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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1990)
October 31. 1990. The INDEPENDENT ■........................ " From page 2 achievement, a young smile that says "M om . please. I need you" and oft I go And how does one keep going, keep a positive attitude and optimism for the future7 By getting involved! By par ticipating with and for your ch ild re n There are many positive things going on in our town The new Parent Teacher Club is a wonderful opportuni ty to get involved with your child's educational process — speakers, teaachers and par ents want to share in growing and learning together I fore see great things to come from this Our high school is working very hard to atte nd to our youths' sense of self esteem, [toward] goal setting and out reach to education, to oppor tunities beyond high school Their team approach o, work mg together, giving positive reinforcement and looking be yond today, is a bright new outlook for our seemingly in transigent adolescents Let us, as parents, stop complaining about how over whelmed we are with |ust ev eryday survival, thinking our problems are different than everyone else's Let's join the new wave of enthusiasm that is nsing from our schools and our children By showing up, speaking your thoughts, shar mg who you are. you too can gain the positive reinforce ment and feel good about life Look around, there is always som ew here, som eone or some project that will not only benefit others, but will let you reap more than you sow To the teachers and admin istration of our schools—keep up the good work, we re be hind you all the way' Barb Fulmer Co-Chairperson Parent-Teacher Club Surges and Trojan To the E d ito r: I have two things on my mind this month first a, the last WOEC board meeting the new general manager David Seuss, told the board that he wanted to cu, expenses Bravo' One class of expenses that he wanted to cut was the repair or replacem ent of burned out appliances [that are] charged to the COOP by members who suffered failure of those appliances due to voltage spikes or to low volt age He also didn't want the COOP held responsible for losses such as freezers full of food going bad due to the toss of power altogether Seuss suggested that each COOP member should sign a document holding the COOP harmless in the event of power failure I see a probem in that There is a practice that the COOP should be held ac countable for — namely, hav ing high voltage transmission lines directly above the low voltage distribution lines as on Timber Road, so that when almost ANYTHING happens, the high voltage lines touch the tow voltage lines, creating a spike that burns out appli ances The COOP has in stalled devices on the lines to prevent the spikes, but it ap pears they are not 100% ef fective since reports of appli ance toss are still heard The COOP also has encouraged members to purchase spike protectors tor their homes In general, that is a good sug gestion, but Timber route is a special case There is no reason why COOP members living on limber Road should pay more for electric service, by having to pay to protect all o, their appliances or by paying to re pair burned out appliances than those living elsewhere in the COOP who don't have such an acute problem A possible solution would be to bury the lower voltage distribution line on Timber Road thus effectively isolat mg it from the high voltage transmission line If the lines cannot be effectively sepa rated then the COOP should consider self insuring so when the lines come to gether, we collectively help pay for any damage that is not covered by the COOP'S liabil ity insurance policy The second thing on my mind is the WOEC annual meeting I was expecting to hear the same lame mayoral speech at the start of the meeting but Mayor Scott Sword shocked and surprised me by outlining the problems the city has due to our high electric rates After thinking about it. I came to the con elusion that even though his remarks seemed a bi, harsh, they had the effect of allowing the board and the member ship to share the city's dis tress thereby perhaps bring mg us closer to a solution The exercise in free speech didn't stop with Sword We were also treated to the thoughts of nuclear activist, Lloyd Marbet Some people happily listened to what he had to say others were upset, expressing distress that a po litical figure was allowed to speak at the annual meeting I maintain that the issues he raised were germane to the meeting in that they were power issues, specifically about the safety of the nearby Trojan nuclear electricity gen erating plan, Besides, the board had already taken a stand on the issue Regard less of whether or no, they agreed with his stand COOP members in attendance d d ge, to hear a respected knowledgeable, interesting and controversial person speak on a subject rarely de bated in Columbia County Marbet incidentally was im pressed with our annual meeting He said he has been a, other utility meetings but they were nothing like ours Here he said the members seemed more interested and enthusiastic The meetinn When it comes to loans... WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED! • • • • A u to L o a n s • RV L oan s P e r so n a l L o a n s • B o a t L oan s H om e E q u ity L o a n s R eal E sta te L o a n s V e r n o n ia 1010 Bridge 429-BANK F o r e s t G ro v e 4110 Pacific 359-4495 Jim B uxton K easey Republican choice To the Editor: A w ell orchestrated vote led by a few "close,” Roberts supporters took place a, the Columbia County Republican Central Committee on Tues day, September 25. 1990 Many Republicans were in spired to support the Indepen den, Candidate for governor I believe tha, this action was inspired by single issue politics Our party is much larger than any one issue I gran, these people their per sonal choice, bu, I also have a choice I choose no, to be chairwoman of an orgamza tion whose active members violate the purpose of the or ganization I can assure the "real Re publicans" in Columbia Coun ty tha, I will maintain an office for all Republicans a, 2035 Columbia Boulevard, S, He lens Joanne VanNatta, Former Chairwoman Columbia County Republi can Central Committee A real fish story To the Editor: Le, us co n sid e r the fish shortage from the fishes' point of view This salmon egg is hatched in a mudflat, the clear stream of his forefishes having been sullied by logging and road building The stream shading trees have all been felled so the sun shines warmly on him but warm water does no, dissolve as much oxygen as cold water does, so he is half suffocated I, he finds a bug to oat, chances are the bug was poi soned by aerial spraying and dropped into the stream carry ing its load of p e sticid e s Leaving the stream for a small river, our poor fish encounters the toxic overflow of an over lo aded sew age p lan, and gasps his way on to the big river, where he finds the fish crunching suction of power turbines If he gets to the ocean, there's no, much to eat, for we have vacuumed up all the lit tie fishes to make ca, food and [we have] built condos on the wetlands where other food sources used to breed Ev erywhere there are seals and sea lio n s hun ting him, for those are cuddly critters, pro tected by f ederal law Thirty mile long drift nets lie in wait and it he meets an oth e r salm on, it probably came from a hatchery The hatchery fish has both dis eases and antibiotics and the wild fish gets only the dis eases When i, comes time to go home he may be spotted by the sport fisherman's sonar, which tells the exact depth, course and speed a, which to More letters on page 14 Fine Dining Restaurant Member V W ÏD A N K seemed to him to be more "down home", with its chicken dinner, door prizes, and re membrances of anniversaries I invited Marbe, to the meeting and worked to ge, him heard for many reasons but mostly because he is an interesting speaker and would make a good substitute for the scheduled speaker. Sen Packwood Also, I though, it would be the only opportunity for people from our area to hear him and meet him After the meeting, several people said they had never before heard that side of the Trojan debate That's no, surprising since Marbe, s "Yes on 4" campaign has spent a little more than $40.000 to reach the public, while the opposi tion has spent more than $1 500,000 Some people though, it would have been more fair had PGE also been invited to speak I tend fo agree, bu, both the COOP manager and the board members I talked to before the meeting said they didn't wan, the annual meet ing turned into a debate on nuclear power Fear was expressed by some board members that by letting Marbet speak BPA might halt the program under consideration between BPA and the COOP The BPA cer tamly should no, quash a deal as important as helping a utility with the toughest service area and the highest rates in the state because some member of tha, utility has exercised the right of free speech m a public meeting Page 3 ---------- ! 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