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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2017)
10 community april6 2017 Johnson and Witt Hold Town Hall in Vernonia tory budget” that isn’t based on current law, while the legislature wrote a cur- rent revenue budget that Johnson termed “stark.” “I’ve been hunting for additional revenue to help fix the systemic problem with our budget,” said Johnson about the current $1.8 to $2 billion shortfall in the legislative budget. Johnson also men- tioned that she is working on the trans- portation plan, PERS reform, and trying to find a way to keep health insurance for 350,000 Oregonians. Johnson discussed in detail the working group for the transportation package she is part of, that is address- ing funding for non-highway modes of transportation, transit safety, preserving the transit system infrastructure, traffic congestion, and management account- ability. Johnson noted that she is ad- vocating for highway improvements in Portland – improvements to I-205, to state highway 217, and I-5 at the Rose Quarter – designed to address conges- tion. Johnson addressed a specific ques- tion about finding ways to make bicycles pay their share for development and use of infrastructure, and said there is a growing recognition that everyone has to “have skin in the game.” She said the transportation package may include a point of sale tax on bicy- cles that would provide revenue for bicycle pro- grams. Both Witt and Johnson expressed dis- agreement with the Gov- ernor’s declaration mak- ing Oregon a Sanctuary State through Executive Action. “This was de- clared by one branch of the government and I don’t think it is any- where close to a universally held prin- ciple by members of the other branches of the government,” said Witt. The au- dience and Johnson expressed dismay that federal funding to Oregon could be cut because of the Governor’s actions, including CDBG funding, which the City of Vernonia has used in the past to build the Vernonia Community Learning Center, helped to upgrade the City sewer system, and to build the new Senior Cen- ter/Food Bank. “Rural communities use that process a lot to get money for proj- ects,” said Vernonia City Administrator Josette Mitchell, who was in attendance. “I believe this imperils those funds,” said Johnson. When asked if they agree with the way the federal government is ad- dressing undocumented immigration at this time, particularly children born in this country, Witt stated, “We had an election in November and the people spoke. We have a President who has a position that is more aggressive than we’ve seen in the past and I think the discussions we’re having reflect that, as do the number of cities and states that have declared that they are not en- forcing federal law. Elections do have continued from page 3 consequences and when we cast our vote we need to fully understand at least some of the impli- cations of that.” “We don’t have a com- prehensive immigration policy and as a result of that I think we are not delivering very well and everybody is dissatis- fied,” added Johnson “We’re all over the place because Congress, in my view, has abdicated their responsibility to come up with a comprehensive immigration plan.” Both Witt and John- son stated that they opposed proposed changes to the Forest Practices Act, with Witt saying he did not believe the bill would even get out of committee. Both encouraged voters to continue to pres- sure legislatures other than themselves on the issue “I’m a hard no on this and I will work like a dog to kill it in the Sen- ate,” added Johnson. On fisheries, Johnson said that the Governor needs to respect the deci- sions of citizen boards and commissions that do a lot of the work to create and recommend policy. Johnson encouraged citizens and voters to visit the Oregon Legisla- tive Information System website (olis. leg.state.or.us) for updates on what is ongoing in Salem and in Oregon govern- ment. Bighorn Logging since 1981 Contract Logging 503-324-2422 Free Estimates Timber Purchases Timber Management Oregon Professional Logger certified since 1996 Marie Krahn Massage Therapy Auto injury recovery/medical billing Black Bear Coffee Company & Roastery Fresh Roasted Coffe, espresso, baked goods NEW LOCATION 825 Bridge Street • 503-429-0214 • Accepting: Medical Benefits Cards • Medical Massage Cupping • Swedish Massage • Reiki • Deep Tissue • Reflexology • doTerra Aroma Touch • Trigger Point Therapy • Myofacial Release 503-429-5180 Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Full Menu Open Every Day at 6:00 am Bear Creek Pub & Sports Lounge Burgers & Fries 9 Beers on Tap Growlers To Go lic#5495 mariekrahn@frontier.com 831 Bridge Street • 503-429-0214 Owned and Operated by Don & Kim Wallace DON WALLACE, PLS Professional Land Surveying 1224 E. Alder St. Vernonia, OR 97064 Phone: 503-429-6115 FAX: 1-866-297-1402 Email: DWallace_KLS@msn.com CORPORATE MEMBER
