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Ashlanders heavyhearted over shuttle tragedy By Amber Fossen Ashland Daily Tidings Ashlanders awoke to a worldwide tragedy Saturday, offering their thoughts and prayers for the families of space shuttle Columbia's doomed crew. Columbia broke apart in flames over Texas Saturday morning, killing six Americans and an Israeli on board. As details of the event continued to surface, many locals were surprised and saddened by the loss. John Hauschild, an Ashland resident for 18 years, said he had not heard there was an accident during the shuttle's re-entry until questioned by The Tidings. "It's just like the other one but they were only minutes from taking off. It's very unfortunate that's for sure," Hauschild said. Reeve Wall, a salesman at the Sound Advice store on east Colonial, in Orlando, Fla., watches television coverage of the shuttle disaster Saturday. AP NASA recently observed its only two other space tragedies - the Apollo spacecraft fire that killed three on Jan. 27, 1967 and the Jan. 28, 1986 Challenger explosion which killed all seven astronauts on board. These two tragedies are now joined by a third. "It's a heartbreaker. When you really evaluate it, we've lost 17 people in 30 years," checker Gary Smith, a former mayoral candidate in Ashland, said while working at PC Market of Choice. Smith, who was informed by a customer, said while tragedies and accidents do occur there have been hundreds of successful launches and orbits. "That proves we still have the most successful scientists and programs in the world but it is still sad when lives are lost," he said. Ashland resident Rhonda Williams, like many locals, had not heard of the early morning accident. "I need to go home and turn on the news," Williams said. Sam Kloosterman, a Medford resident, took a moment to absorb what happened before responding. "Tragedies go with the conquest of space, but it's too bad," Kloosterman said. Columbia, which launched Jan. 16, was NASA's oldest space shuttle. It originally entered orbit in 1981 and was in the process of completing it's 28th trip when it broke apart upon re-entry. "In my heart, we can learn from this, and hopefully, it will be better," Smith said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -