10 years ago this week — 2013

CANNON BEACH — In Cannon Beach, Earth is not taken for granted.

In a city that has reserved more than 1,000 acres of forestland, built trails from one end of town to the other, celebrates the salmon’s homecoming and welcomes back its tufted puffins, Earth has a special place in the hearts of Cannon Beach’s residents.

Earth is so special, in fact, that at least 12 days are devoted to it, because one Earth Day isn’t enough.

Two men with local connections participated in the Super Spartan Race held April 6 in Las Vegas. It featured 8.6 miles and 20-plus obstacles in 80-plus degree weather.

More than 6,200 entered the race and fewer than 5,000 finished. Former Seaside resident Ken Benfield, who graduated from Seaside High School in 1975, and his nephew Patrick, of Astoria, who graduated from Knappa High School, were among the finishers. Benfield placed fifth and Morgan placed 49th in their respective age brackets.

PORTLAND — Foss Maritime said it’s selling its Columbia River business to Tidewater Barge Lines and laying off 60 workers.

The company’s connection with Astoria is its contract to provide pilot launch services for Columbia River Bar Pilots, who guide ships that have crossed the Columbia River Bar up its shipping channel.

“We have a contract with Foss … I presume the contract would go to Tidewater,” said Columbia River Pilot Capt. Paul Amos. “One of the entities is going to be obligated to provide us with pilot launch service.”

Many people have wondered what would become of the Astoria Builders Supply buildings since the company closed its doors in September. The Columbia River Maritime Museum didn’t wonder for long, though, seeing a golden opportunity fall into its lap.

The museum closed Monday on the two former Astoria Builders Supply buildings across the street from its main building, ensuring it can properly store, grow and exhibit more of its collections.

“This building here is essentially a turnkey storage area,” said Sam Johnson, executive director of the Columbia River Maritime Museum, surrounded by the vast emptiness of the former store and murals of Astoria’s history painted along the walls. “All we really need to do is move in our shelving and change the looks on the doors.

“This will take us onto the next 50 years, in terms of our ability to collect and grow.”

50 years ago — 1973

The destroyer escort USS Barbey left Astoria today for Portland after a day and evening of Astoria hospitality.

Graham Barbey said Cmdr. Theodore Shultz and his officers and crew wanted to thank Astoria, and said they hoped to return.

The Navy vessel is named after the late Vice Adm. Daniel E. Barbey, who pioneered and led amphibious warfare during World War II. He was the uncle of Graham Barbey, Astoria seafood firm owner.

One measure of a complex society is the tendency to use initials for long, complicated titles. It’s easier and saves time, but sometimes also leads to confusion.

This tendency surfaces most often in government — like CTIC for the Clatsop-Tillamook Intergovernmental Council, LGRD for the Local Government Relations Division, LOC for League of Oregon Cities or AOC for the Association Of Oregon Counties.

Usually initials are used by overworked secretaries who resort to them rather than type the long titles.

Sometimes officials try to use them, but have you ever tried to say CTIC or LGRD?

PORTLAND — State and federal natural resource agencies uniformly urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday to dump dredge spoils from the Port of Astoria proposed turning basin at sea.

Resource agencies and environmental groups opposed that disposal site at a public hearing on the 40-foot turning basin March 14. The agencies didn’t oppose the turning basin, however, which will link the Port’s docks with the 40-foot Columbia River shipping channel.

Assurances that the Port of Astoria won’t allow ships to use floating cranes manned by longshoremen to load logs prompted the Operating Engineers Union to stop picketing at the Port Wednesday.

However, removal of the pickets at Astoria doesn’t resolve the jurisdictional dispute between operating engineers and longshoremen over manning floating cranes.

The pickets, which had been posted at one or both entrances to the Port since last December, never actually halted Port activities, but did cause delays and inconveniences.

75 years ago — 1948

GEARHART — Navarre Smith and Pauline Virgin, young Gearhart cousins whose tip led the FBI to arrest John Harvey Bugg, wanted for the kidnapping of a Missouri sheriff, returned Wednesday from Portland after making a transcription of their exciting story at radio station KEX.

The recording will be heard over a national network Saturday night as a part of “Gangbusters,” the radio show which broadcast a description that led the cousins to identify a Gearhart riding academy employee as Bugg.

Smith and Virgin will receive rewards of $100 each from the sponsor of the radio show.

A piper cruiser piloted by Claude Stephens, of Seaside, crashed Thursday on the dunes at Sunset Beach.

Stephens is undergoing treatment in an Astoria hospital for a fractured right leg and ankle and other minor injuries. Jack Hansen, also of Seaside, who was a passenger in the plane, is also in the hospital undergoing treatment for a back injury.

Neither is thought to be in critical condition.

Hansen reported that winds were turbulent along the beach and the plane may have hit a downdraft. Progress had been steady in the course of the routine flight, he said, and both the pilot and passenger were surprised to find themselves headed downward, unable to control the plane.

City police received a surprise in the wee small hours of Saturday morning.

Their jail was involved in an accident with a red pickup truck that hit the jail side of the police station on 15th and Duane streets at 1:57 a.m.

Police, running out after the crash, found the truck against the jail wall. Laying beside the truck, beside the open door on the driver’s side, was Harlan C. Newbury, 29, of Astoria. Newbury, who was uninjured, was picked up on a drunkenness charge.

The Port of Astoria commission has offered the Navy use of the airport, including two buildings, if the Navy will pay $30,000 within the next five years for repair and maintenance of the buildings it will occupy and for cooperation in general repair and maintenance cost of roads, runways and other similar airport facilities.

WARRENTON — An Astoria man who “gate-crashed” a party aboard a fishing vessel in the Skipanon moorage before sunrise Monday was rescued from the depths of a mud puddle by Police Chief Anthony Mizell after his unwilling hosts had violently disagreed with his “communist preachings.”

Mizell said the boat owner and his guests had chased the interloper for half a mile and “made sure he didn’t miss a single mud puddle on the way.”

The boat owner told Mizell that the Astoria man had refused to leave the boat when the host disagreed with his “political ranting.” The chase followed.

Winter dealt another punch at the lower Columbia region Monday night, pushing the temperature down to freezing and subfreezing levels.

WARRENTON — Steve McNeil, a Seaside writer whose short stories appear regularly in The Saturday Evening Post and other leading magazines, left Monday for a four-day fishing cruise aboard the 80-foot fishing dragboat Cavalcade. The boat, operated by the Del Mar Canning Co., is captained by Katsu Hammachi and has an all-Nisei crew.

McNeil said he was in search of story material and considered a shark fishing expedition an excellent source. The writer recently received word from his agent that he had sold two stories to top magazines in a single day.

A story tentatively entitled “Sauce for the Goose” was purchased by The Saturday Evening Post and one called “Home Is Where the Work Is” was taken by Redbook.