The Columbia press., June 11, 2021, Page 7, Image 7

The Columbia Press
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Parade: Beloved events return this year
Continued from Page 1
Spruce Up’s Facebook page.
The city covers the parade
with its liability insurance and
pays for incidental expenses
such as trophies and copies.
Moha said he’ll try to ar-
range a Coast Guard flyover,
traditional at the start of
Warrenton’s Fourth of July
parades, but there may be a
scaled-down version of the
parade this year.
The mayor gushed about
the parade later Tuesday eve-
ning during a presentation
on Facebook Live.
“It’s exciting news and
brings us one step closer to
normalcy,” he said.
He encouraged area busi-
nesses, organizations and
individuals to consider enter-
ing a float in the parade.
“I’ve got to go find myself
a Lektro,” he said of the air-
craft tugs he’ll drive down the
parade route. The tugs are
made by his employer at As-
toria Regional Airport.
Astoria-Warrenton
Area
Chamber of Commerce also
has announced the return of
June 11, 2021
Fourth of July Parade
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, July 4
Where: Along Warrenton’s Main Avenue from First Street to
Ninth Street and ending at Warrenton Grade School.
Be in the parade: Applications are at City Hall or on Spruce
Up Warrenton’s Facebook page
Astoria Fireworks Show
When: 10 p.m. Sunday, July 4
Where: From a barge in the Columbia River and visible
throughout downtown
Tune in: Ohana Media Group will simulcast patriotic music
during the display.
Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press
Two girls throw candy to the crowd from a float in the 2017
Fourth of July Parade in Warrenton.
Fourth of July Fireworks this
year.
Twenty local corporate
partners have joined forces
to bring the display to down-
town Astoria.
“Our goal is to celebrate
our community with this
long-standing and beloved
tradition to help return to
some semblance of normal-
cy while keeping the pub-
lic safe,” said Bob Dorn of
Hyak Tongue Point, which
is a co-sponsor along with
the chamber, Van Dusen
Beverages and Ohana Media
Group.
The sponsors have raised
funds from area business-
es for the biggest fireworks
show Astoria has ever had.
“The chamber is honored to
have the support from these
business partners to keep
this annual event on the cal-
endar this year,” said David
Reid, the chamber’s execu-
tive director. “We have talk-
ed with regional and state
leadership about the show
and how best to provide a
safe experience. By offering a
public display, we hope to cut
down on personal fireworks
displays, which become a fire
and safety hazard on our area
beaches, as well.”
Graduation: Going back to the traditional
Continued from Page 1
Initially, a drive-through
graduation similar to last
year’s event was planned as
the county fluctuated be-
tween moderate- and high-
risk for COVID-19.
“Now that the county is pro-
gressing into the low-risk cat-
egory, we are allowed to offer
more of a traditional in-per-
son ceremony,” Jannusch
said.
In fact, it will be the most
traditional since 2019, before
the pandemic began.
“Being a former basketball
coach, I understand the im-
portance of having multiple
offensive plays to put our-
selves in the best situation
contingent on the defense
we faced. With that said,
throughout this process our
administration
developed
multiple plans.”
And they had to keep a
poker face, knowing details
couldn’t be set until the final
days of the school year.
“Two weeks ago, our ad-
ministration and staff didn’t
think this moment would
happen,” he said.
There will be the tradition-
al speeches from salutatori-
an Ann Heyen and co-vale-
dictorians Caleb Sprengeler
and Aaron Cote, a slide show
featuring each student as a
child and a graduate, a pre-
sentation of the class picture
designed by art teacher and
senior class adviser Brian
Vollner, and the presentation
of diplomas.
Jannusch described the se-
lection of valedictorian – the
top student academically --
as an intricate process that
combined grade-point aver-
age, honors classes and other
criteria “similar to Einstein’s
theories and calculated down
to 1,000th of a place.” And
this year, there are two.
Speaking of Albert Einstein,
the Class of 2021’s quote to
live by is one of his: “In the
middle of difficulty lies op-
portunity.”