Mountain Times

They work for scale

"Ewwww."

"This is absolutely disgusting."

"Where do I take these buggers?"

"Gross."

The objections echoed loud and clear through the forest canopy at Lost Creek campground. The stench of dead fish rose in the air. Gory blood trails tracked over the sides of a pickup truck.

The scene was genuinely forbidding. The complaints were predictably continuous. But the commitment was oddly undeniable.

The Sandy River Basin Watershed Council held its annual salmon toss on Lost Creek Nov. 15. There were local volunteers, students from Sam Barlow High, even an eager helper from Olympia, Washington.

Alex Troudt (of course, the "d" is silent), Barlow sophomore, said he was up to the task as he pulled on his wet-weather gear.

"I’m looking forward to it," Troudt said. "Besides, I get extra (class) credit."

He then took a sniff at the odor wafting from the tubs of dead salmon. He wrinkled his nose, but offered: "I can deal with it. It’s a good cause. It’s good for the environment."

The idea behind the toss is to put adult salmon carcasses – brought from the Sandy hatchery after spawning – into Lost Creek

to nourish the wild, juvenile salmon living in the creek, and to become food for

insects, birds and mammals.

The project objectives, according to Russ Plaeger, coordinator for the watershed council, are varied and include:

— Increase production of naturally spawning populations of salmon and steelhead in key tributaries of the Sandy River.

— Increase the production of cutthroat trout and other native species.

— Provide secondary benefits for terrestrial carnivores and birds.

— Engage the community in watershed stewardship through a hands-on approach to learning about watershed ecology.

And these gritty volunteers indeed got their hands on.

Molly Burbach, another Barlow sophomore, held her hands in the air, rubber gloves festooned with fish parts and donned a sour expression.

"All these fish guts and blood," she said. "This is not working for me."

Then she bent down and went right back to work. Minutes later she pulled a 15-pound salmon carcass off its string and sent it flying into the creek – a look of personal satisfaction etched on her face.

The volunteers worked diligently as the thrill of tossing the fish became paramount.

Declines in the number of returning adult salmon – 10 percent of historic levels – prompts the effort. And the carcasses are essential to the environment – far beyond providing instant nutrition.

Studies on some rivers in the Pacific Northwest have found a marine-derived nitrogen isotope in old conifers growing near the river. The only sources for that nitrogen were the bodies of adult salmon that had returned to those rivers, Plaeger said.

As the work wound down, the tubs emptied, salmon carcasses bobbing in the creek’s shallows, the volunteers trudged from the scene, shaking fish orts from their gloves, jackets and pants.

One student, still clad in his messy garb, opened his arms to his terrified classmates. "Anyone want a hug?"

There were enough to go around.

by Larry Berteau/Mountain Times

Break-ins shatter windows, nerves

(WELCHES) – Local residents in the tony neighborhood of Elk Park Road are on the alert after a spate of recent break-ins.

Four houses were hit in a six-day period from Nov. 6 to Nov. 12. Losses ranged from nothing being taken after entrance was gained through a broken window, to an estimated $10,000 ransacking of another.

Hardest hit was the residence of Steve and Lisa Siegfried on Nov. 6.

"We came home Thursday night and after Steve opened the front door we didn’t even have to go inside," Lisa Siegfried told The Mountain Times. "The family room was a mess. Steve turned to me and said ‘we’ve been broken into.’"

"I was shocked," Steve Siegfried said. "There was a feeling of being invaded. I felt safe here before – probably not so safe any more."

The first clue was a miter saw in the middle of the family room – an item that was evidently too awkward to be removed.

The couple proceeded through all the rooms and they found it difficult to assess what was missing due to the chaos that stretched before them.

They had grabbed everything they could to use as carry sacks," Lisa said. "Steve’s ski boot pack was missing, pillow cases had been taken off the beds. I guess they just filled them up."

An attempt to call the sheriff’s office was foiled when the phone wouldn’t work. Later, they discovered the phone had been unhooked at the outside box. A county sheriff’s deputy arrived later after being summoned by cell phone.

