October 20, 2017
T he C olumbia P ress
6
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
Caterpillars as weathermen
Our local caterpillars are
predicting a wet and unusu-
ally cold winter.
Walking home from senior
lunch on Monday I stopped
and studied a few of those
beautiful little creatures. So
far, the black is winning.
I checked out my Old Farm-
er’s Almanac, which is a thick
little booklet-size magazine
that’s printed once a year. It
is probably most familiar to
us older seniors, since it has
been in print since 1792.
Here is the legend: “The
woolly bear caterpillar has 13
distinct segments of either
rusty brown or black. The
wider the rusty brown sec-
tions (or the more brown seg-
ments there are), the milder
the coming winter will be.
The more black there is, the
more severe the winter.”
Another miracle that I had
forgotten is that when spring
arrives, these woolly bear cat-
erpillars spin fuzzy cocoons
and transform inside them
into full-grown butterflies
or moths. So much to think
about!
And guess I forgot to tell
you that the proceeds of that
granny square afghan raffle
go to the Warrenton Senior
Citizens Inc. meal site build-
ing fund. A few years ago, a
gentleman named Jim Do-
nahue went on to heaven and
left our meal site $25,000,
establishing an actual build-
ing fund.
A step toward his dream
and the dream of many of us
seniors so one day it could
become a reality. Just a place
for Warrenton seniors to
hang out any day of the week
and drink coffee and maybe
shoot a game of pool or play
cards. Daily lunches and bin-
go, too. Fun to “dream on.”
Another thing I was think-
ing about. You know most of
us take a pill or pills to keep
our arteries open so we won’t
have a stroke and for various
other ailments. But what do I
take to avoid being hurt by a
terrorist? Or a tornado? Or a
wild fire?
I like to listen to a preacher
by the name of Dr. David Jer-
emiah on Sunday mornings
while getting ready to go to
church. Last week, he spoke
of the peace we can have with
God and peace from God
and the peace of God. (I took
notes.)
Anyway, he stressed that
we should not let the news of
the day steal our peace. That
meant a lot to me as I am,
admittedly, a news addict.
When I let worry take over,
perhaps when a tsunami is
threatened, or another crisis
is around the corner, I need
to call upon God and deter-
mine to rest and relax in His
peace.
I like to let my mind wan-
der. My hubby loved the
crust of every slice of bread
plus the heels. I cut them off.
Why don’t bread makers of-
fer us crust-less bread? You
know, like “paper or plastic,”
we could have “crust or no
crust.”
When I host my Pinoch-
le Club, I like to serve little
sandwiches and always cut
the crust off. Think of what a
time- and labor-saver crust-
less bread would be. Howev-
er, the birds would be sad as
they enjoy the crust.
Homework for your grand-
kids: How many legs does a
caterpillar have? (Answer
next week). Hint: Why was
the caterpillar late for his soc-
cer game? Answer: He was
putting his tennis shoes on.
Emergency: Clatsop EOC preparing for ‘The Big One’
Continued from Page 1
just forget,” Van Winkle said.
At Camp Rilea, Clatsop
County’s EOC houses up-to-
date electronics powered by
a self-contained electrical
system.
Computers connect with
radios that “feed” a tall tow-
er glistening with curiously
shaped antennas, some of
which seem designed to, well,
scare off Martians. Funded
by the county after the De-
cember ’07 storm, the EOC
and its tower sit on a foun-
dation comprised of volcanic
rock to give it better earth-
quake survivability.
In a crisis, a local profes-
sional Incident Commander
with a small support team
would meet at the EOC.
Pretrained volunteer hams
would be activated to run the
radios for getting the word
out to emergency crews in
the area, as well as to other
EOCs far away.
Other licensed operators
would be sent around the
area for mobile communica-
tions helping to link various
responders to the Incident
Commander’s team at the
EOC. The scheme is so well
proven that law enforcement,
fire and rescue, the Red
Cross, FEMA and even the
military value local amateur
radio volunteers in major di-
sasters.
Prominent use of computers
in Saturday’s drill reflected a
modernization of the image
of a radio operator franti-
cally trying to get in a word
through the chaos of Martian
sightings all over the state.
The PCs run an email-like
program called Winlink,
which controls external
smart boxes that in turn op-
erate the radios.
“Amateur radio digital
communication modes such
as Winlink allow operators
to send and receive email
via radio transmission,” said
Christopher Paddon, a volun-
teer ham with the EOC’s Aux-
iliary Communications unit.
“During a disaster, when cell
towers are down and Internet
is unavailable due to overuse
or outage, digital radio is the
preferred method of commu-
nicating critical information
quickly, accurately.”
One of the key benefits is
the automatic recording of all
messages in and out.
It’s all very formal. When
the team composes a mes-
sage, a ham at the EOC types
it into Winlink, then trans-
mits it. Inbound messages
are printed. All messages are
filed for use later to evaluate
and improve local emergency
operations.
Saturday’s crisis simulation
was three hours. Apparent-
ly, the Martians were dis-
couraged after realizing they
couldn’t sneak into town
without word getting out.
Kicker comes in form of credit this year
A more than $463 million
tax surplus was confirmed by
the Office of Economic Anal-
ysis earlier this month, trig-
gering a tax surplus credit,
or “kicker,” for the 2016 tax
year.
The surplus will be re-
turned to taxpayers through
a credit on their 2017 state
personal income tax returns
filed in 2018. There won’t be
any kicker checks issued as
in the past.
Taxpayers are eligible to
claim the kicker if they filed
a 2016 tax return and had tax
due before credits. Even if
you don’t have a filing obliga-
tion for 2017, you still must
file a 2017 tax return to claim
your credit.
For more info, call 800-
356-4222.
Senior lunch menu
Monday, Oct. 23: Baked chicken, cornbread dressing and gra-
vy, green beans, coleslaw, apple cake.
Thursday, Oct. 26: Roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy,
carrots, broccoli soup, key lime pie.
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.
AGENDA
CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WARRENTON
MEETING
TUESDAY October 24, 2017 – 6:00 P.M.
Warrenton City Commission Chambers – 225 South Main Avenue
Warrenton, OR 97146
This is a Preliminary Agenda. A final Agenda and full meeting packet
will be available on the City’s website at www.ci.warrenton.or.us after
4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20, 2017.
REGULAR MEETING BUSINESS
•
Police Officer Oath of Office and Badge Pinning Ceremony – Offi-
cers Beem & Crutcher
•
Consideration of Change Order No. 1 - Gray & Osborne, Water Me-
ter Replacement Project
•
Consideration of Purchase of F-150 pickup truck – Public Works
Warrenton City Hall is accessible to the disabled. An interpreter for
the hearing impaired may be requested under the terms of ORS 192.630
by contacting Dawne Shaw, Deputy City Recorder, at 503-861-2233 at
least 48 hours in advance of the meeting so appropriate assistance can
be provided.