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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2022)
The Columbia Press March 4, 2022 Senior Moments 7 Mayor’s Message with Emma Edwards by Henry Balensifer III Help staying on the rocker Last year’s goals ... to be continued Not so long ago, someone referred to a friend of mine as “off her rocker.” At first -- because this particular friend was very dear to me, perhaps -- I was somewhat defensive on be- half of my friend. And yes, I have a rocker, as do many of us seniors. I like my rocker and, admittedly, occasionally I get off of it. The phrase first became common in the 1800s. Vari- ations are “off one’s noodle” or “off one’s trolley.” Sometimes, we detect such facts in our own selves when it comes to being a little off. Some may think they’re on their way to the dreaded big A (Alzheimer’s). Not neces- sarily so! It’s a good sign when we interpret our own behavior as “a little off.” Such an in- terpretation indicates that at this stage we have home- work ahead of us. What to do first? For one thing, it is in your favor if you are computer literate. And, if not, I urge you to get one, even just a “kid’s tablet” so you can connect to our wonderful outside world. Most “off one’s rocker” ex- periences (I am told by ex- perts) are centered in the brain. OK, maybe it doesn’t take a brain powerhouse to figure that out. Maybe you’ve fig- ured out that you, yourself, are a little off your rocker. What to do? No worry! It’s a good sign that you haven’t fully “lost your marbles.” Look on your computer or tablet and find some of the more than 400 brain-related games and set aside a por- tion of your day to feed your brain. Your brain is never too old to learn. Part of one’s brain includes the keen ability to learn. Allow your brain to drift to a favorite subject. Recently, I did a bit of a study on hum- mingbirds. I learned that there is a spe- cies (Anna’s hummingbird) that dives toward the ground at 90 feet per second, or nearly 400 times their body length per second. Then they quickly pull up and bullet skyward, multi- plying by 10 the gravitational pull of the earth. It’s compa- rable to a G-force that would knock out human fighter pi- lots. By the way, I learned that this is part of the humming- bird’s mating process and if they weren’t built so strong for their tiny size, their wings would just break off, biologists tell us. “When female humming- birds are nearby, they per- form this showy stunt up to 15 times in a row,” according to biologist Chris Clark in Science News. Memorization is also a good tonic to keep you on your rocker. A cute saying should im- press family and friends. A good one to memorize: “Your fingers have finger- tips, but your toes don’t have toetips. Yet, you can tiptoe but not tipfinger!” If the city of Warrenton’s goals look familiar, it’s be- cause they are. We lost a lot of ground from 2020 through 2021, but we’re optimistic in mov- ing into the upcoming fiscal year (FY). Our goals for FY 2022-23 are as follows: • Research and pursue rev- enue growth/opportunities • Improve efficiency by meeting staffing needs • Finish the unfinished • Improve emergency read- iness Goal 1: Permanent-rate property taxes account for $1.2 million in revenue to the city’s general fund. That’s not much with which to run the 17th larg- est city by square mileage in the state. Staff will be put- ting forth some concepts to address this goal before the start of the fiscal year (July 1), but more ideas will be needed. We need to be able to sus- tain the services we have and increase them to meet our growing population’s needs. We began this effort two years ago, but a lack of staffing has hindered much of the implementation. We intend to remedy this. Goal 2: The strength of our city services is in the staff who provide it. It’s amazing how much our current staff does. Per per- son, we accomplish much more than many other cities that have double or triple the staff we do. We lack the staffing to ful- ly address the growth of our city, but as we implement Goal 1, we can add staff and improve the level of service we provide our residents and businesses. Goal 3: Our city was well on its way to finish down- town cleanups and continue major infrastructure proj- ects in 2020. Then the pan- demic hit, and labor and ma- terial became short. City staff had quite a bit of turnover in strategic po- sitions as well, and by next fiscal year we will have a new city manager. It’s imperative that the commission make clear to finish what we’ve started and invested in first before mov- ing on to new major projects. High priority projects within this goal are the Hammond District Water- line Project, the North Main and Seventh Street Phase 1 in the Flavel District, and improving the intersection at Ninth Street and South Main Avenue. Goal 4: The storm of 2007 and this year’s Jan. 6 flood were stark reminders that both our city’s growth and re- cord-setting weather events have become frequent chal- lenges to infrastructure built a long time ago. I will be pushing hard for stormwater investments to ensure that if we get anoth- er January like this year, we can avoid a disaster. The commission already is putting in place new storm- water policies on developers to address actions that may exacerbate the problem in residential areas. Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer can be reached at hbalensifer@ci.warren- ton.or.us or by leaving a message for him at City Hall, 503-861-2233. IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON FOR THE COUNTY OF CLATSOP In the Matter of the Estate of JULIE LYNN PONTING OWENS, Deceased Case No.: 22PB01681 NOTICE TO INTERESTED PERSONS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Sarah Owens and Kelly Ow- ens Purvine have been appointed Co-Personal Representatives. All persons having claims against the estate are required to present them, with vouchers attached, to the Co-Personal Representatives c/o Ashley Flukinger, Attorney at Law, LLC, 3645 Highway 101 N., Gearhart, Oregon 97138, within four months after the date of first publication of this notice, or the claims may be barred. All persons whose rights may be affected by the proceedings may obtain additional information from the records of the Court, the Co-Personal Representatives, or the lawyer for the Co-Personal Representatives, Ashley Flukinger. Dated and first published on March 4, 2022. Ashley Flukinger, OSB No. 120864 Attorney for Co-Personal Representatives Ashley Flukinger, Attorney at Law, LLC 3645 Highway 101 N. Gearhart, Oregon 97138