BAY CITY Feb. 11, 2010 --- The City Council of Bay City, at its February 9 meeting, declared the position held by Ron Tewalt vacant, as provided in the Bay City Charter. Tewalt has been unable to attend the last three Council meetings because of serious illness in his family. The Council seeks a candidate to replace Tewalt. Applications may be obtained at the City Office; deadline for submission is March 3.

The Council reappointed Diane Zink to the Budget Committee for a three-year term. The Council also appointed Diane Griffin, Christine Clark and Kathy Pollock to the Budget Committee. One new appointment will complete the unexpired term of a member who resigned; the other two will be for three-year terms.

Maxine Scovell told the Council that new signs alerting drivers to the presence of children on 16^th Street "are not going to work." Speeding on Williams and 16^th Streets has been an issue with area residents for several years. Williams and 16^th Streets have long served as a shortcut to U.S. 101 for residents on Bewleys Street and employees of the Handle Factory.

Public Works Superintendent Dave Pace said he is attempting to get a radar gun from the Sheriff's Office to clock speeders.

Mayor Peterson accepted a check from the Bay City Challenge. The donation is to be used to resurface the tennis court at the city park. Councilor Helen Wright announced that the shoe drive is ongoing, and she hoped to have enough athletic shoes by summer for Nike to make enough NikeGrind, a rubberized outdoor surfacing material, to resurface the court.

The amount of the contribution was not revealed during the meeting. This is the third year the Bay City Challenge has donated money to improve the city park.

Public Works Superintendent Pace told the Council that he has the "go-ahead" to remove water mains from two bridges and route them under the river. But, he said, he plans to wait for the City of Tillamook to complete its paperwork for the Intertie between the Tillamook and Kilchis Regional water systems, and then do all of the horizontal boring at one time. It saves the cost of bringing the boring equipment back a second time, he said.

The Intertie will assure the hospital a water supply should the Tillamook system fail, and the Creamery if the Kilchis system goes down. Pace also suggested bringing the Wilson River Water District into the project.

Pace also reported that he would defer a proposed upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant and concentrate instead on repairing the collector system, which has been subject to excessive "inflow and infiltration." Repair of a broken sewer pipe on 8^th place has resulted in a significant reduction in groundwater entering the system, Pace reported.

All Bay City property owners have recently received a notice of a public hearing on a proposed Transportation System Plan. Ordinarily, City Attorney Lois Albright told the Council, a plan is adopted by resolution, a simple process. However, she explained in her Feb. 3 letter to the Council, Oregon Administrative Rules require that Transportation System Plans be adopted as a part of a city's Comprehensive Plan. The proposed Transportation System Plan would adopt a new street classification map, new street cross sections for arterial, collector and local streets, and the Downtown Transportation Plan completed in 2003. The public hearing notice avers that the adoption of these provisions could affect permissible uses and values of "properties in the affected zone."

Albright expressed concern over the "rushed nature of this and the unease everyone has in amending other substantive ordinances, especially without a thorough review by the Planning Commission, City Council and Dave Pace." Albright advised going ahead with the public hearing before the Planning Commission at 6 p.m. February 17. She also recommended that Dave Pace review the street classifications and cross sections by Feb. 24.

Albright also asked that she be given any changes to the Transportation System Plan before March 2, and that she be advised by that date whether there any sections of the Plan which the City can reject at this time.

Councilor John Gettman urged the Council to renegotiate the current franchise agreements with Century Link and Charter Cable. He noted that telephone and cable companies are carrying more services than in the past, and the City is losing a valuable revenue source. Franchise agreements compensate the City for use of its street rights of way to run telephone and cable lines. He urged the Council to consider Portland's franchise agreements as a model.

In other business, the Council:

Adopted Resolution 10-03 approving the hazard mitigation plan to relocate the fire station outside the tsunami run-up zone when funding resources are available. This is a step toward qualifying for funding through FEMA.

Authorized City Attorney Albright to prepare a lease to site an information kiosk on a 10-foot-wide strip of land north of the Post Office; or to solicit the owners to donate the land to the City for the purpose of installing the kiosk. The kiosk would be dedicated to the memory of Wanda M. Parker, former Bay City postmaster.

