From April through June, large-flowered trilliums bloom gracefully on the forest floor throughout Jim Bundy Memorial Park. The trillium has a large, often white, three-petaled flower above three broad leaves. Along with its three sepals, it's easy to see where trillium got its name. The plants are 8 - 18 inches high with a stem bearing a 2 - 4 inch flower. The white flowers turn pink with age. They grow in rich wooded areas, and trillium is often the first wildflower noticed by casual walkers as other spring wildflowers are much less apparent.

Trillium flowers should never be picked. In fact, it is illegal to pick trilliums in Oregon, Washington, New York, Michigan and British Columbia. The three leaves below the flower are the plant's only food source and a picked trillium may die or take many years to recover. Trillium plants take 6 years to grow from seeds to flowers.

Trillium is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants and mice. Trillum seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes and put the seeds in their garbage, where they are protected until they germinate. They also get the added bonus of growing in a medium made richer by the ant garbage.

• Vonnie Walker and Marian Calnon for weeding and pruning in the flowerbeds at City Hall.

• Jim Shinkle, Nell Harrison, Stan Hopkins and Marian Calnon for weeding, planting and mowing in Jim Bundy Memorial Park.

• Norm Jones for mowing Datis Park.

• The Columbia County Community Corrections work crew for weeding the new plantings along the bike path at the north end of town and for picking up and stacking broken tree limbs and branches in Jim Bundy Memorial Park.

We'd like to welcome our newest Planning Commission Member, John Sachs. John, a semi-retired architect with 40 years of experience, was appointed to the Commission in February.

The Planning Commission will meet at 7:00 p.m. on May 9th to hold a public hearing on proposed changes to the development code. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall. Information about the proposed changes may be obtained from the City Hall.

We'd like to extend a warm welcome to Alexander Reed, who was recently appointed to the Columbia City Budget Committee.

The Budget Committee will meet at 7:00 p.m. on May 10, 2006, to discuss and review the 2006/07 proposed budget. They will also hold public hearings to accept testimony about the proposed use of revenue sharing funds and about the proposed budget. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall.

The proposed budget will become available for public inspection on Friday, May 5th, at 8:00 a.m.

SPRING CLEANUP

Now is the time to get rid of that unwanted junk - old metal appliances, scrap metal, yard debris, old furniture, solidified latex paint cans, etc. The annual Spring Cleanup Day will be held on Saturday, May 6^th, 2006, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Columbia City School. You can drop off your yard debris, trees, and limbs for free. Extra bulky waste or hard-to-dispose-of items, such as old furniture, lawn mowers, mattresses, etc. will be accepted for a fee. The following charges apply to other items:

Please note the site does NOT accept the following items:

• No wet garbage
• No burn piles
• No painted wood
• No lumber or construction debris
• No sod
• No hazardous waste materials

Please keep the length of yard debris (limbs) to six feet and under. Wet garbage, lumber or construction debris, burn piles, building materials and hazardous household waste will NOT be accepted. Seniors needing assistance may call (503) 397-4010 prior to the day of the event.

Our congratulations to Kathy Griffith, who won the City logo contest! The City Council selected her conceptual design, showing a tree-banked Columbia River with ship traffic and the tip of Sand Island against a mountain range, presented in a diamond-shaped framework. The Council voted to add the pilings in Pixie Park to the logo, and to accentuate Mt. Adams in the mountain range.

The final logo design will be presented on this year's Columbia City Celebration t-shirt.

We'd like to thank everyone who took the time to enter the City's logo contest!

The Rose Festival Fleet Week is June 7 - 11. Ships from the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and the Royal Canadian Navy sail in from around the world. Fleet visitation has been an annual tradition for nearly 70 years. The ships usually sail by Columbia City the first two days of that week, but there are no specific times for their arrival.

Thanks to simple decomposition, nature "recycles" plant wastes into a rich soil additive called compost. It is a dark, crumbly soil-like material that can be used as a mulch, top dressing or soil amendment. Like good cooking, composting is part science, part art. Even the first-time composter can make good quality compost. Without getting too technical, here's a review of what's involved.

Materials: Anything that was once alive will naturally decompose. However, some organic wastes should not be composted at home.

• Grass clippings
• Twigs
• Leaves
• Annual weeds
• Flowers
• Vegetable scraps
• Old plants
• Coffee filters and
• Old potting soil tea bags

Do NOT compost these items:

• Diseased plants
• Dead animals
• Weeds with seeds
• Bread and grains
• Invasive weeds like quack grass and morning glory
• Meat or fish parts
• Cheese, butter, milk
• Grease, cooking oil
• Pet feces or oily foods

All organic materials contain carbon and nitrogen in varying ratios (C:N). Carbon in brown leaves and woody wastes provides energy, while nitrogen in green grass and vegetable scraps provides protein for cell development. A C:N ratio of 30:1 is considered ideal for composting. This balance can be achieved by mixing roughly two parts grass clippings (C:N = 20:1) with one part brown leaves (C:N = 60:1). Making layers of green and brown materials can be useful in arriving at these proportions, but a complete mixing of ingredients is preferable for composting. Through a C:N ratio of 30:1 is ideal for hot, fast composting, higher ratios (with more carbon materials) will work adequately for slower composting.

