Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2014)
4 community bulletin board/letters to the editor january16 2014 Healthy Living VERA Open House Presentation at Senior Center The Vernonia Health Center has invited Pacific University to offer a free presentation on Motivation for Healthy Living. It will be hosted at the Senior Center following lunch and open to the entire community on Monday, January 27th at 1:00 PM. If you are interested in lunch prior to the presentation it will be served at noon, $5 per person. On Sunday, January 26 Verno- nia Emergency Radio Association/Ver- nonia Amateur Radio Klub (VERA/ VARK) will hold an Open House at the Vernonia Rural Fire Department from 3:00-5:00 PM. Come and meet some of the Amateur Radio operators that work in the area when called upon to help with communications. When all else fails amateur ra- dio works. Interested in getting your li- cense? You can stop by and sign up. There will a class in February or March depending on the needs and availabil- Readers Lend Their Voices... To the Editor, I am aware that this is a distressed economic area and that some people are on the cusp of surviving day to day. It has come to my attention that a local health care provider who practices alternative medicine is also struggling to keep the doors open. She provides a much needed service to Vernonia and is an accepted alternative to traditional medicine. The Dr. is a caring person and a great asset to Vernonia. She graciously gives of herself to support the health and well being of this community. My concern is that people in this area are getting services from the good Dr. and not paying her for her great work. I think she would do it for free if she could but alas not so. I work in the health care industry and I am aware that health care bills are the last thing that people will or want to pay. If we want to keep this amazing person and health care Vernonia Weather December 2013 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Ave/Tot HIGH 56 41 38 31 31 24 25 24 28 35 40 34 42 41 46 42 43 30 38 47 49 49 49 45 47 47 44 42 40 43 47 40.2 LOW 37 30 24 14 13 5 3 6 14 25 22 22 33 34 36 30 24 23 31 27 41 31 31 26 25 25 26 30 32 30 34 25.6 PRECIP 1.19 .23 0 0 .02 .01 0 0 .05 0 0 .06 T 0 .01 0 T .12 .25 .05 .06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .13 2.18 Weather data is collected at the U.S. Weather station at the Vernonia Water Plant practitioner in our community we need to step up and pay her for the services we receive, or else we could lose a great resource in Vernonia. This is just my opinion and none of the above has been motivated by anyone in the health care business, except me. Phillip Bettin Vernonia To the Editor, Like me, have you broken any of your resolutions yet? Good intentions without a solid plan to execute really don’t have a chance. That is why I support our local United Way of Columbia County. Our local United Way has a solid history of executing their plans and leveraging their donations to help the most people. They don’t have the numerous high rise corporations lining up Hwy. 30 to support them. They have us, our businesses and community. With their new $5/month ($60/year) plan, I can help more people than by donating directly to a single charity. Having the guaranteed tax deduction doesn’t hurt either. Why not? For me, it’s better than adopting a photo or texting to a foreign country. At least, I can help my own community TODAY, who need it just as much as the others. Direct results from a well executed plan. It’s not that I’m against helping big organizations. Lately though, my thoughts have been more urgent and local. Maybe its seeing more teenagers couch surfing, or a former sassy neighbor destroyed financially and visiting a soup kitchen. People still care, but I think are overwhelmed. Whatever the reason, why is it easier to donate thousands of miles away and ity of those interested in classes. VERA recently added another station at the West Oregon Electric Company. Now they will be able to have communications on both sides of town if needed. They have also added a HF radio to the station at the Fire house giving them greater reach if needed for emergency operations. Members of VERA look for- ward to meeting you… and as always they have meetings the second Tues- day of every month fall, winter and spring at Mariolino’s from 7:00-8:00 PM. not feel as good about helping the people in our own towns and county siblings? Unless a miracle occurs and we become sexy to support, we’re not going to have the music stars and paparazzi descend upon Columbia County and sing “We are the one, we are the children” – no, we have to make our own miracle and each and every one of us need to contribute a drop or two to fill our own bucket. For myself, I volunteer and donate online, but I used to donate through my employer. (What I didn’t realize though is that if the employer is out-of-county, my donations didn’t come back to my neighborhood unless I specified that they come to United Way of Columbia County. So please continue to donate through your employer, but make certain they know to send it to United Way of Columbia County.) I once read that in order to help others, you need to take care of yourself first. Our county needs our help, sooner not later. Anita Bolin Rainier, OR Save the Date! Saturday, April 12, 2014 Make Vernonia Shine Day Columbia County Hazardous Waste Collection will also be at Vernonia Lake. Vernonia Transfer Station will be open. her up. I told her as a diabetic she can dehydrate quickly. Karen assured me that she had everything under control. This was the 17 th of June, 2011. On the 20 th Karen called me again and told me Shelly was worse. I told her to call 9-1-1; she refused. I then called the Vancouver Police and they called for an ambulance. Shelley was taken to Vancouver Medical Center. When I got there she was on life support. Karen was there and showed no remorse. Shelley never regained consciousness. I never got to tell her I love her. She died on June 23 at 4:00 PM. Karen was arrested in December 2011 and taken to the Vancouver jail. Her trial was held in June of 2012. She was given 27 months in jail, however she was released in May of 2013. My rage became huge; where was God? I knew I was suppose to forgive her, God commands it! In August 2013 I attended GSM family therapy camp, held at The Christian Renewal Center. The topic was “forgiveness.” Two prayer warriors prayed with me and the spirit of God touched my heart. I forgave Karen. I have since written her a letter and told her and gave a copy of it to the prosecuting attorneys office. I will miss you Shelly forever, but I will see you again. You will see your loved one again! To the Editor, “God says to forgive, but I cannot!” Those were my words after my daughter died, in the care of Karen Dupee. All she had to do was call 9-1-1 and Shelly would have lived, but Karen refused. I received a call form Karen Gail Law about Shelly being sick and not to pick Vernonia 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: scott@vernoniasvoice.com or mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064. Need body work? Time to call Meyer’s Auto Body Meyer’s Auto Body 493 Bridge Street, Vernonia. 503-429-0248 Silkscreen printing Printing while you wait for small orders Vinyl lettering and heat transfers Teams, groups, special events Hoodies, dress shirts, aprons & more No order too large or too small No set-up fees 728 Madison Avenue, Vernonia (503) 822-0110 kavila@kaptanskraft.com
