Clatsop County sheriff Tom Bergin is inviting public input in guiding the agency through the next few years. Over the next few weeks, he will hold a series of community meetings around the county to hear what people think the department is and isn't doing well or what it should be doing that it isn't. The information will be used in developing a new five-year strategic plan for the agency. For directions to the meeting locations, or more details on the purpose or results of the meetings, contact sheriff Tom Bergin at 503-325-8635.
Community meetings will start at 6 p.m. and run until finished at the following locations:
· Jan. 18 at Westport Community Church;
· Jan. 19 in the Knappa High School library;
· Jan. 25 in the Lewis and Clark Grade School cafeteria;
· Jan. 26 at Pacific Grange Hall, U.S. Highway 101 and Cullaby Lake Road;
· Jan. 21 at St Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church, Arch Cape;
· Feb. 2 in the Jewell School library.
The Board of Directors of Pacific Financial Corporation have declared a cash dividend to all Shareholders of record as of December 31, 2005 of $.73 per share payable on or before January 9, 2006. Pacific Financial Corporation is the Financial Holding Company of The Bank of the Pacific. The Bank has $480 million dollars in total assets and operates 16 branches within Grays Harbor, Pacific, Wahkiakum and Whatcom counties and a loan production office in Gearhart, Oregon. The Bank will open offices in Raymond, located in Pacific County and Anacortes, located in Skagit County during the first quarter of 2006. For more details, contact Mavis Shucka at 360-642-3749.
Lower Columbia Hospice received $25,000 from the Community Benefits Council of Providence Health Plan on December 20, 2005. The Community Benefits Council of PHP contributes five percent of their net income to community programs that serve the poor and vulnerable. Lower Columbia Hospice will use the $25,000 to assist with operations for their adult foster home known in the community as “Hospice House”.
The Warrenton, Oregon adult foster home faced possible closure in 2004 because of poor revenues and rising expenditures. A group of concerned volunteers organized to form Friends of Hospice House with the goal to keep the house open. They raised $41,448 by year end to help keep the home operational. This fundraising continues and in 2005, the group has raised $46,578. The additional funding from PHP will defray expenses not reimbursed by Medicaid for care of patients at the home. Medicaid funding is considerably less than the monthly charge for twenty-four hour supervised living. Lower Columbia Hospice has always accepted Medicaid funding because of the donations by the community to support care to patients. For more information about Lower Columbia Hospice or the “Hospice House”, call 503-338-6230.
Tillamook Cheese products added eight new awards to its list of accomplishments at the National Milk Producers Federation's annual meeting held Nov. 29 - Dec. 2 in San Francisco, California. A variety of Tillamook cheese products received high marks and awards in the 2005 Cheese Contest. Tillamook cheese products placed highly among the national cooperatives that entered cheeses in 11 different categories. Tillamook Monterey Jack won first and second, with scores of 99.8 and 99.6 respectively, in the natural cheese category. In the unique/flavored category, TCCA won another first place, with a score of 99.6, for Tillamook Pepper Jack, and a second place award for Tillamook Colby Jack with a score of 98.9.
In the cheddar categories, Tillamook medium cheddar won second place with a score of 99, Tillamook sharp cheddar won third place with a score of 97.8 in the aged category. Second and third place awards were also won in the mild cheddar category. The Tillamook County Creamery Association, formed as a cooperative in 1909. For more details, contact Christie Lincoln at 503-815-1358 or via e-mail at clincoln@tillamookcheese.com.
The Lower Columbia Preservation Society will sponsor an lecture about local building codes for home owners. The lecture is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25, at 7pm in the Flag Room of the Astoria Public Library, 450 10th St. in Astoria. Rosemary Johnson, from the Community Development Office, will talk about building codes and permits as they pertain to homes, historic or otherwise. Handouts will be provided to attendees, and questions will be answered. This lecture is free and open to the public. The Lower Columbia Preservation Society is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “preserve, protect, and promote the historic architecture in the Lower Columbia region.” For more information, call 503 338-6318 after 5:00 pm. For updates on this and other LCPS-sponsored events, visit the LCPS website at www.lcpsweb.org.
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