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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2011)
4 community bulletin board/letters to the editor october11 2011 Readers Lend Their Voices... To the Editor We would like to thank everyone for the love and kindnesses you have shown to our family. It has made the journey easier. The family of Gordon Cline To the Editor: We all want to believe in the greater good of someone and believe that they genuinely care about an organization they want to provide a fundraiser for. That is not always the case as we have recently learned. The repercussions of ones actions can be disappointing, time consuming and hard to understand. Last Spring our youth baseball program was approached with an offer to do a fundraiser to help raise money for our boy’s baseball program operated though our local Booster organization. At the time this seemed like a good and easy way to raise a couple hundred dollars to support our program. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and the fundraiser that should have been all wrapped up by the end of June is still an ongoing problem! We as a nonprofit organization, as parents of baseball players, as friends, family and coworkers of baseball players, and most of all our kids have been taken advantage of. Many untruths were told along the way only to confuse and prolong the process of getting this situation straightened out. Our number one goal has been to get people the products that they paid for back in June. Our second goal has been to get our baseball program the money profited by this fundraiser. It has not been without countless hours and effort put into this matter that we have almost reached our goals. We will not stop working on this until everyone has been taken care of. We have definitely learned from this experience as a baseball board. Although our main fault was being trusting, we certainly never predicted the problems that were to come. We know now to get everything in writing no matter who the offer to help comes from. We also learned to better research the financial benefit to our cause as well as the customer satisfaction history on the person leading the fundraiser. Throughout this fundraiser the business in question has been helpful and understanding, and has been fulfilling those orders that still had not been delivered by the representative in charge of the fundraiser. We hope that this does not poorly reflect on the business or other representatives. This was a problem with an individual, not the company in general. And for those of you out there whose intentions are less than honorable; please leave our kids and nonprofit organizations alone! Junior Baseball Organization Board, President Brooke Morrison Treasurer Amy Cieloha Secretary Cami Archer To the Editor I have some thoughts regarding Michael Botchie’s proposed additions to Columbia County ordinances, which appeared in the September 27 issue of Vernonia’s Voice. One in particular concerns me: “The right to use deadly force to prevent the criminal that is fleeing immediately after committing the crimes listed above or when it is reasonably believed the property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means.” I support Robert Heinlein’s concept of “An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” But this knife cuts both ways. I’d like to consider this all the way through. An example: You look out your upstairs window one night and see a figure running from your house toward a vehicle carrying your television set. Since you are an armed citizen well versed in this new law, you shout for the thief to stop. When the robber continues toward their vehicle you open fire bringing them down. Triumphantly, you run outside to discover you’ve just blown out the brains of a homeless woman who lives in her car with her two children—children who just witnessed their unarmed mother being gunned down. When your six-year-old sees brains and guts on the driveway, you calmly explain that it is all right because it was legal for you to do this. One human life for one television. If it had been a wall-sized set, would two lives have been justified? Too bad the set was smashed when she dropped it. Too bad your kid is friends with the homeless kids. Really? Is this the culture that we are living in now? Is this the slope we want to go down? Really? Erika Paleck Vernonia To the Editor As a citizen of Columbia County I believe the actions and decisions made by our Sheriff’s Office and our County Commissioners could create some serious ramifications that may affect many in this county. The Sheriff’s office cut the patrol deputies down to one deputy to respond to 9-11 calls. Commissioner Fisher made a public statement in a letter to the editor published in the Spotlight on September 21, 2011, stating that “the issue of the number of deputies in the CCSO have been an issue for years and in 2006 we has six road deputies, the same number projected for this year. What is new is the way Sheriff Dickerson is using his deputies to deal with crime”. This statement tells me that Commissioner Fisher approves of this new use of the deputies. Here is an example of how it could affect EMS First Responders: When a call comes into the Columbia HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and requests your thoughts, opinions and ideas. Please include your name, address and phone number, limit your letters to 300 words