22
in other words
august
2009
Voices In My Head:
Wednesday is probably my favor-
ite day on the route. On Wednesdays, Duke
Several times each day as I walk my Gortler is playing his accordion at the Senior
mail route, I’ll encounter different cats wait- Center when I deliver the mail. Duke just
ing at customer’s doors whining for me to let turned 87, and he told me he’s been “fool-
them in the house. One would think that after ing around” with that instrument since 1952.
hundreds of these meetings, the cats would I love to stand out of sight and listen as he
get the idea that I’m not going to open the finesses the bellows and tickles the buttons,
door for them, but they never give up. “To- making wonderful music appear from thin
day, I think, is the day that man will let me air. If I could provide a “score” for my day,
in the house,” they say.
Obvi-
like in the movies, I’d use mostly
ously, I will never let them in the “When you talk accordion music. Since I have no
house. I occasionally go so far
accompaniment as I work, I have
to a cat, his
as to tell them that their families
expression never to just whistle. If I see a stray dog,
have moved away and they are
I’ll whistle the theme from “Lass-
changes. It’s
now orphans, even though it’s
ie.” When I have to climb lots of
really kind of
not true. Is it wrong for me to tell
stairs, I’ll whistle that famous score
them these things? I suppose so. like talking to a from” Rocky.” When I see indus-
A better question might be “Why slot machine. It trious children involved in money
am I talking to cats?” I think the might make you making schemes, I’ll whistle the
word “loopy” and the accompany-
feel good, but
theme from the “Little Rascals.”
ing circular motion of the pointer
there’s seldom You get the idea. There’s not much
finger around one’s ear were in-
that happens during the day that I
any payoff.”
vented to more precisely describe
can’t set to music. If only I could
people who talk to cats. Talking to
get Duke to follow me around all
dogs is okay. Dogs have a discernable appre- day-- then we’d really have something. It’s
ciation for oral communication. The words hard to be cranky when you’re listening to
themselves may be “blah, blah, blah,” but accordion music. If we could convince the
the tone and cadence of human speech can world leaders at the next G8 Summit to do the
brighten or ruin a dog’s day. When you talk Chicken Dance, there’s no telling what kind
to a cat, his expression never changes. It’s re- of progress might be made. In fact, it would
ally kind of like talking to a slot machine. It be great if we could adopt a global anthem.
might make you feel good, but there’s seldom The “Beer Barrel Polka” sounds like a good
any payoff.
choice to me.
By P.J. O’Leary
On The Shelf:
Meat Loaf On a Stick
Beer and music, laughter and fun,
rodeos and logging shows-- that’s what Co-
lumbia County summertime events are made
of. Great transition, huh? The Fair is over,
Jamboree’s ramping up, and we’re all re-
minded of one of our favorite things. Natu-
rally, I refer to food on a stick. Corn Dogs,
Teriyaki Chicken, Frozen Bananas, Caramel
Apples, Popsicles and Ice Cream Bars all
share one thing in common-- the stick. It oc-
curred to me that, as a logging community,
we do ourselves a disservice if we do not try
to promote other food options which people
could consume from a stick. Sticks, after all,
come from logs. For instance, I enjoy meat
loaf, but preparing it at home can be time-
consuming. If I could get it from a vendor on
a stick, I’d almost certainly eat it more often.
Canny vendors might even take it to the next
level by inserting mashed potatoes inside the
meatloaf on a stick. Toast on a stick would be
a great breakfast option for people on the run.
Vegetarians might enjoy a nice deep-fried
Tofu cake on a stick. We needn’t even limit
ourselves to human foods. Imagine Scruffy,
his kibble on a stick held adorably between
his paws, finishing off his dinner and then
chewing on the stick. The possibilities are re-
ally endless.
I’m sorry to say that that’s about all
I have to offer you this month. Perhaps we
could get together next month and continue
our discussion. Whatever works for you--
County Budget Is Not Business as Usual (continued from page 1)
for claimants to establish a specific, but limited,
number of home sites. This is applicable only
to claimants who filed Measure 37 claims on or
before June 28, 2007.
The county processed around 130
claims under Measures 37 and 49, and Dugdale
said that a fairly sizeable number of those claims
were processed by the state under Measure 49
rules.
“I’d say all but seven Columbia County
claims [still] have to be processed,” he said. “If
those applications get processed in a 2-3 month
period [and individuals begin the partitioning
process to create new lots], there is the potential
for more activity and [creation of] more rural
lots.“
Dugdale said that increase could
potentially result in the re-hiring of at least one
part-time position.
The Road Department took a financial
hit in addition to a decrease in funds from the
Secure Rural Schools Act. These funds are
from timber lands set aside for permanent forest
production on the principal of sustainability. Last
year, the federal government agreed to reinstate
funding for four years, on a declining scale.
“There is very little money at this point
in time,” said County Roadmaster Dave Hill.
Funds could be available to supplement the road
department’s budget, from at least two sources.
The first, according to Hyde, is funding
from the American Reinvestment and Recovery
Act. The Department received $800,000 and will
use that funding to pave four miles of Apiary Road
from Highway 47. “We are hoping to construct
this project this fall,” Hill said. It must go through
the approval process as laid out by the federal
government, though, so with uncertain weather,
Hill said this project may come next spring.
