June 28, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
Food favorites for the Fourth
The Fourth of July falls on
Thursday next week, which is
the 185th day of 2019.
There are 180 days left in
the year. So we are almost
half-way through the year.
Most of us seniors have al-
ways called it Independence
Day. Now, most just call it the
Fourth of July.
Over the years, many sum-
mertime
activities
were
planned for Independence
Day, including parades (such
as the one Warrenton has
every year) and historical
pageants, baseball games,
picnics and all kinds of fun
things. Hot dogs, hamburg-
ers, beer and corn on the cob
seem to head the list for the
average Fourth of July picnic.
Oh, yes, apple pie too!
A fun exercise for you and or
your grandkids is to Google
the history of Independence
Day. I did that and found it
truly amazing to reflect on
the bravery of our ancestors
when, in 1776, the Conti-
nental Congress approved a
Declaration of Independence
from the Kingdom of Great
Britain, forming the United
States of America.
We had to memorize the
Declaration of Independence
when I was a child. Oh, wait
a minute. Maybe, that was
the Gettysburg Address we
had to memorize? Oh, well,
somehow, both documents
still give me a warm feeling
when reading the words set
forth those many years ago.
By the way, during a recent
“googling” session, I learned
that July is National Hot Dog
Month. Americans are pre-
dicted to eat over seven bil-
lion of “the infamous little
red tubes of meat” between
Memorial Day and Labor
Day. The number of hot dogs
eaten on the Fourth of July is
enough to make a line from
Washington, D.C., to Los An-
geles more than five times,
according to the National
Hot Dog and Sausage Coun-
cil. That’s an estimated 155
million hot dogs.
One more interesting note
-- and one that’s hard to be-
lieve: it’s estimated that the
average American eats 60
hot dogs every year. Not me!
It’s ground round or steak for
me!
While on the subject of
food, I purchased a little bag
of chocolate-covered peanut
butter Ritz Sandwiches at
a recent bake sale. Oh, my!
They were absolutely amaz-
ing, to say the least.
To make them, melt 2 cups
of milk chocolate chips in
a double boiler and, mean-
time, mix ½ cup creamy pea-
nut butter with ¼ cup sifted
powdered sugar and combine
it with the melted chocolate.
Spread the mixture on 16 Ritz
crackers and take 16 more
crackers to put on top of the
first 16.
The secret trick: Put the
filled crackers in the freezer
for about 30 minutes. Then
take them out and, with a
small pair of tongs, dip the
chilled peanut butter sand-
wiches into the chocolate un-
til completely covered. Cool
on a piece of parchment pa-
per and let dry about an hour.
You will like them.
7
Letter to the editor
Airport tenants should pay more
Tenants at the Warren-
ton-Astoria Regional Air-
port (Lektro, Bar Pilots, Life
Flight, U.S. Coast Guard) and
people with private planes
housed at the airport need
to have their rent or lease
increased to cover the to-
tal costs needed to maintain
any infrastructure not part of
their specific facility.
The Port of Astoria’s Airport
Advisory Committee antici-
pates seeking a new taxpay-
er-funded bond to fix critical
maintenance items now de-
ferred. There is no discussion
of how much the bond would
be for and the port has said
some money would be for
obtaining matching money
requirements for future Fed-
eral Aviation Administration
grants.
The airport needs to gener-
ate income from rents, landing
and takeoff fees, and any other
sources it can generate by air-
port operations and not seek
public bonds the taxpayers
must pay for in property taxes.
No one wants to lose exist-
ing airport jobs. However,
the airport includes private
profit-making
businesses,
private plane owners, and
government
organizations
that need to contribute more
to airport operations as they
are the main recipients of the
airport facilities.
The public should not be re-
sponsible for funding opera-
tions that do not cover their
true cost.
Separation of the Port of As-
toria from airport operations
does not remove the commis-
sion from its responsibility to
protect the public from pri-
vate interests seeking to keep
their costs down by trans-
ferring costs to the public
through bond issues.
Scott Widdicombe
Warrenton
Road work
W arrenton
• A project to improve Youngs
Bay Bridge on Highway 101
is under way and expected to
continue through 2021. A con-
tainment structure attached to
the sides of the bridge was built
and most of the work is being
done from a barge beneath the
bridge. There will be periodic
single-lane closures at night.
replacing a separator island on
Highway 101 between 10th and
12th avenues in Seaside. There
will be single-lane closures at
night to allow the contractor to
perform concrete pours, with all
lanes open by 4 a.m. During the
day, traffic lanes will be shifted
to accommodate traffic.
• The Dooley Bridge, just north
of the Highway 101 junction
with Highway 26 is undergo-
ing repair, including soft spot
fixes, asphalt grinding and inlay,
centerline rumble strips and
new striping. There will be sin-
gle-lane closures between 8 p.m.
and 7 a.m. on weekdays only.
C latsop C ounty
• John Day River Road is un-
dergoing road maintenance,
although no delays are expected.
a storia
• A project to replace six aging
bridges along Astoria’s water-
front will continue through June
2020. Seventh, Ninth and Elev-
enth streets are being rebuilt
with an expected completion
within a month. Construction on
Sixth, Eighth and Tenth streets
begins after that.
s easide
• Work crews are removing and
Senior lunch menu
Monday, July 1: Pulled pork, sweet potatoes, red cabbage,
spinach salad, key lime pie.
Thursday, July 4: Closed for Independence Day.
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.
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