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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2019)
T he C olumbia P ress June 7, 2019 Mayor’s Message Senior Moments with Emma Edwards by Henry Balensifer III Songs tell stories of history lived I got to thinking the other day that maybe I could be a “romantic.” I guess it depends on one’s definition, but my preferred take on “romantic” is that I could be called a visionary. I was at a potluck on Friday where there was an energet- ic youngish couple trying to get everyone to come up and sing into the microphone us- ing background music sim- ilar to karaoke. Once before when this happened, I was too bashful. But this time, I decided to do it. We had to choose a song we liked to sing and the only song I could think of in my nervous state was “Mairzy Doats” and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey. In looking up the actual lyrics, I realize it starts out with “I know a ditty nutty as a fruitcake; Goofy as a goon and silly as a loon.” Maybe that was how I felt standing up there at first, but I soon got in the swing of things! Soon, several in the room were singing it. Then we got on to romantic songs from the mid-1900s. Many important events happened during the ‘40s. Mount Rushmore was com- pleted and World War II came to a close, just to men- tion a few. Can’t you just hear Bing Crosby singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas?” As the years progress, it is shown in songs. “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” with Frank Sinatra is one we don’t tire of hearing. Asking a few family and friends for favorites from the 1940s to about the ‘70s and ‘80s gave me a bit of a list. “Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel and “First Time 3 Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack went on the list. Then there was “Endless Love” with Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, “Islands in the Stream” with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, “We’ve Only Just Begun” by the Car- penters, “Crimson and Clo- ver” and “Crystal Blue Per- suasion” with Tommy James and the Shondells. There was also mention of the song track from the mov- ie Grease, “Some Enchanted Evening” from the 1949 mu- sical, South Pacific, and the 1965 Righteous Brothers’ hit “Unchained Melody.” A few of my favorites were “The Impossible Dream” by Gomer Pyle and “Sentimental Journey” by Doris Day. Oh, and the “Anniversary Song” by Dinah Shore or Andy Wil- liams, “Oh, how we danced on the night we were wed … ” Music evokes so many memories, including Elvis Presley singing “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.” We seniors are so blessed to have lived through the eras we did. One can see the influ- ence world happenings had on the writing and singing of so many of our favorite songs. I still tremble when I hear a recording of Kate Smith sing- ing “God Bless America.” I suspect those of us who have lived so many years have a greater patriotic spirit too. Demonstration was one to put in the scrapbooks This week was full of action! Navy ships patrolling the shore with hovercraft landing on the beach with equipment and quick offload/reload, and take-off exercises at the air- port with Air National Guard C-130s. It was one to put in the scrapbooks, although it’s my hope we can turn that demonstration into a real ex- ercise someday. If anyone had a chance to watch the KOIN-6 video short that had interviews of U.S. Navy officers, includ- ing an admiral, you heard the same statement loud and clear as I did. Don’t expect the Navy to be the first responders. Essen- tially, they are the last resort after the situation has been evaluated and is too large for local, county, and state assets to handle. During the briefing, local of- ficials learned about the liter- al maze of processes by which assets are brought to a disas- ter area. I learned that there’s quite a lot of formality and process- es that must occur before ac- tive-duty Department of De- fense assets can be injected into a disaster. While it’s good to know what the Navy can bring, we still must be prepared for roughing it for at least two Senior lunch menu Monday, June 10: Shepherd’s pie, mashed potatoes, broccoli, romaine salad, bread pudding. Thursday, June 13: Chicken Parmesan, spaghetti with pesto sauce, mixed vegetables, mixed-greens salad, berry trifle. 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 $6 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more information, call 503-861-3502. weeks. I’ll cover more on that topic next week. e lk In late May, the Clatsop Plains Elk Collaborative had its first official meeting. The city already has received its first public records request relating to the effort and I think it’s important to set ex- pectations about this: Gov. Brown has appointed Seaside Mayor Jay Barber and myself as co-conveners of this solutions development group. As a result, I and May- or Barber must remain neu- tral facilitators. Since the steering commit- tee operates on consensus, I’m seeking the group’s per- mission to add Commission- er Mark Baldwin as Warren- ton’s advocate. If Baldwin is unable to serve for some reason, County Commission- er Mark Kujala would likely serve both a county and city role, as his district includes Warrenton. No city “owns” this group. As a result, public records re- quests should be submitted to Portland State University, attn: Oregon Solutions. No plan has been made to date. The meetings you’ve read about in the paper were attempts to find a path to- ward development of a plan and convene stakeholders. The goal of the collaborative effort is to develop a toolkit for statewide and local use. The toolkit should outline what kind of data is needed to describe the problem accu- rately and then a host of op- tions that can be tailored to address the unique situations of an area. We know there is no silver bullet; one size doesn’t fit all. A toolkit enables options that can be picked a la carte, in- stead of all-or-nothing. Stay tuned to The Columbia Press for more on this as the effort develops. Subscribe Good journalism never goes out of style. Stay smart. Read the paper. A full-year subscription to The Columbia Press is just $26 by mail to Clatsop County addresses. A full-year subscription to U.S. locations outside Clatsop County is just $35 by mail. An online subscription is only $22 for a whole year! Name: ___________________________________ Address: _____________________ Please send payment to Phone: ___________________ The Columbia Press Email: ____________________ 5 N Hwy 101 #500 In-county Out-of-county Online subscription ____ ____ ____ Warrenton OR 97146 You can also pay in person at The UPS Store