Biology: Bacteria start the process of decaying organic matter. They are the first to break down plant tissue and also the most numerous and effective composters. Fungi and protozoans soon join the bacteria and, somewhat later in the cycle, centipedes, millipedes, beetles and worms finish what the bacteria started.

Surface Area: If the microbes have more surface area to feed on, the materials will break down faster. It's like a block of ice in the sun - slow to break down when it's large, but break it into smaller pieces and it melts quickly. Chopping your garden debris with a machete, or using a chipper/shredder or lawnmower to shred materials will help them decompose faster.

Volume: A large compost pile will insulate itself, trapping the heat generated by microbial activity. A 3' by 3' by 3' pile (1 cubic yard) is considered a minimum size for hot, fast composting. Piles wider or taller than 5 feet don't allow enough air to reach the microbes at the center.

Moisture & Aeration: Most life on earth needs a certain amount of water and air to survive. The microbes in the compost pile function best when the materials are as damp as a wrung-out sponge and have many air passages. Extremes of sun or rain can adversely affect the balance of air and moisture in your pile. The air in the pile is usually used up faster than the moisture, so the materials must be "turned" or mixed-up occasionally to add air that will sustain high temperatures and control odor.

Time & Temperature: The most efficient decomposing bacteria thrive in temperatures between 110° F and 160° F. Thus, the hotter the pile, the faster the composting. If you achieve a good balance of carbon and nitrogen, provide lots of surface area within a large volume of materials, and maintain adequate moisture and aeration, the temperature will rise over several days. (This information was provided by the Metro Recycling Information Center)

Please join us for the sixth annual "Down By the Riverside" project in Columbia City! We are looking for volunteers to assist us with this project in Pixie Park and Datis Park on Saturday, May 20, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Volunteers will be removing blackberry bushes, morning glory, ivy and debris as well as planting, painting, and sprucing up the parks as needed. If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact City Hall, or just show up at one of the parks!

Here are a few more award winners for your consideration. The Booker award is given for a UK novel each year. The National Book Award , the Pen/Faulkner Award, and the Pulitzer prize are given for more literary fiction, rather than genre fiction.

The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck won the 2004 National Book Award. A historical epic that tells an unusual love story, this novel offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of nineteenth-century Paraguay. The year is 1854. In Paris, Francisco Solano -- the future dictator of Paraguay -- begins his courtship of the young, beautiful Irish courtesan Ella Lynch with a poncho, a Paraguayan band, and a horse named Mathilde. Ella follows Franco to Asunción and reigns there as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover's ill-fated imperial dream -- one fueled by a heedless arrogance that will devastate all of Paraguay. (Review from the National Book Foundation.)

The Known World by Edward P. Jones won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize. The Known World is set in antebellum Virginia, where Henry Townsend is not only a free black man, but one who owns his own land and his own slaves. Despite the fact that he owns these men, women, and children's lives completely, his aim is to treat them compassionately. His mentor, the most powerful white man in the country, is deeply in love with a slave and their two mulatto children. When Henry dies, his wife Caldonia tries to run the plantation in his absence. Sensing the opportunity, slaves begin to sneak away at night. White patrollers catch the

runaway slaves for rewards, occasionally grabbing free black men too. Edward P. Jones's novel tells the story across the span of many years, illuminating the world of slavery through its many contradictions and its cost of humanity and lives. The Known World has received high praise. Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post calls it "the best new work of American fiction to cross my desk in years." (Review from reviewsofbooks.com.)

Life of Pi by Yann Martel won the 2002 Booker Award. Life of Pi is the story of a 16-year old Indian boy adrift at sea for 227 days with only a dangerous Bengal tiger for a companion. Pi Patel's journey, and survival through the use of his wits and sheer determination, is one that grabs you and never lets go. Yann Martel is a master story teller and he weaves a tale that is entertaining and thought-provoking and at the end, he challenges you to believe it all. A top-notch read, Life of Pi is a delicious treat to savor. (Review from reviewsofbooks.com.)

The Novel Quilters have completed their quilts based on The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. Pictures are posted on the library bulletin board. The Novel Quilters are currently reading Julie and Julia by Julia Powell. They meet monthly.

Story Time: 11 a.m. every Monday

Bedtime Story: 7 p.m. on May 3

Friends of the Library Meeting: 7 p.m. on May 15

Novel Quilters Meeting: 6:30 p.m. on May 17

Monday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Wednesday, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

MONTHLY MEETING AND EVENT CALENDAR

May 4 7:30 p.m. Regular City Council Meeting at City Hall

May 6 9:00 a.m. Spring Cleanup at the Columbia City School

May 9 7:00 p.m. Planning Commission Meeting at City Hall

May 10 7:00 p.m. Budget Committee Meeting at City Hall

May 11 7:30 p.m. Municipal Court at City Hall

May 15 7:00 p.m. Friends of the Library Meeting at the Library

May 16 7:00 p.m. Parks Committee Meeting at City Hall

May 18 7:30 p.m. Regular City Council Meeting at City Hall

May 20 9:00 a.m. Riverside Cleanup at Pixie and Datis Parks

May 25 7:30 p.m. Municipal Court at City Hall

May 29 CLOSED City Hall is closed on Memorial Day

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