4
letters to the editor/community bulletin board
january18
2018
Readers Lend Their Voices...
To the Editor,
We were greatly blessed
by the Freewheelers Club this
year. They surprised us with an in-
door trampoline to help with John-
ny’s therapy, plus a magnet set for
his fingers. They also blessed Sara
and I with great goodies.
We will NEVER forget
this Christmas 2017, our special
holiday!
Gail, Sarah, and Johnny Law
Vernonia
To the Editor,
For years The Wall Street
Journal sent a hypothetical tax-
payer circumstance to 10 different
CPA firms. Year after year they
would receive back 10 different
tax liabilities.
Taxpayer’s unease with
the IRS continues to grow as once
again the agency is shown to cre-
ate its own laws, priorities, and
rules. (“The IRS Evades Account-
ability and Its Excuse is Ridicu-
lous” 10Jan2018, The Wall Street
Journal)
Compounding the worry
is the five years it took to prove
the IRS guilty of slow-walking
Tea Party-Patriot groups on ap-
plications for exempt status in
the runup to the 2012 election,
26Oct2017. The $3.5 million fine
paid out of taxpayer funds was an-
other slap in the face of attentive
Americans.
Add that former IRS chief
Lois Lerner who, after successful-
ly covering up agency wrongdo-
ing before Congress for two years,
was allowed to retire with full ben-
efits, and you’re leading taxpayers
to conclude the IRS rules the Con-
gress, not the other way around.
The only way to de-wea-
ponize the IRS, which obviously
intimidates lawmakers, is to go to
a national sales tax. This would
simplify rules, stop the threat of
nefarious audits, and end the IRS
as a tool against enemies of the
bureaucratic state. In addition, it
would take the governor off the
engines of personal motivation in
each of us.
The uniquely American
ideal regarding the “pursuit of
happiness” never included the
muscular arm of your authorita-
tive government tattooed with the
letters “IRS.”
Wayne Mayo
Scappoose
HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064.
Vernonia Weather
December 2017
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Weather data is collected at the U.S.
Weather station at the Vernonia Water Plant
Upcoming Events
Jugglemania! with Rhys Thomas - Sat-
urday, February 10, 1:00 pm at the
Vernonia Public Library. Comedy and
juggling by an international performer.
Sponsored by the Vernonia Lions Club.
Jamboree Crab Feed Fundraiser -
Saturday, February 17, 5:00 pm at
Cedar Ridge Retreat and Conference
Center.
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
Report Hunt Results by January 31
Avoid the $25 penalty for not reporting on
deer and elk tags with a chance to win spe-
cial deer, elk, or pronghorn tag
Every hunter who purchased 2017 big
game or turkey tags needs to report their hunt
results by the deadline, which is January 31,
2018 for most tags.
Hunters are required to report on each
deer, elk, cougar, bear, pronghorn, and tur-
key tag purchased — even if they were not
successful or did not hunt. Sports Pac license
holders need to report on each big game or
turkey tag issued.
Hunters have two ways to report:
• Online via www.myodfw.com or report-
myhunt.com either at home or by visiting an
ODFW office with a computer available for
Hunter Reporting (ODFW field or regional of-
fices in Adair Village/Corvallis, Bend, Clack-
amas, La Grande, Sauvie Island, Roseburg,
Salem Headquarters, Springfield, Tillamook).
• By telephone: Call 1-866-947-6339 to talk
to a customer service representative. Hours:
6:00 am to 10:00 pm, seven days a week.
Reporting deadlines are:
• January 31, 2018 for all 2017 hunts that end-
ed by December 31, 2017
• April 15, 2018 for all 2017 hunts that end
between January 1- March 31, 2018
Hunters need the following pieces of
Online
Licensing
Available for
Dog Owners
in Columbia
County
For the convenience of county
dog owners, you may now license your
dog(s) online. The Sheriff’s Office web
page for dog licensing is located at www.
co.columbia.or.us/sheriff. The link to the
Dog Licensing page is in large font among
the links under the Sheriff’s Greetings on
the home page.
The online dog licensing form
automatically calculates licensing fees.
You will need your rabies information to
be submitted along with the online form,
and licensing is dependent on our ability
to confirm that each dog to be licensed has
been inoculated against rabies. There is a
small fee charged by the card processor that
is added to the total cost.
information to report, which takes just a cou-
ple of minutes:
• Hunter/Angler ID number (located on
ODFW licenses, tags and applications; this is
a permanent number that stays the same from
year-to-year)
• The two digit Wildlife Management
Unit (WMU) number of the Unit you hunted
in most and the Unit you harvested an animal
in if successful
• The total number of days hunted (including
mentoring youth), the number of days hunted
in the WMU hunted most, and the number of
days hunted in the WMU you harvested an
animal in if successful
$25 penalty for not reporting deer and elk tags
Hunters who fail to report 2017 deer
or elk tags by the deadline will be penalized
$25 when they purchase a 2019 hunting li-
cense. This penalty is assessed once, regard-
less of the number of unreported tags.
As of January 10, about 56 percent
of buck deer tags and 57 percent of elk tags
have been reported. ODFW saw an uptick in
reporting after mailing reminder postcards to
hunters who hadn’t reported on their deer and
elk tags yet earlier this month.
“The information hunters provide is
used when setting controlled hunt tag numbers
continued on page 6
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
Vernonia Christian Church
410 North Street
SOS DONATION
Support our Seniors
Vernonia Senior Citizens
939 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064
Office Telephone 503-429-3912
501 (c) (3) TID: #23-7422295
Donor’s Name _________________________________
Mailing Address________________________________
City, State, ZIP_________________________________
_____ Enclosed is my $60 donation towards the Senior
Meal Program (Sponsors one monthly meal pack
containing 10 meal certificates)
_____ Enclosed is my donation towards two meal packs
($120)
_____ Here is my donation for another amount $______
_____ $15/year annual senior citizen membership for
those 60 years old and over
_____ You have my permission to list me as a Champion
of the SOS program (amount will not be posted)
_____ My check will serve as my receipt OR
_____ I would like a tax deductible receipt mailed to me
at the above address
THANK YOU FOR BECOMING AN SOS CHAMPION!