A4 The BulleTin • Friday, January 29, 2021
TODAY
Today is Friday, Jan. 29, the 29th
day of 2021. There are 336 days
left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Jan. 29, 1979, President Jim-
my Carter formally welcomed
Chinese Vice Premier Deng
Xiaoping to the White House,
following the establishment of
diplomatic relations.
In 1820, King George III died
at Windsor Castle at age 81; he
was succeeded by his son, who
became King George IV.
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe’s
famous narrative poem “The
Raven” (“Once upon a midnight
dreary, while I pondered, weak
and weary...”) was first published
in the New York Evening Mirror.
In 1919, the ratification of the
18th Amendment to the Con-
stitution, which launched Pro-
hibition, was certified by Acting
Secretary of State Frank L. Polk.
In 1936, the first inductees of
baseball’s Hall of Fame, includ-
ing Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth,
were named in Cooperstown,
New York.
In 1963, the first charter mem-
bers of the Pro Football Hall of
Fame were named in Canton,
Ohio (they were enshrined when
the Hall opened in September
1963). Poet Robert Frost died in
Boston at age 88.
In 1966, the musical comedy
“Sweet Charity” starring Gwen
Verdon opened on Broadway.
In 1975, a bomb exploded inside
the U.S. State Department in
Washington, causing consider-
able damage, but injuring no one;
the radical group Weather Under-
ground claimed responsibility.
In 1984, President Ronald Rea-
gan announced in a nationally
broadcast message that he and
Vice President George H.W. Bush
would seek re-election in the fall.
In 1998, a bomb rocked an
abortion clinic in Birmingham,
Alabama, killing security guard
Robert Sanderson and critically
injuring nurse Emily Lyons.
In 2002, in his first State of the
Union address, President George
W. Bush said terrorists were still
threatening America — and he
warned of “an axis of evil” consist-
ing of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
In 2006, ABC “World News To-
night” co-anchor Bob Woodruff
and a cameraman were serious-
ly injured in a roadside bombing
in Iraq.
In 2015, Rod McKuen, whose
music, verse and spoken-word
recordings made him one of
the best-selling poets in history,
died at 81.
Ten years ago: With protests
raging, Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak named his intelligence
chief, Omar Suleiman, as his
first-ever vice president.
Five years ago: The Obama ad-
ministration confirmed for the
first time that Hillary Clinton’s
home server contained closely
guarded government secrets.
One year ago: A charter flight
evacuating 195 Americans,
including diplomats and their
families, left the Chinese city
of Wuhan, the epicenter of the
new viral outbreak. World health
officials expressed concern that
the virus was starting to spread
between people outside Chi-
na. President Donald Trump’s
lawyers asserted at his Senate
trial that a trade of U.S. military
aid for political favors – even if
proven – could not be grounds
for his impeachment.
Today’s Birthdays: Writer-com-
poser-lyricist Leslie Bricusse is 90.
Feminist author Germaine Greer
is 82. Actor Katharine Ross is 81.
Feminist author Robin Morgan is
80. Actor Tom Selleck is 76. R&B
singer Bettye LaVette is 75. Actor
Marc Singer is 73. Actor Ann
Jillian is 71. Rock musician Louie
Perez (Los Lobos) is 68. R&B
singer Charlie Wilson is 68. Talk
show host Oprah Winfrey is 67.
Actor Terry Kinney is 67. Country
singer Irlene Mandrell is 65. Actor
Diane Delano is 64. Actor Judy
Norton (TV: “The Waltons”) is 63.
Rock musician Johnny Spampi-
nato is 62. Olympic gold-medal
diver Greg Louganis is 61. Rock
musician David Baynton-Power
(James) is 60. Rock musician
Eddie Jackson (Queensryche)
is 60. Actor Nicholas Turturro is
59. Rock singer-musician Roddy
Frame (Aztec Camera) is 57. Ac-
tor-director Edward Burns is 53.
Actor Sam Trammell is 52. Actor
Heather Graham is 51. Former
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,
is 51. Actor Sharif Atkins is 46.
Actor Sara Gilbert is 46. Actor
Kelly Packard is 46. Actor Justin
Hartley is 44. Actor Sam Jaeger
is 44. Writer and TV personality
Jedediah Bila is 42. Actor Andrew
Keegan is 42. Actor Jason James
Richter is 41. Blues musician
Jonny Lang is 40. Pop-rock singer
Adam Lambert (TV: “American
Idol”) is 39. Country singer Eric
Paslay is 38.
— Associated Press
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
STATE BRIEFING
OREGON COAST
COVID-19 outbreak strikes Malheur County Jail
For nearly a year the Malheur County Jail proved to be an
exception to the rule that COVID-19 can infiltrate correc-
tional facilities and create mayhem.
Earlier this month, though, the jail’s luck ran out.
Between Jan. 4 and Jan. 7, the jail recorded 21 COVID-19
cases among employees and inmates. Overall, from the be-
ginning of January through Monday, 25 people — 17 inmates
and eight sheriff’s office employees — were infected, said
Travis Johnson, Malheur County undersheriff.
No one died or was hospitalized from the outbreak and the
worst appears to be over, said Johnson.
“Right now, as far as I am aware, everyone else is on the
mend. We don’t have any current cases,” said Johnson.
