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WARRENTON TEAM BEAUTIFIES
‘THE HEART OF THE CITY’
A military statue,
new landscaping
will enhance
entrance to town
By MARILYN GILBAUGH
FOR COAST WEEKEND
L
andscape designer
Beth Holland has a
vision for downtown
Warrenton.
She sees a park-like
setting where, at the town’s
central four-way stop, each
of the four corners com-
plements the others. Her
sketches feature well-placed
trees, blossoming shrubbery
and green grass.
Adjacent to the Post
Office and the popular Dairy
Maid, and across the street
from Lighthouse Park, a
long-awaited bronze statue
saluting U.S. soldiers from
World War I onward will
anchor it all.
Meanwhile, benches
and a few picnic tables will
invite townspeople and visi-
tors to meet and greet.
All of this smack dab
in Warrenton’s city center.
Sound good? It does to a
group of civic-minded War-
renton locals.
The four-way stop is “the
heart of the city,” Holland
said.
“The intersection reso-
nates, and people feel that
it’s an important place,” she
said. “This plan is cohesive,
and, with the installation of
the statue being a big cata-
lyst, when you drive or walk
by, you’ll have the sense
of entering a room — not a
flowery room but a memori-
al plaza,” she said.
With years of planning
and planting experience,
both in commercial and resi-
dential projects on the North
Coast, Holland has left her
mark on cities from Manza-
nita to Astoria. She has said
that beautifying civic spaces
leads to civic pride and a
sense of well-being.
Warrenton City Manager
Linda Engbretson agrees.
“The landscaping will
tie Main Street in with our
beautiful natural surrounds
and enhance our downtown
community,” Engbretson
said.
“I’m really excited about
this project,” which will be
paid for with urban renewal
dollars, she added.
Holland emphasized that
this project is a team effort.
Engbretson, Community
Development Director Skip
Urling, along with Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation’s Mark Buffington,
Warrenton resident Bert
Little, Mayor Henry Balen-
sifer, the city and planning
commissioners, Pacific
Power & Light and the Ur-
ban Renewal Agency have
to work together. Egos are
checked at the door.
‘Get it done’
Little, a Navy veteran,
is quartermaster of VFW
Fort Steven’s Auxiliary Post
10580.
With the support of the
Auxiliary — and a prom-
ise to “get it done” to the
previous quartermaster,
Leroy Dunne — Little and
his pals have finished, but
not yet unveiled, the bronze
military statue, a project in
the works for more than two
decades.
The full structure — a
7-foot-2-inch statue stand-
ing on a 6-foot pedestal —
is a tribute to everyone who
has served, or is serving, in
the military, he said.
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTO
From left to right: Urban Renewal Advisory Board member Bob Bridgens, Community Development Director Skip Urling, VFW
Quartermaster Bert Little, Mayor Henry Balensifer and landscape artist Beth Holland pose for a photo at Warrenton City Hall with
bricks that will be part of a new armed forces memorial.
Little’s wife, Debbie,
played no small role in
getting the statue complet-
ed. She enrolled in a grant
writing class at Clatsop
Community College, and, in
spring 2016, the Auxiliary
received a $72,020 grant
from the state Parks and
Recreation Department.
Mark Kenny, an artist
who served in the Coast
Guard eight years, was
commissioned to create the
statue.
“We wanted the monu-
ment placed so it could be
seen as you come across the
bridge,” Little said.
The group is planning a
community-wide unveiling
celebration, Little said.
Until then, however, the
monument is back from the
foundry and sitting under
wraps.
“With our urban renewal
program, we’ve made a lot
of improvements over at the
Warrenton Marina,” Urling
said. “For this next phase,
with Beth’s vision, we’re
going to try to improve our
city’s landscaping. It’s the
bits and pieces it takes to
make the whole.” CW
Portland
artist Mark
Kenny stands
next to the
monument
he created,
which will
eventually
stand near
the post
office in
Warrenton.
SUBMITTED
BY VFW FORT
STEVENS POST
10580