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.
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