Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 1990)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, May 30, 1990 ne INDEPENDENT Serving the upper Nehalem River valley Published monthly on the last Wednesday ol each month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd 1206 State Avenue. Vernonia. OR 97064, as a free newspaper All material protected under U S Copyright laws Editors and Publishers. Dirk & Norn Andersen, (503) 429 9410 O p in io n Failure to vote risks new district's status Last month, a tax base for the new Emergency Communications District lost by 115 votes of the 9,031 ballots cast. Most people agree that prompt dispatching of 911 calls is critical, yet only 743 of nearly 1500 registered voters in the Nehalem Valley went to the polls Of those, 210 voted against the measure, 400 voted for it and 133 skipped it. To all of you who say "Why bother, my vote doesn't count" try out those numbers It would have taken only a few of you to assure stable funding for emer gency dispatching While you're trying to calculate the numbers, here’s something else to think about: State law does not require emergency dispatching, it requires only that 911 phone calls be answered What's done after that is up to local districts because Uncle Government isn't going take care of it. When the City of Vernonia can no longer scrape up the $50,000, or more, needed for emergency dis patching under the present system, communications will be slow and uncertain, not just in town but also in rural areas, because our rural fire distncts can't afford the service by themselves There will be another election, June 26, and anoth er opportunity to provide county wide funding for emergency dispatching, this time through a one-year levy instead of a tax base Let's put this on a more personal level Recently, we had an unwanted "opportunity" to try our emergency dispatching system Within five min utes of our 4 a m phone call, four emergency medi cal technicians and an ambulance were at the door; they were followed shortly by two or three more EMTs. They quickly and efficiently started emergency treatment and provided transportation to the hospital Their presence was reassuring, their concern obvi ous, and their skills exemplary Fortunately, the emergency wasn't life-threatening, but if it had been, we hate to think of what could result from slow or uncertain dispatching If you need firefighters, EMTs or police, do you want to rely on a haphazard dispatching system'? Or do you want prompt, professional dispatching of emergency personnel? Do you still think your vote doesn't count? By Nancy B urch V e rn o n ia C ity L ib ra ria n Once again the Department of Education is sponsoring a summer reading program in which students reading at least ten books receive a certificate from the Governor and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The books must be read between May 15 and September 15 and certificates will be issued for each student who brings the list of books w ith signature of parent or guardian to the library. We will also have a special prize for the individual reading and listing the most books. A special thank you goes to the Walters' family for recently donating a nice se lection of children's books to the library. If you have books that your children no longer use, we would be glad to add them to our collection to make them available to the young readers in Vernonia. Another welcome addition to our lib rary is an updated book on etiquette given by the Study Club in memory of Amy Kamholz This informative book explores such topics as funerals, public displays of affection, profanity, sexual harrassment. telephone manners, foreign menu terms, food stuck in teeth, and ear piercing. The correct method of dealing with almost any situation is included and I would like to publicly thank the Study Club for remem bering Amy Kamholz in this manner To give readers an opportunity to look into the place where N orthw esterners live, the Oregon State University Press is making available books that are out of print. We have recently purchased the first two of these publications, "Nehalem Tillamook Tales" and "Oregon Detour" for our library. "Nehalem Tillamook Tales” is a collection of Indian legends while "Oregon Detour" is a work of fiction which has been the object of fifty years of censorship in Weston, Oregon, where Nard Jones, its author, lived from 1919 to 1927. Although Jones claimed that the book was "only fiction", he actually changed events and characters of the wheat-growing town of Weston (Creston) very little. The novel was considered in 1930, and is still considered today, as being "about Weston" by the majority of its residents. Whether you read this with the assumption that it is based on fact or is purely fictitious, you'll get an enjoy able insight into life in a small northwest town during the 1920's. I enjoyed reading the book, but have to admit that without all the publicity of its having been banned, it probably wouldn't have been so highly publicized and thus republished Watch for others in this series of Northwest Reprints as they become available LIbrary Hours: Monday and Friday 1 5 p m , Wednesday, 9 a m -5 p m . and Saturday, 10 a m -2 p m Preschool Story Time is every Wednesday from 10 30 11 a m L e t t e r s t o t h e E k lit o r Thanks for the help To the Editor: As Co chairpersons of the Vernonia Community Health Fair, we would like to thank all those resposnsible for making the 1990 Community Health and Fitness Fair such a huge success1 To the scores of partici pants whose displays and health checks were made available to our community, thank you Your time volun teered for the most pari free of charge showed us all how to be well and fit in the 1990s To the community volun teers. the Fair Committee it self, the high school and grade school students and the local Lions Club, who helped set up. maintain and disassemble the equipment in the high school gym, thank you You all remind us of what being good neighbors and living in a small commu nity is all about, we can al- ways find those who will help and follow through To the many sponsors, whose contributions added to our health care and safety of ferings during our Play-4- Health Month and the Fair, Thank You West Oregon Electric Cooperative. Vernon ia School District, Sword Log ging Astoria Red Lion, Sun nyside Service, General Tele phone, Lions Club, NAPA Auto Pads, Cornelius Fred Meyer, Western Auto, Kayla Cota and Carmen Finley A special thank you to the Class of 2000 and their direc tors, Dana Hyde and Eliza beth Marxer. for showing us through their pfay that we can make the world a healthy place to live And to the Vernonia Com munity who not only came to the fair, but who participated m the many health and fit ness activities before and during the fair, Thank You You are on the right track to health and fitn e ss in the 1990s W ithout all of You, we couldn't have done it' Barb Fulmer Lynn Dougherty Vernonia Group makes plans To the Editor: The C olum bia C ounty Small Woodland Association is an organization dedicated to the protection, manage ment. use and enhancement of Oregon's forest resources The association is composed of owners of less than 5,000 acres of Oregon forestland, it was founded in 1967 The objectives of the asso ciation are to help preserve the rights of private woodland ownership, educate the public and policy m akers on the value of the state's forest re sources and the need to More letters on page 17
