Letter to the Editor
Senior Moments
Support Toys for Tots this year
with Emma Edwards
Finding thanksgiving in life’s simple joys
Seems everywhere we go at
Thanksgiving time we end up
sharing what we’re thankful
for either this year or in our
entire lives.
The other day, I made ref-
erence to my beautiful home.
To which the person retort-
ed, “Oh? I thought you lived
in an apartment!”
That made me chuckle. I
explained that I did not own
a house, but of course I had
a home. And then, as I have
done once in a while, I told
her what I liked best about
my “home.”
I know this may strike you
as funny, but with all sincer-
ity I tell you I so enjoy my
Dumpster.
As a child, us kids some-
times fought over whose turn
it was to take the garbage out
to the two garbage cans.
Sometimes we had to climb
in and stomp the garbage
down to make room for
more.
We have two Dumpsters
November 24, 2017
T he C olumbia P ress
6
for the 30 apartments in my
complex. Such joy!
Besides my Dumpsters, I
am thankful for the laundry
room with three washers and
three dryers. More joy to run
three machines all at once.
Most houses have only one
washer and dryer. Always
washing; whereas that chore
only takes me two hours once
a week. More joy for sure!
What else am I thankful for?
For sure it is the noon meal at
our local meal site on Mon-
days and Thursdays. It takes
place at Warrenton Commu-
nity Center on Third Street.
It will delight your soul to
get in on some of the subjects
we cover within that hour or
so.
As for the menu, we so ap-
preciate the beautiful menu
box that the editor/owner of
this newspaper gives us each
week. In keeping with the
season, we extend a heartfelt
thank you to you, Cindy.
Now, thinking back to the
subject of thankfulness one
more time, recently it was
about baths when we were
children. I was born in ’32,
so times were a bit tough.
Being the fourth child, guess
who got the bath water after
the three boys had had their
baths?
More often than not, little
sister and I would share that
water.
I know, you say ugh! But we
usually had baths on Satur-
day nights only. And no, we
were not “poor people” but
frugality was a must in those
days.
And, in the realm of thank-
fulness, I cannot remember
when I wasn’t aware that
there was a God in our lives.
But as a child, He was an
Episcopal God, of course.
And after I married, He be-
came a Baptist God.
Summing up, I guess one
could say it’s OK to be thank-
ful for Dumpsters, multiple
washers and dryers and fresh
bath water.
But mixed into all of that,
I realize God never leaves us
nor forsakes us.
Recently, I read that “grati-
tude is the memory of a glad
heart.”
That makes me smile.
From 2006 through 2009,
I was honored to have coor-
dinated the Marine Corps
League Detachment 1228
Toys for Tots Toy Drive in
and around Clatsop County.
During that period, my af-
ter-action reports show that
are detachment distributed
15,425 toys to families in Clat-
sop County. This was done
by volunteers working at the
Clatsop County Fairgrounds
and those who drove to out-
lying areas and delivered toys
to schools, churches, meeting
halls, veterans organizations,
police and fire departments.
All these people then helped
give the toys to families. A
great effort by all.
The Marine Corps League
continues to collect and dis-
tribute toys to children all
over Clatsop County. The
local League is known as the
Daniel E. Crockett Marine
Corps League, Detachment
1228. The present com-
mander of the League is Lou
Neubecker, who resides in
Seaside with his lovely wife,
Beverly. Coordinator Neu-
becker has carried on the fine
tradition of Toys for Tots in
Clatsop County with strong
assistance from the members
of the League.
I am asking the community
to continue to support Toys
for Tots by locating one of the
many Toys for Tots boxes in
your area and helping fill it
with packaged new toys for
ages baby to 18.
For information on locat-
ing a box or seeking a League
member to pick up your do-
nation, please call Lou or
Beverly at 503-717-0152 or
503-717-2269.
As Lou is involved with the
Veterans of Foreign Wars and
the Seaside American Legion,
it is an excellent location for
your donation of toys.
Mel Jasmin
Warrenton
Warrenton’s Lektro wins big certification
Lektro, a Warrenton com-
pany that manufactures
all-electric aircraft tugs, re-
cently was certified for a new
tug that doesn’t use towbars.
And it became the first tow-
barless towing vehicle certi-
fied to handle Boeing’s new
737 Max.
The new tug includes an au-
tomatic aircraft recognition
Senior lunch menu
Monday, Nov. 27: Salmon, roasted sweet potatoes, peas, black
bean soup, apple pie.
Thursday, Nov. 30: Beef stew, potatoes, carrots, turkey soup,
bread pudding.
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.
system and can tow an air-
craft weighing up to 210,000
pounds. The company also
has a larger model that can
tow 280,000 pounds.
Not long after announcing
the new tug, Lektro began
an aggressive certification
process with Airbus, ATR,
Boeing, Bombardier and Em-
braer to ensure its success.
Lektro’s automatic aircraft
recognition system has been
the cornerstone of its success
with the airlines, company of-
ficials said. It senses the air-
craft weight and adjusts the
tug acceleration and braking
characteristics to eliminate
nose-gear stress.
In 1967, Lektro unveiled the
world’s first towbarless tug.
It has sold more than 5,200
tugs to customers in 93 coun-
tries.