Waived the rental fee of the Community Hall for use during the Centennial celebration scheduled for Labor Day weekend, 2010.

At its January meeting, the Council forgave overage fees totaling $2,286.75, for 12 water customers who experienced broken pipes during the December freeze. Total water loss for these customers was 987,458 gallons.

  BAY CITY Oct. 13, 2009 --- "What are going to be able to do about all those people who are going to be trapped down there, in Goose Point, and not be able to get out?" Fire Chief Don Reynolds asked the City Council at its October 13 meeting.  

Presently, Reynolds advised, there is only one exit from Goose Point and the Public Works area in case of a major earthquake or tsunami. If there is a quake, Reynolds continued, the dike between the treatment ponds will collapse, and there will be no access whatever to the treatment plant and equipment stored there.  

The Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad runs parallel to U.S. 101, preventing creation of additional routes out of Goose Point. Oregon Department of Transportation policy is to limit rail line grade crossings to as few as possible. Though the rail line is not in use because of storm damage, it has not been abandoned. There are groups working to get the line repaired and placed back in service.  

Fire protection, Reynolds said, is addressed by requiring installation of sprinklers in all new construction in Goose Point. But the greater danger is residents' inability to exit the area following a subduction quake in time to escape the tsunami. "It only takes one car getting sideways down there, and you've got everybody backed up," he said.  

One of the things we learned from the tsunami in Indonesia several years ago, Reynolds said, is that "people who stayed above the second floor of their hotel didn't have a problem." FEMA recently published a report, "Vertical Evacuation from Tsunamis," which Reynolds wished to put before the Hazard Mitigation Committee. A "small structure down there which would handle a couple hundred folks in a vertical evacuation mode might be worth thinking about," he said.

Mayor Shaena Peterson noted that such a structure might serve a dual purpose if located on the Museum property. "It's interesting to look at it as a viewing area and, in a worst-case scenario, as an escape hatch too," she said.  

The idea of vertical evacuation first came to light following an article in the Oregonian several weeks ago, with an artist's conception of a proposed Canon Beach city hall on pillars to double as a vertical evacuation structure.  

But, Reynolds cautioned, "there's money involved here, when we start talking about something like this." He said it could be a "plain Jane" structure with ramps instead of stairs. But where to come up with the money, he said, "that I don't know."  

A FEMA mitigation grant would fund 75 percent of the cost, Reynolds explained, but to qualify for the money, we must produce a Benefit-Cost Analysis of one-to-one. That is, for each dollar spent, one dollar in value is returned.  

But here's the rub. Tsunamis occur every 300 to 700 years. According to FEMA figures, a person is valued at about $3 million. If you multiply that number by the number of residents in Goose Point, you get quite a large number. But then, you must divide that by 500, the median value of the range 300 to 700. That casts some doubt whether the benefit-cost analysis would produce an acceptable ratio. But if it can be worked out, Reynolds said, "we could get it 75-percent funded by FEMA."  

Councilor Helen Wright expressed concern that development was permitted in Goose Point when there is no way for residents to get out in the event of a tsunami. Peterson and several councilors expressed interest in the concept of vertical evacuation.  

Councilor John Gettman cautioned that the City presently has no funding source for the required 25 percent match. He suggested that Goose Point property owners might agree to form a Local Improvement District "so they can contribute to that process."  

Peterson said that the best the Council could do is inform the residents that the City "could come up with 75 percent if you people can pull together and do 25. That is what could happen for you. Then the ball's in their court."  

In a related matter, the Council deferred to November consideration of a request by Millennium Properties to vacate the 16-foot alleyways in Blocks 10 and 13, Barview Addition, in Goose Point. In his recommendation to defer, Councilor Gettman explained that the Planning Commission did not know about vertical evacuation structures when it recommended approval of the alleyway vacation.  

The best location for the structure, Gettman added, would be property at Salmon and Hare Streets, where it would more accessible to Goose Point residents. But, he said, it is possible the structure could be located in an area served by the alleyway vacation.  

The Hazard Mitigation Committee will discuss vertical evacuation structures and benefit cost analyses October 21 and November 4. 

