The Columbia Press
May 20, 2022
Senior Moments
7
Spotlight on the City
with Emma Edwards
by Matt Workman
Too much phishing going on 2022 brings new police officers, new laws
Many of us receive 10 or
more spam (or robo) calls
per day between our home
phones and our cell phones.
Sometimes we’re prepared
for who’s calling if caller ID
is active.
However, I have learned
that if I don’t know the
number, it’s best to hang up.
If it’s a valid phone number,
don’t worry, they will leave
a message or call back an-
other time.
However, all too often, we
answer the call. Somehow,
telemarketers seem to know
they’re talking to one of us
senior citizens.
Those are kind of scary!
As a rule, seniors tend to be
more polite than the current
generation.
And, sad to say, we can be
pushovers for anything that
promises to give us money
or, at least, save us money.
But beware!
As wary as I am, I almost
got taken in one day last
week. An early morning call
came from Texas.
There was urgency in the
gentleman’s voice as he told
me my modem is getting
only half the speed it should.
Therefore, I was eligible for
an upgrade.
I asked the man what com-
pany he represented, and
he gave me the name of my
carrier. I asked the cost and
was told “nothing.”
Then he began asking
questions I thought he
should have known if he’s
representing my vendor
(red flag raises).
I rapidly hung up on him
and called my carrier.
I must have answered too
many questions, as he called
six times that day. So far,
there have been no reper-
cussions. I must have hung
up in time.
The bottom line: the car-
rier told me they will never
call to tell me my router (or
anything else) is outdated.
She stressed that I would
call them if I suspected
something were outdated or
weak or whatever. Hopeful-
ly, lesson learned.
Am I the only one? Heav-
ens no! I researched these
types of calls and the most
popular ones come from
people claiming to be an In-
ternal Revenue Service offi-
cial and those who answer
are threatened to pay a sup-
posed debt.
Caralynn Lippo, an edi-
tor at The Business Insider,
wrote about the most popu-
lar scams and robocalls peo-
ple fall for.
First was the grandparent
scam, which some of us may
have learned about first-
hand. It preys on seniors
by using their love for their
grandchildren.
Another popular scam is
“Congratulations,
you’ve
won a free cruise and you
just need to provide your
credit card number to ac-
cept it.”
Fraudsters will even take
advantage of national di-
sasters, she wrote. You can
verify a charity by check-
ing them out with a service
like the Better Business Bu-
reau’s Wise Giving Alliance
or Charity Navigator.
There’s not much you or I
can do to avoid them other
than remaining vigilant and
skeptical when answering
an unexpected call.
Spring is here and sum-
mer is right around the cor-
ner! With all of the “April
showers,” we should have an
abundance of “May flowers”
blooming!
Some changes have come
to the Warrenton Police De-
partment since my article in
September.
Officer Christina Trujillo
graduated from the Basic
Police Academy in Salem on
March 17.
On March 21 we hired Offi-
cer Kevin Alvarez, our new-
est officer. Officer Alvarez is
scheduled to attend the Ba-
sic Academy in August.
Both currently are in the
field training program,
working with field training
officers, and it will be a little
time before they are on solo
patrol.
We also have a new Dodge
Durango patrol vehicle on
the streets with a new graph-
ics package.
You can see photos of both
officers and the Durango on
the WPD Facebook page.
Since my September ar-
Senior meals
Thursday, May 26
• Cucumber salad
• Pork ribs
• Macaroni and cheese
• Broccoli
• Key lime pie
Warrenton’s eat-in senior
meal program organized by
Warrenton Senior Citizens
Inc. is at noon on Thursdays
at Warrenton Community
Center, 170 S.W. Third St.
Suggested donation is $6.
Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for
socializing and coffee.
ticle, some new bills/laws
went into effect that you may
or may not know about. I
thought I would cover a cou-
ple of them for you.
• House Bill 3125 was cre-
ated, in part, to address the
terrible situation in which
people were finding out that
their loved ones were in a se-
rious traffic incident through
the media, social media,
etc. before law enforcement
could notify them.
The bill allows Oregon
drivers and ID holders to
designate up to two people
as “Emergency Contacts”
in case you are involved in
an accident or incident and
cannot communicate for
yourself.
• HB 2498 enhances safe-
ty for Oregonians who are
deaf or hard of hearing by
creating an option to add
notification to their driver’s
license and vehicle registra-
tion card.
This was done to build trust
and cooperation between
deaf or hard-of-hearing driv-
ers and law enforcement.
I regularly get questions
from citizens about traffic
laws or the legality of specific
driving actions.
One of the most common
questions is “Is it legal to
drive in a bicycle lane?”
The basic answer is “No”
under ORS 811.435. There
are exceptions for “entering
or leaving an alley, private
road or driveway,” “required
in the course of official duty”
(police, fire, medical, utili-
ties, etc.), or “Making a turn.”
“Making a turn” comes up
the most, as many people
ask if they can go around a
vehicle stopped for the traf-
fic signal at Highway 101
and Ensign Lane and make
a right-turn even though
there is a bicycle lane paint-
ed there. For the most part,
yes you can.
Of course, that’s with the
caveat that you must yield
to all bicycles in the bicycle
lane before making such a
turn and you must stop for
the red traffic signal, only
making the right turn when
it is safe to do so, and yield-
ing to all traffic that has a
green signal.
If you have similar ques-
tions, please let me know
and I will definitely get you
an answer and maybe even
address them in a future
article or on the WPD Face-
book page.
Matt Workman is police
chief for the city of Warren-
ton. He can be reached at
policechief@ci.warrenton.
or.us or 503-861-2235.
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer
Week 2: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 3: Spotlight on the City
Week 4: Here’s to Your Health from CMH