10 years ago this week — 2013

Twenty years ago, Sally Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer at Columbia Memorial Hospital.

She fought the disease and won.

But last year, that battle began again. Smith was diagnosed a second time with the disease after a routine mammogram. And just like the last time, she beat it with grace.

“Like many of you here, I am a proud survivor,” she said to the group gathered at the Astoria Column on Friday evening. “It’s just about entirely due to all of the loving care and attention that I’ve received from the mammographers. I think Tammy caught the first one and I think Mary caught the second one! So it was a home run.”

Columbia Memorial Hospital mammography department staff Tammy Fastabend and Mary Kellogg both came up with the idea for Friday’s event in which city leaders, community members and hospital staff gathered at the Astoria Column to make it blush — turning the light pink for the remainder of the month in honor of breast cancer awareness.

Columbia Memorial Hospital is going into labor — transforming its maternity ward with a $1.1 million renovation project.

The section of the hospital will feature four updated labor and delivery rooms, a lactation consultation room, the nursery, a triage room and postpartum rooms.

Two of the labor and delivery rooms are complete, two more are in the works.

“I think it’s interesting to compare and contrast with where we are,” said maternity manager Susan Karpen, showing a room that has not yet been remodeled.

WARRENTON — Students from Oregon and Washington state schools have returned to Lewis and Clark National Historical Park after more than two weeks.

Teachers and administrators from 11 schools had to cancel field trips to the park during a 16-day government shutdown in Washington, D.C.

But now, with the gates back open, many of those schools have been slow to reschedule and approximately 200 students might not get another chance at a Fort Clatsop field trip this school year.

The shutdown temporarily closed all 401 national parks, keeping out student groups and regular visitors.

Clatsop County 4-H is looking for people who like to play with Legos.

The youth education program, run through Oregon State University’s Extension Service, runs two Astoria Lego clubs in which elementary school-age children build and program the movement of operable robots with 21st century Legos.

“It’s an intellectual challenge,” said Theresa Halter-Enyart, leader of the 4-H Lego Builders Club that meets every other Friday in Clatsop Community College’s Towler Hall physics lab. “The kids don’t get a lot of science in school. It’s the kids’ interest that shows me what they need.”

50 years ago — 1973

If your son or daughter attends one of Astoria’s three elementary schools, chances are they didn’t bring home a math grade last year.

If they did, they won’t this year. There won’t be grades given in mathematics in Astoria in 1973-1974.

The city’s elementary school students will receive detailed progress reports in math instead of letter grades. By the end of the year, they should be bringing home the new reports in spelling and reading as well.

District Director of Instruction Jack McRae explained that letter grades never really meant much in the first place.

State Sen. John Burns admits to some strong reservations about building an aluminum plant in Warrenton but said he opposes moves to stop construction of the smelter that would discriminate against American Metal Climax Co. aluminum and this area.

“If AMAX meets the standards set by the state,” Burns said in an interview on Friday, “they have as much right to come to this area as anyone else, assuming there is community acceptance.”

Burns said to stop construction of the Warrenton plant because of an energy shortage but to approve putting 10 new smaller industrial plants in Portland at the same time amounts to “discrimination against AMAX and Astoria.”

Clatsop County’s new computer center started humming with activity last week after the Univac data processing equipment was moved into the courthouse from city hall.

It’s the same computer that was used in the joint data-processing center by the city and county. The city continues to use the computer temporarily, while it awaits delivery of a new IBM computer for the city hall.

The future of Astoria bus service for the next nine months was in doubt yesterday as talks began between city and Pacific Coach Lines officials.

Jack Davies, operator of Pacific Coach Lines, threatened to abandon his bus service because the city won’t increase his subsidy to $600 per month.

Davies claims he is losing money by operating the city transit system with only a $400 subsidy from the city.

President Anwar Sadat, of Egypt, said Tuesday his forces have missiles poised for strikes in “the very depth of Israel” but added his government is ready to talk peace if the Israelis withdraw from occupied Arab lands. A fierce battle was reported on the Suez Canal.

75 years ago — 1948

Placing of channel markers for the new west channel between Sand Island and Peacock Spit has been completed, the U.S. Coast Guard buoy depot at Tongue Point announced.

Front and rear range lights have been established and a set of four new beacons have been established along the channel. These beacons at present have only white platforms on dolphins, with lights to be installed later.

The Fort Canby No. 3 light has been removed from its old location and will be rebuilt as Baker Bay west channel No. 16 light.

The front range light is 800 yards in a 45.5 degree direction from the Baker Bay Jetty light and has a white square daymark with a red vertical line. It has a 400 candlepower light, flashing every second.

The rear range light is 267 yards behind the front light. It is 41 feet above high water, on a skeleton tower, and has a 1,100 candlepower light that burns for three seconds, then occults for three.

The proposal to abandon the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse has been abandoned by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard officers said today the station will be maintained “because of a preponderance of opposition to the proposal to abandon it.” Hearings on the proposal were conducted in Astoria and Portland.

Opposition to the proposal came largely from Astoria fishing interests. It was insisted that small boats without radio and radar gear needed the light.

This week, Clatsop County cranberry farmers are harvesting one of the largest crops in the history of the county.

While it is as yet impossible to accurately determine the size of the Clatsop cranberry crop, county agent Gordon Hood said it will run in excess of 2,000 barrels. The average for the county is somewhere slightly above 1,500 barrels, Hood believes.

The local cranberry industry is still pretty small. But it is growing, Hood said. There’s lots of land that is suitable for growing cranberries and five new bogs have been put in and will be producing in a few years.

It takes four to five years and from $25,000 to $35,000 to start a cranberry bog, Hood explained, which may explain why the rush of farmers to the boglands is something less than a stampede.

Traditional U.S. Navy memorial services Sunday at the Port docks and Tongue Point Naval Station will preface local observances of Navy Day, although all other functions will be held Oct. 27, the 173rd birthday of the Navy.

Negotiations are underway for the purchase from private owners by the state board of forestry for a 7,400-acre tract, which will be added to the present 120,000 acres of forestland now operated jointly by the state and Clatsop County.

Most of the new purchase lies in the God’s Valley and Sweet Home Creek area near Tillamook County, and, if the deal is completed, will add a tract of 6,437 acres to the Hamlet state forest.

Complaints of taxpayers are swamping the offices of the Clatsop County sheriff and assessor as 1948 tax statements are received by county property owners.

Tax bills are higher this year than practically all districts of the county, and county employees have been busy explaining to property owners that they did not personally raise the millage.

Clem Ingalls, sheriff’s deputy, reported that letters of protest and personal calls of protest are being received daily.