BAY CITY Oct. 13, 2009 --- Speeding and traffic control issues were laid before the City Council at its Oct. 13 meeting. Diane Blair and Maxine Scovel appeared before the Council to ask that something be done about speeding, which continues to be a severe problem on Williams and 16th Streets.

Williams, 16th and Spruce Streets are a favorite route to U.S. 101 for Bewleys Street traffic and handle factory employees going to and from work.  

Blair pointed out that a mother of three small children was very concerned about her kids' safety because of speeding drivers. She added that "there are 14 children, some of them just starting to walk, and there are cars that drivers should not have the right to drive."  

Scovel read a letter giving a graphic description of blind spots and other area hazards. The writer, who has five children, one of whom is in a wheelchair, expressed concern over allowing them to walk to visit relatives living on the same street.  

Fire Chief Don Reynolds advised that the letter points out a problem with disabled access, which "may give us some opening to funding."  

Mayor Shaena Peterson said that Bay City has speeding and traffic problems on other streets as well. "All of our streets," she said, "are 25-mile-an-hour streets." The issue of speed bumps or traffic calming on 16^th and Williams, she noted, has been before the Council many times.  

Public Works superintendent Dave Pace advised that the incline of the road made speed bumps a problem. Speed bumps are not recommended for installation on "any kind of an inclined roadway," he said. The problem with speed bumps on an inclined road, Pace explained, is that cars may hit them at an angle. He noted that a better approach might be a radar reader board to track traffic and speed.  

Councilor Helen Wright suggested, and Pace agreed, that placing signs advising drivers to slow for children would help.  

Pace also explained that there are now several types of permanent or moveable speed humps which he would look into.

Peterson noted that there might be an issue of parental control if children are allowed to play in the street.  

Blair stated that each morning, at 7:15, "I go out and stand beside my property, and I slow the traffic down. Every morning I am out there for 30 to 35 minutes until the bus is there and the children are loaded." Blair added that she is an "old lady" who has had "some pretty ugly gestures thrown at me." Offenders, Blair said, are mostly young drivers, "and females seem to be the worst."  

Peterson referred the matter to staff for recommendations and directed that the matter be placed on the agenda for the November Council meeting.

BAY CITY Nov. 3, 2009 --- The City Council, meeting a week early on Nov. 3, formally took up the problem of speeding and unsafe driving. As directed at the Council's October meeting, in response to concerns presented by Dian Blair and Maxine Scovel, Public Works Superintendent Dave Pace presented a written report on traffic calming devices for 16th Street.

Most cities, Pace noted in his report, set policies to address citizen complaints on speeding and unsafe driving. Bay City has never had such a policy. Scovel's concerns about speeding on Williams and 16^th Streets go back four years. Blair told the Council that she stood out in the road on school mornings to assure the safety of children waiting for the school bus. She has amassed a volume of license numbers and is no stranger to unkind remarks and rude gestures from passing drivers. "The females are nastier. They detest me," Blair said. But, she noted, the speeding problem makes it imperative that she do something to assure the safety of neighborhood schoolchildren.

Pace said in his report that the use of speed bumps or speed humps, a broader, flatter version of a speed bump, depends upon a number of factors. These range from type of traffic, commercial or residential; type of roadway, arterial, feeder or local; volume of traffic; and physical characteristics such as grade and condition of the roadway.

The problem with Williams and 16^th Streets, Pace said, is the incline. There are only two places on 16^th Street flat enough to install speed humps, and these are at stop signs or sharp corners which would force drivers to slow down anyway.

There are radar speed signs, Pace said, but added that he didn't believe they would be worthwhile because they measure and record speed in only one direction. Pace suggested, as an alternative, signs asking drivers to slow for children. Pace also suggested stenciled signs on the road surface, and small ceramic bumps in the roadway, something like rumble strips on a highway, to get drivers' attention as they enter that section of the road.

Eventually, Pace said, he wanted to do some paving and drainage improvements to the roads, possibly even adding sidewalks and curbs in that section. But, he added, funds would be needed to pay for the improvements.

Responding to a question from Councilor Becky Smith, Pace said he didn't know the makeup of the speeders, whether they were local or on their way to another destination. When he once again has a full crew, Pace said, he plans to station people, in private vehicles, at both ends of the problem area to see where the drivers are going and how many are local. Pace said he would welcome volunteers to do the surveillance.

