This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE (12-30-05)

Well, the old year is about to take its departure....but not without a final disaster of almost unbelievable proportions.
Events in the Indian Ocean area prove that there are elements in this world of ours that mankind cannot defend against.
Our hearts, prayers and sympathy go out to the thousands who have lost their lives in this disaster.
The year is also ending with additional car bombings and terrorist attacks in Iraq....as the hopes for peace in that area hang on an election date the end of January.
Here at home....2004 was a somewhat quiet year.
Oh...it was an election year...and while the national scene was perhaps one of the meanest, dirtiest presidential campaigns we have seen....the local election was calm and collected. There will be one new face on the County Commission and a new state rep in the Legislature.
The state will still face the same basic problem...not enough money to do all the things it wants to do.
Locally....we had another effort made to bring the community together under one roof....City Manager Jeff Ball gave it the old college try....but with little success. In my opinion....consolidation of the city and the suburbs will come about at some time....but no one knows when for sure.
We had all the preparations to celebrate a Centennial. While Klamath Falls, as such, came into being February 7, 1893....apparently it wasn’t until 1905 that it really became a city. That was a banner year for the city, no question about that.
The interim hundred years have seen the fortunes of the community rise...and recede in a number of cycles....but in the end seeming to make great progress.
We had the city commissioning a sculpture to commemorate the event....and this 11 foot high sculpture apparently will adorn the sidewalk in front of the Medical Dental building. One wonders why the pelicans were not represented, but then perhaps it could have been the eagles or the ducks...or something else atop that column.
Meantime....the downtown area continued to move ahead during the past year.....refurbishing this important part of the city....and revitalizing it in a number of ways.
Our medical facilities continued to expand....with a new structure that includes a number of our doctors....and Merle West moving ahead in a number of medical fields.
All in all....as the year comes to a close....it hasn’t been too bad a year. Sadly, the war in Iraq reached into our community on several occasions.
As the year closes....let’s look forward to a happy, prosperous and more peaceful new year of 2005.
 

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s the VIEW FROM HERE.