Astoria artist BILL W. DODGE, aka King of Jigsaw Puzzle Designers, has eight new puzzles appearing worldwide this year. One of his pieces, Astoria Sunday Market, appears on the cover of the Spring 2005 edition of Bits and Pieces, the nation’s largest jigsaw and game catalog. Inside are two Astoria puzzles and three others of his work. Dodge is particularly proud that he was able to get his publishers to include Astoria’s name on puzzle boxes featuring local scenes. “I love to see Astoria’s name featured around the world,” Dodge told the EAR. In addition to toy stores and catalogs, Dodge’s jigsaw puzzles are available at his booth at the Astoria Sunday Market.

Hilda Lahti School Student Council has been honored for outstanding achievement by Oregon Association of Student Councils. The Knappa school is one of 29 schools receiving recognition as a high-achieving student council.

In order to receive the award, councils must be involved in school and community service, activities to promote school spirit and pride, sportsmanship, student and staff recognition, and involvement in leadership training and sound practices.

“Student leaders have the opportunity to make a tremendous impact on their school climate by the activities they sponsor,” said Nancy Moen, program director for the association. “They help make their school a welcoming place.” The schools were recognized at the association’s spring conference held in Eugene this week.

Seaside Chapter CR of the P.E.O. Sisterhood recently awarded scholarships to two local women. PAM PUTNAM, of Cannon Beach, received a $400 Marguerite Scholarship to continue her studies in massage therapy at the East-West School of Massage in Portland. Helen Hansen, of Portland, received a $1,000 from a continuing education grant. She is a psychology major at Portland State University and plans to become a counselor.

The P.E.O. Sisterhood, an international organization, provides educational opportunities for women. Seaside Chapter CR also offers a $1,000 scholarship each year to a graduating senior at Seaside High School.

NASA has chosen 11 students from Oregon Institute of Technology and Southern Oregon University to test their science experiment while floating aboard the agency’s “Weightless Wonder” aircraft. One team member is KATIE ARNALL, of Warrenton. This will be the fourth time in recent years that OIT teams have been involved in the project.

Each year, NASA gives undergraduate student teams the chance to research, design, create, fly and evaluate their reduced-gravity experiment. According to NASA, the students follow much the same path as scientists who develop experiments that fly in space.

ELMER and SHIRLEY JOHNSON told the EAR that their foster son, SCOTT RYON, has just retired from a 31-year career in law enforcement. Ryon is a Knappa High School graduate and has an associates’ degree in law enforcement technology from Clatsop Community College. He worked for the Astoria Police Department for four years learning detective work as he went, since Astoria didn’t have detectives at the time. He then moved to Washington County as a patrol deputy. Ryon, 52, is planning on becoming a truancy officer for the Northwest Regional Education Service District.

It all started with “The Goonies,” a harmless little movie about some adventurous kids in Astoria. A couple of years ago, two guys decided to put the home movie of their Astoria “Goonies” vacation online, creating a minor sensation with “The Goonies Vacation.”

Then came “Still Goonie After All These Years” (The Daily Astorian, Oct. 6, 2003), Kathleen Strecker’s story on the making of the two guys’ home movie, which counts Steven Spielberg as one of its 40,000 viewers. The online version of Strecker’s story is one of The Daily Astorian’s most frequently viewed articles.

Now comes a response to the online article from one of our readers (and a diehard Goonies fan), Lea Marie Salang: “When I first saw the movie, I was so psyched. And yeah, the place did a really good job. Astoria is famous in a way that touches lives. While reading the Ataris’ song, ‘So Long, Astoria,’ dude, the lyrics are really based on the movie. And yeah, it touches my heart. Why don’t you check it out!”

To see the home movie and its story in The Daily Astorian archives, visit www.thegoonies.org

Curled atop an oversized scratching post, Leo, a big, fluffy Siamese, snoozes away the afternoon at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter.

After all, being a hero can be hard work.

Leo recently contributed his blood to improve the health of another cat, the first time staff can recall an animal at the shelter doing so.

