Happy Father's Day!

There can be joy in our work

On Monday, we held a joint work session with both Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties to discuss forming a coalition on the lower Columbia River to make sure that our heritage of fishing is not destroyed by out of area special interest groups. We want to lend our support to those whose families have fished this area for many generations.

We understand the need to respect all of the different fishing interests on the Columbia and are now formulating a position paper that we will share with Governors and legislators of both Washington and Oregon along with our federal delegation and the Fish and Wildlife Commissions of the states. We are seeking a balance of allocation of our salmon that is fair and equitable to the various fishing groups.

We had a great discussion and some of it centered around the need to educate people on the history and the impact of fishing in our area. We also must begin to educate ourselves on the history of the fishing industry. I found the video linked below on the Salmon For All website and enjoyed listening to the various interviews in it of those that have made their livelihood on the river.

I would recommend this video to everyone that enjoys eating salmon in restaurants or at home after you have purchased it at the store. Keep in mind that the less fish allocated to the commercial fisheries, the less you will be able to purchase.

http://www.salmonforall.org/history/work-is-our-joy-movie/

What will you do this Memorial Day?

A very good friend reminded me Sunday evening that I hadn't posted anything on my blog about Memorial Day. I was going to wait until Monday am to post this but decided to do it Sunday night due to the busy morning ahead.

I had the pleasure of taking my two young granddaughters out to shop with their birthday money and then take them to Dairy Queen for dinner. I asked the oldest (she is in 2nd grade) if she knew why she didn't have school on Monday. She replied, "isn't it St. Patrick's Day?". I let her know that it is Memorial Day and she asked me what that meant. I told her that it is a day that we set aside to honor those people that have gone to war to protect our country and died doing so. She lit up a big smile and told me that she wanted to help honor them. I was proud of her at such a young age to want to do something. I will say that I am a little miffed that the school didn't teach her what the day was for, but I won't vent on that subject today.

I know that many of you have plans with your families on Monday, but I hope that you take the time to remember why we have Memorial Day. I am starting the day early by playing a round of golf with several of my coworkers and then will head back to Warrenton and attend either the ceremony at Ocean View Cemetery or the ceremony at Ft. Stevens Cemetery. Both of these are time honored remembrances of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Both ceremonies begin at 11:00. Following those ceremonies is the changing of the flags at the Warrenton Post Office memorial. It begins at 12:30 and is another opportunity to reflect. I hope that each of you will consider joining in one of the ceremonies along with your family.

The following is a poem I found that was written by Michelle Keim, I hope you put great thought into it as you read it.


As we stand here looking
At the flags upon these graves
Know these flags represent
A few of the true American brave

They fought for their Country
As man has through all of time
Except that these soldiers lying here
Fought for your country and mine

As we all are gathered here
To pay them our respect
Let's pass this word to others
It's what they would expect

I'm sure that they would do it
If it were me or you
To show we did not die in vein
But for the red, white and blue.

Let's pass on to our children
And to those who never knew
What these soldiers died for
It's the least we can do

Let's not forget their families
Great pain they had to bear
Losing a son, father or husband
They need to know we still care

No matter which war was fought
On the day that they died
I stand here looking at these flags
Filled with American pride.

So as the bugler plays out Taps
With its sweet and eerie sound
Pray for these soldiers lying here
In this sacred, hallowed ground.

Take home with you a sense of pride
You were here Memorial Day.
Celebrating the way Americans should
On this solemnest of days.

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder

So, after a week of reading how a British spinster wowed the world on Britain's Got Talent, I finally went to You Tube and watched the video. In our house, we enjoy watching American Idol and America's Got Talent. We enjoy the less than good performances that are put on to add humor to the shows, but we also enjoy hearing the talent that is out there waiting to be heard.

I watched the performance of Susan Boyle last night and, needless to say, was in awe with the beauty of her voice. She was prejudged by the audience as she came out on stage as an oaf who had no chance of being any good. 3 seconds into her performance and the people were on their feet. The 3 judges, including Simon Cowell, were given the biggest piece of humble pie in their lives.

It is truly important to not judge how a person looks. There is beauty in everyone and it is often very stunning. Please go to You Tube and watch the video of her and let me know what you think.

On a hill far away.....................

stood an old rugged cross.

The Economy

Ok, I think we can all agree that the economy sucks right now. People right and left are losing their jobs, their homes, and their financial stability. This present economy is touching everyone, no matter their status.

Watching the stock market each day can be depressing, you just don't see any positive news about it. I have chosen not to look at the current state of my 401k. Sure, I know that it has lost some of it's value, but what do I gain by looking at it each day online? The only thing I could gain would be a worst case of heartburn. I have chosen to ride this thing out and not make any drastic changes in my mix of investments in the plan. I am doing one thing differently now that I hope more people would take a look at. I have decided to invest more of my income in Oregon based companies. Hillary once said that it takes a village to raise a child. I am going with the montra of it takes Oregonians to raise the value of Oregon. By investing in these local companies, I am attempting to not only make a little income, but also to help my fellow Oregonians who work for these companies. These are the companies that are in our communities that support local causes to help those that need help.

We can survive this if we don't get wrapped up in the evening news that tends to show nothing but the negative aspect of things. We must make conscience efforts to remain positive about things and go on doing the what we are good at.

This economy will not turn around overnight, we have to remain focused on the fact that we can weather this storm and that we will once again be a prosperous state.

A legend, he will be missed

"My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news," Paul Harvey Jr. said in a statement. "So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend."

Paul Harvey Jr.