SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021 | 5A
Community Voices
Natural Perspective — Stars of the tidepool
By Emily J. Uhrig, Ph.D
Special to Siuslaw News
I
t’s still cold, but Feb-
ruary’s enticing sun-
shine and the knowl-
edge that spring is near,
lures us to spend more
time outside.
Winter is a great time
for tidepooling, provid-
ed you keep an eye on
the waves, and the col-
orful sea creatures cer-
tainly brighten the win-
ter landscape. Among
the brightest are the
ochre sea stars, ranging
in brilliant colors from
red to orange and even
purple.
Widely known as
“starfish,” most biolo-
gists prefer the name
“sea star,” as these an-
imals are not fish. Sea
stars are invertebrates,
and their closest rela-
tives include urchins
and sea cucumbers.
In comparison to
vertebrates like us, sea
stars seem almost alien.
They lack a true brain
and their eyes are on
the tips of their arms.
The sea star’s mouth
is located on its un-
derside, and its anus
is on top — so when
you notice a pretty sea
star clinging to a rock,
you’re actually admir-
ing its rear-end.
Looking in tidepools,
it’s easy to imagine sea
stars leading fairly un-
exciting lives.
But appearances are
deceiving.
Most sea stars are
carnivorous predators
that stalk the intertid-
al zone, the area be-
tween low and high tide
marks, in pursuit of
prey. They move using
hundreds of tiny “tube
feet” that also help the
sea star feed, breathe
and sense chemicals in
the environment.
The ochre sea star,
one of the most com-
mon in Oregon, is a
voracious predator that
largely preys on mus-
sels. Grasping a mussel,
the sea star pries apart
the shell with its tube
feet.
Then
things
get
weird: the sea star push-
es its stomach out of
its mouth and into the
mussel shell where it
secretes digestive juices
to break down the mus-
sel — making it easy for
the sea star to absorb.
As macabre as their
eating habits seem,
they’re essential to the
ecosystem. Left un-
checked by sea stars,
mussels can become
over-abundant
and
drive away other spe-
cies, turning the once
diverse ecosystem into
one dominated by mus-
sels.
This scenario near-
ly became reality in
2013-2014 when sea
star populations were
decimated by a wasting
syndrome, a mysterious
illness in which the ani-
mal’s body disintegrates
over a matter of days.
Around 90 percent of
Oregon’s ochre sea stars
were affected.
Despite researchers’
efforts, the cause is still
not fully understood.
However, Oregon pop-
ulations are now re-
bounding.
So, consider taking
a trip to the tidepools
and let the sea stars
brighten a winter’s day.
But remember they’re
not just ornamental:
when you’re not look-
ing, these top predators
roam the intertidal zone
keeping the ecosystem
in balance.
Us TOO Florence — Close encounter with COVID-19 (part 2)
By Christopher Schwartz
Special to Siuslaw News
I
n the Jan. 23 edition
of the Siuslaw News,
I wrote that a sudden
and wholly unexpected
contact with COVID-19
brought my world to an
abrupt stop.
Prostate cancer had
been my biggest health
concern since being di-
agnosed back in 2012
with aggressive disease.
Suddenly, my prostate
cancer concerns were
overwhelmed.
This happened when
my budd Jim, one of our
golfing foursome, start-
ed feeling ill (headache,
high temp, lack of ener-
gy and appetite) just a
day following our Nov.
29 golfing outing.
A test showed he was
positive for COVID-19.
Fortunately, his wife,
along with we other
members of the four-
some and our spouses,
all tested negative.
Jim really kept his
friends up-to-date with
his symptoms and how
he was coping with
them as he dealt with
the disease.
In his case, he didn’t
quarantine to see if he
had COVID-19.
He
knew he had it, so his
quarantine was to see if
he could recover from it
at home or would need
hospitalization.
I want to share his
experiences (I have his
permission) because we
who are not personally
affected seldom read or
hear about the trauma
and mind games hold-
ing the patient hostage.
So, with no further
ado, here’s Jim to relate
his experience — in his
own words...
Health Update: To-
day I tested positive for
coronavirus. We can’t
figure out how. We do
so little, and distance,
and mask.
So boring.
Holly tested negative
today. Woo hoo! That
means she went off to
Bandon Inn.
Testing: I gotta say
the testing process was
smooth and quick. If
you have symptoms, call
your provider and they
fax it to the hospital.
Nice girl in a hazmat
suit swabbed my good
nostril — no big deal.
My plan was to text all
my friends in a group
text, but either too stu-
pid or loopy right now
to fit all the messages
on the list. So, Facebook
it is.
My plan is to write a
short update each day
and let you know how
I am doing, how we are
doing. I know it’s per-
sonal, but the virus is
not.
