May 29, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A
Ceremony keys on true meaning of Memorial Day
of life,” he said. “And while
giving back to the extent
In Lounsbury’s opinion, they deserve is impossible,
making it a national holiday, celebrating their memory
and subsequently part of a and honoring their most self-
three-day weekend, is “when less deeds offers a start.”
some of the true meaning of
He thanked the approxi-
Memorial Day was lost.”
mately 1.3 million members
The holiday is about more of the nation’s military who
than a chance for a miniature have fought to defend Amer-
vacation, Lounsbury said.
ican values and the daily
“It’s a great day to re- freedoms citizens enjoy.
member,” he added. “Every
“God bless our fallen,
day is a great day to remem- their families and those
ber our veterans and their that live in uniforms in this
families.”
world,” said Miller, himself
Mitch Miller, of Oregon’s a Vietnam War veteran who
Veterans of Foreign Wars served several years in the
department, also paid tribute 1960s.
to “our American fallen,”
In Vietnam, he said, he
whom “humble Americans saw many good service
have gathered” to honor members fall, memories that
since the Civil War.
still touch him.
“Every American owes a
“It was no picnic,” he
great debt to the courageous said. The war was lost, he
men and women who have added, but not by the sol-
VHOÀHVVO\ JLYHQ WKHLU DOO WR diers. “We did our job. We
defend and protect our way got ’er done.”
Memorial from Page 1A
JOSHUA BESSEX — THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Will Batty, a volunteer with American Legion Riders, puts
the finishing touches on a battlefield cross as a tribute to
Sgt. James Treber during the Memorial Day ceremony at the
American Legion in Seaside.
Guest speaker Luke
Thomas, the Clatsop Coun-
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said he’s committed to help-
ing veterans get the services
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told the veterans in the audi-
ence to call him, even when
they might believe another
veteran needs his help more.
“You’re a veteran, you’ve
paid your due,” he said, add-
ing the fallen soldiers who
were being memorialized that
day would want the living
veterans to now receive what
they deserve.
Maureen Boggs, a mem-
ber of the Seaside Ameri-
can Legion Auxiliary, sang
“The Star-Spangled Ban-
ner,” “Amazing Grace” and
“America, the Beautiful” for
the ceremony. A member of
Boy Scout Troop 642 led the
crowd in the Pledge of Alle-
giance.
Kyrstin Crawford, a
member of the legion’s Ju-
nior Auxiliary, served as
Miss Poppy and handed
out red remembrance pop-
pies, made by veterans, at
the ceremony for donations.
The Junior Auxiliary mem-
bers also pass them out in
front of grocery stores and
in other locations, and the
donations go to veterans,
Crawford said.
After leading the crowd in
the closing prayer, Chaplain
Jere Mattila read “Flanders
Field,” a poem written by
John McCrae in May 1915
during World War I. The
poem, which is the inspira-
tion behind the traditional
remembrance poppies, reads:
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pies blow, between the cross-
es, row on row, that mark our
place; and in the sky the larks,
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heard amid the guns below.”
“We are the dead. Short
days ago we lived, felt dawn,
saw sunset glow, loved and
were loved, and now we lie
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reads. “Take up our quarrel
with the foe: to you from fail-
ing hands we throw the torch;
be yours to hold it high. If
you break faith with us who
die we shall not sleep, though
poppies grow in Flanders
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Local police try to approach panhandling with wider perspective
Dilemma from Page 1A
Begging is listed as an
offense against public peace
and safety in the city’s Gen-
eral Offenses Ordinance.
“No person shall beg or
solicit alms or other gratu-
ities upon the streets or in
any public place in the city,”
the ordinance states.
The offense can carry a
SHQDOW\ RU D ¿QH QRW WR H[-
ceed $700 or imprisonment
not to exceed 180 days.
Each day a violation occurs
is chalked up as a differ-
ent offense. The ordinance,
however, is not enforced,
especially if the offense is
isolated from others, such as
disorderly conduct.
“The problem with it, is
there are basically case laws
out there that contradict” the
city’s ordinance, Ham said.