Mayor Shaena Peterson described the problem area as two blocks of moderate intensity with commercial zones at both ends. Peterson suggested that Blair give Pace her list of licenses, names and addresses of the drivers she has observed.

Pace also suggested distributing a flyer to neighborhood households, describing the problem and asking for their cooperation. He also said he would draft a policy for the Council to consider, and pointed out that many cities require citizens requesting installation of traffic control devices to pay for them.

The 1st Marine Division had just been evacuated from the port of Hungnam, North Korea. The First Medical Battalion, to which I was assigned, was bivouacked on a hill overlooking the city of Masan in South Korea.

A day or so before Christmas Eve, Father Reilly, our chaplain, whom I had met several years before joining the Navy, asked me to accompany him to a little Catholic church about a half mile up the hill from our compound. We walked up the hill, talking about our earlier acquaintance during his assignment to the Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, New York. I had been an altar boy in those days, and had served him at Mass on more than one occasion.

Father Reilly was seeking permission to celebrate Midnight Mass at the little church on Christmas Eve. The parish priest, a Korean, spoke little English, but he was fluent in Latin as were most Catholic priests of the day. It was not long before the two of them had completed their arrangements for the Mass. The Korean priest, more than happy to make his little church available to the Marines who had defended Pusan and Masan six months earlier, asked only that his parishioners be welcome to join us at Mass.

Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the devout began to assemble outside our compound. They came from all over Masan, Marines and Koreans alike. Somehow, someone had managed to locate a large number of candles, almost enough for everyone who came to attend the service. The air was still and the night clear and cold, but not oppressively so, quite unlike the nights up north. Our candles alight, the sounds of Christmas carols rising above the throng, our procession made its way slowly up the hill to the door of the little church. There, the Korean pastor welcomed us and threw open the doors, revealing the warm, inviting glow within. I turned for a moment, and looked back. Almost as far as the eye could see, the faithful with their flickering lights moved solemnly up the hill, the strains of their carols drifting over the peaceful countryside. Still singing, their candles still alight, they filed in, genuflected, and took their places in the pews on either side of the main aisle.

The throng soon overflowed the little church, and those outside gathered near the open door so that they, too, might participate in the worship. Fresh, green pine boughs, and white and red flowers adorned the altar and the creche to one side. The church was ablaze with the soft light of hundreds of votive candles, and the air was pungent with the mixed aromas of incense, pine, and beeswax. I was to serve at Mass that evening, alongside a Korean altar boy, and I accompanied Father Reilly to the vestry to prepare for the service. From inside the vestry, we marveled at the blended sounds of Korean and English as the congregation sang "Silent Night" a cappella, as Franz Gruber had intended when he penned it one snowy Christmas Eve many years ago. Having forgotten most of my Latin responses, my role was to pour wine and water into the chalice for the Offertory and the water for the Lavabo, and to hold the paten for Father Reilly as he distributed Communion.

It was a curious sight, the diminutive Korean altar boy in his cassock and surplice, and I, in my Marine Corps fatigues, towering head and shoulders above him. The Korean pastor, acting in the capacity of Master of Ceremonies at a High Mass, assisted Father Reilly as he said the Mass of the Nativity, the first of the three Masses a priest could say on Christmas. The Mass lasted almost an hour. Two brief sermons were given that evening, one in English by Father Reilly, the other in Korean by our gracious Korean host. The Mass concluded with the singing of "Adeste Fidelis," some singing it in Latin, some in English, and some in Korean.

We filed silently out into the clear, cold Korean night, the hamlet and valley below softly aglow in the pale light of the full moon and the millions of stars smiling down upon us. Basking in an inner glow of peace and tranquility, we filed, quietly and contemplatively, to our bivouacs in the village below. The ordeal of the north had ended, and, for a brief moment, the war seemed but a distant memory.

August 15 was the highlight of the summer in Bay City. That's the day the Bay City Firefighters' Association gave their annual picnic for the city, their way of saying "Thank You" to the residents for their generous support of the firefighters throughout the year.