The second source of funding comes
from the transportation package recently passed
by the state legislature. “It looks like we may be
getting a little more money in the next year [to]
year-and-a-half,” Hill said. “It’s going to be a
little tight.” Although the department’s budget is
a lean one, Hill said that they are busy.
In addition to the Apiary Road
project, the department has committed to paving
approximately 3.5 miles of Scappoose-Vernonia
Highway, from Highway 47. The funding for this
project came from a combination of sources; first,
an allocation of federal monies, and $400,000
from a Senate Bill passed in 2007.
Hill said that three employees recently
retired, and that he will look to replace one of
those individuals in the fall.
Although every department in the
county has been affected by this budgetary
crunch, much of the public discussion has focused
on funding the Columbia County Sheriff’s
Department and finding a way to save some of the
14 positions slated for elimination as of August
1. The county has found a way to keep five of the
deputies previously notified of impending layoffs.
This will bring the county’s enforcement contingency funds is not something that he is
division to eight sworn personnel, including entirely comfortable with. “We’re not in danger,
Sheriff Jeff Dickerson and Undersheriff Andy at all,” Hyde said. “But next year may be even
Moyer. An increase in funding from the Oregon worse than this year and we have to have that
Marine Board will allow for 2.4 marine deputies contingency.”
Finance Director Ruth Baker said that
to patrol the Columbia River during the summer
months, including a seasonal deputy. Two marine the furlough days and other cost-cutting measures
deputies will primarily patrol the water, but could -- including layoffs and the elimination of a cost of
be called on overtime in emergency situations. living increase for department heads and elected
The seasonal deputy will work from July – officials-- will save the county approximately
$350,000, and that $350,000 was used to bolster
September 2009, and May-June 2010.
“We’re very pleased by the Board’s decision to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office budget.
On the days that the county is scheduled
bring some deputies back,” Dickerson said. “This
won’t bring us up to where we were before the for furlough, there will be limited access for state
budget cuts,” Dickerson said, “but it definitely courts.
For information about operating hours
will give us more options and additional resources
or departmental hours, call (503) 397-7210.
to handle our emergency calls.”
Five enforcement deputies and four Information regarding the Courthouse closures or
jail technician positions were not restored by this departmental phone numbers can be found on the
County website at www.co.columbia.or.us
agreement.
Hyde said that the board is in the
process of creating a task force to explore
options for stable funding of the Columbia
County Sheriff’s Office. “We are identifying
stake-holders and a mission statement,” Hyde
said.
He does not know how many
individuals will be on the task force. “It will
(featured on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat)
be a manageable number, but we have to make
sure all of the stake holders are included,” he
said.
Hyde said that while funding was
shifted in the budget, due to project and
purchase deferrals at the sheriff’s office,
use of a portion of the county’s contingency
funds and shifting of other funds, this was not
accomplished as Dickerson had suggested, by
cutting approximately one percent from all
departmental budgets to use those funds for
“If you can walk, you can dance.
public safety.
If you can talk, you can sing.”
Commissioner Earl Fisher has, for
several weeks, stated publicly that the citizens
of the county and county officials need to
look at how the county delivers services, the
at the
particular services the county is responsible
919 Bridge St. Vernonia
for.
Hyde has said that the use of
Live Marimba Music by
Muvhuro
Sat. August 15th 6-8 pm
Blue House Cafe
What’s Happening at the
Vernonia Library
by Jennifer Maloney
The Vernonia Public Library
has had a busy summer this year with the
Summer Reading Program in full gear!
Jennifer Moloney, Linda Johnston, Kelli
Martinez, Orissa Burghard, and a handful
of volunteers have had an average of 25
children attending the library on Tuesday
mornings to listen to stories, make crafts,
and play games based on the weekly
theme.
To compliment the weekly
theme, we have had Thursday evening
event nights which have been wonderful
and well attended. First, we had Laura
McCormack, professional storyteller,
visit our town and tell stories with
song, instruments, acting, and a lot of
enthusiasm. Children and parents alike
enjoyed the animated telling of several
stories including well known tales like
ABIYOYO, as well as stories that Ms.
McCormack has created. Last Thursday
was the Tie Dye event. Several youngsters
had a great time being creative here at the
library making their very own tie dye
item. We had shirts, capris, and even
socks being rubber-banded and dipped to
make one-of-a-kind pieces.
The Summer Reading Program
has been a lot of fun this year, and as
always, we invite all children to attend
these free events!
There will be a party for the
children the week of August 3 rd . The date
and time are TBD.
All participants of the Summer
Reading Program are invited to be on the
library float in the Jamboree parade on
Saturday August 8 th .
Upcoming events at the Library
Friends of the Library Book Sale--Friday,
August 7, from 4:00-6:00 PM &
Saturday, August 8, from 9:00 AM-6:00
PM at the library
Family Movie Night--Thursday, August
20, at 7:00 PM--Troop Beverly Hills
Book Discussion--Monday, August 31
If you have any questions, please call the
library at 503-429-1818.