T he C olumbia P ress
1
50 ¢
C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper
www.thecolumbiapress.com
August 2, 2019
Vol. 3, Issue 31
An American success story
Owner of Nisa’s Thai Kitchen becomes
a U.S. citizen in ceremonies last month
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
Do you know how many amend-
ments the U.S. Constitution has?
Nisa Blackler does.
Blackler, 49, has learned all
kinds of things many natu-
ral-born U.S. citizens should
know but don’t.
The owner of Nisa’s Thai Kitch-
en became a U.S. citizen July 10
during ceremonies at
the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services
field office in Portland.
“Because I’m living
here, I have to follow the
rules,” Blackler said. “I
know I’ll be more com-
fortable to stay here. If I
stay as an alien, I don’t
know what will happen
one day in the future.”
Blackler grew up in
Samutprakarn,
Thai-
land, the oldest of six
children. She met her
Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press husband, Bill Blackler
Nisa Blackler, with her husband, Bill.
of Warrenton, during
Arrests made in
vandalism case
The Columbia Press
one of his travels there selling
food processing equipment.
He’d spotted her on a dating
website and she was looking for
someone with whom she could
practice English.
After she’d made several trips to
the United States, the couple de-
cided to marry in 2013 and Nisa
moved here to be with her new
husband.
She’d been working as an ac-
countant and supervisor, but
could find local work only as a
housekeeper.
“I knew she was capable of
more,” Bill said.
Several things started working
in her favor.
During her visits to America,
Nisa had eaten at Kim’s Kitchen
and gotten to know owner Kim
Fuhrmann, who died in 2017.
Nisa began volunteering at the
former Blue Ocean Thai Restau-
rant in downtown Astoria and be-
came close with Chanaphon Lind-
quist, a cook and consultant who
specialized in starting new restau-
A 40-year-old man and two teenage
girls have been arrested in connection
with thousands of dollars in recent
vandalism to city property.
Three more juveniles were being in-
terviewed Wednesday and police still
are tracking leads.
“The recent vandalism is more than
just offensive to the taxpayer; it’s a
crime against the community,” Mayor
Henry Balensifer said. “In Warrenton,
parents, kids and community mem-
bers donate and volunteer countless
hours and funds to ensure facilities
like the soccer fields and our baseball
facilities are a welcoming and positive
place for our kids to recreate. These
acts are a slap in the face to all those
volunteers and donors.”
Last week, Warrenton city commis-
sioners put up a reward of $500 for
information leading to the arrest and
conviction of the culprits who plas-
tered the Second Street kayak docks
and Robinson Community Park with
graffiti, obscenities and even a bit of
poetry.
“We’ve gotten bits and pieces of in-
formation from multiple people,”
Police Chief Matt Workman said
See ‘Nisa’ on Page 4
See ‘Arrests’ on Page 6
Air National Guard pilots get swift-water lessons
Knowing how to survive in icy
cold water is essential for fighter
pilots who could, someday, crash
or be shot down over the ocean.
Last week, the Columbia Riv-
er served as training grounds for
Oregon Air National Guard mem-
bers.
Those serving in the 142nd
Fighter Wing were dragged by
personal watercraft to simulate
the impact of being pulled around
in the water while attached to an
open parachute. They also learned
how to escape from beneath their
parachutes while in open water.
Swimming lessons concluded
when pilots jumped from a train-
ing boat on the river and swam
nearly 100 feet to shore.
The training is supposed to
simulate an authentic environ-
mental possibility for flight crew
members, said Lt. Col. Nicholas
Rutgers, 123rd Fighter Squadron
Commander.
“We try to make it as realistic
as possible, so being out on the
Columbia is about as close as we
can get to executing off the coast
of Oregon,” he said. “It’s a lot
smoother than we could expect
in the Pacific, but we are getting a
great training opportunity today.”
Courtesy Air National Guard
The 125th Special Tactics Squad- A fighter pilot gets tossed into the Columbia River
See ‘ANG’ on Page 4
during survival training July 26.