September 29, 2017
T he C olumbia P ress
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Jail: OYA compound may become correctional center
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because of overcrowding.
• Tillamook County has
stopped renting out space for
Clatsop County inmates because
they’re at full capacity.
• There’s no rehabilitation go-
ing on because there’s no space,
time or personnel for it.
Jail construction and funding
haven’t gone well since 1976,
when voters approved a $2.1
million bond for a 76-bed jail.
Four years and a major reces-
sion later, the facility opened
with a scant 29 beds and a
promise of building a second
floor someday.
Now a multi-storied jail would
be outdated and cost too much to
staff since it would require dupli-
cating the same staff and tech-
nology on each floor as opposed
to an open floor plan that allows
fewer employees to watch over
larger more accessible areas.
In 2002, a bond to build a new
jail failed. The Grand Jury and
the authors of studies conducted
in 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2008
found the county jail under-
staffed and inadequate to meet
the need for bed space. The most
recent study – now nine years
old – projected the county will
need a 170-bed jail by 2020.
The county hired DLR Group
of Seattle to determine what it
would take to turn the 50-bed
OYA facility into a jail. Due to
state budget cuts, funding for
the OYA program will cease at
the end of the fiscal year.
There are two possible scenar-
ios, said Erica Loynd, senior as-
sociate with DLR Group.
The first would give the county
140 beds through modifications
of the current OYA facility. It
would cost $9 million in con-
struction costs to get it workable
for an adult jail population and
another $3.8 million in technol-
ogy and other “soft” costs for a
total of $12.8 million. It would
require 46 staff members.
The second scenario would
require more construction up
front with a floor plan allow-
ing staff to see an entire floor
of inmates from a centralized
location. There would be fewer
personnel costs over the long-
term. This would require $20.6
million in construction and $7.9
million in soft costs for a total of
$28.6 million. It would require
24 staff members.
Staff costs currently are $3.47
million for the jail. The first sce-
nario would require staffing at
$4.89 million and the second
scenario would require $4.03
million.
A remodel would be less ex-
pensive in the short run and the
second option would be less ex-
pensive in the long run.
Tansy Point: History to be posted at new kiosk
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that grew in abundance there
– became the center of the
settlement of Flavel, which
included a hotel there.
Eventually, the land became
owned by the Carruthers
family who donated it to the
city in 1977.
Eben Carruthers, namesake
of the city park there, was a
businessman and inventor
of a specialized tuna canning
process.
More recently, the proposed
land swap or sale of a portion
of Tansy Point several years
ago prompted residents to
organize a successful ballot
measure campaign to block
the city from selling large
assets without a vote of the
people.
“Tansy Point has a very long
story and controversial his-
tory,” Mayor Henry Balen-
sifer said in voting to support
the kiosk plan. “I think this is
great and it helps tie our peo-
ple to where they live.”
The Parks Advisory Board
and Northwest Trails Coali-
tion plan to fund construc-
tion of the kiosk through
fund-raising and grants.
The city’s letter of support
would be used to back up any
grant requests.
Senior lunch menu
Monday, Oct. 2: Pork goulash, noodles, cabbage, salad of
mixed greens, chocolate cake.
Thursday, Oct. 5: Salmon, roasted potatoes, broccoli,
coleslaw, apple pie.
503-338-2955
The Warrenton senior lunch program is at noon (doors
open at 10:30 a.m.) Mondays and Thursdays at Warrenton
Community Center, 170 SW Third St. Suggested donation is
$5 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more
information, call 503-861-3502.
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
For love of a special cookie
My “kids” gave me an amaz-
ing birthday party this week-
end to celebrate my 85th
birthday: A gigantic cake and
all the trimmings after a meal
of too much to mention but
that included two of my favor-
ites, salmon and rib-eye steak.
There was one item that
stood out: a plate full of Dutch
windmill cookies.
And you know me; I couldn’t
resist looking up the history
of windmill cookies. Maybe it
will be fun to do a disambigu-
ation of the windmill cookie. I
know, new word. Look it up!
I remember windmill cook-
ies, also called speculaas, as a
child and bought them for my
children as well.
In 1926, the Steenstra fam-
ily immigrated to the United
States, bringing the family
recipe for making those de-
licious cookies. They built a
bakery in Michigan and the
cookies were especially pop-
ular at Christmas. The cookie
cutter die used for shaping the
cookies was introduced about
the same time depicting “the
legend of St. Nicholas.”
In my research, I learned
“The shapes are St. Nick on
his horse, a windmill where
he lived, a rooster that would
wake him up, an owl that
made him wise and a boy and
girl that are the recipients of
St. Nick’s good cookie treats.”
Much as I loved those cook-
ies, I knew nothing about
them.
That reminds me of an-
other trait us seniors have
-- I learned this by not only
spending a lot of time with
seniors, but by being one –
no matter how old we are, we
have a thirst for learning.
Hitting my free Wikipedia
encyclopedia, I learned that
the Dutch and Belgian ver-
sions were usually baked with
light brown sugar and baking
powder whereas the German
spekulatius used baker’s am-
monia as the leavening agent.
Originally, fresh ingredients
were a must. And Indian, In-
donesian and Mediterranean
spices used in speculaas in-
cluded cinnamon, nutmeg,
cloves, ginger, cardamom,
anise and white pepper back
in the 1600s to 1700s, maybe
due to the Dutch East Indies
spice trade.
So what does this have to do
with us seniors? Memories!
Nostalgia! History! That is
what we are all about!
I did find an “almost” origi-
nal recipe for speculaas by go-
ing on my computer to Google
them. And once I get all the
spices, I hope to try them.
Meantime, the kids found
some at a place called “Trader
Joe’s” and guess where else I
found a version? At one of the
favorite hangouts for us se-
niors: Dollar Tree.
Speaking
of
Christmas
cookies, Phil Thompson, who
moderates the Warrenton
senior meal site program, re-
minded us on Monday that
there were 90 shopping days
until Christmas.
Phil then was challenged by
patron Merlin Humpal that
the correct number was 91.
Phil argued that he wasn’t
including Christmas and then
finally reluctantly agreed that,
in our day and age, there are
more than a few establish-
ments that remain open that
day too.
We will have to research
that one. Remember a time
when most stores closed on
Sundays?
We will have to disambigu-
ate that zeitgeist! Meaning?
Time is up for now; look it up!