November 3, 2017
T he C olumbia P ress
6
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
Brain boosts come in pleasantries
As I get older, I’ve noticed
more joint pain when the
rain and cold temps begin.
Are these simply challenges
of becoming a senior citizen
or could we become conquer-
ors rather than conquered?
Toward the end of Septem-
ber, I shared that I had joined
the Otago Exercise Program.
The free program, which
originated in New Zealand, is
sponsored by the Northwest
Senior and Disability Ser-
vices. A therapist came to my
home after I registered and
put me through some testing
to determine my basic needs,
including my probability of
having a fall. In my case, it
was my balance that needed
retraining. Also included was
strength training and walk-
ing. I have a log to keep up
on all of this.
In addition to the therapist,
a personal trainer came to
my home once a week in the
beginning.
I can’t tell you how jazzed I
am about this program. I rec-
ommend you call Michelle
Lewis, community program
supervisor at Senior and
Disability Services, 503-861-
4200. There may be a wait-
ing list, but would be good to
get your name in now.
Now all I need is help for
my forgetfulness. Any ideas
Michelle?
An important reminder: It’s
time to set clocks back one
hour this Sunday, Nov. 5.
You know the formula. In the
spring, we spring forward an
hour. And in the fall, we fall
back an hour. Well, most of
us across the United States
anyway. It’s called Daylight
Savings Time or DST.
Arizona is an exception and
in doing a double check, I see
that it isn’t even all of Arizo-
na. Hawaii is another state
that doesn’t do DST. And
then, of course, there are the
territories of Puerto Rico,
Virgin Islands, Guam and
American Samoa that do not
observe DST either. Not sure
about Alaska as it is almost
always daylight there?
For an interesting study, go
to your computer and bring
up
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Daylight_saving_time_in_
the_United_States
If you don’t have a comput-
er, run over to our amazing
Warrenton Library and use
one of its well-functioning
computers. You will learn of
the Benjamin Franklin Day-
light Savings beginnings in
1918 and also about the three
years during World War II
when DST was observed year
round as a safety factor and
so much more.
I remember one time when
Bud Haskell favored the se-
nior meal site with a short
ditty that I copied down. “Re-
member, people will judge
you by your actions not your
intentions. You may have a
heart of gold, but so does a
hard-boiled egg!”
Everyone liked that one. So,
don’t be a hard-boiled egg.
And vote yes on the library
levy. You’ll be glad you did!
Letter to the Editor
Why won’t the city take action on Eighth Street structure?
Warrenton City Commission
has been taking actions that
would potentially allow the
removal of the Eighth Street
flood control structure since
April 2014. The city has been
working with public organi-
zations using Bonneville Pow-
er Administration incentive
money to finance full removal
of the structure.
In the last quarter of 2015,
the tide gates were removed,
allowing the tide to surge in
and out unrestricted.
Both organizations seeking
removal of the structure pub-
licly assured the citizens of
Warrenton there would be no
serious risk of flooding south
of the structure.
In December 2015, there
was an unprecedented flood-
ing event south of the Eighth
Street structure that caused
significant property damage
to one residence, and the flood
water came within 12 inches of
water height of causing sub-
stantial major damage to many
residences along the river in-
side Warrenton’s city limits.
Another Warrenton property
owner substantially damaged
their vehicle after being forced
to drive through the approx-
imately 30-inch flood water
trying to get home.
It’s extremely concerning to
think ambulance or emergency
service vehicles may be unable
to reach some of our citizens
because of future flooding.
From 1963, when the struc-
ture was built with tide gates
installed, until December
Senior lunch menu
Monday, Nov. 6: Chicken with mushrooms, brown rice, green
beans, navy bean soup, apple pie.
Thursday, Nov. 9: Corned beef, boiled potatoes, carrots, tomato
soup, chocolate cake.
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.
2015, there had never been a
flooding event of this magni-
tude. Additionally, weather
all over the world is becoming
more extreme and there is no
certainty more extreme events
won’t happen in the future.
City of Warrenton commis-
sioners decided to hire a Port-
land legal firm to conduct an
investigation of these events
because the Skipanon Water
Control District did not pro-
vide a full and accurate de-
scription of the consequences
when it applied to remove the
structure.
The investigation cost the
city $120,000 and the results
were presented at a public
commission meeting in Sep-
tember 2016.
In March this year, I was giv-
en access to the documents
from the investigation and I
found conduct by elected offi-
cials that was at the very least
unethical, and sometimes to-
tally illegal, in my opinion.
I am not a trained lawyer or
investigator. Therefore, at a
public meeting, I requested
Warrenton city commissioners
release to the public informa-
tion they had in their posses-
sion. Commissioners informed
me they would not do that at
that time.
At a Monday mayor’s cof-
fee meeting, a typed list of
the authorities responsible
for enforcing regulations and
laws for the state and federal
government was given to the
Warrenton city manager and
mayor so that these legal en-
forcement organizations could
investigate the situation offi-
cially. City leaders ultimately
decided they did not want to
forward the information at
that time.
The city wanted time to work
with the Corp of Engineers and
obtain their official position on
the problem. They also wanted
time to meet with directors of
the Skipanon Water Control
District in a mediation effort
to resolve ongoing problems.
I have waited six months for
Warrenton city commissioners
to act. Instead, they’ve decid-
ed to study the potential for
future flooding before further
action is taken.
During the meeting with the
water district, I saw what I
feel is the intransigence of its
board of directors in their dis-
regard for future flooding po-
tential.
I have decided to send all in-
formation I have in my posses-
sion to 19 government organi-
zations charged with enforcing
the law or politically in charge
of the organizations tasked
with carrying out the law.
I sent each of these entities
a package stating the facts as I
understand them and 12 pho-
tos of flooding that occurred in
December 2015 so these inves-
tigators could judge for them-
selves how much potential
flood damage could happen in
the future if the tide gates are
not replaced.
I also sent the full summary
of the legal investigation done
for the city of Warrenton so
these organizations wouldn’t
need to start from scratch to
look into the possibility laws
had been broken.
These packages are now in
the possession of state and
federal organizations charged
with enforcing the laws. I await
official response from these or-
ganizations as to what action
they plan to take to deal with
the issue.
In closing, I’m disappointed
I’ve personally had to take this
action as I have been unable
to motivate the full City Com-
mission to take action before
winter arrives and a potential
adverse weather event occurs
that exceeds all historical ex-
perience.
To protect its citizens, I hope
the Warrenton City Commis-
sion will take some type of ac-
tion to effectively deal with this
issue in the foreseeable future.
Scott Widdicombe
Warrenton