Bay City Children climb and play on the firetruck

Don Reynolds, our fire chief, estimated that about 225 people attended this year's picnic. "It's right up there," Don told me, "almost as good as the association's first picnic in 1998. That was when the picnics were held in the city park. But then, one year, Mother Nature didn't cooperate, and the event was moved into the fire station at the last minute. But that first picnic in the fire station taught us something. It was a great place to hold a picnic for the city - out of the weather but open to the fresh air. Plus, all the fire engines were close by for the kids to climb on.

There is often some confusion about who pays for the picnic each year. Don told me a gentleman came by while the firefighters were setting up for the picnic and vented his wrath over the use of taxpayer money to put on a burger bash. As we would say in the Navy, he was one of the 10 percent that didn't get the word.

The Fire Department and the Firefighters' Association are two different organizations. The Fire Department fights fires, assists at auto accidents, responds to medical emergencies, and generally walks on water. All that is funded with our taxpayer dollars.

But all the firefighters belong to the Firefighters' Association, a non-profit organization which does lots of extra things for Bay City throughout the year. They distribute candy for kids at Christmas and do some things for Halloween as well. And, they have a locker full of cuddly toys for children whose lives have been disrupted by a fire or medical emergency. They always go the extra mile, like putting on the picnic each summer.

Firefighters' Association president Mark Killion thanks everyone who has contributed to make the picnic a success. Mark thanks the Landing and Downie's Cafe for the burgers; the Tillamook County Creamery Association for the ice cream; Tillamook Pepsi for the pop; Tillamook Country Smoker for the jerky; and the Idaville Bible Church for the tables. Last but not least, Mark thanks all the citizens who have contributed their hard-won dollars to sustain the firefighters throughout the year. I sure hope I haven't forgotten anybody.

Ah, yes, sure enough, I forgot to thank Sgt. Mike Fox and Deputy Don Taylor of the Tillamook County Sheriff's Office for displaying a police cruiser and demonstrating the county's emergency communications trailer, assisted by Capt. Bill Rust of the Civil Air Patrol.

And there was a drawing. Lots of prizes, including a fireproof safe, jerky, first aid kits and two bikes. These were won by Cole Herber and Jaquie Killion. Congratulations, kids, and don't forget to wear your bike helmets.

For those of you who might have a hankering to do a great service for the community, why not think about joining the Fire Department. Just come down any Monday about 7:30 p.m., and be prepared to join a great organization.

BAY CITY Sept. 6, 2009 — Work has begun in earnest on Bay City’s new community garden. The Bay City Council, at its Aug. 4 meeting, gave Ed and Mickey Ketzel approval to start a community garden on 8,672 square feet of city-owned property bordering 15th and Spruce Streets, subject to an OK from Public Works Superintendent Dave Pace and the City’s liability insurance carrier.

L-R: Shelley Bowe of Food Roots, Ed Ketzel, Mickey Ketzel, Mike Dressler

August 28 found the Ketzels, joined by Mike Dressler, cleaning out the weeds and blackberry canes, and mulling the best locations for the crops they plan to grow. Mickey explained that they were undecided on the layout of the garden plots. At the Rockaway Victory Garden, she said, “they had little plots set up — each person has one — and we may do that here if people are interested. If not, we’ll make it just a big community garden where everybody works in it and they all share in it.”

The Ketzels are prepared to invest some money to acquire fresh topsoil, blueberries, fruit trees and the like. There may also be some people willing to donate other items, Mickey said. Also, she added, the Hooley Digester out by the blimp base volunteered some materials. As to excess food, Mickey said, “well, we’d just give it to whoever needs it.”

“What a great site this is!” exclaimed Food Roots program manager Shelley Bowe. It has city water and great light for growing, and there are lots “of things in Tillamook County that we can put into the soil” to improve it, she said, adding that it’s very important to “get enough people who are enthusiastic and willing to work hard on it.” She said that community gardens require other skill sets as well, such as operating heavy equipment and handling paper work.

Food Roots is not a food bank, Bowe emphasized. It’s a non-profit serving all of Tillamook County. The reason Food Roots exists, she added, “is to increase local food resources and enhance the ability of people in the community to grow local food.” Food Roods works not only with people who want to start gardens, but also groups, schools, economic development folks and farmers’ markets. “We tell them up front,” Bowe said, “that we’re not going to do it for you, but we’ll sure as heck sit down and work with you, and try to bring resources” such as fruit trees and seeds.