"The deputy saw all kinds of finger smudges on the furniture and appliances, but they were made with gloves, so there weren’t any finger prints," Lisa said.

Missing items included power tools, a wall tapestry, jewelry, Tibetan masks made of turquoise and coral, china, glass figurines and miniatures from Nepal, and a prescription bottle of pills for their dog – designed to curb a leaky bladder.

"The directions on the bottle were pretty faded," Lisa said, unable to muffle a chuckle. "I hope they tried them."

Entry was made through a window in the great room and it appeared the burglars had used a pitch fork to break the glass.

Fortunately for the Siegfrieds, to access the house requires climbing a steep outside set of stairs, and Lisa figures that is why the TV, VCR, and other heavier items were not taken.

They estimate their loss to be close to $10,000.

"But most of the items taken were more personal, things given to us, and had no value to anyone else," Lisa said.

Ironically, a month before a friend had let them know of a "couple suspicious characters" hanging out in the neighborhood. That prompted the Siegfrieds to install an alarm system. The first attempt to do so was thwarted when the company cancelled an appointment, then they showed up with the wrong equipment. While waiting for the next appointment, they were burglarized.

"The alarm system was installed the next day," Steve said.

Broken windows were suffered at two other residents, and a computer was stolen at a home that was entered by smashing through a dead-bolted door. All the break-ins occurred on Elk Park Road.

The home of Rebecca and Karson Knutson was among those targeted. They arrived at their residence the day after the event and discovered a broken window used for entry.

"Nothing was missing," Rebecca Knutson said. "They must have been scared off, or something. But the window replacement is going to cost us about $1,000."

Mountain resident Mike Wherity was watching one of the homes for the residents who were out of town – it was hit Nov. 12.

"I went by to check the house just before dusk and noticed the electric gate wasn’t working," Wherity said. "The lights were off, the meter had been removed from the garage and the phone system was disabled."

Entry was made through a double window in the back. "The window was broken out and the place was ransacked. All the jewelry was gone. A lap-top was missing. They knew what they were doing," Wherity said.

Sara McClurg, crime prevention officer for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department, confessed there had been an "up-tick in break-ins, but mostly cars" throughout the county. These were the first incidents to come specifically from the Mountain community.

"It is conjecture, of course," but in incidents like these, all in the same general area, the (offenders) are organized and probably locals," McClurg said.

She also noted that the department tracks activity like this. "It gets our attention," she said. "Our patrol deputies take ownership of districts they work in. They take incidents like these personally."

Betsy LaBarge, of Cascade Property Management and a resident in the same area as the break-ins, is spearheading a prevention effort by forming a Neighborhood Watch Program.

McClurg is working with the Elk Park Road residents and others from the surrounding area to form the watch unit. The first meeting is set for early December.

If the program is formed it will be first one in the Mountain community, according to McClurg.

"Then we’re making history," Rebecca Knutson said.

"I hope we can organize," Steve Siegfried said. "People in the communityneed to watch out for each other."

by Larry Berteau/Mountain Times

Wave delayed to spring 2009

The Mountain community will have to wait for the Wave to crash on its shore.

Wave Broadband purchased Charter Communications in April and took over that cable television service in our area. Supposedly, high-definition digital television and high-speed Internet was to follow in a window pegged for January or February.

Now, it won’t be showing up until spring of 2009.

"We have crews in the area working on the upgrade, but don’t have a firm launch date yet," said Adam Lazara, marketing director for Wave. "We recognize the need for high-speed Internet and we are expediting as well as we can."

Lazara pointed to obtaining the necessary permits and weather as the primary factors that are slowing the process.

Besides HD and high-speed Internet, Wave will offer movies and television shows on demand and Internet telephone service.

Once the HD and Internet services are rolled out there will be multiple packages available for each, including at least five different cable deals with "even faster Internet speeds than previously planned," Lazara said.

by Larry Berteau/Mountain Times