4
letters to the editor/community bulletin board
march2
2017
Readers Lend Their Voices...
To the Editor,
Thanks so much to all of you
who came to my 100th Birthday party,
and also to those who sent me cards and
videos. It was great to see and hear from
all of you, and I appreciate your thinking
of me immensely.
The day was so much fun and
will always be a special memory for
me. I also want to thank my daughters
DeDe, Joyce, and Jan for making all
of the arrangements for my party and
decorating the church gym so nice and
to my great-grandson, Mark Weller, and
granddaughter-in-law, Donna Webb, for
putting the video presentation together.
You all did a great job.
I received a special birthday
present from my children and grand-
children, which was a 48”, fl at-screen
TV and a pretty storage stand to set it on.
Thanks to all of you for such a wonder-
ful present and surprise—I love the TV
and am really enjoying it!!
Thanks again to everyone for
making my day so special.
Eleanor Thompson
Vernonia
To the Editor,
We are pleased to inform our
community of a Vernonia High School
scholarship we have set up called Sis-
ters’ Memorial Scholarship. This is in
memory of our sisters, Kari Jo Titus
(Berberick) and Sheri Lynne Wilson
(Hiveley).
A few years ago while Jana and
I were talking about our families we re-
alized how much we had in common.
Our connection was strong and we felt
a memorial scholarship would be a great
way to give to our youth while honoring
our sisters. We came up with the follow-
ing criteria:
• Sisters’ Memorial Scholarship was cre-
ated by two friends who believe good
will come to those who treat others with
kindness and respect.
• Sheri Wilson and Kari Titus died of
cancer. They were women of faith who
touched lives beyond comprehension.
Their sisters, who are current employees
of the Vernonia School District, would
like to honor them by providing a schol-
arship for a graduating senior. Student
must have a GPA of 2.5, have a strong
community connection, a desire to help
others, be genuine by nature and honest.
Seniors will be looking at the
above information as they go through
the local scholarship packet.
Our goal is to offer a $500 schol-
arship for a deserving student. All mon-
ies will be handled through the school’s
bookkeeping for tax purposes.
If you feel you are able to help
us reach our goal by contributing any
amount please do so by mailing it to:
Vernonia High School c/o Dana Hyde
1000 Missouri Ave, Vernonia OR 97064.
Please make checks out to: Sisters’ Me-
morial Scholarship. For tax purposes,
please use ID#93-6000336.
We are open to suggestions and
appreciate your support with this en-
deavor.
Sincerely,
Dana Hyde & Jana Titus
To the Editor,
In Bill Lane’s list of eleven ob-
jectives discussed in “countless meet-
ings” while in management at Caterpil-
lar, (24Feb, “Confessions of a free-Trade
Lobbyist, Wall Street Journal) he fails to
mention enhancing the pay or working
conditions for Cat’s thousands of em-
ployees through thoughtful profi t shar-
ing, bonuses, or other means.
Henry Ford recognized that the
very employees building the model T
needed to have a complementing income
that would enable them to buy one.
Free Traders object even to tar-
iffs where environmental abuse is part of
the foreign industrial process. Wouldn’t
it seem prudent to levy an “environmen-
tal tariff” on those imports until the pro-
cess meets best practices?
Providing a reasonable and se-
cure living for faithful American em-
ployees that helped build a company has
always been a top policy concern for the
greatest American companies.
Forcing others to be effi cient
and competitive while building in Amer-
ica at a living wage is not a death knell
but a wake up call.
Wayne Mayo
Scappoose
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.
Columbia Humane Society
Featured Pet
Trouble is a senior Husky that is looking for a
new forever home. He is about 12 years old
and was left at the shelter by his owner.
Honestly we would like to see this guy just find
a place to retire. According to the previous
owner he does not do well with other dogs.
If you think you can give him a home please
don't hesitate to call or email.
Web: www.columbiahumane.org
2084 Oregon Street
St. Helens, OR 97051
Phone: 503-397-4353
Email: animalwelfare@columbiahumane.org
To the Editor,
Having been involved in many
elections since 1999 including initia-
tives, I have gathered signatures, gone
door to door (did 4,500 myself one year)
and spoke to many in front of Post Of-
fi ces in Scappoose and St. Helens.
While I can only offer anecdotal
evidence of fraud, I’ve heard some pret-
ty alarming comments. Having lost one
election by a mere 1%, another by 58, I
know the value of each vote.
Ballots for the same purpose si-
multaneously going to 2 addresses and
illegals with no citizenship getting bal-
lots to start.
Ballots going directly into the
trash at the post offi ce for anyone to use.
Under two different Oregon ad-
ministrations those seeking driver’s li-
censes weren’t required to provide proof
of citizenship. For a time Governor Ku-
longoski stopped the practice noting in
his order “document tourism.”
This last time it was stopped by
a costly initiative spearheaded by Or-
egonians for Immigration Reform.
I would like to see all voters in
Oregon, because of our recent “failed
state” approach be required to provide
proof of citizenship before acquiring a
new voter’s registration.
I’d really like to go back to the
ballot boxes at the precinct. It was a
time to acknowledge with friends and
neighbors that the political battle was
over and reconcile.
Upcoming
Events
Dr. Seuss Celebration - Thurs-
day, March 2, 6:00-7:00 pm at
the Vernonia Public Library.
Story read by the Cat in the Hat,
birthday cake, crafts, activities,
door prizes and pictures.
Columbia County Small Wood-
lands Tree Sale - Saturday,
March 11, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm at
Lawrence Oil Pacifi c Pride on
Hwy 30 in St. Helens. (503) 397-
5997
Father and Daughter Country
Ball - Tuesday, March 14, 6:00-
8:00 pm in the Grace Family Fel-
lowship gymnasium. Dads and
daughters of all ages welcome.
FREE
St. Patrick’s Day Parade - Fri-
day, March 17, 5:15 pm starts
at the corner of Bridge St. and
State Avenue. All are welcome.
An Oregon Humanities’ state-
wide Conversation Project: “Mind
the Gaps: How Gender Shapes
Our Lives,” a free conversation
with Jade Aguilar on Thursday,
March 23, 6:30 pm at the Verno-
nia Public Library. This program
is hosted by the Friends of the
Vernonia Library and sponsored
by Oregon Humanities.
Wayne Mayo
Scappoose, OR
District Board Positions Up for Election
Several local board positions will be
up for election on Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
For the Vernonia School District
Board: Position 1- currently held by Susan Wag-
ner, Position 4- currently held by Ernie Smith,
Position 5- currently held by Cari Levenseller,
and Position 6- currently held by Board Chair
Brett Costley. Both Costley and Wagner have
said they intend to run again, while both Smith
and Levenselleer have said they do not plan to
run.
The Vernonia Rural Fire Protection
District will also have two board positions up for
election: Position 1- currently held by Ben Davis
and Position 5- currently held by Mike Demeter.
Both Davis and Demeter have indicated they in-
tend to run for their positions.
Each candidate for an offi ce listed
above must fi le a declaration of candidacy ac-
companied by a fi ling fee of $10.00 or accom-
panied by a petition of nomination signed by at
least 25 registered voters residing in the elec-
toral district for the offi ce, with the Elections
Department of Columbia County no later than
5:00 pm on March 16, 2017.
Filing forms are available on-line at
the Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division
website www.oregonvotes.gov. Filing forms
and zone maps (for applicable districts) are
available on-line on the County Elections pages
of the County website www.co.columbia.or.us
or in person at the Columbia County Elections
Department, 230 Strand St., St. Helens, OR.
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