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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
