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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2016)
14 letters to the editor may5 2016 Readers Lend Their Voices... continued from page 4 attributes. Great public servants become better with each passing year. This is particularly true of Tony Hyde. We need to retain him as County Commissioner for four more years. Jim Tierney Vernonia To the Editor, For many years, I have encour- aged Margaret Magruder to run for Co- lumbia County Commissioner. This year, she filed for Commissioner Position Number One. Margaret has an excellent grasp of the concerns and potential of the entire county, loads of relevant expe- rience, and an incredible capacity to get people to work together on all manner of projects, both in the public and private sectors. I have seen her in action as Co- ordinator of the Lower Columbia River Watershed Council, long-term member of the Columbia County Budget Com- mittee, and in her state and national roles in agricultural/natural resource organi- zations. Her breadth of experience sets her apart from the other candidates for this position. Margaret is an outstanding person and candidate. She is someone you can trust with your vote. I enthusi- astically urge you to vote for her. Chip Bubl Warren VHS National Honor Society Congratulations to the following students who were recently inducted into the National Honor Society: Paige Smith, Mahaila Fennell, Alexis Scott, Bradley Ely, Chase Tolonen, Megan Rice, Payton Wolf, Jessika Goodman, Tristan Adams, Megan Ely, McKenzie Willard, Amanda-Rose Sicard, Kaitlyn Eyrrick, and Autumn Sorenson. To the Editor, Columbia County voters have the opportunity to choose a County Commissioner with intelligence, educa- tion, experience, knowledge and char- acter. A lifelong county resident and a third-generation farmer and business owner, Margaret Magruder has led the Lower Columbia Watershed Council for the past 20 years - finding ways to en- hance the environment without damag- ing the economy. We may not always agree with Margaret, but we trust her to make fair- minded, informed decisions that will benefit the interests of Columbia County and its citizens. She does not have axes to grind. She is not owned by special in- terests. She does not need a job. She is a leader with the heart to serve the county that has been her family’s home for over a century. Please join us in electing Marga- ret Magruder. Phil and Debbie Hazen Clatskanie To the Editor, Are you ready for another politi- cal opinion? I really enjoy giving mine. I’ve heard about the terrible rush hour bottleneck in Scappoose and finally experienced it first hand on Tuesday. It took me nearly 15 minutes to travel from the first stoplight through the last one lo- cated at the Fred Meyer turnoff. My point in giving you this triv- ial bit of information is that I received a phone call from a person last week who told me that a bypass is going to be built around Scappoose to alleviate this slow traffic. What a great idea! I cannot conceive why it was not done when the highway was widened years ago. So, this person who called also told me I must not say a word to anyone because this project is supposed to be hush-hush. I don’t like keeping anything hush-hush. This is where I come to my main point. What possible reason would the state and Scappoose have for keeping this information from the public? Why hide from us what they plan on doing with the money they collect from us? We do have a voice that matters. It appears honesty and transparency are the two main themes in the upcoming election and they should be. Why is it so terribly hard to understand what those two words mean? The voters are not stupid and yet continually we have important decisions hidden from us. I am really sick of this attitude from the people we elect to public office. Executive meetings, contractual obligations be damned. We have a right to know. There are only two people run- ning for County Commissioner positions who will provide this openness and fi- nally put an end to the “good old boy” system stagnating our county: Brady Preheim and Alex Tardif. We most assuredly can do bet- ter. I attended a forum in Vernonia on Monday evening, April 25. All candi- dates running for the County Commis- sioner seats - Position 1 and 3 - were in attendance . . . with the exception of Su- san Conn, who once again had a previ- ous engagement, and Wayne Mayo. The three candidates vying for Position 1 who were available for discussion were Brady Preheim, Margaret Magruder and Joel Yarbor. I enjoy a good laugh and I appreciate someone who can laugh at themselves. However, I do not appreciate a candidate who uses these ploys to cover their lack of information on any subject. Magruder should spend more time familiarizing herself with the actual problems in the county so that she is able to make a decision and announce what that decision would be. Yarbor insists he supports CC Rider and yet several times declared his objection to more taxes for this pur- pose. He then made it quite clear that the depletion fee from gravel companies would not be enforced to fund CC Rider if he were elected. His ideas on how to support this transportation system were not forthcoming. Brady Preheim, as always, had facts and figures and was not reluctant to share those facts with the people. He corrected those who were in error, including the incumbent Commissioner. He is forthright and well spoken. Please trust me in this: if you elect him, he will provide the transparency and honesty we so badly need and deserve. He is not a career politician. Vote for BRADY PREHEIM for Position 1. Alex Tardif and Tony Hyde were in attendance at the forum, running for position 3. Tardif is highly motivat- ed, well informed and, most importantly, an accountant. Tony Hyde used the same plea as in the past - that he be retained in office until the ‘fruition” of ‘his dreams.’ He has waited 20 years for his ‘fruition’ and Columbia County has only gone downhill. It is time for him to pass on the mantle. Help him do so. Vote for ALEX TARDIF for Position 3. Nancy Whitney St. Helens To the Editor, We appreciate the Columbia County Commissioner Candidate forum that you held last week. Your questions were thoughtful and concise. Listening to the responses of the candidates for County Commissioner, position 3, one candidate stood out with both experience and leadership and that clearly was Tony Hyde. Tony has worked diligently for Columbia County for many ways. He was instrumental in developing a Columbia County Economic Team; this group provides input that has been a positive for economic issues for the county. Tony’s leadership is recognized on a local, county, state and national level. This has enabled him to bring public and private entities together for the benefit of all. It is very simple, do you vote for someone who talks about what they will do you or vote for Tony Hyde who has been doing it for the last twenty years, Tony’s experience has and will continue to provide benefits for all of us. Jim and Marie Krahn Vernonia Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursday. Look for our next issue on May 19. Need more room? See us for the lowest prices GUARANTEED! Debit/Credit now accepted 5x10 $39 10x10 $69 10x20 $99 RV Storage $149 Outside storage available Totally fenced and gated Padlocks available 58605 Nehalem Hwy South • P.O. Box 292 Vernonia, Oregon 97064 (503) 429-7867 10-6 Tue-Sat 12-4 Sun
