4
letters to the editor/community bulletin board
july5
2018
Readers Lend Their Voices...
Dear Vernonia Community,
Your help and support for
our school is greatly appreciated!
There will be no collection bins.
Please turn the materials into me
personally, you can also give the
materials to your child to give to
me, or turn them into the school of-
fice and someone will make sure I
get them. For your convenience
you can also mail donations to the
school. If it is not on the list below,
then it is no longer being collected.
We are still collecting the
following:
• Box Top Labels
• Cell Phones & Ink Cartridges
• Flav-R-Pac & Santiam Labels
(UPC part)
• Colgate (toothbrushes, empty
toothpaste tubes, packaging)
We are no longer collect-
ing/recycling the following materi-
als:
• Campbell Soup Labels (the pro-
gram has shut down)
• Writing Instruments (Paper Mate,
Sharpie, & Expo)
• Cereal bags
• Capri Sun pouches
All the money collected
from fundraising/recycling will be
going toward elementary and high
school physical education equip-
ment.
If you have questions or are
not quite sure about what is the cor-
rect UPC label or product, please
don’t hesitate to email, call, or to
stop by and talk to me in person at
the school.
Thanks to those who have
helped in the past and a big “thank
you” to those who will help this
summer and next school year. Take
care and thank you for your contin-
ued support.
Mr. George Spaulding
Vernonia School’s
K-12 P.E. Teacher
503-429-1333 Ex: 1358
gspaulding@vernonia.k12.or.us
To the Editor,
WOEC Members in this
discussion on VBBII: Good for
you!... speaking out, pro or con.
That’s a co-op in action. We all lead
busy lives with deadlines. It takes
time to enter an open-ended discus-
sion; the risk is you may be criti-
cized or disc’d for taking a stand.
You may also prevail. What fre-
quently gets stepped-on are actual
facts which require research, nota-
tions, references and often, signifi-
cant amounts of money. It is easy to
make assumptions. When that hap-
pens, accusations pop up; defending
oneself occurs. Literally the S... Hits
The Fan. That is why such discours-
es are compared to “making sau-
sage.” In each of your statements,
there is a bit of truth. The trick is to
balance-out and get as close as pos-
sible to a workable solution. Bob
Perry and his staff can only do what
is directed by the Board. If change
is wanted, then change the Direc-
tors on the Board. The Board acts
in a manner they think fit. The most
positive action anyone can take,
is to put themselves, or someone
they respect, up for election. Mr.
Galaday replaced Mr. Paleck, be-
cause Nick stepped up. Mr. Paleck
was not, and is not wrong. He sim-
ply had a different approach. The
result has been Mr. Galaday has
continually opened discussions on
administrative and policy changes
to lower costs. Those who feel no
change is needed are in the major-
ity. If you think change is needed,
apply to be on the ballot or back
someone who can create change.
The issues I have had with WOEC
in the past have been mentioned.
They mainly deal with finances.
Large sums were spent on the new
office building. More member dol-
lars created West Oregon Services,
Inc, (WOSI) a wholly owned sub-
sidiary of WOEC. WOSI created its
own wholly owned subsidiary, Co-
lumbia Broadband Inc. (CBI). CBI
invested approximately 1.5 million
member dollars in NoaNetOregon
in order to bring high speed inter-
net to rural Oregon areas. NoaN-
etOregon failed. It was replaced by
Light Speednetworks (LSN) which
WOEC currently owns an interest
in. Mr. VanNatta has sat, or sits on,
the Boards of WOSI, CBI, NoaN-
etOregon and LSN. If, as a WOEC
member, you are interested in these
companies and their profit/loss ef-
fects, I would suggest you ask ei-
ther Mr. VanNatta or the Director
of your particular WOEC District
to fill you in. WOEC is member
owned and you have the right, as a
WOEC member, to have your ques-
tions answered in full. In addition,
and better yet, step up and apply to
become a Director for your District;
and/or back someone who will.
Take action.
Jack Phillips
Vernonia
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
Goober is a Lab/Akita mix, about 4 years old.
He came to the shelter via another shelter. He
is roughly 56 lbs. Goober does not have the
greatest experience with other dogs, and his
way of dealing with that is to avoid them at all
cost. We feel that he would best be served in a
home with no other dogs, or in a home with a
more mellow dog that would be up for just
hanging out. Goober loves to go for walks, has
had some obedience training, and loves to work
for food. He knows how to sit, stay, come, and
lay down.
CHS is committed to finding the right match
for, not only our pets, but also our adopters.
We have a unique approach to our adoption matching process. Our
kennels are not open for the public to walk through. This keeps our dogs
just a little happier. Due to our commitment being so strong to our pets,
we ask that you either call or email animalwelfare@columbiahumane.org
before just showing up to meet our pets. We would like to take the time to
get to know our adopters so that we can make the best match possible
between you and your new family member.
2084 Oregon Street, St. Helens, OR 97051
Phone: 503-397-4353
E-mail: info@columbiahumane.org
Web: www.columbiahumane.org
Upcoming
Events
Columbia County Fair - Wednesday, July 18 - Sun-
day, July 22 at the Columbia County Fairgrounds,
58892 Saulser Rd., St. Helens, OR 97051. http://
www.columbiacountyfairgrounds.com/
Bee Class - Wednesday, July 18, 6:30 pm at the
OSU Extension Service office, 505 N. Columbia
River Hwy, St. Helens.
Upper Nehalem Watershed Council Joint July/
August Board Meeting - Thursday, August 2, 5:30
pm at the UNWC office, 1201 Texas Ave.
2018 Vernonia Friendship Jamboree & Logging
Show - Friday, August 3 - Sunday, August 5
Bear Creek Run - Saturday, August 18, 9:00 am start
at Anderson Park. Register at www.RunSignUp.
com
West Oregon Electric Co-op Annual Meeting -
Saturday, August 18
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
WOEC Nominating Meetings
There will be open nominating meetings for
the Board of Directors of West Oregon Electric Co-op.
The meetings allow members to nominate director
candidates from the district to serve a three year
term. Elections will be held at the Annual Meeting on
Saturday, August 18, 2018.
District #1 - Thursday, July 5, 2018 at 5:30 pm at
Elderberry Inn, 44629 US-26, Seaside
District #6 - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at 5:30 pm at
Scappoose Library, 52469 SE 2nd St., Scappoose
District #4 - Monday, July 16, 2018 at 5:30 pm at
WOEC HQ, 652 Rose Ave, Vernonia
Lawyer in the Law Library
A workshop titled YOUR ANIMAL and THE LAW will be held on
Wednesday, July 11 from 6-8 pm in the Columbia County Law Library, which
is located at 270 S. First St. in St. Helens. The workshop marks the 20 th in
the monthly Lawyer in the Law Library workshops that are hosted by the law
library.
Our speaker for the workshop on animal law will be David Rosengard,
an attorney that works for the Animal Legal Defense Fund in Portland.
The workshop is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. No registration
is required. Your attendance and questions will be welcome.
For more information, please contact Columbia County Law Librarian
Pam Davis at 503-396-5344 or davis12000@aol.com.
The Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD Board of Directors will
meet Tuesday, July 17, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Main
Station, 12525 HWY 202, Mist, OR. Agenda items
include, but are not limited to, usual order of business,
citizen input, Fire Chief’s report, financial reports, and
any other business needing to be discussed.
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
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have traveled. Submit your photo and details to:
scott@vernoniasvoice.com