T he C olumbia P ress
1
50 ¢
C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper
www.thecolumbiapress.com
January 18, 2019
Vol. 3, Issue 3
Postal employee delivers during her long tenure
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
The one place nearly everyone in
town visits? The post office.
Regular visitors have their favorite
employees. Linda Hawkins is one of
those.
“I’ve known Linda for a long, long,
long time. She’s a wonderful lady
and I just love her,” said Martha Sal-
mi, a frequent postal patron. “She’s
always helping people and she has
such a sweet spirit. She never gets
ruffled. She just takes her time and
stays patient. You just can only say
nice things about Linda.”
Hawkins, 64, retires Jan. 31 after
more than 20 years with the U.S.
Postal Service. While nearly all that
time has been in Warrenton, she
also has served as a temp in Garibal-
di, Manzanita, Astoria, Seaside and
Cannon Beach. She ran the Seaview,
Wash., post office for 14 months.
Hawkins grew up in Warrenton
and was first urged to apply at the
post office by a friend who worked
there. She applied and won a job as
a route substitute, then took a test
to become a desk clerk. As soon as a
job opened, she moved in.
The Columbia Press
Above: Linda Hawkins waits
on customer Norma Keever at
the Warrenton Post Office front
counter.
Left: Hawkins uses a tiny desk
squished between post office
boxes and sorting bins. She’ll
retire at the end of the month.
Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
See ‘Hawkins’ on Page 8
Local school candidates could benefit from state program
The Oregon School Boards Asso-
ciation has launched a campaign in
hopes of getting more people interest-
ed in running for school board seats.
It could be helpful in the Warren-
ton-Hammond School District. Board
members interviewed three candi-
dates this week who applied for a
board vacancy left by Stacey Brown,
who resigned the Position 4 seat last
year.
The board will have three additional
seats expiring in June, which will be
voted on in Clatsop County’s special
districts election on May 21.
Wendy’s set to
begin hiring
Fast-food chain
isn’t only project
in the works
They belong to board Chair Debbie
Morrow, Position 1; Vice Chair Greg
Morrill, Position 2; and board mem-
ber Dalan Moss, Position 5.
The state’s campaign is called “Get
on Board.”
Information about it is at geton-
boardoregon.org.
The website and campaign are de-
signed to raise awareness about the
volunteer work performed by educa-
tion board members and to encourage
individuals to run.
In Oregon, school board elections
are in odd-numbered years; the filing
The walls are up, trusses are on
site and rough plumbing and electri-
cal work starts soon at the Wendy’s
Restaurant in the Warrenton High-
lands shopping center.
The 2,400-square-foot eatery at
Ensign Lane and Highway 101 will
include a drive-through window and
indoor and outdoor eating areas. It’s
expected to open in March.
“We’re excited to be there,” said Ja-
son Graber, construction manager.
“It will be a great location for us. This
is a brand new Wendy’s style; there
are only a few in the country.”
It has a smaller footprint and a larg-
er outdoor eating area.
“Instead of a traditional front count-
er, there will be ordering stations in
the dining room and a small pick-up
counter,” he said. “There will be bar-
style seating where the traditional
front counter would be with a wide-
open front where people can see their
cheeseburger being made, watch let-
tuce being cut in the morning.”
The chain expects to fill up to 170
transactions per hour. At least 40 em-
ployees will be hired. The hiring site
went live this week at jobatwendys.
com.
Despite winter weather causing de-
velopment snags on the North Coast,
there still is plenty of commercial de-
velopment going on.
period for candidates opens Feb. 9.
The statewide association is holding
two candidate webinars, on Jan. 24
and Feb. 19, designed for people con-
sidering running for school board, an
education service district or communi-
ty college board.
Informational goals include pre-
paring candidates to understand how
board actions affect student success,
O ther prOjeCts
encouraging candidates of color to
Work continues on new headquar-
run, helping prospective candidates
understand board responsibilities, ters projects for C&S Builders and
and guiding participants in planning Sand Ridge Construction, both on
See ‘Construction’ on Page 7
next steps.