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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2015)
opinion/community news 2015 An Opinion: Raising Minimum Wage By Quentin Skanes Let’s give New York a standing ovation. They just raised their minimum wage to $15 per hour for fast food work- ers which will slowly take effect over the next few years. Now those people can have a better standard of living due to more money being made. But right there is the downfall. Because a com- pany now has to give their workers the mandated $15 per hour, their prices will also reflect that victory. Seattle, Los Angeles, and now New York State have raised their mini- mum wage to $15 an hour so that the workers can have an actual living wage. Seattle was the forerunner and as such, has begun to see all of the problems that arise with a higher minimum wage. They have seen prices in the city and the surrounding area rise substantially to keep making the same profit margins that the companies were getting before. Cost of living like rent and food have skyrocketed. While some companies embrace paying more for their workers, many companies are actually planning to move their sites elsewhere so they don’t have to pay those extra costs. So there are jobs actually leaving the area which means that there will be a cut- throat competition to get jobs in the city. Other states like South Caro- lina, Colorado and New Jersey are also contemplating whether they should go further with wage increases. In the case of Amazon, the public had barely caught wind of it before Amazon executives pulled the plug on a new warehouse in South Carolina. The warehouse was go- ing to spur over 1,200 jobs and it was canceled because they didn’t want to pay more for something they can get elsewhere for cheaper. So was it really a win? For some, yes. But now everyone else has to bear those costs without their jobs get- ting a higher minimum wage. In New York, it’s only for fast food workers; everyone else gets the state mandated $8.25 per hour for minimum wage. There’s always that one side of the argu- ment that people choose to ignore. That fact for them is that if you raise the cost of a product, the company will raise its prices equally to match their previous profit margins. Everyone who has campaigned to get $15 an hour has done exactly what they believed in. However, everyone else must now accept the consequences even if they were part of the opposition. The struggle to raise minimum wage and increase the standard of living is very hard and it is nowhere near perfect. But in the end, someone stood up for what they believed was right; their voice mattered. And that motiva- tion should be applied to everything we do. Instead of just talking about some- thing, we as a society need to take a stand and do something about what we think is wrong. Kim Lovato as Family PA for primary care and as faculty for Physician Assistant students on the rural health care tract, along with two Medical Assistants, Laura Meyer and Melissa Zavales. Melissa Walsh, Family PA, whom you might know better from the Spencer Health and Wellness Center at the Vernonia Schools, is also at the Vernonia Health Center on Wednesdays through the summer to increase appointment availability. If you are a current patient, remember that your co-pay billing and other information comes from The Public Health Foundation of Columbia County: TPHFCC—not from the Vernonia Health Center. There seems to be some confusion as there are repeat patients not responding to their bills. TPHFCC is willing to work with patients through a financial assistance program and can set up a payment plan if that is a concern. Also, every appointment that you make but don’t show up for costs the clinic money that isn’t recovered, and someone that could have been squeezed in won’t be seen. If you can’t make that appointment, make a quick call and cancel. It’s your clinic, and your courtesy helps everyone involved. Contributors Britt Bensen Steele Jeana Gump Quentin Skanes Michal Smith Grant Williams Photography Scott Laird Want to advertise? Have an article? Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com Quentin Skanes is a student at Vernonia High School; he will be senior this year. One year subscriptions (24 issues) $35 Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. That’s the now, but what’s in the future? The Vernonia Health Center Board is working to bring in a Physical Therapy group. They are working closely with a group that is very interested in making this happen, and have hopes that this might start this year. In order to best plan for this, they need information from the community. Please take five minutes to complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey. com/r/MNY8SQR. As always, funding is short for a rural practice of any sort. That’s why so much of the construction costs for the new building were supplied by large grant donations from Meyer Memorial Trust, The Ford Family Foundation, the Collins Foundation, the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation, the Oregon Community Foundation, and Providence Health Systems. Funding also came from the FEMA buyout and donations from the community. In truth, the services currently offered are through non-profits and they are operating on a shoestring. Consider that as your children age out of needing a pediatrician or your current primary care provider retires or moves away, it might be time to return to locally based Vernonia’s Voice, LLC PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 www.VernoniasVoice.com health care. As the patient load begins to increase bringing in a stronger revenue stream, more services and flexible hours could be offered in the future. With more open slots maintained for walk- ins, the clinic can help more people with immediate needs. A next step goal is to bring in x-ray services. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to see if you’ve got a break or a sprain without a drive to Hillsboro or Beaverton, and then be treated on the spot, if possible? If you’d like to see this happen, supporting the Vernonia Health Center as a patient or a donation to the Vernonia Health Center Board would be of great help showing community support as they start the grant search for Cedar Side Inn Events 9:00 pm Inside 9:00 pm in the Beer Garden continued on page 13 Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7 Friday, August 7th Freedom Street Saturday, August 8th Randel & The Business 3 Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Your Vernonia Health Center ~ Now and Into the Future Your Vernonia Health Center has been operating in its new facility, the Carolyn Keasey Memorial Building, since the first week of October 2014. What does this mean for you? Owned and operated by the Vernonia Health Center Board, a local 501(c) (3) since 1978, this means continued fulfillment of its mission to provide quality healthcare regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. With the goal of housing multiple services under one roof, Columbia County Mental Health (CCMH) has its Vernonia centered practice in the clinic. CCMH is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide excellent services to families in need of mental health, addiction and developmental disabilities services throughout Columbia County. Phil Bettin, Marlissa Dix, and Carli Jo Nicholson are the CCMH providers in the Vernonia Health Center. New patients will need to be seen first in St. Helens. Call 503-397-5211 to set up initial intake or for any questions. Currently the Health Center offers primary care under the auspices of The Public Health Foundation of Columbia County. In partnership with Pacific University they’ve brought in august6 • Specialty hamburgers • 8 Draft beers & mixed drinks • 5 Craft beers on tap Jamboree Weekend Fri & Sat, Aug 7 & 8 Dixie Wrecked Sat, Sept. 5th Melody Butchers • Pool tables & satelite TV • Free Pool • Free WiFi • Specialty Pizzas iheck our Facebook page for daily specials and upcoming events 756 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-5841 • Free Wi-fi • Beer & Kegs to go Sun - Thurs 11 AM - Midnight • 733 Bridge St, Vernonia “BIKER FRIENDLY” Fri - Sat 11 AM - 2:30 AM • 503-429-9999
