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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress February 23, 2018 Century-old farms sought for state honors The Columbia Press Farm families are being asked to share their stories, particularly those who have continuously farmed the family ranch for 100 years or more. Sharing the story could lead to a century farm award. About 96 percent of Ore- gon’s farms and ranches are family owned and operated, according to Oregon State University’s Rural Studies Program. Oregon is No. 1 in the na- tion for Christmas trees, ha- zelnuts, blackberries, boy- senberries, black raspberries, several types of grasses, pep- permint and potted azaleas. We’re No. 2 in hops, blueber- ries and pears. Some of those crops and family farms are in Clatsop County. Applications for the Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Pro- gram’s 2018 awards will be accepted through May 1. The program was launched in 1958 to honor farmers with century-long connections to the land. To qualify, the farm must have been in continuous fam- Courtesy Century Farm program The Century Farm & Ranch Program seeks longtime farm- ers for its 2018 awards program. ily operation, received gross income from farm use of at least $1,000 per year for at least three out of five years prior to application and fam- ily members must live on or actively manage the farm or ranch activities. Application documentation may include photos, original deeds, personal stories and other historic records. The records help support Oregon’s agricultural histo- ry by providing valuable in- formation about settlement patterns and statistics on livestock and crop cycles. All documents are archived for public access. Those receiving awards get a personalized certificate with acknowledgment by the governor and director of the Department of Agriculture as well as a durable metal road- side sign to identify the fami- ly’s farm or ranch. Families will be honored at a ceremony at the Oregon State Fair on Aug. 25. To date, 1,200 families have formally received a Century designation and 39 families have received a Sesquicen- tennial Award. More information and ap- plications are available at centuryfarm.oregonfb.org, or by calling 503-400-7884. Reporting road hazards just got easier The Oregon State Police is launching a program making it easy for cell phone users to contact the dispatch center for nonemergency matters. It’s called star OSP or *OSP. Punching in *OSP (or the numbers *677) pro- vides the public with a quick, easy-to-remember number for reporting nonemergency traffic safety issues, highway hazards and obstructions, minor crashes and requests for assistance. The number rings directly to the dispatch center, where it’s answered by a live dis- patcher 24 hours a day. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular worked with the Department of Transportation and OSP to facilitate the service. It’s the department’s goal that, as the program devel- ops, other cell providers will provide access to all cell phone users. Members of the public without cell phones, or who have providers that aren’t yet supporting the ac- cess number, can still dial the OSP’s toll free phone num- ber, 800-452-7888. The number also can be used to turn in wildlife poach- ers, habitat law violators and other suspicious activity. And it can pay to turn in poachers. TIP rewards include $1,000 for bighorn sheep, mountain goat and moose; $500 for elk, deer and ante- lope; $300 for bear, cougar and wolf and any type of hab- itat destruction; $100 for fish, shellfish, birds and furbearers. 3 WHS names top students Warrenton High School released the names of stu- dents currently on the hon- or roll. These are students whose grade-point averag- es are 3.5 and above. Those students marked with an asterisk have achieved a straight-A or 4.0 grade- point average. Those with two asterisks have a higher than 4.0 average, such as through extra-credit or oth- er exceptional work. Ninth graders on the hon- or roll: Bergerson, Emily R.; Cannon, Marissa J.; Care- lock, Kora B.; Cassalata, Courtney S.; Church, Lars W.; Cote, Aaron*; Green, Jalen M.; Heyen, Ann M.*; Irwin, Samuel C.; Pierce, Aviana A.; Rivera, Darian B.; Sprengeler, Caleb N.*; Vollmer, Isaiah; Whitsett, Julien M. Tenth-graders on the hon- or roll: Atwood, Thomas J.**; Beeman, Hobie A.; Burgher, Billy J.; Carr, Isa- bella L.; Dowaliby, Mara H.; Garnett, Darren E.; Leitch, Robert B.; Liljenwall, Kaisa L.**; Little, Austin A.; Med- jo, McKenzie R.; Moha, Ser- ena A.**; Morrill, Isabella P.**; Moss, Kale D.; Ram- sey, McKenzie L.; Sanders, Caitlyn; Schenbeck, Anna. Eleventh-graders on the honor roll: Alvarez, Fernan- da E.; Bennett, Cailin C.** Wine-tasting event before crabfest If you like wine and want to try the region’s best, con- sider attending the annual Unwined event sponsored by the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce. The event is a precursor to the Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival, the chamber’s larg- est fund-raiser of the year. Unwined follows the offi- cial wine competition for the 2018 “crabfest.” Admission is $40 and in- cludes 10 wine taste tickets, appetizers and a commemo- rative wine glass. The event is from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 3, at the Liberty Theatre in Asto- ria. Tickets can be purchased at the chamber office on Marine Drive.