July 12, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
4
Hammond: City taking ownership
Continued from Page 1
A sign will be installed
during a ceremony July 16,
marking the anniversary
of the release of “Free Wil-
ly,” which was partly filmed
there.
The film premiered July 16,
1993, and tells the story of a
boy who befriends a captive
killer whale and takes heroic
steps to ensure the whale’s
freedom after learning the
owner plans to kill Willy.
Hammond Ma-
rina will soon
belong to the
city of Warren-
ton and that
makes devel-
oping the site
much easier.
If you go
What: Oregon Film Trail
“Free Willy” sign dedica-
tion
When: Noon Tuesday,
July 16
Where: Hammond Marina
The escape was filmed at the
Hammond Marina’s break-
water.
The site will become the
eighth stop on the Historic
Cindy Yingst/
Columbia Press
Oregon Film Trail.
The city and marina staff
have been eager to work
with the Oregon Film Office,
seeing the recognition as a
way to increase visitors at
the marina, according to a
press release from the state
agency.
“Historical markers are
typically about famous peo-
ple and events,” said Oregon
Film’s Tim Williams. “Mov-
ies filmed here are also an
important part of Oregon’s
history and culture, so this
trail offers a twist. … The
new signs will provide inter-
esting insight into this histo-
ry to passersby while acting
as a beacon to visitors seek-
ing out film locations and
stories.”
Community leaders and
film office representatives
will be at the dedication to
talk about the trail as well as
the status of the Hammond
Marina master plan.
To date, Historic Ore-
gon Film Trail signs can be
found in Astoria, Warren-
ton, Gleneden Beach and
Brownsville. Next month,
two will be installed at Ecola
State Park in Cannon Beach,
with more coming to Cottage
Grove, Ashland, Eastern Or-
egon and Eugene.
A committee that’s been
working on the marina’s
master plan presented rec-
ommendations to the City
Commission Tuesday night.
Next week’s Columbia Press
will provides the details of
those plans.
College news
Caroline Kotson of Asto-
ria was named to the Presi-
dent’s List for spring semes-
ter at Gonzaga University.
Students must earn at
least a 3.85 grade-point
average
to
be
listed.
Gonzaga University is a pri-
vate Catholic University in
Spokane, Wash.