State discloses virus outbreak at coast hospital
Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Klootchy Creek County Park, between Seaside and Cannon Beach on the north Oregon Coast, is home to a
dead Sitka spruce that was once the largest tree in the state.
State’s largest tree now
a magnificent stump
BY JAMIE HALE
The Oregonian
Dead trees don’t usually
make compelling roadside at-
tractions, but the giant stump at
Klootchy Creek is an exception.
Once measuring 200 feet tall
with a 17-foot diameter and a
circumference of 56 feet, the
Sitka spruce between Seaside
and Cannon Beach was offi-
cially the largest tree in Or-
egon, and one of the largest
trees of its species in the coun-
try, before a windstorm finally
destroyed it in 2007.
The tree sprouted from
the earth some 750 years ago,
when only the Clatsop tribe of
the Chinookan peoples lived
along that stretch of coastline,
long before European fur trap-
pers and settler colonizers ar-
rived.
By the time the land it stood
on was called Oregon, the tree
had long since reached matu-
rity. It eventually topped out at
216 feet — though its crown
at some point was cut short to
200. The tree withstood cen-
turies of windstorms, light-
ning strikes and fires. It even
survived the blades of timber
companies that tore through
neighboring forests with aban-
don, leaving it as one of the few
true giants remaining in the
region.
Nature finally took its course
in 2006, when a winter storm
blew out a chunk of rotted
wood along an old lightning
scar on the trunk, creating a
cavity 15 feet wide and 2 feet
deep. Clatsop County officials
said the tree wasn’t likely to
survive and contemplated cut-
ting it down, according to re-
ports in The Oregonian at the
time.
One year later, the ailing tree
was dealt a final blow. During
back-to-back storms that bat-
tered the coastline in Decem-
ber 2007, the giant Sitka spruce
split 75 feet from the ground,
sending tons of shattered wood
and huge, moss-covered limbs
to the ground. County offi-
cials decided to clean up the
mess and leave the tree to rot
in peace.
Today, visitors to Klootchy
Creek County Park along
U.S. Highway 26 can see the
severed, sun-bleached trunk
standing tall — still a giant be-
side its smaller neighbors. A
piece of fallen trunk has been
set beside the old tree, rotting
from within, its decaying body
providing fresh life for the next
generation of trees.
Klootchy Creek, once fa-
mous as home to the big tree,
is now a quick pit stop for trav-
elers on the way to the coast,
a place to stretch legs and take
a quick walk along the short,
forested trail. The park has also
become a gateway for the new
Klootchy Creek mountain bike
trail system, which is replacing
the tree as the park’s primary
attraction. Visitors access the
25-acre park off Highway 26,
at a signed turnoff about 1.5
miles east of U.S. Highway 101.
The giant Sitka spruce might
be dead, but the land where
it rots continues to thrive.
Stripped of its titles and most
of its height, the tree continues
to inspire awe for all those who
stop by to see it. Stand by the
stump and stare up to the sky,
and you might be able to imag-
ine the heights it once reached.
Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria has reported 27
coronavirus cases, the state disclosed.
The virus cases, detailed by the Oregon Health Author-
ity in a weekly report on workplace outbreaks released on
Wednesday, date back to Nov. 27. The most recent onset was
Jan. 14.
The health authority discloses outbreaks at businesses with
30 or more workers once five virus cases are reported.
“This number (27) is a cumulative number of caregiv-
ers who have become ill due to COVID over almost two
months,” Nancee Long, a Columbia Memorial spokeswoman,
said in an email.
In response to questions from The Astorian, Long said five
employees tested positive for the virus during the week of
Nov. 27.
“The remaining 22 cases have occurred sporadically since
the original cluster. These cases were spread throughout nine
different departments and five separate buildings.
1 arrested, police disperse crowd at ICE facility
One man was arrested and crowd control munitions were
deployed after a group gathered outside the Portland Immi-
gration and Customs Enforcement building on Wednesday
night.
KOIN reports the large group began gathering outside the
building shortly before 10 p.m. Portland police say the crowd
blocked traffic and set a dumpster on fire, which they even-
tually pushed in front of the building.
Federal officers then emerged to push the crowd back
to allow Portland Fire and Rescue crews to extinguish the
flames.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, the crowd be-
gan firing off rock-like projectiles at federal officers around
11:30 p.m. Portland police stepped in once again to help
disperse the crowd, using a crowd control munition to do so.
A 22-year-old man was arrested on charges of riot, sec-
ond-degree disorderly conduct and attempted assault on a
public safety officer.
Oregon Coast Aquarium to reopen Saturday
The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport plans to reopen
to visitors at 10 a.m. Saturday for the first time since the Dec.
18 lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Guest can purchase tickets online, or at the gate, but must
use credit/debit cards for payment. Cash will not be accepted
at the gate. Guests are no longer required to purchase tickets
in advance.
Visitors must wear a face covering and maintain social dis-
tancing from those not in their party at all times while on the
grounds. A one-way path will guide guests through the open
exhibits. Some exhibits and services remain closed includ-
ing Octopus Cave, the touch pool, animal presentations, and
some food services. Contact: www.aquarium.org for more
information.
— Bulletin wire reports
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