Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com August 26, 2015 Foster works to brighten clouds By Rob Ruth Wallowa County Chieftain Don’t bother asking Jack Foster what he likes to do to stay active in his retirement years. He may be 79, but the 1953 Joseph High School grad’s weekday routine bears an un- canny resemblance to the things he did during his decades as a very highly skilled professional working for a paycheck. Foster, a physicist who lives in Los Altos, Calif., is still putting in time — close to a full-time schedule, in fact — at a Sunnyvale, Calif., lab, working with a team of other retirement-age Silicon Valley scientists. All are volunteers on a project to help slow global warming by developing a pro- cess and associated device for “brightening” clouds. The project was the subject of a front-page news article by science reporter Lisa M. Krieg- er in the Sunday, July 12, issue of the San Jose Mercury News (see tinyurl.com/nwp2tq8). As the article explains, the Ma- rine Cloud Brightening Project has a device designed to create “perfectly suspended droplets of water resembling fog,” and, although the device will be test- ed soon, the intent is to deploy it only as one of humanity’s last resorts if the global warming problem gets too far out of hand many years from now. That’s because tinkering with cloud cover — in this case, creating something that reÀects solar radiation back into the upper atmosphere — is a very Courtesy photo/LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group Aqua Metrology Systems’ Armand Neukermans, 73, background left, and engineer Jack Foster, 79, right, check the operations of a cloud condensation nuclei droplet spraying system prototype during a test to measure droplet particles at Aqua Metrology Systems in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. dicey proposition. Currently, there’s no decision-making pro- tocol among governments, both here and abroad, for pulling any triggers on climate alteration. Still, the team at Sunnyvale, which will reportedly test its de- vice with oversight from atmo- spheric science experts from the University of Washington, has been working on this process for seven years. Foster, the team’s oldest member, is no stranger to push- ing the technological envelope. After his 1958 graduation from Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degree in mechani- cal engineering and physics, he moved to California for a job at Sandia Laboratories (known today as Sandia National Lab- oratories) — working in what he casually describes as “the nuclear weapons business.” Later he went to work for Syl- vania, where he helped develop high-powered lasers for cutting and welding, and among other stops thereafter was a memo- rable stint at Hewlett Packard Labs in the early 1970s. As his career progressed, Foster continued working with lasers, earning his PhD at UC-Berkeley along the way, and today he holds 22 patents. He has been involved in every- thing from engineering design for nuclear warheads (“and that’s what kept me out of being drafted,” he recalls) to pitching in on development of supermar- kets’ ¿rst generation of check- out scanners. All this seems a long way from the rural Joseph farm of parents Lyle and Etha (Laird) Foster where Jack grew up. During his childhood, Jack didn’t harbor many thoughts about becoming a scientist. “I didn’t have wonderful grades because I worked all the time,” he said. “I was never real- ly a genius.” Although Jack says he was unremarkable (“just a regular kid”), younger sister Joan Nash, who still resides in Wallowa County, remembers a differ- ent version of her brother. “He was studious ... He was good at school.” She concludes, “I’m not surprised he did what he did.” Jack will allow, however, that farm life did help develop some resourcefulness. “I learned that on the farm we had to ¿x everything with baling wire,” he says. Foster also credits a math teacher at Joseph High School — a Mr. Ingram (Foster doesn’t remember Ingram’s ¿rst name) — for pointing him in a good lifelong direction. “He suggest- ed that I should be an engineer.” Foster doesn’t remember if that was in his freshman or sophomore year, but it was early enough to get himself on track for college. Even after he reached OSU, though, the going still wasn’t easy, especially in his freshman year. “I was way behind all the other students in engineering, so it was pretty tough that ¿rst year,” Foster recalled. He worked all his way through his undergraduate schooling. One of his jobs was washing dishes. All the work has been worth it, and Jack thinks people can draw inspiration from his tale. “You can be living on a farm and have hardly anything, and (later) you can get to work on all kinds of exciting things in his- tory,” he said. And his work to possibly make history continues in a big way, on a cloud bright- ening project he acknowledges is one “to try to save the world.” A3 AARP Smart Driver course slated An AARP Smart Driver re- fresher course will be taught beginning at 8:45 a.m. Sept. 16 at Wallowa County Senior Center, 702 NW 1st Street in