Letters, Columns, Opinion
Dairy Princess Ambassadors
Pages 5-10
Page 2
Headlight Herald
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022
VOL. 134, NO. 23 • $1.50
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
Parade Pomp and rainy Circumstance for 2022 THS Grads U
Jordan Wolfe For the Herald
nder a drizzly June sky, the Tillamook High School Class of 2022 graduated with a flower in their hand and fireworks overhead. “I knew I was tempting fate with a third year in a row of outdoor graduation,” THS Principal Christy Hartford said, as the small raindrops fell. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Tillamook High’s Commencement Exercises have shifted away from the Sue Durrer Dairy Barn at the Fairgrounds and to the grassy parking lot just west of the facilities. “I am so deeply proud of these graduates. We’ve all really been through it in the last three years,” Hartford said. “You’ve all gained incredible skills that will serve you well after high school.” More than 160 graduates marched to their seats to a recording of “Pomp and Circumstance” between a lane bordered by their teachers on one side and parked vehicles with family and friends on the other. Logan McKibbin performed the StarSpangled Banner to begin the Commencement Exercises after he and his classmates took their seats on bleachers underneath a large marquee of silver and crimson foil balloons spelling out 2022 and between a pair of Burden’s Muffler and Towing trucks hoisting a large video screen to give the attendees a better view from their vehicles. Yin Yin Tang, valedictorian of the Class of 2022, delivered her address next to a large bouquet of red and white flowers – the THS school colors. Tang said graduation was a monumental moment in not only her life – but also that of her family. “I will be the first person in my family to attend college,” she said, “and I am the first to even graduate high school.” Tang, whose parents are the owners of Lin’s Restaurant in Tillamook, will be attending UC Berkeley. “At first, I wanted to be a heart surgeon because of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, but I soon discovered that wasn’t my gig,” Tang said with a laugh. Thoughts of pursuing law came next – until she realized she was terrible at arguing, she admitted. Now, she is on track to study engineering, and reminded her classmates – and herself – that if she changes her mind, that is perfectly fine. “As human beings, we are created to explore and overcome obstacles,” she said, “not to achieve everything at once.” Brock Manderson, salutatorian of the Class of 2022, spoke of his own fear of failure and how that was a driving force in his life – but realized it was coming at a cost. “I tried so hard to replicate the success
Yin Yin Tang, THS Class of 2022 valedictorian addresses the crowd. Photo by Jordan Wolfe of my past, I forgot to live in the present,” he said. “The key is to not overthink your future and not overthink your past.” Four graduates were awarded with the Mabon scholarship during their commencement. Jennifer Guarcello, communication, grant, and foundation director for the Tillamook School District 9 Education Foundation, said the scholarship was designed for students to identify and select a teacher to help them along their next steps in either college or a trade school. Mabon Scholarship recipients: Allison Bell - $7,000; Makayla Tuiolemotu – $3,500; Yin Yin Tan - $3,500; Abby Aguilar – $3,500. “I remember watching many of these students walking in on their first day of first grade,” Guarcello said. A rainbow of different cords was worn around the necks of most of the graduates and each held a significance – a change from the simple gold cords once worn by the top 10 percent of the class in years past. Now, every student with a GPA of 3.5 or higher was draped with a gold cord. If you see photos of graduates and are confused by the myriad cord colors, here is a breakdown: • Purple: Represents Associated Student Body officers. • Gold: Represents students earning 3.5 GPA and higher. • Black and Red: Represents the academic top 10 percent students. • Green and White: Represents individuals who completed three credits in one of
the CTE programs, which include agriculture, health occupations, natural resources and information and communication technology programs. • Gold, Black, and Red: Represents students in the National Honors Society. • Green, Red and White: Represents Seal of Biliteracy. • Navy: Represents Key Club Membership. • Blue and Gold: Represents a variety of activities including: active FFA membership, Quill and Scroll, and Portland Community College credit earners. • Red and White: Represents Tillamook schools participation with Special Olympics as a Unified Champion School. As the Class of 2022 received their diplomas, Hartford said each would also receive a flower to give to someone who had an impact on their educational journey. Graduates decorated their vehicles and drove through town in a parade ending up at the Fairgrounds.
