The Columbia Press
February 26, 2021
Senior Moments
7
Mayor’s Message
by Henry Balensifer III
with Emma Edwards
Waiting for sun and extra hour Goals include finishing what was started
Since this is the last issue
of the Columbia Press for
February, spring is before us
and many will begin to count
the days before we get back
the hour we had to give up in
November.
And many of us Orego-
nians assumed we were go-
ing to get to keep daylight
saving time forever and ever,
but not so.
In the fall, Oregonian re-
porter Lizzy Acker cautioned
us “not yet” about daylight
saving time. “There is one
caveat to this time change
cessation legally and that is
-- Congress has to approve
the change,” she wrote.
Acker points out that the
2019 Sunshine Protection
Act, which would make day-
light saving time the new
permanent standard time,
did not go anywhere in 2020.
It has not gone anywhere in
2021 either.
She also shares an encour-
aging thought, “Oregonians
needn’t lose hope of having
one time that lasts all year.
Oregon Senate Bill 320 gives
until Dec. 1, 2029, for the
changes in time standards to
become operational.”
Therefore, disambiguation
of the term may be a way off.
I am sure we have learned,
if nothing else, that Congress
does not move quickly.
Incidentally, this year we
spring forward on Sunday,
March 14.
Another study on the sub-
ject of instant time change
(going from the end of day-
light saving time to standard
time) points out that there is
an increase in car accidents,
heart attacks and even sui-
cides in the days after the
change occurs with the dark
of the winter months follow-
ing.
People have noted that they
feel kind of “out of sync” and
stress responses occur, such
as the toll it takes on the
heart and the brain.
I like the Maxine cartoon
where, in response to time
change, she says, “We gain
an hour today; at my age
you appreciate any extra
time on the clock.”
I don’t know about you, but
I waste perhaps an hour a
day in the week after chang-
ing my clocks. And, I will say
something like “but it is re-
ally an hour earlier or really
an hour later.”
Maybe I will make up a
sign encouraging the pass-
ing of the Sunshine Protec-
tion Act.
We all need a mission in
life, right?
Maybe we need to adapt
to the theory toted by Hans
Christian Andersen, “Enjoy
life. There’s plenty of time to
be dead!”
Andersen was born in 1805
and died in 1875. He was
best known for his amazing
children’s fairy tales.
Some I remember are
“The Princess and the Pea,”
“Thumbelina,” and “Tom
Thumb.” Oh, yes, the favor-
ite worldwide, most likely,
was “The Little Mermaid.”
I suspect we can all identify
with the famous saying at-
tributed to Benjamin Frank-
lin, which defines his amaz-
ingly productive life: “Do
you love life? Then do not
squander time, for that’s the
stuff life is made of.”
The City Commission has
chosen four goals this year
to guide budgeting and staff
priorities.
They are: Goal No. 1, Ag-
gressively Pursue Revenue
Opportunities; Goal No. 2,
Improve Internal and Exter-
nal Communications; Goal
No. 3, Address Critical Staff-
ing Needs; and Goal No. 4,
Finish the Unfinished Proj-
ects.
All of these goals are inter-
connected in that they need
each other to be successful.
What does this all mean?
Aggressively pursuing reve-
nue opportunities is primari-
ly aimed at the efforts kicked
off last year by the Parks Ad-
visory Board.
We will be improving the
parking lot near City Hall to
ensure we can put in food
carts, of which great interest
has been developed in the
past few months. The city can
potentially make more mon-
ey on food carts in that small
lot than it gets each year from
property taxes paid by all the
commercial properties in the
downtown core.
The kayak dock is a carry-
over from ideas the commu-
nity pushed in 2001 during
the Visioning Process. It will
add value to trail users and
actually push for the utiliza-
tion of the kayak dock while
generating income to pay for
park maintenance and im-
provements.
There are other ideas in the
works, but I think those two
things drive the point home.
The second goal is about im-
proving staff efficiency and,
therefore, the provision of
services in general to you, the
resident/customer.
However, the second goal
can only improve things in
small increments without
the third goal, which is to get
more staff.
It’s no secret Warrenton is
among the fastest growing
cities on the coast since 1996
and running, but our staff
has not appreciably grown
to meet the doubled demand
for services. In fact, some de-
partments have shrunk.
As a result, it is my hope we
can move to create a second
sergeant position in police, a
fire marshal position in the
fire department, and a plan-
ner or some sort of technician
for the planning department.
How do we pay for those?
Well, it’s going to take a lot
of creative work to make
it happen. But I’m confi-
dent that we can make good
headway on this in 2021.
The final goal will be ad-
dressed in “clearing the
plate,” so to speak. This is a
no-brainer, but it is import-
ant that, with shifting prior-
ities, we follow through on
our commitments.
Despite the proverbial tun-
nel having caved in, we can
see the light and city leader-
ship looks forward to clearing
the rubble and tackling the
challenges ahead.
Master Gardeners offers scholarship
Clatsop County Master Gar-
dener Association seeks ap-
plicants for its annual schol-
arship program.
Awards of up to $1,000 will
be given to one or more high
school seniors who live in
Clatsop County and who plan
to attend college, vocational
school or a training program
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 2: Here’s to Your Health from CMH
Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen
Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer
that helps them develop skills
that contribute to the ad-
vancement of sound garden-
ing practices.
Awards are made based on
a student’s academic stand-
ing and interest in horticul-
ture or a related field.
Applicants must submit a
completed application and
essay, along with high school
transcripts and two letters of
recommendation.
Applications must be post-
marked by April 23.
Applications and more in-
formation are available in
high school counselors’ offic-
es and can be found online at
clatsopmastergardeners.org/
CCMGA-Scholarship.
For more information, call
503-325-8573.