Commissioner Retires After 25 Years

DAYTON - After 25 years as a commissioner for the Port of Columbia, Lawrence Turner has decided it's finally time to hang up his hat.

"I thought it was time to go home and farm for a while," Turner said with a laugh.

Turner, now 83, was asked by the manager of the port in the mid-1980s if he would be interested in filling a vacancy on the board of commissioners.

Turner had public service experience. He had served Columbia County as a commissioner from 1972 to 1980. He has lived in Dayton all of his life and graduated from Dayton high School in 1946.

Turner said he thought over the manager's proposition carefully. Turner said he could see expansion in the future of the port and thought he would be interested in being a part of its future.

Turner was appointed to the position in 1986 and was later elected to each of his terms by the public. He is proud of his "small political career," as he calls it. And said he was never interested in changing anything about the port when he first joined the board. He just wanted to be a part of the action.

"I'm very happy with the way things are, but I want to help them in the future," Turner recalled replying to those who asked about his motive to join the board.

Being part of the port was very different from being a county commissioner, he said. The county position required more responsibility than the port.

"It was much more stressful," Turner said of the county position.

As each port project came along, he said he became more interested in them. He was surprised at the new companies moving into the port-owned properties and all of the young people they employed, he said.

Dayton Tractor's new home at the port was also very important because the area was losing machinery dealers, he said. And he was even more surprised by the operation that became Columbia County Transportation, which uses the port property as its home base.

Turner grew up on Turner Farms in Dayton and expected that his life was all planned out for him there.

"I thought I was going to be strictly a farmer all my life and that was going to be it," Turner said.

Though Turner has turned over most of the farm responsibilities to his son, nephew and grandson, he still puts in some hours on the tractor.

"He drove a combine all summer long," Betty exclaimed.

"And I enjoyed every minute of it," Turner said.

Over the years, the farm has produced peas, winter wheat, spring wheat and a small bit of barley. Turner is proud of the fact that the farm is all owned and ran by his family members. He said everybody takes their turn to drive a truck or wagon, and Betty's job is to cook.

While he's excited to spend more time on the farm, Turner said the commissioner who takes his place needs to know how exciting a project Blue Mountain Station is.

"I think they've got quite a project lined up down there," he said.

Blue Mountain Station is an eco-food processing park dedicated to the recruitment and marketing of artisan food processors, primarily in the natural and organic sectors, according to the port's web site. Turner said he is ready to see the station turned into a "go-project" that will bring employment to Columbia County and make it a food tourism destination.

Turner said there might be a possibility of getting started on construction in the next year or two, but it takes money to do the projects.

He said the port staff is working hard to obtain grant money and that funding will be a major factor in how fast the project moves along.

And while the staff is working hard on this, Turner said he will be home "bothering Betty." He has faith in the staff members to take the project forward without him.

"They've got an excellent staff to take care of this program," Turner said.

And the staff thinks just as highly of him.

" Lawrence's dedication to public service, his steady leadership and his confidence in making decisions are qualities that make him stand out," said Jennie Dickinson, port manager. "He only missed one meeting in the 4 ½ years I've worked with him, and former port staff think he may not have missed more than one or two in his entire career. Lawrence is unflappable. He doesn't get excited easily and handles dealing with the public extremely well. He is not afraid to share his opinion, even if it goes against the opinions of others, but does so calmly, respectfully, and with knowledge and experience behind his decisions. Lawrence has taught me so much about the Port and how it operates, and has provided a calm and steady presence on the board. I am going to miss him terribly."