If you write a com-
ment or a question, I
might not get to it. I am
loopy and pooped.
Covid Blues Day 4:
I’m bummed because
a measure as to wheth-
er you are turning the
corner is whether you
can go the whole day
without Fever Reduc-
ing medicines like acet-
aminophen or ibupro-
fen.
Then, you want to
string a bunch of those
days together and you’re
on your way to recov-
ery. I did fine with the
no fever part during the
day, but as night rolled
around, it went up to
100, so I took some ibu-
profen and it did the
charm.
My wife says I should
be comfortable, who am
I to argue?
So many generous
friends have reached
out to me with love and
support. At this point,
there’s not much you
can do. Know that your
friendship makes every-
thing worthwhile, fight-
ing to get healthy and
find joy in life.
Covlog Day 5:
People are so generous
in Bandon. All your up-
beat comments, offers
to help in real ways, and
kindnesses make me
cry.
I used to watch
way too much news,
thinking “Those poor
people with Covid” like
we were so careful I’d
never get it.
Now it’s the Yule Logs
or light-hearted come-
dies.
My wise friend John
Campbell, and Dan-
iel DeSurra, a relent-
less pursuer of truth
and deep-er knowledge
about the virus, always
remind me of the most
basic thing: “Go outside
and breathe, breathe,
breathe, Jim.”
I really don’t want to
jinx myself or give the
“announcers curse,” but
my breathing has been
smooth so far.
People are so worried
about it going into their
lungs, and for good rea-
son.
I do get these medi-
um gauge headaches,
still wake up in pool of
sweat, some chills and
an inability to think
straight (more than usu-
al).
Signing off for now.
Someday you’ll get to
stop hear-ing from me
(because I’m better,
yeah).
Next, Day 6...
Museum is that one that
serves to honor their ser-
vice, and we hope you
will continue to support
our mission.
That support can be
with an annual member-
ship, purchasing a brick
for the Remembrance
Wall extension, a memo-
rial in a family members
name, or through your
estate planning. Those
options and more are
available on the website,
oregoncoastmilit arymu-
seum.com
During the pandemic
shut-down, museum staff
and volunteers have tak-
en advantage of the quiet
time to continue work on
the never-ending archival
process of the thousands
of artifacts which have
been donated over the
years. They have worked
on enhancing existing
displays by re-focusing
the emphasis on Oregon’s
military heritage, as well
as those veterans from
our local community.
The tour through the
museum now takes a
different path through
Civil War, WWI, WWII,
Korea, Vietnam and Gulf
Wars, all with significant
enhancements to en-
richen the visitor’s expe-
rience.
And now, at least for
the current moment on
the COVID clock, the
museum is pleased to
announce that it is open
again from noon until
4 p.m., Friday through
Sunday.
We hope you will stop
in and check it out.
Military Chronicles — Pursuing the mission
By Cal Applebee
Special to Siuslaw News
The abbreviated mis-
sion statement of the
Oregon Coast Military
Museum, adopted back
in 2009, is simply: “Hon-
oring our Veterans by ed-
ucating our public.”
Since that time, in ad-
dition to the various and
multiple events the mu-
seum has hosted in that
effort, the Military Her-
itage Chronicles has ap-
peared in the pages of the
Siuslaw News roughly 100
times. In those editions,
we covered an amazing
range of topics and time
periods in military heri-
tage, and I was delighted
when the museum board
requested we re-launch
the column.
Over the next year, we
will mix it up with sto-
ries which will alternate
between elements of
military heritage such as
battles, events, and tools
of war, with something
that’s even more import-
ant — interviews with
the veterans of our com-
munity who have “been
there, done that.”
That being said, with
the impact the COVID
pandemic has made on
our community — in-
cluding nonprofits and
the ability to serve their
stated missions — I
thought we would start
with a primer on why the
museum was created, and
the full mission state-
ment says it all:
“To educate the mem-
bers of the coastal com-
munities concerning the
role our military mem-
bers, both past and pres-
ent, have played in de-
fending the freedoms we
all enjoy; and to provide
an avenue for veterans to
display and share their
personal artifacts, mem-
orabilia, memoirs and as
an oral and visual history
of their honorable mili-
tary service.”
Because of the gen-
erous support from the
community for the effort,
the museum was able to
open in 2015.
Since that time, how-
ever, except for the lim-
ited annual fundraising
events, financial support
from the community has
waned.
We recognize there are
multiple worthy non-
profits and organizations
in our community that
need ongoing financial
support — including
several veterans service
organizations
(VSO’s).
Many of the members
of those organizations
were instrumental in the
creation of the museum
— both through initial
financial support, as well
as actual hands-on ef-
forts to build it.
While the various
VSO’s certainly have
their own specific and
critical mission, the Or-
egon Coast Military
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