opinion/community
march20
2014
An Opinion: A Tale of Two Counties
By Randy Sanders
“It’s very difficult economic
times, and people are very hesitant to
have any tax. But they recognize that
they’ve got to have this, and they recog-
nize that there’s no alternative.”
Those are the words of Lane
County Sheriff, Tom Turner after his
county finally passed their jail levy af-
ter nine failures (since 1998). In 2013
citizens had witnessed the crime situa-
tion deteriorate long enough. Taxpay-
ers watched in horror each time the lo-
cal news showed deputies opening jail
doors allowing a parade of gleeful sex
offenders, assault perpetrators, wife
beaters and drug dealers scurry out into
the sunlight, high-fiving each other with
freshly lit cigarettes clenched between
their smiling lips.
One Lane county single mom
remarked, “How do I respond to my
8-year-old when he asks me, ‘Mom,
how come those bad guys get to be re-
leased from jail?’”
But the more difficult question
actually came from her 13-year-old girl
who noticed that one of the released men
had been arrested for sexual assault,
“Why are they letting those gross men
back out? Aren’t they still dangerous?”
The only answer she gave her young
daughter was the truth. “I told her that
yes, they are still dangerous and that the
voting-age adults just don’t want to pay
their taxes to support a jail.”
Stories like these are met with
suspicion along with sweeping accusa-
tions of being “scare tactics.” But the
truth is, they are factual stories that are
scary. Without the threat of jail time,
what motivation does a criminal have to
show up for court dates?
Consider this: deputies arrive
at a domestic dispute to find a man who
has assaulted his wife. Without a county
jail, they can’t incarcerate him. In cer-
tain instances, keeping a man who has
physically assaulted his wife behind
bars for even just one night can be all
that comes between a woman’s life and
death, or being severely beaten. It’s usu-
ally enough time for her and her terrified
children to grab a few things and take
refuge somewhere safe before he re-
turns. But without a jail, he’ll be given
a ticket and the deputies drive away. In
some very severe situations like rape or
murder, deputies and judges will have to
decide -- even by phone in the middle of
the night -- which of the current inmates
occupying those ten rental beds in an-
other county get to go free in order to
make room for the new one.
But remember, with two of
those beds being occupied by accused
murderers -- one being the man who
killed Rainier Police Chief Ralph Paint-
er -- that leaves only eight remaining.
It’s also important to note that all of
those inmates being released are already
inmates who have committed very seri-
ous crimes.
Times are difficult in Oregon,
but Lane County stepped up and did the
right thing for themselves. Josephine
County however did not. In the year
since they have rejected levy 1749, the
situation has deteriorated even worse
than in Lane County. Slightly larger
than Columbia County, Josephine has
already seen three murders, one being
a horrific stabbing. It’s now common
place to see vehicles barreling through
town at speeds of over 85-miles per
hour. Heroin and methamphetamine
deals are done in broad daylight, just
outside the cafe. Fights have become
so common in local watering holes, that
their business has plummeted.
Oddly enough, some of the
worst of Josephine County’s problems
now falls in the laps of the rest of us Or-
egonians. I testified in favor of making
more funds available for OSP patrols just
a few years ago in front of a legislative
sub-committee down in Salem. OSP had
lost so many troopers that 24-hour cov-
erage no longer existed in many areas.
Oregonians were so steaming mad, that
ten new troopers were finally added to
the roll last year. Oregonians now have
a new reason to be mad, this time not at
the legislature. You see, once voters in
Josephine County voted down the levy
-- essentially failing to pay their public
safety taxes -- the environment became
far too dangerous for many families.
Once ten state troopers were added, five
of them were immediately sent down to
manage Josephine County’s public safe-
ty problem, thus mooching off the rest
of the state who were waiting patiently
for those troopers earmarked for the rest
of us who pay our public safety taxes, at
least for now. I’m looking at you Co-
lumbia County. They also tied up our
state detectives. In the past year alone,
OSP investigations in Josephine County
climbed from five, to an unheard of 85
per month!
In May, Columbia County will
have a choice as well: vote “Yes,” en-
abling us to keep our jail open and our
community safe like Lane County did;
or vote “No” and turn into the latest
crime free-for-all like our neighbors, Jo-
sephine County.
It’s your choice.
3
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Chip Bubl
Dr. Ken Cox
Tobie Finzel
Steven Leskin
Sally McNair, VMD
Jennifer Moloney
Randy Sanders
Grant Williams
Photography
Scott Laird
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Oregon Humanities Discussion About Food and Citizenship
By Jennifer Moloney
Oregon is famous for its food
– for its long traditions in agriculture
and fisheries, and also for its role in
the movement to promote whole food
in communities, schools, and home
kitchens. In addition to the daily
practice of cooking and eating, many
Oregonians also think, talk, and write
about food. Might our relationship
to food production, preparation, and
consumption create deeper connections
to our place and our neighbors and a
pathway to increased self-sufficiency?
This is the focus of “We Are
What We Eat: Connecting Food and
Citizenship,” a free conversation with
Wendy Willis on Saturday, April 26,
2014 at 4:00 p.m. at the Vernonia Public
Library. This program is hosted by
Friends of the Vernonia Library and the
Vernonia Library Board and sponsored
by Oregon Humanities.
Willis is a poet, essayist, and
national leader in civic engagement and
collaborative governance. She serves
as executive director of the Policy
Consensus Initiative, a national nonprofit
organization housed at Portland State
University devoted to improving
democratic governance. Her first book
of poems, Blood Sisters of the Republic,
was released in 2012.
Through the Conversation
Project, Oregon Humanities offers
free programs that engage community
members in thoughtful, challenging
conversations about ideas critical to
our daily lives and our state’s future.
For more information about this free
community discussion, please contact
the Vernonia Public Library at 503-429-
1818 or library@vernonia-or.gov.
Oregon Humanities (813 SW
Alder St, #702; Portland, OR 97205)
connects Oregonians to ideas to change
lives and transform communities. More
information about Oregon Humanities’
programs and publications, which
include the Conversation Project, Think
& Drink, Humanity In Perspective,
Idea Lab, Public Program Grants, and
Oregon Humanities magazine, can be
found at oregonhumanities.org. Oregon
Humanities is an independent, nonprofit
affiliate of the National Endowment
for the Humanities and a partner of the
Oregon Cultural Trust.
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