INSIDE
INSIDE
Multi-agency training burn
Seasons Greetings Special Section
Pages A8
2019
Inside:
Letters to Santa
Headlight Herald by Tillamook County students Headlight Herald
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019
Citizen North Coast
VOL. 132, NO. 53 • $1.00
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
Beach access closed at Cape Kiwanda T
he beach access ramp at Cape Kiwanda on Hungry Harbor Road in Pacific City is closed to all traffic until further notice, according to a report from the Tillamook County Public Works Department. The report said the beach access ramp is currently unsafe, and until permanent repairs can be made it will remain closed. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” the public works report said. “We will be working with the Oregon Parks Recreation District and emergency services to bring a resolution to this issue.” If you have any questions, please call County Parks at 503322-3477 ext. 4 or Tillamook County Public Works at 503-842-3419.
The beach access ramp is currently unsafe, and until permanent repairs can be made it will remain closed. Submitted photo
Kilchis House resident Bunny turns 100 years old, receives 110 birthday cards Hilary Dorsey headlightreporter@ countrymedia.net
B
unny, a resident at Kilchis House, turned 100 years old Wednesday, Dec. 11. Her family celebrated her birthday with cake, ice cream and a dinner hosted by Kilchis House. Bunny was born Elda Bess on Dec. 11, 1919. She was born in Lamar, Colorado. Her dad nicknamed her ‘Bunny’ and the name stuck. She married Edward Hyatt in 1938 after high school. Edward was a policeman in Rawlins, Wyoming for 20 years. Everyone called Edward by a nickname,
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Ted. They had two children, Ted and Kathy. Her daughter, adopted, lives in Idaho. She has three grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren as well as 13 great-greatgrandchildren. Ted said that his dad and his dad’s brother-in-law worked on Donner Pass, cutting right away for PG&E. They lived up there for three years. They lived in tents in the snow while they worked. The couple moved from California to Wyoming. Bunny worked as a head cook at Rawlins Memorial Hospital for several years. “She cleaned houses for people, she did laundry for people, made wedding cakes, she sewed, and was the president of the VFW, the women’s thing, for years,” Ted said. Bunny and Edward moved to Tillamook in 1970. Edward passed away in 2002. Her sisterin-law turned 101 years old in June. “They are the best of friends all of these years,” Ted said. Bunny loves to sew, cook and garden. For trips with the family, she would do all the cooking, for up to 22 people. “Sewing was her passion,” Ted said. Bunny has a sewing machine
in her room at Kilchis House, and although she no longer sews, she won’t allow it to be taken out of her room. In her younger years, she was a boot stomping piano and harmonica player. Her daughterin-law, Carol Hyatt, said she has always been very active and has always been active in church when she is able. “She is a Rebecca here in Tillamook,” Carol said. Bunny has been a resident at Kilchis House for 15 years. She has a plant that she brought with her when she moved in that is now 65-70 years old. It is a Christmas cactus that the staff has been taking care of. “She made all of what is called aprons, that the residents wear here,” Carol said. She also made quilts for Kilchis House. “They were lap robes,” Carol said. “She’s never smoked or chewed tobacco or drank alcohol,” Ted said when asked what Bunny’s secret is to be living so long. “Never smoked,” Bunny said. “Never drank.” Bunny still has a remaining sister. Her two brothers, one of them being her twin, passed away. Bunny, Ted and Carol celebrat-
More Chinook deaths lead to salmon angling closure
Bunny, her son Ted and his wife Carol
Bunny received 110 birthday cards for her 100th birthday Hilary Dorsey/Headlight Herald
ed her birthday by reading a letter Bunny received for her birthday from the president. Bunny read this letter out loud. Bunny has gone through 17 presidents in her lifetime, her family said. Bunny also received 110 birthday cards. Carol said they Photo: Metro Creative Outlet
F
ollowing a recent die-off of fall Chinook salmon in the Wilson River, excessive prespawn mortality of fall Chinook in other nearby rivers has prompted fishery managers to close the entire North Coast to all salmon angling effective Dec. 13-31. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the closure includes all North Coast basins from the Nestucca River to the Necanicum River. Angling for steelhead is unaffected by this change and remains open under permanent regulations. Monitoring of North Coast basins, in response to the recent die-off observed in the Wilson River and by reports from the public of similar mortality events in other rivers, revealed substantial deaths of fall Chinook salmon (more than half of the carcasses sampled in the Nestucca, Trask and Kilchis rivers this week) prior to spawning. Additional pre-spawn mortalities have been observed in the Wilson River since last week’s closure as well. The mortality is attributed to the spread of cryptobia, a naturally occurring parasite which only affects certain fish species and poses no risk to humans. The closure is necessary to protect remaining fall Chinook adults to allow them to reach spawning
grounds, according to Robert Bradley, district fish biologist for ODFW’s North Coast Watershed District. “The observed pre-spawn mortality is on top of a reduced run of fall Chinook this year,” Bradley said. “We need to protect the remaining spawners to help provide for future runs of fall Chinook on the North Coast.” Angling for all salmon is closed for the remainder of 2019 in the following areas: Necanicum River basin, Nehalem Bay and River, including the NF Nehalem, Tillamook Bay and rivers (Tillamook River, Trask River, Wilson River, Kilchis River and Miami River), and Nestucca Bay and River, including Three Rivers and the Little Nestucca River. The pre-spawn mortality event appears to be limited to the North Coast. Assessments of other basins further south have not revealed any incidents of this kind. Due to this, no angling regulation changes are being made in other locations.
Bunny holds up the letter from the president had hoped to get 100. Bunny also ate cake and ice cream with her family and a couple of friends. Kilchis House hosted a special birthday dinner later that day.
Razor clamming closed on Oregon Coast T he Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announce the entire Oregon coast is closed for commercial and recreational razor clamming due to elevated levels of the marine biotoxin domoic acid. Mussel harvesting is closed from the south jetty of the Coquille River at Bandon to the California border for elevated levels of paralytic shellfish toxin. Mussel harvesting is open from the Columbia River to the north jetty of the Coquille River at Bandon. Bay clams and crab are open for recreational harvesters along the entire Oregon coast. Contact ODFW for recreational license requirements, permits and rules. For more information please call ODA’s shellfish safety information hotline at 800-448-2474 or visit the ODA shellfish closures webpage.