Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2022)
The Columbia Press September 2, 2022 7 Mayor’s Message Senior Moments by Henry Balensifer III with Emma Edwards Blessed to be a blessing Staff changes help city meet modern challenges I just have to share a new word I learned this week. Onomatopoeia has been around for quite some time -- since the 1500s. Its basic definition could be summed up as words that have to do with sounds. Many of us speak with sound words without even realizing it. Children’s book author Dr. Seuss makes good use of words denoting sound such as bam, whoosh, slap, hop, pop. Words that can stand alone are fun words to play with. If you’re caring for your grand- children, it’s fun to have them name such sound words. A favorite word of mine is the word pizzazz. And, by the way, it is not found in every dictionary! Since about 1930, many of us have been using the word pizzazz to mean an attractive combination of en- ergy and style; sparkle; vitali- ty; or glamour. As a young woman, I liked to dress with pizzazz. I love sparkles to this day. Recently, one of my young- er neighbors brought over a piece of homemade apple pie and I thanked him. As I admired it, I asked “Did you make it?” He smiled and said those magic words: “No, my wife made it!” He said it with such pride and joy. We used to do things like that in the “olden days.” I needed that reminder. The blessing (a piece of apple pie) that he gave me, also gave that young couple a blessing in the giving! We get blessing upon bless- ing in giving. Giving is a very important part of many of our lives. I mean giving and Change is happening. Since the start of 2020, Warrenton has a new fire chief (technically Dec 2019, but close enough) and a reor- ganized fire department. The entire planning and building department staff is new since 2020. We finally have all budgeted police po- sitions filled, and, in the next few months, we should have both a new city manager and new public works director. That’s a lot of change in staff. This may seem a bit con- cerning to some, but times have changed considerably. State laws have become more restrictive and have tied the hands of local governments in many ways. There is a time and season for everything, and the right leaders for the right time are important to meet the needs of the times. I am excited for our new staff. I am hopeful that with these new people we will be able to improve our processes and make government work for the residents better. The receiving. Many of us remember the Bible verse that says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Read that carefully and you discover it actually says that we are also blessed when we receive. Have you ever sent a thank you note to someone and they told you how you bless- ed their heart when they re- ceived that note? It makes you think! Giving often is coupled with receiving. A popular saying that is passed around these days is “Love … Laugh … Play” or “Live… Laugh … Love.” The phrases are an abridged form of the 1904 poem “Suc- cess” by Bessie Anderson Stanley, which begins “He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much.” Joy is the culmination of giving and receiving the plea- sure of loving, laughing and playing. On that subject, minister and author Robert Morris said “This is the great par- adox of living the blessed life: when we give without thought to whether or not we will receive, then we re- ceive.” For more motivation, I’ll look to Eeyore from the pop- ular Winnie the Pooh books. “Yes I Can” is his theme song from the TV series Wel- come to Pooh Corner. “I won’t say no. I won’t say can’t. I won’t say I won’t try. I just say yes I can and I get there by and by.” And you and I can too! (Well, except for the terrify- ing zipline!) Senior meals Tuesday, Sept. 6 Meatloaf Mashed potatoes and gravy • Broccoli and carrots • Chocolate cake Warrenton’s eat-in senior meal program is organized by Warrenton Senior Citizens Inc. and is at noon on Tues- days at Warrenton Communi- ty Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Suggested donation is $6. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for socializing and coffee. • • tired way of the past is crum- bling in its effectiveness to meet modern challenges and we’re already in progress on improving the city with new personnel. E-permitting soon will be the standard in Warrenton and across Clatsop County for building permits. The fire department will have more administrative support to handle burn per- mits and answer questions while freeing up the chief to do more. Our new planning director and planning tech have been full steam ahead in making improvements and have al- ready made an impact. I’m excited to see the future un- der their work. I believe our new city man- ager will bring a fresh per- spective to leading the city, and I know the commission is excited to have her aboard starting in mid-September. Staff leadership is not just all that’s changing, though. In five months, Seaside, Warrenton, and Astoria all will have new city manag- ers. Seaside, Astoria, Cannon Beach, and Gearhart all will have new mayors. Warren- ton’s voters are the only ones this year with the choice to keep or select a new mayor. Gearhart’s new mayor was selected by the council. In short, pay attention to your ballots. A lot is on the line, particularly with state legislative picks. I don’t endorse candidates, because I think the mayor’s office should remain non- partisan, but I cannot stress enough for voters to pay at- tention this year. 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. DAR gift commemorates 1929 action The Astoria chap- ter of the Daugh- ters of the Ameri- can Revolution will dedicate a granite bench at the West- port County Park at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. The bench commemorates the 50 Douglas fir timbers that left the sawmill at West- port for the refurbishment of the frigate U.S.S. Consti- tution or “Old Ironsides” in 1929. The same mill operated under two different names during the time span of two different shipments. Special train cars were needed at the time to haul the timbers back to the Boston Navy yard at Charles- town, Mass. The timbers were shipped from the Westport Lumber Company and were donated by the West Coast Lumbermen’s Association. The lumber was to be used for masts and spars. Local DAR members par- ticipated in the celebration when the refurbished frigate came to Astoria in 1933. In 1949, four additional 70- foot logs were sent from the Shepard and Morse Lumber Company to repair the frig- ate’s spars.