Bayshore Animal Hospital was treating a feline that needed a blood transfusion or would die. Like many veterinary clinics, Bayshore has a cat that’s the resident blood donor, but the 11.6-pound patient weighed a lot than more the clinic’s cat. The donor needs to be larger than the recipient for health reasons.

Office manager Lois Gilmore suggested contacting the county animal shelter to borrow a big cat. The shelter staff readily agreed to the request. Bayshore, as well as other local veterinary clinics, often helps out the shelter with free or discounted services and supplies, and the staff figured it was fair to return the favor.

As the largest among the shelter’s adoptable cats, the 15-pound Leo was chosen. The transfusion took place at Bayshore on April 26. “I’m sure he was not thrilled with the process but he saved a life,” Animal Control Officer Lori Huntley said. The veterinary staff dubbed Leo “Hero.”

The recipient feline, a black shorthair named Sweetie, isn’t out of the woods, yet, but improved enough to go home. Sweetie is back to eating and walking in the garden with owner Pamela Richardson, of Cannon Beach.

The two cats share more than blood. Both were rescued. Leo came to the shelter from an unfit home. Sweetie was a feral kitten, so young she had to be bottle-fed, when Richardson’s son and daughter-in-law took her home in 1992.

Leo is looking for a hero of his own, to take him home.

The Oregon Humane Society recently honored youths in its 56th annual Be Kind to Animal Poster and Photo/Story contest. The Animal Advocate Award was presented to JENNIFER KRANE, 12th grade student from Neah-Kah-Nie Jr/Sr High School. Jennifer’s poster was a beautiful drawing that touches the heart and encourages people to adopt a homeless pet.

A U.S. Navy veteran from Vermont is asking long-time Astorians to mine their memories for details about a ship built at Astoria Marine. ARTHUR NORTON is writing a book about the ocean minesweeper USS Detector (MSO-429), but is having difficulty finding some crucial details.

“…This class of ship, and all her sisters, are long gone,” Norton wrote in an e-mail to the EAR. “Only a few exist in the Belgian, and possibly, the Dutch navies.”

Norton does know this: The Detector was built at Astoria Marine in 1952, along with at least one other of her class (USS Dash). They were built of wood to make them less “visible” to the magnetic mines the Germans developed.

The Detector was christened as AM-429 in December 1952, commissioned in 1954, and then moved to the east coast. About a year after leaving Astoria, the Navy changed the AM (auxiliary, minesweeper) designation to MSO (minesweeper, ocean). Norton served on the ship from 1966 to 1968.

Norton is looking for anyone who might have worked at Astoria Marine in the early 1950s, or anyone who might have had a hand in building the Detector. He wants to know the details of the ship’s construction, the type of woods used and the modes of construction.

He’s also looking for anyone with information about the Norblad family. The ship’s sponsor was a Mrs. Norblad, and the photos Norton has show her christening the ship in a nurse’s uniform.

Anyone with information is invited to contact Arthur Norton at (aenorton@aol.com) or (802) 457-8105.

Tours to Fort Clatsop and Sunday brunch table decorations of native plants were a boost to the Lewis and Clark Commemoration by the Astoria branch, AAUW, during the recent American Association of University Women of Oregon convention at Ocean View Resort in Seaside.

ARLINE LaMEAR, KAREN KENYON and JAN NYBAKKE drove tour cars to Fort Clatsop during the three-day convention. ROZ EDELSON, JAN and JOHN NYBAKKE and CHRIS BENNETT coordinated the table centerpieces of Oregon grape, Western red cedar and salal – all cited in the Journals of Lewis and Clark.

Tellers during the business meetings included CAROL BARTH, ANNE MORDEN, CARLOTTA STRANDBERG, KAREN KENYON and ROSALIE McCLEARY. DON McDANIEL and SARA MEYER helped set up a panel on the Oregon tax structure.

Greeter at the registration desk was BOBBI BRICE, Clatsop Community College representative. The hospitality room of displays from some 25 Oregon branches included “The History of Astoria Branch, AAUW” by JUANITA PRICE. Artworks on the Corps of Discovery theme by students of Lewis and Clark Elementary and Astoria Middle schools were exhibited to emphasize AAUW’s commitment in support of public education.