Ed Ketzel said he planned to rent some equipment to “scrape off the top layer and roll it over so we can burn it.” He added that the man at the Hooley Digester said he’d “subsidize the garden — donate the soil.” Ed said he also had a line on a dump truck and plans to bring in about 16 yards of soil. This fall, Ed said, “I expect to have the soil in place and prepped to go through the winter.” He also plans to plant some fruit trees during the winter while they’re dormant, and get some blueberry plants in as well.
Until now, he said, the property has been an eyesore. Wildflowers on the slope facing the highway would look nice. If anyone is interested, Ed said, “just come on over.”

BAY CITY Sept. 7, 2009 — August 22 saw the Bay City fire station swarming with 16 volunteers armed with paint brushes, scrapers, drop cloths and unbridled enthusiasm.

Bay City Fire Chief Don Reynolds

Two years ago, Bay City Fire Chief Don Reynolds explained, the voters approved a maintenance and operation levy for the Fire Department. Prior to the levy, Reynolds said, the department was slipping farther and farther behind in its ability to operate the department and maintain the fire station. The levy restored enough money to purchase much-needed equipment and perform overdue maintenance.

“This year,” Reynolds said, “the emphasis has been on upgrading facilities.” The department got a bit of a maintenance boost when a local Girl Scout troop, searching for a community betterment project, took on painting of the inside of the fire station. “And they’ve been doing a wonderful job in that,” Reynolds said.

But the outside of the building needed paint and other maintenance badly, Reynolds explained, much of it because of severe damage from the great December windstorm.

Reynolds looked to the Neah-Kah-Nie School District to find an organization willing to take on the job of painting the building exterior. The reason, Reynolds explained, is that Bay City has many kids attending NKN schools. Because the Bay City community has supported the Fire Department, Reynolds said, “we felt it was only fair that we try to support the schools where we possibly can.” The school district “directed us to the SAFE Committee, which is the Project Graduation group.” They took the job.

“We supplied the paint,” Reynolds said, “and they supplied everything else, including a tremendous amount of manpower. There were large areas which needed scraping before it could be painted.”

Within eight hours, they scraped the building and applied two coats of exterior latex paint “with as little muss and fuss as I’ve ever seen on a paint job with that many people,” Reynolds said. The volunteers consisted mainly of adults, “with a few senior kids who will be in next year’s Project Graduation, plus a few younger ones.”

The group spent 108 really tough man-hours, Reynolds said, breaking only for a 30-minute barbecue lunch. This was not a pro bono operation, Reynolds explained. “We set a price with them, as a fundraiser for Project Graduation.” Last year, they spent about $17,500, and they’re looking to spend about the same this year.

Project Graduation was paid one dollar less than the amount bid by a professional painter. Total cost of the paint job, including the paint and power washing of the building, done by Chris Norris of K&J Power Washing, was $4,463.56, of which $3,499 went to Project Graduation. K&J, Reynolds said, “made a hefty donation of their time for the project.”

“It’s only good business for us to help community organizations to complete their programs,” Reynolds said. “Our members come from the community, and every person who was helping with the project is a potential new member for the Fire Department. We’re tickled to death that we were able to help with Project Graduation.”
The Fire Department welcomes new members. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter can visit the fire station at 7:30 p.m. any Monday to learn more.

BAY CITY Dec. 22, 2009 — The shoe drive is on again, City Councilor Helen Wright announced recently. Remember the shoe drive? A year or so ago, the City conducted a drive to collect old sneakers and athletic shoes to resurface the tennis/basketball court. The sneakers collected on that drive were not enough to do the job.

Nike has developed a process to grind up shoe rubber to produce an excellent resurfacing material, called Nikegrind, for outdoor tennis and basketball courts. According to Helen, it would take approximately 2,500 pair of sneakers to produce enough Nikegrind to resurface the tennis court at the city park. Anyone who has played tennis or shot baskets on that court will attest to the urgent need for resurfacing.

Collection barrels may be found at The Cutting Loose Salon and The Landing in Bay City, and at the Idaville Store. Starting January 1, 2010, collection barrels will be found at all Sheldon Oil gas stations in the county. If we don't reach 2,500 pair this time, Helen said, another drive probably will be held next June.

