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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2020)
The Columbia Press August 21, 2020 Taking a ‘moment’ to heal Senior Moments columnist Emma Ed- wards was injured in a fall last week. She is now recuperating at home. We send her our very best wishes for a speedy recovery and, if you’re a praying person, please remember Emma in your prayers. She would appreciate that. Letter to the Editor Booth-Schmidt best candidate I checked the statements of Debbie Booth-Schmidt’s op- ponent to see what was being said, and found some inaccu- racies: Debbie is not a tool of Port- land interests. She is not funded by big money (no of- fers of $1,000 from Timber Unity for instance). She is familiar with the problems of working fami- lies and workers in general. She has worked in the union movement and has their trust. She is experienced and trustworthy. Here’s what she, herself, has said -- all honest, all truthful. “I know that working fami- lies are the backbone of Dis- trict 32, and they need access to strong schools, good-pay- ing jobs, quality healthcare, and a safe, affordable place to call home. “I have experienced being a single mom, working two jobs trying to make ends meet. I have had to make hard decisions between putting food on the table and having healthcare. I have since been a leader in my community through my union advocating for worker’s rights and on the Sunset Transportation Board advocating for better trans- portation.” Debbie Booth-Schmidt re- cently retired from a ma- ny-year job assisting in the Clatsop County District At- torney’s Office. She is the co-owner of a small business with her husband. This is not the campaign be- tween rural and urban inter- ests that her opponent wants to imagine. Send Debbie, who will en- gage honestly, listen careful- ly, and work through solu- tions to difficult problems. Please vote for Debbie. Charles Withers Cannon Beach Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen Considering race in rural communities The month of August has been busy for Warrenton Community Library (WCL), with the final distribution of the Summer Reading Pro- gram take & make activity bags, as well as the installa- tion, vandalism and re-in- stallation associated with the StoryWalk® on the Warren- ton Waterfront trail. A big thank you to Jerred Engbretston and his fam- ily for locating all the Sto- ryWalk® signs and bring- ing them to the library after someone took them out of the ground and threw them along the trail. Jerred and his family are a great example of Agreement benefits electricians Oregon and Washington have joined forces to make things easier for general journey-level electricians to work in both states. The reciprocal agreement between Oregon Building Codes Division and the Washington State Depart- ment of Labor & Industries will allow those who’ve ob- tained a license in one state to apply for a license in the other without having to take an examination. It’s especially important for those who live in Clat- 7 sop and Pacific counties, where the rural population may find itself short on qualified help. “One of the lessons we have learned from COVID-19 is that having ef- ficient systems and flexibil- ity is an asset that allows us to better serve people,” said Lori Graham, interim ad- ministrator for the Building Codes Division. The agreement went into effect Monday, Aug. 17, and continues until the states terminate it. Special columns in The Columbia Press Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards Week 1: History in the Making Week 2: Financial Focus with Adam Miller Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer how a community works to- gether for good. We appreciate your fami- ly’s efforts in helping get the StoryWalk® back up for our community to enjoy. Building community is something I’ve been focusing on this month while planning some new adult program- ming for the library, centered on talking about race in rural areas. Since George Floyd was murdered, it has become apparent that our commu- nity (and country) is divided on the existence of systemic racism, how we talk about it, and how we work together to change from systemic exclu- sion to a sustainable inclu- sive community. To open the conversation and learn from each other, WCL has teamed up with La- Nicia Duke, executive direc- tor of the Love Coalition, to start a series of yearlong dis- cussions, “Rural Race Talks: How to Talk About Race in Rural Communities,” with the goal of building stron- ger, better communities, and empowering everyone in our communities to share their voices in a safe space. The Love Coalition (Tilla- mook County) is a nonprofit with “the mission of offering acceptance without judgment and acknowledging our differ- ences in a healthy way, where we can learn and grow from each other, all while having the freedom to be authentic and without fear of bias.” We welcome you to join WCL for our first six-week session of Rural Race Talks. We will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. weekly on Wednesdays be- ginning Sept. 23 through Oct. 28. We have 10 in-person seats available (social dis- tancing will be adhered to) as well as virtually on Zoom. This is only the first discus- sion in a series of Rural Race Talks, as the yearlong pro- gram will continue through spring 2021, with four ad- ditional six-week sessions, expanding the conversations and dialogue with commu- nity leaders and guest pan- elists, including city manag- ers, mayors, police officers and other policy makers. The project will culminate with a Community Cultural Cele- bration in summer 2021. For more information and/ or to sign up for the first six- week session, please call Li- brary Director Kelly Knud- sen at 503-861-8156 or email warrentoncl@gmail.com. Watch our website, warren- tonlibrary.org, this newspa- per, and WCL’s Facebook page for more information. Kelly Knudsen is director of Warrenton Community Library. She has a master’s degree in library and infor- mation science. Warrenton Community Library 160 S. Main Ave. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. MWF 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tues & Thurs
