in Northwest- ern waters, Maine said. “I think mussels are part of this larger picture of envi- ronmental decline and spe- cies destruction and all of that that’s happening,” she said. Moreover, tribes used mussel shells as a cultural resource in jewelry and ornamentation, Maine said. Historically, tribes consid- ered freshwater mussels a ﬁ rst food — a staple food source — boiling and dry- ing them to eat in the winter, Maine said. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation heads up the only project dedicated to breed- ing and restoring freshwater mussels in the West. For that project, Maine snorkels rivers within the tribe’s ceded lands, scouring the riverbeds for what might at ﬁ rst appear to be a rock but instead is a freshwater mussel. After ﬁ nding many mus- sels that haven’t reproduced, she said she wonders if she’s watching elder mussels die out over decades. “Mussels are now screaming, saying, ‘Help us do something, there’s some- thing going on,’” Maine said. Circulation phone number: 800-781-3214 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2022 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Printed on recycled paper TULALIP, Wash. — Washington Gov. Jay Ins- lee on Thursday signed into law a bill that creates a ﬁ rst-in-the-nation statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people, to help address a silent crisis that has plagued Indian Country in this state and nationwide. The law sets up a sys- tem similar to Amber Alerts and so-called silver alerts, which are used for miss- ing children and vulnerable adults in many states. It was spearheaded by Democratic state Rep. Debra Lekanoﬀ , the only Native American lawmaker serving in the state Legislature, and cham- pioned by Indigenous lead- ers statewide. “I am proud to say that the Missing and Mur- dered Indigenous Wom- en’s and People’s Alert Sys- tem came from the voices of our Native American lead- ers,” said Lekanoﬀ , a mem- ber of the Tlingit tribe and the bill’s chief sponsor. “It’s not just an Indian issue. It’s not just an Indian responsi- bility. Our sisters, our aun- ties, our grandmothers are going missing every day ... and it’s been going on for far too long.” Tribal leaders, many of them women, wore tra- ditional hats woven from cedar as they gathered around Inslee for the sign- ing on the Tulalip Reserva- tion, north of Seattle. After- ward they gifted him with a handmade traditional ribbon shirt and several multicol- ored woven blankets. The law attempts to address a crisis of missing Indigenous people — partic- ularly women — in Wash- ington and across the United States. While it includes missing men, women and children, a summary of pub- lic testimony on the legis- lation notes that “the crisis began as a women’s issue, and it remains primarily a women’s issue.” Besides notifying law Ted S. Warren/AP Photo Monie Ordonia, second from left, of the Tulalip Indian Tribe, joins others in singing an honor song after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill that creates a ﬁ rst-in-the-nation statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people, particularly women. ‘WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS BRINGING THEM HOME, WHETHER THEY’VE BEEN TRAFFICKED, WHETHER THEY’VE BEEN STOLEN OR MURDERED. IT’S A WOUND THAT STAYS OPEN, AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE PRAY WITH (FOR) EACH PERSON, WE CAN BRING THEM HOME.’ Teri Gobin | Tulalip Tribes of Washington chairwoman enforcement when there’s a report of a missing Indige- nous person, the new alert system will place messages on highway reader boards and on the radio and social media, and provide infor- mation to the news media. The legislation was paired with another bill Ins- lee, a Democrat, signed Thursday that requires county coroners or medi- cal examiners to take steps to identify and notify fam- ily members of murdered Indigenous people and return their remains. That new law also establishes two grant funds for Indig- enous survivors of human Subscription rates Eﬀ ective January 12, 2021 MAIL EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$10.75 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25 WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 traﬃ cking. This piece of the cri- sis is important because in many cases murdered Indigenous women are mis- takenly recorded as white or Hispanic by coroners’ oﬃ ces, they’re never identi- ﬁ ed, or their remains never repatriated. A 2021 report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Oﬃ ce found the true number of miss- ing and murdered Indige- nous women in the U.S. is unknown due to reporting problems, distrust of law enforcement and jurisdic- tional conﬂ icts. But Native American women face mur- der rates almost three times those of white women over- all — and up to 10 times the national average in certain locations, according to a 2021 summary of the exist- ing research by the National Congress of American Indi- ans. More than 80% have experienced violence. In Washington, more than four times as many Indigenous women go miss- ing than white women, according to research con- ducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle, but many such cases receive little or no media attention. The bill signing began with a traditional welcome song passed down by Harri- ette Shelton Dover, a cher- ished cultural leader and storyteller. Dover recovered and shared many traditions and songs from tribes along Washington’s northern Paciﬁ c Coast and worked with linguists before her death in 1991 to preserve her language, Lushootseed, from extinction. Women performed an honor song after the event. Tulalip Tribes of Wash- ington Chairwoman Teri Gobin said Washington and Montana are the two states with the most miss- ing Indigenous people in the U.S. Nearly four dozen Native people are currently missing in Seattle alone, she said. “What’s the most import- ant thing is bringing them home, whether they’ve been traﬃ cked, whether they’ve been stolen or murdered,” she said. “It’s a wound that stays open, and it’s some- thing that we pray with (for) each person, we can bring them home.”