Cash donations are also being accepted at city hall, if you'd like to contribute but have no rubber-soled shoes. You should make your checks payable to City of Bay City, with a memo directing that the money go to the Parks Fund for the tennis court.

Averill Trucking will store the shoes at the recycling center and truck them to Nike when there are enough to resurface the tennis court.

Also, Helen said, more collection barrels are needed. If you have something suitable to collect the shoes, call Helen at (503) 812-0293. The more barrels out in the community, the sooner Bay City will reach that magic 2,500 number and get its resurfaced tennis court.

Remember: Sneakers and athletic shoes only.

BAY CITY, May 22, 2010 --- By now, all of Bay City knows that Jaime Heup, that smiling young lady who occupied the desk opposite the counter in the Bay City office, died at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 19.

Jaime had worked for the City of Bay City nearly 10 years, before she was suddenly taken ill in February. Anyone who has visited the city office will remember Jaime for her helpful attitude and her endearing smile. Jaime, who handled the city's water and sewer billing program, was also responsible for handling most general matters at the office counter. Not only did she explain water bills and accept payments, Jaime fielded many other problems as well.

If you wanted to license your dog, it was generally Jaime who checked the rabies vaccination certificate and issued the license. If you wanted a burn permit, it was usually Jaime who issued it. And if you wanted to make a complaint, it was most often Jaime who listened to you or helped you complete a formal complaint form.

On Thursday, May 27, Jaime will be laid to rest following a chapel and graveside service at Evergreen Memorial Gardens, located at 1101 NE 112^th Avenue, Vancouver, Washington. The service will begin at 12:30 p.m.

Jaime's favorite flowers, according to Lin Downey, were violets. She loved them.

Jaime's memorial set

BAY CITY, June 1, 2010 --- Boosters president Linda Vining announced today that there will be a memorial service and celebration of Jaime Heup's life on Saturday, June 5, starting at 11 a.m.

The memorial and celebration of life will be held at the Bay City Community Hall.

Jaime became ill in February and spent the months that followed in the intensive care unit at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash. She had her ups and downs, but tenaciously clung to life until May 19, when the end came at 5:30 p.m.

Jaime worked for the City of Bay City for nearly 10 years. She was responsible for managing the water-billing program and responding to citizens' needs at the front counter. Jaime, always helpful and resourceful, greeted all customers with a smile and went out of her way to help.

On May 27 Jaime was laid to rest following a chapel and graveside service at Evergreen Memorial Gardens in Vancouver.

But Saturday, the city will be celebrating Jaime's life. Jaime was very fond of cookies, so the Bay City Boosters Club will be providing cookies and refreshments.

All are invited to attend and share their memories of Jaime.

Sunflower Offshore Boring, a pioneer in deep sea oilfield exploration, has been a mainstay of world oil production for more than 50 years, ever since the world discovered that its supplies of easily-accessible oil would soon be depleted.

With most of the reasonably-shallow offshore oil fields now running on empty, Sunflower Offshore Boring, which had adopted as its corporate logo the acronym SOB as being more evocative of its true business model, pioneered deep-water drilling techniques to enable oil extraction from depths as great as the bottom of the Marianas Trench at the lowest cost.

But on April 20, disaster struck SOB. A massive escape of natural gas, which somehow got past a brand new blowout preventer, exploded and destroyed the Deep-Seated Derision, SOB's newest deepwater oil drilling platform. Underwater cameras later confirmed that oil was leaking from several ruptures in the oil riser, which had crumpled to the ocean floor with the platform's collapse.

SOB CEO Toby Wayward was quick to respond from the deck of "Oleaginous," his 78-foot yacht, that there was no problem. The drilling platform and blowout preventer were still under warranty.

Wayward could not take further questions because he had to rig sail for a port tack.

Contacted later, after completing the first day of his yacht race, Wayward assured the world that only miniscule amounts of oil were leaking from the well. When pressed for a more definitive response, Wayward asserted that the amount of oil gushing from the well was unimportant when compared to the challenge of capping the well and stopping the leakage. Wayward declined to take further questions, as he had to prepare the "Oleaginous" for round two of the Channel Islands Regatta.