or less. Vernonia’s Voice reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted. We will print letters, space permitting. Deadline is the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. Email to: scott@vernoniasvoice.com or mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064. Upcoming Events Scott Baska Memorial Golf Fundraiser, County Communications October 15, 9:00 AM - at Vernonia Golf Club. Center for any of the R.S.V.P. to Benjamin Fifield 503-989-7469 or following incidents; assault, bennyshreds@yahoo.com. domestic violence with abuse, a shooting, or a School Town Hall, October 20, 7:00 PM - at suicide, what currently the school cafeteria. Join Lango Hansen as they happens is EMS Personnel gather community input for the design of the new are dispatched to respond to Spencer Park. provide medical treatment to the victims. They respond Vernonia Open Air Market Through October, and stage to a known safe location within the area of the 10 AM - 2 PM downtown Vernonia. The Open Air call until law enforcement can Market is a combination of local farm products, clear the scene and determine crafts, food and more held every Saturday. that the scene is safe for the EMS Personnel to enter. Now, with one deputy to respond to all 9-11 calls, how long are these first responders going to sit along the side of a road waiting for him or her to respond? How long will someone that could Join us for the 25th An- be in serious or critical niversary of the Fall Carnival at condition have to wait for Vernonia Christian Church! A safe medical attention? Has Halloween alternative at 410 North anyone thought about this St. Monday, October 31st, from 7pm because a lot can happen in a - 8:30pm Games, prizes, goodies & very short amount of time to more! Free family fun for every- victims waiting for help? one! For information call the Are we now going to ask our first responders to risk church office at their lives to save another life 503-429-6522 and proceed into an unsafe scene because our “Lone Ranger” is in the other end of the county? What happens Court House. I will be there to find out if the deputy is involved in a crime scene and cannot leave it or has a the facts of what is seemingly insanity. prisoner in the back seat? According to It is time to stop the insanity. what I have been reading in the media is that no other deputies will respond. Michael Botchie There are going to be some 9-11 calls that Rainier, OR go unanswered. Our Fire Departments show up every time they are summoned Dear Vernonia Citizens, My name is Bradley Ely, and county wide. How is one deputy on or I am 13 and an 8th grade student at no deputy available to respond to these types of calls going to affect them? Vernonia Middle School this year. I have Will our Fire/Medical Responders now been accepted into the Leadership class have to leave the scene when another and I am going on a Close-Up trip with call drops, or will they be considered them to Washington D.C., but I first have unavailable for the next call while they to raise about $2,000. To help with this I would like to ask you to call when you continue to stage? The current response time have any spare cans and bottles that are for a deputy on these types of calls lying around that you would like picked can sometimes take as long as 30 up and I can return for money. It will be minutes. What will they be come appreciated very much and will help me October 1st? 60 minutes? 90 minutes? get closer to my goal! The class is also holding drives for you to drop off cans Two hours? What happens if the lone deputy and bottles where we will all split the th th responds to a disturbance call in rural money on November 19 , January 7 th county that turns bad and his nearest help and March 17 . Our leadership class is where? Is it going to be 20, 30, 40 is also selling poinsettias that you can miles away? Is it worth risking the lives order from any one of us. I am leaving of our deputies, our EMS Personnel, and in April so you can call me at any time our citizens because our federal timber between now and then. If you would like to reach me, you can call 503-429-5709. dollars were cut? My desire is to see the priorities I also do bake sales at Sentry on 10/22, on spending changed in the other 11/18 and 1/20. Those also help me earn seventeen county departments. Not money, so you can buy jams, jellies and the CCSO. Are the county roads more fresh baked goods there if you don’t want important than public safety? I am sure to give bottles. Thank you very much for the criminals that frequent this county your support! I look forward to learning because of the lack of law enforcement about how our government works as presence will appreciate the newly paved well as important political figures like roads that make it easier and faster for past presidents and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as seeing Arlington National them to come and go. I am not OK with five deputies Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown on payroll and only one is going to Soldier. I can’t wait to take the trip and respond to 9-11 calls but apparently experience a ton of new and interesting our Commissioners and our Sheriff things. Thanks again. are. It is now time for the citizens of Columbia County to get a voice. Our Bradley Ely Commissioners meet every Wednesday Vernonia continued on page 18 at 10:00 AM in room 309 at the County Fall Carnival
