10 years ago this week — 2012

There was a sea of bananas ready for the finishers of the Great Columbia Crossing Sunday, along with water, apple juice and cheese sticks.

Getting them ready were volunteers like Don and Brenda Ivanoff and Sara Hauke. Other volunteers got up at 5 a.m. Sunday morning to help with everything from loading buses with runners to directing traffic, to keeping order at the starting line.

“I’ve done a lot of different jobs over the years,” said Rae Goforth, a volunteer with the Great Columbia Crossing since it began. “I’ve been in the bus, on the bridge — a lot of different things. I enjoy loading buses, because I can get down here early and get done.”

Event coordinator Alana Kujala said more than 75 volunteers were needed to make the 3,000 runners and walkers safe and happy Sunday morning.

During the spring and summer, Monica Steele had a hard time thinking her daily exercise regimen wasn’t a competition. After all, the Clatsop County employee, who works as the assistant finance director, didn’t want her co-workers to finish ahead of her in a workplace fitness program.

Steele was one of 24 participants in the program, called “Shape Up Across the Lewis and Clark Trail,” which wrapped up Monday with a potluck lunch. Those who took part in the program were called on to exercise for about 30 minutes a day during the spring and summer, marking their progress on a map symbolically detailing the cross-country journey of Lewis and Clark.

The program, like a growing number of workplace and school initiatives, is intended to boost activity levels outside of the office and classroom and make workplaces and schoolyards healthier.

WARRENTON — Three games into the Cowapa League boys soccer season, and league standings are already beginning to take on a familiar look.

Entering the second week of league play, Astoria and Seaside are all alone atop the standings with identical 3-0 records as the two mainstays of the Cowapa League head for a collision course Oct. 10 at Seaside.

GEARHART — The minute fifth grader Silas Wentz sees his lunch buddy, Bill Palmberg, he gives the man a big hug.

“You grew since that last time I saw you,” Palmberg jokes with the boy, who he visits once a week at Gearhart Elementary School. “You’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal and lima beans?”

He tousles Silas’ red hair. “I’ve got brand new glasses,” Silas tells Palmberg. He takes them off so Palmberg can get a better look.

Every Tuesday, Palmberg shares a meal and conversation with Silas, catching up on the youngster’s life and imparting a few bits of wisdom once in awhile. Palmberg participates in the Lunch Buddy Mentoring Program, which pairs students in first-through-eighth grades with adult mentors.

For two years, Palmberg has eaten lunch with Silas. The retired owner of a local asphalt paving business, he heard of the program through his pastor, who also participates.

50 years ago — 1972

Cannon Beach eccentric Emmett Wallis, 76, stumped experts of the “What’s My Line” television program in New York last week.

“None of them came close to guessing my occupation of rock and roll drummer,” said the long-haired septuagenarian.

The mod-dressing Wallis and his son, Tom, flew to New York recently to tape a show which will appear on Portland television Channel 5 at 4 p.m. Monday.

Sixth graders of Astoria-area schools made their 13th annual tour of the forestry demonstration area near the John Jacob Astor Branch Experiment Station Tuesday. Forestry, game and park officials explained woodsy lore, while Clatsop Community College students acted as guides. Warren Knispel, resident biologist for the Oregon Game Commission, displayed hides of various animals that live in the area.

75 years ago — 1947

NEAHKAHNIE — A plane from Clatsop airport nosed over in an attempt to take off from the beach here Sunday after being forced down by fog the previous afternoon. Pilot John Tienson, Astoria, was uninjured.

LEWIS AND CLARK – Elk, deer and bear are feeding well these days, for they are getting no small share of the late fall fruit crop. Especially this is true in the more isolated localities where there is less to disturb them as they forage through orchards.

With such a diet, the animals should be fat and in prime condition for the killing as the local hunting season opens Wednesday and that is what goes, as the host of hunters invade the woods.

However, some sort of animal instinct seems to be their protection about the time the hunters arrive. They have scattered and gone to unknown places and the number killed during each open season is relatively small in comparison to the number known to be around throughout the closed season.

For instance, what hunter, out for game, ever saw elk herds of 30, 35 and even 40 in number? And yet that is not unusual to ranchers in the outlying districts during closed seasons.

The 55-foot cannery launch Pappico, loaded down with 16-tons of salmon, sank in Cook’s slough near Bradwood Friday after striking a submerged object.

Owned by the Point Adams Packing Co., the tender was proceeding downstream when she hit a “deadhead” or some other object below the waterline.

Capt. Benn Rinell swung the tender towards the Oregon shore and reached shallow water. The deckload of fish remained partly above water. Most of it was recovered by a tug of the Knappton Towboat Co.

The Pillsbury flour mill in Astoria is the only flour mill still on strike in the Pacific Coast, union officials said.

California mills have accepted an offer made by Globe mills, which are operated by Pillsbury, which provided for a 7-cent-an-hour pay boost, they pointed out.

The Chamber of Commerce merchants’ committee will seek to have local hotels cooperate in attempting a solution of the newly-revived all-night parking problem by obtaining use of parking lots at night for their customers, it was decided at a meeting of the committee Thursday.

The problem has been revived because Northwest Nash. has discontinued its all-night parking service, and there is no longer a garage or parking lot in the city offering all-night parking to visitors.

John Francis Sautner, Portland hunter, was fined $500 in Astoria court Wednesday for shooting doe deer in the Tillamook burn game reserve.

C.H. Ruecker, state police officer, who nabbed the Portland man, said that another hunter accompanying Sautner escaped. Several other night hunters, spotlighting for deer, were active in the area, the officer said.

The fine was the largest levied in court during the term of the present judge, J.W. Pietarila.