4
letters to the editor/community bulletin board
august2
2018
Readers Lend Their Voices...
To the Friends of Trudy Magoff,
We thank everyone who
attended the graveside service for
Trudy Magoff on July 1 and all who
sent heartfelt messages. Trudy truly
loved the people of Vernonia where
she happily lived the majority of her
94 years.
Joyce (Trudy’s sister)
and Dennis Burns
Santa Cruz, CA
Dear Fellow WOEC CO-OP Mem-
bers,
Ballots for director’s posi-
tions will be in the mail soon if they
are not already. This letter is an en-
dorsement for Brett Costley for Di-
rector District #4.
As you may know, Brett
came on as an interim replacement
for Dan Murphy when he moved
out of the district about 18 months
ago. Since then Brett’s become in-
credibly knowledgeable about the
co-op and its place in the total pic-
ture of the grid infrastructure, while
working hard to create a sustainable
future for the co-op.
I’ve known Brett about
twelve years and worked with him
on several projects. He’s extremely
intelligent, flexible, and ethical. He
not only grasps facts and details
quickly, but he puts them into the
total big picture context. He’s truly
dedicated to serving and improving
his community. If you look at some
of the Facebook community pages,
you’ll see he’s the one bringing
knowledge and answering concerns
to a frequently hostile public forum
while remaining calm and informa-
tive.
Right now, there are a lot
of impractical ideas floating around
like selling off pieces of the co-op or
bankrupting it somehow so the Feds
will come in and take it over. The
Board’s job is to keep the co-op vi-
able and servicing its members. If
you’ve read anything at all about
the state of the American electrical
infrastructure, you’ll note the it’s not
just our tiny co-op that’s in perilous
times. This isn’t the time to be en-
couraging the disruptors of Vernonia
to come in and bust things up willy-
nilly just to see what will happen like
a game of Pick-up Stix. It’s not easy
to find intelligent people willing to
step up to be on the Board under the
best of circumstances, but by having
Brett Costley on the Board we got
really lucky. Please take the time
to vote for him as Director District
#4. You can still bring your ballots
to be counted to the August 18 mem-
ber’s meeting at the school commons
if you forget to mail it in.
Erika Paleck
Vernonia
To the Editor,
Ladies and gentlemen,
friends and neighbors:
As a follow-up to my letter
in the last Voice, I’d like to continue
the conversation.
If we want to find fault with
the workings of W.O.E.C. we should
start with its inception in the 40s.
There is plenty of fault to go around.
Mistakes have been made
at every level for years and years.
But, crying over spilt milk, reliving
the worst mistakes, finger pointing,
reprimands, and just general grous-
ing doesn’t solve a thing.
What we have to do is think
outside the box.
It’s time to get the Powers
That Be that have the power to enact
new policies involved in our debate.
Let us be frank. W.O.E.C.,
as it is and as it has been, cannot be
fixed! Everything they say about the
size of the territory, the TREES, the
debt, the Assocs., the very structure
they operate under can’t be changed.
The debt will go up, the
rates will continue to increase, the
possibility for Vernonia’s economic
growth will stay stunted and effect
the very livability of our population.
If we decide that W.O.E.C.
is broken and therefore no viable
fixes for it, no budget cuts that are
substantial enough to make a differ-
ence, no way to increase usage, no
how, no way anything can help, what
can we do? As it is we are paying
high rates just so W.O.E.C. can exist.
I can suggest:
1. Forcing bankruptcy - What would
happen after, how would it affect the
members? Who would take over?
The Feds for the debt? P.G.E.?
2. Could we form a Vernonia P.U.D.
like they have in Forest Grove?
Would that force O.P.U.D. to give
the outlying areas to adjacent P.U.D.s
and Co-ops. I don’t know. I do think
it’s worth having the conversation
and getting some answers.
Anything that can be done
will not be easy. Anything worth
doing usually isn’t easy.
There are a lot of people
more knowledgable than I that can
answer our questions. They just need
to know the dire situation W.O.E.C.
members are in.
Do you have any ideas?
Would you be interested in answers
to the questions I’ve posed? Your
input is important. It’s your money,
it’s your Co-op.
Please let me know: (503)
429-8425, Sallymh40@g-mail.com.
Upcoming
Events
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
Senior Picnic - Friday, August 17, 11:00 am, 12:00
lunch at Anderson Park. Bring a side dish. Ham-
burgers, hotdogs, beverages provided.
Bear Creek Run - Saturday, August 18, 9:00 am
start at Anderson Park. Register at www.RunSign-
Up.com.
West Oregon Electric Co-op Annual Meeting -
Saturday, August 18, 11:00 am at the Vernonia
Schools Commons.
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
Sally Harrison
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.
Auction Notice
Storage Too
58645 Nehalem Hwy. S.
Vernonia, Oregon 97064
503-429-7867
CC5 - 5x10 - Ryan Anderson
CC13 - 5x10 - Ryan Anderson
Auction will be held
Tuesday
Sept. 4, 2018
Please call prior
to confirm the auction
Cash or certified check only
Lawyer in the
Law Library:
Divorce Law
A workshop entitled DIVORCE
LAW BOOTCAMP will be held on
Wednesday, August 8 from 6:00-8:00
pm in the Columbia County Law
Library, which is located at 270 S. First
St. in St. Helens. The workshop marks
the 21 st in the monthly Lawyer in the
Law Library workshops that are hosted
by the law library.
Our speakers for the workshop
on Divorce Law will be local attorneys
Aaron Martin and Teri Powers.
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.
Notice is hereby given that the Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD Board of
Directors will conduct a special meeting at 7:00 pm on August 15 at
the Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD Main Station located at 12525 Highway 202,
Mist, OR 97016. The purpose of this meeting is the discussion and
possible approval of a new job description.
The Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD Board of Directors will meet for their regular
board meeting Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Main
Station, 12525 Highway 202, Mist, OR.
Columbia Humane Society
Featured Dog
Purr-fect Pals
Cooper came to CHS via another shelter. He is about 2
years old, does well with other dogs, and is really a
sweet kid. Cooper will not do well in a home with cats, as
he likes to chase them a lot. Cooper will need to have
an experienced dog owner and someone who is going to
be willing to give him a job and keep him on his toes at
all times.
Lulu came to the shelter as an owner surrender. She is
about a year old and is looking for an active family that
will play with her and let her be the sassy-pants that she
is. She is very friendly and very talkative. She seems to
not mind other cats, but would do best in a home where
slow introductions can happen. If you feel that you can
give this spectacular kid a great home please don't
hesitate to call or email.
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 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