Enterprise. If you are a member of AARP, bring your member- ship card for a discount on the cost of the course. The course is open to drivers of all ages, and costs $15 for AARP members and $20 for non-members. Certi¿ed volunteer instruc- tor, Frederick Moore, teaches the class. There are no tests re- quired to pass the course. AARP Smart Driver Course participants learn valu- able defensive driving skills, proven safety strategies, how to stay current with driving technologies, current rules of the road, and how to manage age-related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time. Participants may be eli- gible for a multi-year insur- ance discount after taking the course. Check with your insurance agent to see if you are eligible. Participants can register by calling 541-426-3840. Leisurely rafting trip takes dangerous turn By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain On Aug. 18, when the *ri]]ly Bear Complex ¿re was estimated at 2,000 acres and reportedly mostly near Dayton, Wash., in Columbia County, two river rafts left Minam headed for Troy. River guide, Grant Richie, piloted one. He and his three sons and niece (ages 13-17) were planning on doing a river cleanup trip. Visitors to the area, Harry Stewart of Vancouver and his 21-year- old son and another friend, piloted the other raft. The Stewart party was expecting a leisurely ¿ve-day Àoat. As usual, the rafting groups arranged to have their vehicles driven down to Troy by Lottie Richie. Then, they Àoated away, out of contact with the rest of the world. That’s what they came for, but as they enjoyed the pristine wilderness, crystal water, and the absence of ringing cell phones, a little ¿re in Columbia County was heating up. By evening it had grown to 9.000 acres, but was still reported as “in Columbia County.” In 24 hours the For- est Service was reporting that “several ¿res burned together and made a strong six-mile push to the south down Griz- zly Bear Ridge, across the Oregon/Washington border and into the Wenaha River drainage.” Troy, Eden Bench and Grouse Flats residents were hearing from forest and county of¿cials. The ¿re had become a complex, it had a new name, and it was roaring toward Troy. The Grizzly Bear Com- plex ¿re was about to get re- ally, really dangerous. But no one on the river knew this. “It took Grant and the kids three days and two nights to Àoat to Troy,” said Lottie Richie. “I shuttled a rig (ve- hicle) on Thursday. In that couple of days’ time frame the Grizzly Bear Complex went from 2,000 acres to 40,000 acres.” She left Minam early in the morning on Thursday, and barely made the vehicle delivery before roadblocks went up. At that point, Richie said, she called the county sheriff and the ¿re manager and let them know that rafters were on the river. “The wind di- rection was in our favor at the time,” Richie said. “But as the person who has people on the river, I felt it was my duty to call and let of¿cials know.” Grant made Troy on Thursday and pulled out at Powwatka Bridge (Wildcat Bridge) at about 3 p.m. Up until he came out of the riv- er at Troy it was not bad. But just as they came out, Grant said, “We saw a lot of black smoke,” said Grant Richie. “When we got out at Troy a 20-to 30-mile wind came up and I’ve never seen a black cloud come up so fast. As we drove out it was glowing red. It was pretty scary looking.” Harry Stewart and his par- ty were still Àoating. “We saw lots of wildlife and had a great time,” he said, “but then the smoke was bil- lowing on the ridges and we could hear the copters com- ing in Thursday night. That’s when we really started to take note” But there was nothing to do but keep Àoating down to Troy and watching the sky. The group felt pretty safe on the water, it was the landing that worried them. “We pulled out Saturday afternoon right in Troy under the bridge, right in the middle of the ¿re camps,” Stewart said. “There were lots of ¿re trucks there when we pulled out. “They all seemed uncon- cerned about us and chatted with us but we decided it was a good time to beat feet. The whole town was trying to be burnt down.” The Stewart party made it out safely, and even saw some bears along the way, but it was an unexpected ad- venture and caused concern all around. Now, says Richie, “No one is getting on the river. The Bureau of Land Management issued a very strict advisory that if you enter the river you may not be able to get off the water. It’s not a closure, but I won’t allow people to go into the water here (at Minam).” Brand the Date! 35th ANNUAL AROUND ENTERPRISE There are lots of fire personnel in Wallowa County from all over the state right now. Be sure and let them know we are thankful for their efforts! September 11-12-13 2015 Enterprise, Oregon hellscanyonmuledays.com 541-426-3271 • 541-263-0104 Huge Sale Home • Garden • Antiques September 1-5 September 7-12 September 14-19 20% off 30% off 40% off September 21-30 50% off Come early for best selection! (Do your Christmas shopping!) 305 N. Main Street Joseph, OR 97846 541-432-3211 Open Monday-Saturday, 10am - 5:30pm SHOPOURWEBSITE www.simplysandys.com