10 years ago this week — 2014

The U.S. Coast Guard again unfurled the same enormous American flag that heralded the transfer of Sector Columbia River’s command three years ago during a command change ceremony at Air Station Astoria last Friday.

Capt. Bruce Jones, who is retiring after 31 years, on Friday transferred command to Capt. Daniel Travers, most recently of Juneau, Alaska.

“You’re surrounded by true professionals, and more than a few heroes,” said Jones, giving Travers and the public an overview of the complex composition of Sector Columbia River.

A huge turnout of youth players, high school athletes, parents, locals and Astoria High School alumni showed up at John Warren Stadium Sunday afternoon to see Astoria’s favorite son host his first football camp.

The National Football League has a long list of teams and players who stage youth camps in the summer.

Astoria High School graduate Jordan Poyer, now with the Cleveland Browns, has one of his own. He hosted nearly 80 young athletes, kindergarten-through-eighth grade, for four hours of football instruction Sunday.

Coaching staff — together with some current and former players — helped with the instruction, while Poyer did some interactive teaching, posed for photos and signed autographs — and marveled at their turnout.

SVENSEN — A large propane tank located next to U.S. Highway 30 in Svensen has worried some residents and drivers.

But Clatsop County officials say extra precautions were taken into account during the permitting process.

At the junction with Svensen Market Road, Cenex Propane in Tillamook installed the tank to be able to fill up trucks and deliver to customers in eastern Clatsop County.

Jennifer Bunch, senior planner with Clatsop County, said the property is zoned properly for that use and the company has all its permits.

“The permit was not issued until we received authorization from the state fire marshal,” Bunch said.

CANNON BEACH — Someone is struggling in the ocean. A rip current is pulling a swimmer farther and farther out to sea.

What would you do? Run to the nearest white post dotting the beachfront like a sentinel of the shoreline. Pull the rip cord.

That will send up a bright orange circular flag, or “semaphore,” alerting the on-duty lifeguards to scramble, either on foot or in one of their vehicles, with rescue gear toward the imperiled person.

Earlier this month, the Public Works Department set up 10 semaphores at evenly spaced, carefully calculated locations from Chapman Point down to Silver Point.

This flag system — which the city has used every summer for several decades — will remain in place until after Labor Day, when the summer beach activity starts to wane.

The lifeguards do several rescues a year, said Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn. “People will get caught in a rip current, and they can’t get out,” he said.

50 years ago — 1974

Hold onto your fireworks, Pops, North Coast skies will sparkle Thursday in at least seven locations with loud and colorful Independence Day spirit.

Seaside volunteer firemen will launch one of the largest displays on the coast and the only one in Clatsop County from the Turnaround at about dusk.

Across the river in Washington, the beach at Long Beach will be the site of a 45-minute fireworks display beginning at about 9:45 p.m., courtesy of local merchants.

Food stamps are common today for people on welfare or living on low incomes, and anyone can qualify provided they meet the minimum standards.

Those qualifying receive the stamps monthly. The stamps are good toward the purchase of any kind of food — except alcoholic beverages — at most grocery stores and supermarkets.

Now a similar proposal, involving “utility stamps,” may be just around the corner.

A system in which citizens living on a fixed or low income may have part or all of their utility rates paid for has been proposed by the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Aging.

The committee, chaired by Robert Holdridge, from Scappoose, has suggested low-income persons or elderly people on a fixed income be given either special utility rates or some kind of subsidy.

Holdridge said this would be done to “hold the line” on rising utility rates and provide a better standard of living for those qualifying.

If the Department of Environmental Quality gets the go-ahead from the Environmental Quality Commission after a meeting and public hearing in Salem later this month, it will severely tighten restrictions on log handling in public waters.

The department’s principal target in this area is apparently D&R Timber’s operation on the Skipanon River. Crown Zellerbach’s operation on the Lewis and Clark River and various Columbia River booming and rafting operations wouldn’t be significantly affected.

The report submitted to the commission at last month’s meeting in Coos Bay said, “The Nygaard operation (apparently referring to D&R Timber) has been publicly condemned because its logs usurp the whole channel surface in addition to releasing debris.”

Gonorrhea is more prevalent than any communicable disease except flu among public school students. More than half a million come down with it annually.

The rate in Clatsop County is particularly high, higher than state and national rates by far.

In response to the problem, the Astoria School District has joined many others in initiating a venereal disease education program for fall.

There were well over half a million abortions performed in the United States in 1973, about one-third involving girls in their teens. The rate at which Clatsop County schoolgirls had unwanted pregnancies terminated last year was in line with state and national rates.

Yet the Astoria School District, unlike others on the North Coast, has chosen not to initiate a comprehensive sex education which would deal factually with family planning.

75 years ago — 1949

Holiday drivers were asked to be careful today by state police as good weather and clear skies bring promise of jammed highways in Clatsop County.

Sgt. Kenneth Healea of the local state police headquarters warned thousands of travelers bound for Clatsop County beaches during the crowded holiday weekend of the traffic dangers.

Homes built in a city situated on slopes such as Astoria need their retaining walls, but recent displays by local homeowners and builders show that the walls do not have to restrict themselves to one established pattern.

Artistic tendencies are being brought more and more to the front through the increased use of native rocks in construction of the walls.

Most of the rocks being used in the new, rustic-type walls are of the most local origin. As a matter of fact, the majority come from within the city limits, from the Hildebrand quarry behind Astoria High School.

A new enterprise that will bring a major grain exporting operation to Astoria, realizing a dream of this community that has existed a half-century and more, was announced Monday.

The operation involves signing of contracts between the Port of Astoria, Pillsbury Flour Mills and North Pacific Grain Growers Inc. whereby the Port will handle grain for both export and storage for the grain growers corporation, a regional association operating throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The Port has agreed to provide space for the association for 1.5 million bushels or more for both storage and export shipments, the announcement said.

The worst heat wave of the year sent millions of persons scurrying to beaches, parks and resorts today in perhaps the biggest traffic jam in history and the holiday death toll soared.

Point Adams Coast Guardsmen were kept busy over the Fourth of July weekend pulling stranded cars out of soft sand on Clatsop County beaches, the U.S. Coast Guard reported today.

Four cars were stranded over the weekend on the beach strung out at points stretching from the wreck of the Peter Iredale up to the South Jetty, Coast Guard officials said.

Incoming tides endangered the vehicles of vacationers who insisted on driving in the soft sand and Coast Guard crews abandoned their boats in favor of their 6-by-6 truck to pull the mired cars out of trouble and set them on their way.

Nearly 7% more passengers were carried on the Astoria-Megler ferry over the four-day Fourth of July weekend this year than during the same period of 1948, according to Floyd H. Simon, ferry superintendent.

Six young ladies of Astoria will appear Thursday evening at the Astoria Armory in a contest to determine “Miss Astoria of 1949.” The winner will get an opportunity to represent Astoria in the Miss Oregon contest scheduled for July 23 and July 24 in Seaside.