Science Pub introduces offshore wind energy P
Hilary Dorsey Staff Writer
erspectives and complexities of responsible wind energy generation off the Oregon Coast was the topic of Oregon’s State University’s Science Pub meeting last month. Flaxen Conway, director of OSU’s marine resource management graduate program and an Oregon Sea Grant Extension specialist, presented the issue. In her roles at OSU, she works with coastal communities, families and other groups. She works with multiple partners to provide coastal and statewide outreach and engagement. “My work focuses on collaborative learning,” Conway said. “How to build connections, how to build solutions together, how to build resilience.” Conway said this talk is just an introduction to renewable energy. All the renewable energy solutions have their positives and negatives. Renewable energy continues to evolve. “Energy, the ocean and offshore wind can look different depending on one’s perspective,” Conway said. “There’s lots of viewpoints.” Marine renewable energy is just one solution. We need as many potential solutions as possible, Conway added. Research shows there is no one silver bullet. “Finding lasting solutions also takes creativity, it takes imagination, it takes careful consideration, recognizing what other challenges exist,” Conway said. Wind energy began at OSU and in Oregon in the early 2000s with a lot of research. There was some outreach and engagement during this decade. “This decade was kind of viewed as the first marine renewable energy gold rush,” Conway said. “In the 2010s, we had more research and development
n See WIND, Page A3
Investigation finds marijuana, fatigue and dangerous water reasons for Coastal Reign capsize taking two lives T
Joe Warren jwarren@countrymedia.net
rouble navigating through the dangerous south entrance of the Tillamook Bay Bar, combined with large waves, lack of sleep and marijuana use, led to the capsizing of a Warrenton commercial fishing vessel called Coastal Reign and the loss of two lives at the beginning of commercial crab season in 2021, a year-long investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard has discovered. “The totality of the circumstances in my opinion, was negligent,” Capt. Christopher Coutu, a staff judge advocate for the U.S. Coast Guard said. “I wanted the district commander to consider that and move it to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution.” A formal marine casualty investigation was launched immediately of the commercial fishing vessel which capsized Feb. 20, 2021. Rear Adm. Anthony Vogt, Coast Guard Thirteenth District Commander, authorized the investigation
pursuant to the authority contained in Title 46, United States Code, Section 6301 and the regulations promulgated thereunder, according to a release from the Coast Guard. On Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., officials with the Coast Guard presented the findings of a formal marine casualty investigation involving the Coastal Reign during a town hall at Garibaldi City Hall. Victims’ families were present along with community members. A full report of the findings and what was presented to the public can be found on the Coast Guard’s website. “The investigation confirms that the sinking of the Coastal Reign was a preventable accident,” the report states. The report recommends that Brandon Anderson, the master of the Coastal Reign, be referred for prosecution. The report also recommends that the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland issue a civil penalty against Anderson for negligence. Coast Guard officials also stated in the report, they will turn over all information from the investigation if the State of Oregon is interested in pursuing criminal charges regarding the capsizing. Investigators spoke to survivors and witnesses and examined footage of the event to determine the cause of the incident.
On Feb. 20, 2021, shortly after 4:30 p.m., the 38-foot fishing vessel attempted to cross the bar with four crew members and about two tons of Dungeness crab. They had spent the previous week crab fishing on multiple trips and wanted to sell their catch at Garibaldi, where they could get more money per pound than it would in the Warrenton Port. The report also states, three of the four crew members, including Anderson, had smoked marijuana during the trip, including about half an hour before they tried to cross the bar. The Tillamook Bay bar is one of the most hazardous in the country, “challenging even for the most experienced of operators,” Capt. Christopher Coutu, the investigating officer from Coast Guard 17th District, said. That day, the bar had been closed to recreational and uninspected passenger vessels under 40 feet long, but not to commercial fishing outfits. Todd Chase, 51, the secondary operator from Warrenton, tried to enter the bar through the preferred route in the north, which is buoymarked, but backed out due to the height of the waves, the report states. Anderson brought the Coastal Reign “about 600 feet east of where he should have been,” Coutu said. Three waves struck the vessel’s
port side; the third capsized it. All four crew members were in the pilothouse when the vessel overturned. Chase drowned before he was found. Zachary Zappone, 41, a deckhand, also from Warrenton, was pronounced dead at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. Evidence of marijuana on board was confirmed through drug tests and physical evidence during the investigation. Zappone’s backpack, containing marijuana in a glass jar and a plastic bag, turned up while researching the site of the incident. Chase did not partake in mari-
juana use and had expressed misgivings about drug use on the trip, the report found. His crew mates hid their drug use from him, according to the report. Chase helped Zappone and the other deckhand put on their lifejackets. He was not wearing one himself; neither was Anderson. The report recommends that Coast Guard 13th District conduct a water access management study of the area to figure out where to place buoys, and work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine how much of the Tillamook Bay jetties are underwater.