A person could claim cit-
ing or arresting someone for
panhandling is a suppression
of their First Amendment
rights, Ham said. And many
people have done so. In at
least Arizona, Utah, Mich-
igan and California in the
past four years, courts have
struck down different types
of panhandling laws, ruling
they are unconstitutional
since the First Amendment
protects the right to free
speech, according to the
nonpartisan First Amend-
ment Center.
After being made aware
of this situation and realizing
“we might be setting our-
selves up for some bad de-
cisions,” Ham said, the de-
partment as a whole backed
off citing people for only
panhandling based on advice
from the city.
Now police response is
FRPSODLQWGULYHQ DQG RI¿-
cers will not initiate contact
with a panhandler unless he
or she is aggressively pan-
handling, using profanity to
threaten another person, fol-
lowing an individual, block-
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some other kind of aggres-
sive tactic to solicit, Ham
said. When a person calls
the department to report an
incident of panhandling, the
dispatcher often will ask if
it only is panhandling or if
there are other aggravating
factors that would require an
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uation. The same applies to
street performers.
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respond, they handle the in-
cidents as informational or
educational opportunities,
Ham said.
Besides the possibility
of being sued for repressing
people’s First Amendment
rights, citing someone who
claims to be in need could
be seen as impractical, Ham
said.
“What’s the point of cit-
ing someone to get a mone-
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can’t afford it?” some may
ask, Ham said, which has
led the department to ques-
tion, “Is it really worth the
enforcement action in the
manner of issuing a citation
and having them appear into
court?”
They instead try to ap-
proach the problem with a
wider perspective that aims
to treat it at its root. The de-
partment would prefer to of-
fer or suggest resources for
people who claim to need as-
sistance. Those could include
referrals to Helping Hands,
the South Clatsop County
Food Bank, food programs
at community churches, the
Department of Human Ser-
vices and others. The prob-
lem, Ham said, is options for
RI¿FHUV WR KHOS DUH OLPLWHG
and the panhandlers they en-
counter are living in a wide
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Green Thumb
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May 30, 2015 • 9am-3pm
Wide Variety of
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Scholarship Raffle
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Convention Center
415 1st Avenue in Seaside
QUESTIONS:
503-738-7200
pow ered b y
m u s ic firs t
range of situations. Some are
transients, for whom beg-
ging has become an integral
part of their lifestyle as they
travel from place to place;
some are homeless and truly
need assistance; and others
may not need food or work
as much as they just desire
money.
That is what some com-
munity members are expe-
riencing when they interact
with panhandlers, as well.
Residents have shared
a number of stories about
certain panhandlers quickly
disposing of donated food
PUBLISHER
Steve Forrester
EDITOR
R.J. Marx
REPORTER
by tossing it into the nearby
parking lot, or simply reject-
ing it outright and insisting
they only want money.
But there also are stories
of recipients who seem to
truly be in need and respond
with gratitude when offered
food or help from passers by.
One man, who did not
want to be named for the ar-
ticle, said he is not from Sea-
side but more or less passing
through. Panhandling isn’t
something he always does, he
said, but he’s “going through
hard times” and is waiting for
XQHPSOR\PHQW EHQH¿WV DQG
Samantha McLaren
SYSTEMS MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Betty Smith
PRODUCTION MANAGER
ADVERTISING SALES
Katherine Lacaze
John D. Bruijn
viduals information to Help-
ing Hands or other resources
when giving them food or
money.
For those who are frus-
trated by the panhandling
that often transpires in front
of Safeway or elsewhere in
town, Ham would suggest
they don’t give to those peo-
ple.
“If it truly is a community
livability problem, then the
community as a whole is go-
ing to have to not support the
activity - whatever it is,” he
said, adding if you don’t feed
an issue, it might go away.
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Claire Lovell
John Rahl
Darren Gooch
Esther Moberg
ADVERTISING MANAGER
other social services to get
sorted out. He has a car for
transportation and just uses
the money he collects for gas
and food, he said.
Several people in an on-
line discussion on the Sea-
side Oregon Virtual Garage
Sale page expressed frustra-
tion about not being able to
distinguish between those
who truly are in need and
those who aren’t and were
concerned panhandling and
solicitation from the lat-
ter could be detrimental to
serving the former. Some
suggested giving the indi-
Laura Kaim
Wendy Richardson
Seaside Signal
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