The Deep-Seated Derision disaster came as a shock to the oil exploration community, because it was SOB which wrote the book on deep sea drilling safety and blowout prevention.

In fact, the Minerals Manglement Section of the Department of the Inferior had relied heavily upon SOB's research, published drilling precautions and disaster recovery plans as a basis for its edicts, manuals and directives governing deep sea oil drilling.

These rules and policies were the product of lengthy negotiations between Minerals Manglement and SOB aboard the "Oleaginous" or at the Norbeak Country Club's 19^th hole. SOB provided top Minerals Manglement bureaucrats golf club memberships at Norbeak to afford them a more congenial venue to develop their strong cooperative relationships with SOB.

In video finally released by SOB, high resolution cameras lowered to the wellhead confirmed that earlier estimates of escaping oil in the range of 10,000 to 12,000 barrels a day were a bit low, and that a more accurate figure would be in the range of 60,000 to 80,000 barrels. Wayward commented from the bridge of the "Oleaginous," racing across the Atlantic Ocean, that his own scientists advised him that only 25,000 barrels were escaping.

A senior SOB executive, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the press, said the company was in the process of executing its disaster recovery plan, which would assure that Gulf wildlife, including sea lions and walruses, would not be harmed by the leaking oil. This plan had worked well when applied to minor test spills in Prudhoe Bay. There was some consternation when it was discovered that some of the "on call" science advisors named in the plan had been dead for years.

When grilled by Congress a few days later, Wayward, speaking via videoconference from his Bermuda golf club, assured that "all legitimate claims would be honored," and that company studies assured that "no wildlife would be harmed."

But the White House, wanting to be sure that all legitimate claims would be paid, conducted a marathon negotiating session with the CEO of SOB America to create a $20 billion relief fund over four years to pay damage claims. At the same time, the White House named retiring Coast Guard Commandant Ted Alden to direct recovery efforts.

Scientists reported observing that underwater oil plumes had developed. Wayward, speaking from his jet ski in Nassau, flatly denied that there were any oil plumes, but ordered the generous application of an oil dispersant, just in case.

With their fishing, shrimping and oystering grounds closed to sport and commercial production, gulf fishermen lined up for jobs applying the dispersant. Days later they all complained of feeling ill from breathing the dispersant fumes. Wayward, speaking from his bank in the Cayman Islands, flatly denied that there was any problem with the air, and that the complainers probably had the stomach flu.

With the establishment of cleaning stations to clean heavily oiled pelicans and other sea birds, SOB immediately issued a request for proposals to recover the oil from the birds for reprocessing.

Announcing the request for proposals over a videoconferencing circuit from his 83^rd floor executive suite in Dubai Towers, Wayward was heard to say, "I just want my life back."

Several attempts to cap the well, including stuffing it with golf balls and broken golf clubs, failed. Answering to the Congress, the acting head of Minerals Manglement said that it had waived the normal requirements to drill relief wells and test blowout preventers because SOB was highly skilled in deepwater oil exploration and did not require close regulation.

SOB said it had received no proposals to recover oil from pelicans for reprocessing.

Wayward, again speaking from the tiller of the "Oleaginous," proclaimed that SOB had lots of cash and that "all legitimate claims would be paid."

SOB tried seven more schemes to stop or capture the escaping oil, with mixed results. Speaking from the wheelhouse of the "Oleaginous" as it entered round two of the Shetland Island Yacht Race, Wayward stated that SOB had so far paid out $9,000 in claims and more than $90 billion in damage control, and asserted that SOB had plenty of cash on hand to pay for the recovery.

SOB stock tanked. Wayward, speaking from his yacht broker's office, assured that SOB would "pay all legitimate claims and resume normal operations as soon as the well is capped."

In December the Congress declined to approve an extension of unemployment assistance and food stamps for the masses still idled by the closure of all fishing in the Gulf. Most members of congress bemoaned their inability to support extending the assistance because no offsetting savings could be found.

On day 240 following the spill, Congress approved a $550 billion bailout of SOB, because it was "too big to be allowed to fail." Wayward awarded all top SOB executives hefty Christmas bonuses in recognition of their brilliant performance during the Gulf blowout crisis, which continues unabated.