10 years ago 1997

For many years, I had wanted to see an aircraft carrier up close, so when the opportunity arose for me to ride on the USS Abraham Lincoln from Bremerton to Everett, I grabbed it. I was so excited the night before I could hardly sleep. To catch a ride to Bremerton with the Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce I had to arrive behind the Tulalip Inn at 4:45 a.m. There were 21 of us riding in two vans. We caught the ferry in Edmonds, rode to Kingston, and then drove to Bremerton. Once we found the naval base, we had sort of a tour due to confusing directions given to the van drivers. In fact, we drove through one gate twice. When we arrived at the carrier, it was still rather dark so the enormity of the ship didnt really register. We cleared through several gates and climbed two sets of stairs (I believe they are called gangways) to enter the ship. I found myself in one of the enormous hangar bays (Let me pause here to mention that everything on this ship is enormous, so I hope you dont tire of this word). The Lincoln has three hangar bays which normally hold 80-plus fixed wing aircraft and six helicopters, all of which were not on the ship during this trip to provide room for all of the guests. Aircraft normally on board include the F/A-18 Hornets, F-14 Tomcats, EA-6B Prowlers, S-3A Vikings and E-2c Hawkeyes. The six helicopters are SH-60 Seahawks. The USS Abraham Lincoln is a floating city. It carries a crew of approximately 3,000. When the air wing is on board that number jumps to nearly 6,000, more than the population of Arlington. It has many of the same things as a city including a post office with its own ZIP code, TV and radio stations, a newspaper, a fire department, a library, a hospital, general store, two barber shops and much more. Since I was the first media person to arrive Wednesday morning, I was taken to the television studio to meet with the assistant Public Affairs Officer. It seems that I was about an hour and a half early. The room I entered looked like the control room of a television station. There were several shows on the different monitors with two sailors sitting at the console. I went back to the hangar deck and enjoyed coffee and donuts until the press briefing. Then we moved up to the flight deck to witness the departure from Bremerton. There were many sailors manning the rails. That is what they call it when a long line of sailors line up along the edge of the ship and stand at attention. This is done as a show of respect whenever a Navy ship leaves or enters a harbor. It was interesting that the term manning is still used in this day and age especially since approximately 10 percent of the personnel on ship are female. But tradition is tradition. The sailors were constantly being reminded over the loudspeaker to keep the toes up to the scupper. The scupper is a rail about four inches high that keeps the airplanes form rolling off the deck, explained a sailor standing near me. Two tugboats pulled the Lincoln out of the dock and we were underway. The sailors had to man the rails until we were through Rush Passage, which took over one hour. Rush Passage is especially treacherous for a ship the size of the Lincoln. Large ships must leave exactly on time so that the tide is right. At high tide there is only seven feet of clearance between the bottom of the ship and the bottom of Rush Passage. The sailors on the bridge (which is where they navigate or steer the ship) are very nervous during this time because there is a 3-second delay between the bridge and the rudder. In other words, it takes any turn 3 seconds to start to take effect. And a large ship can go a long way in 3 seconds. The enormity of the deck started to sink in as I roamed around. The flight deck is 1,092 feet long and 252 feet wide, which equals 4.5 acres. The flight deck is long enough to have both the NFC and AFC championship games at the same time, then the Super Bowl in a different spot. Shortly before the Lincoln was to dock in Everett, the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet arrived via a helicopter from Whidbey. Admiral Archie Clemens became the 28th Commander in Chief Nov. 7, 1996. He came aboard for the final leg of the trip and to award the ship with the 1996 Golden Anchor Award. The award is given to the ship which retains the most sailors through reenlistments. A welcoming ceremony was held in which several local dignitaries spoke and made presentations to Captain Robert Willard, the ships commanding officer. Among the local dignitaries were Mayor Dave Weiser of Marysville and Mayor Bob Kraski of Arlington. Mayor Weiser presented a proclamation and a history of Marysville and Mayor Kraski proclaimed Jan. 5 through Jan. 11, 1997, USS Abraham Lincoln Week in the city of Arlington

25 years ago 1982

While the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission was proposing a compromise which would allow some salmon sports fishing in the spring, Tulalip Fisheries Director Ray Fryberg said there is a vital need to get an accurate picture of area fisheries. The State Department of Fisheries, which noted the concern of sports fishermen who fear the fishing industry may be destroyed, planned to take the offer to Gov. John Spillman and the sports fishermen. The proposal by the Indian Fisheries would require closure of some areas of Puget Sound to Chinook and sports fishing. The offer was identical to an offer made by the Indians but rejected last fall by the state, said a Seattle newspaper. U.S. District Judge Walter Craig of Phoenix will rule on the recommendation, but Fryberg feels the groups will have to get back together for further discussions on the proposal. Theres a real need to get accurate data and an improved accounting of fish being caught, said Fryberg. Fryberg said he wasnt convinced a figure of 8,500 was accurate regarding a proposed quota of harvestable steelhead in the Snohomish River system. The system including the Snohomish River, The Skykomish, and the Snoqualmie as well as several smaller streams had its quota set prior to the commercial and sports seasons. Each user group is then allowed half of the harvestable quota. Fryberg admits the Tulalip fisheries program may be near it allotted 4,250 from the system, but pointed out the states data is questionable. More analysis is needed, he said. There are possibilities there could be considerably more harvestable fish in that system. At the meetings last week, we expressed a concern for accurate numbers. A thorough analysis certainly could change that figure. While it has been pointed out to the Tulalip Fisheries they may be taking steelhead headed for the Skagit and Stillaguamish river systems with their gillnetting off Port Susan and Port Gardner, Fryberg pointed out their program doesnt overlook that possibility. Our commercial areas are broken into sub-areas so we can close down certain areas or open them up to protect the Skagit stocks, he said. We are able to manage and separate. Weve done tag recovery studies to back up our management philosophy. Fryberg said the Tulalip Fisheries are against moving their nets into the Snohomish River, pointing out the difficulty of maneuvering the system with 32-foot boats. Wed find it pretty difficult changing our fleet. And we dont want to cause any hostility among the different fisheries.

50 years ago 1957

One more loop in the red tape surrounding the citys plan to extend its sewer outfall at Ebey Slough was uncurled Monday evening. Approval was received from the State Department of Public Lands for the improvement. This state agency also asked for a $26 fee for a right-of-way granted across tideland. Council voted to authorize payment of the fee, thus removing one obstacle of the numerous ones which have arisen. It still remains to obtain approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which hinges upon withdrawal of objections of towboat companies operating locally. Approval of the state pollution commission has been tentatively promised if the city does not lag in its plans for a sewage treatment plant in the not too distant future.