Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2017)
4 letters to the editor/community bulletin board october19 2017 Readers Lend Their Voices... To the Editor, Recently the Oregon Parks and Rec Department have been looking at whether or not to designate part of the Nehalem River into their Scenic Wa- terway program. I fully support desig- nating the Nehalem River as part of the Scenic Waterway Designation. I live on Rock Creek in Vernonia, a tributary to the Nehalem. It is a beautiful watershed that host many types of wildlife includ- ing salmon. I am currently getting my post baccalaureate in environmental stud- ies at the University of Oregon and am a former intern of the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council. In my time working for the watershed council and over the course of my studies I cannot tell you enough how worried I am by how the waterways of Oregon are treated. Com- pared to other states Oregon has very week buffer protections when it comes to logging within the area. Two years ago a liquified natural gas (LNG) pipe- line was proposed to be drilled through Rock Creek and countless other water- sheds to ship fracked gas from Canada to Asia. Yet there was nothing our wa- tershed council could to do to stop a corporation from damaging the water- shed we work to protect. Vernonia even passed an ordinance by the city council opposing this LNG project. Yet it was only symbolic as corporations have the power and local communities of people do not. I am mentioning all of this be- cause it is my belief this designation of scenic waterway does not go far enough to protect not only the Nehalem River Vernonia Weather September 2017 DATE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 HIGH 89 95 96 93 93 82 80 70 76 75 89 80 71 72 78 75 61 60 63 55 61 68 71 72 65 76 84 85 62 62 LOW 44 44 49 55 53 58 61 54 47 41 45 47 44 34 41 41 49 47 47 39 39 44 43 49 54 44 41 40 42 44 PRECIP 0 0 0 0 0 0 .12 0 .02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .22 .57 1.02 .23 T 0 0 0 0 0 0 T .12 .13 Ave/Tot 75.3 45.9 2.43 Weather data is collected at the U.S. Weather station at the Vernonia Water Plant but all of Oregon’s beautiful yet threat- ened waterways. I hope to see more riv- ers being given this designation and to take a stand for the rivers so many Or- egonians care about. Michael Calhoun Vernonia To the Editor, Hello, I am Lucius Hammock. I have heard about the discussion on so- cial media about the smoking in certain areas of our parks proposal. I have a few points I’d like to say too. My first is that I hate the smell of tobacco smoke. In fact, all of my friends agree with that too. My second reason is that the smoke will get into the other people’s lungs and will cause asthma attacks and migraine headaches. I think we all agree we don’t want those. My third reason ties in with the second one. If you are going to smoke and cause harm to yourself, don’t give that harm to others. Sharing is not always caring. It makes me angry that kids were not asked their opinions on it. Since we use the playground the most, our ideas should be listened to too. I really hope that there will be smoking areas. Lucius Hammock Age 10, Vernonia To the Editor, The recent article, “Presenta- tion Challenges Corporate Forestry Practices” in the October 5, 2017 issue of the Voice was somewhat inaccurate when describing the forestry tax imple- mentation in the state of Oregon. For example, Willer states that since 1993 the state redefined the Harvest Tax so that 80% is paid at the time of har- vest. Wrong. All producers pay 100% of the Harvest Tax at the time of harvest subject to an annual 25k bf exemption. In the same paragraph he states that the “land only” tax was enacted by HB 3575 in 1998. This is the Or- egon Forestland Tax and is a little dif- ferent for the east side harvests. One needs to understand that the timber in- dustry wanted a relatively simple, pre- dictable, and uniform tax not subject to market conditions. The raw value of the land and its productivity or site class becomes the basis for the annual property tax assessment. This value is set by the ODR and is subject to the an- nual tax limitation. I am a little dubious that this tax plan creates a loss for the state since the Revenue Department is very cautious before giving the nod to any tax plan that is not revenue neutral. Small woodland owners were left with no deferral system which was previously named the “Privilege Tax”- imagine that! The first attempt by a committee to draft a new plan was similar to the old privilege tax but put the balance owed (80%) into an indi- vidual account on which compound interest would accrue over the age of a rotation. That may be where Willer got the 80% number, regardless, today we pay 20% at harvest time which is cal- culated to pay our fair share when all the trees are finally sold. I suggested small woodland owners would pay more in interest than the principle over the ro- tational period of 40 years or more with this proposed plan. With help from Or- egon Small Woodlands Association, we got the proposed legislation dropped. A new committee was formed, and yours truly, was tapped to serve. The current deferred plan is the Small Upcoming Events “Just a Number: Aging and Inter- generational Friendships - Thurs- day, October 19, 6:30-8:00 pm at the Vernonia Library. An Oregon Humanities Conversation Project program, with faciltators Simeon Dreyfuss and Jenny Sasser. Graveyard Dash - Saturday, Oc- tober 28, 10:00 am, start line at Vernonia Memorial Cemetary, 2080 Bridge St. 3K and 6K Run and Walk. Prizes for best cos- tumes. Halloween Sidewalk Parade - Tuesday, October 31, 4:30 pm starting at City Hall. Grace Family Fellowship’s Annu- al Hot Dog Feed - Tuesday, Oc- tober 31, 5:00-7:00 pm, 957 State Avenue. Mist-Birkenfeld Helping Circle Fall Festival - Saturday, Novem- ber 4 at the Mist School Gym at 6:00 pm. The Spirit of Christmas in Ver- nonia - Saturday, December 9, all day. Ugly Sweater Run, story- times, chili cook-off, gingerbread house and cookie contests, light- ed parade, and more. TOPS Group (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meet Fridays at the Mist-Birkenfeld Fire Dept. 8:30 am weigh in, 9:00 am meeting. Men and women invited to join. (503) 429-7505 continued on page 14 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 Hello! My name is Apollo and I’m a neutered male pit bull terrier. I am grey and white, and weigh about 65 lbs. I’m a very handsome guy and I LOVE everyone. I love playing with toys, especially the ones that squeak. I am looking for a forever home with a family who does not have children under 8, who has dog experience, and is willing to take me to training classes. Please note that CHS is committed to both our pets and our adopters and we would like to make the best match possible for both of you. To that end, our kennels are closed to public walk through. If you are interested in adopting one of our pets please email us and we will send you an application. We will then schedule a time that you can come in, meet with you to determine your wants and needs in a pet, and match you with the pet that best fits both you and your family. Web: www.columbiahumane.org Phone: 503-397-4353 2084 Oregon Street Email: animalwelfare@columbiahumane.org St. Helens, OR 97051 Commission Adopts Updated Cougar Management Plan The Fish and Wildlife Commis- sion adopted an updated Cougar Man- agement Plan today when it met in Prin- eville, Ore. The Plan was last revised in 2006. The updated Plan incorporates new scientific literature and Oregon- specific research about cougars, includ- ing a genetics and habitat analysis, but there are no major management changes. The Plan continues to stress coexistence with Oregon’s more than 6,400 cougars. Fourteen people testified, some for and continued on page 17 AA Meetings Open Meetings Mondays & Thursdays 6:30-7:30 pm Vernonia Christian Church 410 North Street Women’s Meeting Tuesdays 6:30-7:30 pm Grace Family Fellowship Youth Center 957 State Avenue
