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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2020)
January 10, 2020 T he C olumbia P ress Senior Moments with Emma Edwards Living is all about the dash While writing recently about the smells of winter, it occurred to me that winter is much quieter, too. There’s so much to be thankful about as we are now almost halfway through the first month of the new year. Not only the first month of the new year, but the very be- ginning of the first year of yet another decade. In thinking of the new year, some sundry thoughts come to mind that perhaps are age related. You think? Winter is definitely quieter than summer. I live in an apartment complex where the sound of weed eaters, lawn edgers, leaf blowers, grass catchers and big cutting lawn mow- ers interrupt my peaceful day when least expected. I vividly remember the sound of grass being cut with a push mower powered by people. I like that memory. Many seniors love to share about our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, so we have learned to listen to their attempts at humor. Some are pretty good. Conversations about rain are popping up all over. Won- der why? Here’s one that was shared by a 6-year-old: What happens when it rains cats and dogs? Answer: You might step in a poodle. An- other answer: It’s OK, as long as it doesn’t rein-deer. A quote came to my mind recently. “The most memora- ble people in life are the ones who loved you when you weren’t very lovable.” I’m not sure who said that, and maybe I am being a lit- tle nostalgic, but as several of you know, I lost some very special friends to death these past several weeks. I know that death is part of life, but it hurts. No matter how we knew them, they leave a stamp on our lives. It has been said that the dash between our birth date and our death date is called LIFE. The Dash Poem, written by Linda Ellis in 1996, embrac- es all of our lives. It concen- trates on the space between our birth and death. “That tiny dash mark represents all of the time we lived on this earth.” Not to be morbid or emit sadness, but our loved ones -- both family and friends -- will be remembering our “dash” someday. What I see in this remind- er is simply that we need to make the most of every single moment God allows us to re- main on earth. I will share a few words from the Dash Poem that mean ever so much to me. “So think about this long and hard. Are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.” I just thought of a good way to begin this journey. See you in church Sunday. 7 History in the Making A look back at Warrenton’s top stories from The Columbia Press annals Familiar names elected to mayor’s post t en years ago J anuary 2010 • Gil Gramson is reappointed mayor by the City Commission. Mark Kujala is appointed vice mayor. • The body of a missing War- renton man, Gary Culp Jr., 37, is found near Warrenton Deep Sea Market. A medical examiner rules the death an accidental drowning. • Brooklyn Campbell breaks the Warrenton High School girls basketball scoring record with 34 points in a single game. • Dennis Warren receives a lifetime service award and is inducted into the state chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. t Wenty years ago J anuary 2000 • Barbara Balensifer is appointed mayor by the City Commission. Scott Holman is appointed vice mayor. • A master plan developed by Fort Stevens State Park has some residents concerned the park plans to aggressively acquire private property in the area. • Winds exceeding 90 mph strike the coast, toppling trees, caus- ing power outages and tipping a tractor-trailer at Pacific Coast Seafoods onto its side. • Lightning is suspected of caus- ing a Jan. 14 fire at the home of Jack and Shirley Irvin on High- way 104. Senior lunch menu Monday, Jan. 13: Salmon, parsley buttered potatoes, peas, turkey soup, bread pudding. Thursday, Jan. 16: Jambalaya with chicken, ham and shrimp, brown rice, green beans, spinach salad, ice cream. 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. Above: The front page of the Jan. 7, 2000, issue. Right: A trac- tor-trailer rig is top- pled in a windstorm on Jan. 16, 2000. • Ocean Crest Chevrolet requests a zone change at the intersection of Highway 101 and Alternate Highway 101 in preparation of building a new car dealership there. Ft George: Plans up in air for other land Continued from Page 1 up to 15 years in exchange for the company’s estimated investment in the local econ- omy of $12.5 million plus the creation of living-wage jobs. Big Beams agrees to hire at least 35 full-time employees at the facility by the end of the third calendar year fol- lowing the year the facility is placed in service. The average total com- pensation at the new facility must be equal to or greater than 130 percent of the aver- age annual wage in Clatsop County. Big Beams still owns a 10- acre parcel in the North Coast Business Park across from Astoria Ford. It is there the company initially planned its new warehousing facility be- fore the opportunity arose to buy the Astoria Warehousing property. The company purchased the business park land in War- renton from Clatsop County in 2016. Two years later, the county dedicated property elsewhere as a mitigation for the business park parcel’s wetlands issues. What will happen now that plans have moved to Astoria? “We don’t know right now; we don’t have any plans,” Nemlowill said. “At some point, we may come up with new plans.”