Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2022)
The Columbia Press July 1, 2022 7 Senior Moments Mayor’s Message with Emma Edwards by Henry Balensifer III It’s time to get patriotic Stable housing is critical, requires flexibility Many of us will proudly display the American flag on Monday because that’s what our parents did. Or maybe over the years we’ve displayed the flag because we wanted to show our patriotism or to honor the many men and women serving in the Armed Forces. Of interest to many of us is the history of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence and learning that 41 of the signers were slave owners. Some other interesting and relevant facts about the dec- laration is that there were 13 states involved and they were still at war at the time of the signing. One of the states, New York, chose not to sign. The states declaring their separation from British rule were New Hampshire, Mas- sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Del- aware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Car- olina and Georgia. They of- ten were referred to as the 13 British colonies. The flag of the United States of America has 13 stripes rep- resenting the original 13 col- onies and 50 stars represent- ing the 50 states. Another fact: the contro- versial phrase “under God” was not originally a part of the Pledge of Allegiance. It was added by law on June 14, 1954, the day former Presi- dent Trump turned 8. (Yes, his birthday is Flag Day.) And as for me, it wouldn’t be July Fourth without a picnic or barbecue of some sort. An estimated 74 million Amer- icans plan to barbecue for the holiday this year. When I was a child, and even when my children were still home, we always tried to have an “all-American barbecue.” Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping and oth- er food magazines feature whole sections suggesting what to make for our Fourth of July picnics. A new take on deviled eggs really caught my eye when thumbing through the BH&G June issue. It’s called Paleo Avocado Deviled Eggs. If you have a computer or smart phone, just go to this featured recipe: bhg.com/recipe/pa- leo-avocado-deviled-eggs. I think you’ll want to try it, too. Hot dogs still seem to win as the meat choice for at least 74 million Americans this year. Being a carnivore, I look forward to a thick juicy bar- becued ribeye steak. Make it medium rare, please, with lots of garlic seasoning. Before I forget, in case you didn’t already figure it out, please know that I am proud to be an American. And, along with you, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of Amer- ica and to the Republic for which it stands . . . one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” I was gone for much of June for my day job (the office of mayor is considered volun- teer). However, I did manage to squeeze in some city business during a meetup with pro- fessionals from Meanwhile Space in London, England. They showed me how they creatively use blank spaces in urban areas during the sever- al years it takes them to get permits and start building. Traveling abroad lends a lot of perspective to life at home. I wouldn’t call it better or worse, but different. People are familiar with what they grew up with or are accus- tomed to over time. Either way, I am grateful to call Warrenton home. We still have my favorite sunsets and a great mix of wild and urban amenities. What is clear to me from my travels is that there are better ways of doing housing with less cost than is associated with current “standard” de- velopment. It will require more flex- ibility in our building code to address off-street park- ing, and also to reduce road width standards that are well meaning but: No. 1, extreme- ly costly to develop and No. 2, too expensive to maintain un- der current means of revenue generation. There are other things I’d like to see us explore as well Man arrested following two-state chase A 29-year-old Washington man was in custody Wednes- day after leading police on a chase across state lines. Dakota Carras, who has lived in Longview and Battle Ground, was arrested near Knappa on Sunday. A Cowlitz County sheriff’s sergeant spotted Carras in Kelso sitting in a vehicle about 1:45 p.m. and, knowing he had a warrant, the officer activat- ed his emergency lights and commanded the man to get out of the car, according to the 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 sheriff’s agency. The woman who owned the car, who was standing nearby, also told him to get out. Instead, he drove away with the woman’s children, accord- ing to the sheriff’s office. Sgt. Rob Stumph relayed the in- formation to responding units and learned via radio that Carras was wanted for an un- related robbery and kidnap- ping cwase in Clark County. Deputies and officers pur- sued Carras as he drove recklessly through Kelso and crossed the bridge into Ore- gon at speeds of up to 90 mph. He was taken into custo- dy near Knappa and booked in Columbia County Jail on the warrant with future charges pending for kidnap- ping, reckless endangerment and attempting to elude. The children, a 5-year-old and a 22-month-old, were returned to their mother unharmed. and I’ll announce them in my state of the city address on Aug. 30. We’ve been a bit frozen in time with code changes due to a lack of stable staffing in our planning department, with two of our planners ac- tually ending up houseless at certain points. Luckily, we just welcomed a resident of the county, Jay Blake, as our new city planner! Having stable housing is critical both for the city’s ability to retain employees who provide essential ser- vices to Warrentonians, but also for businesses. We have a countywide group that is working on this as we speak, and I’m grate- ful that Clatsop County, un- der Commission Chair Mark Kujala, is doing a lot to help coordinate and support these efforts. 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. Senior meals Tuesday, July 5 • Meatloaf • Yams and potatoes • Green bean casserole • Berry shortcake Warrenton’s eat-in senior meal program is organized by Warrenton Senior Citizens Inc. and is at noon on Tues- days at Warrenton Commu- nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Suggested donation is $6. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for socializing and coffee.
