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The INDEPENDENT, March 8,1995
The
INDEPENDENT
*
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published
twice monthly on the second and fourth Wednesdays of
each month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 1206
S ta te A venue, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free
new spaper. Editors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni
Andersen, (503) 429-9410.
r\
R eporters w o n ’t,
and shouldn’t tell all
Several times recently, The INDEPENDENT staff
has been asked to reveal discussions that took place
in executive sessions of one public body or another.
Our response is that we won’t discuss privileged in
formation but, perhaps we should clarify our reasons.
Oregon’s Public Meetings Law allows the public to
attend almost every meeting of elected and appointed
officials. The exceptions are spelled out and include
discussion of pending litigation, labor relations, per
sonnel and other more-or-less sensitive matters.
The media, however, are allowed to attend execu
tive sessions that are closed to the general public.
The reason for the exception is that the background
information is necessary in order to understand action
later taken or not taken by a public body.
This is a privileged exception and an important
one. Technically, we can report what happens in ex
ecutive sessions if the presiding officer fails to tell us
otherwise, but we won’t.
That is the policy of this newspaper and it will re
main that way because trust is more valuable in this
business than an occasional “scoop.”
So, if anyone out there wants information from an
executive session, don’t come to us because we
won’t tell.
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mark !
Hatfield is correct;
amendment a sham
It has been instructive to watch U.S. Senators in
Mark Hatfield’s own party as they weep, wail, gnash
their teeth, thrash about and threaten the Oregon
senator for having the temerity to stand on principle
and vote against the so-called balanced budget
amendment.
Listening to them speak of betrayal, one would al
most think Hatfield had committed some heinous
crime and, in a way, he did. His crime won’t be found
among law enforcement statutes and he’ll never be
arrested for it, but he is guilty . . . guilty of telling the
truth about another ploy designed to make people
think Congress is trying to balance the federal bud
get.
He is guilty of telling the truth when he says
Congress can balance the budget whenever it wants
to—without an amendment—but won’t because its
members lack the courage to make the necessary
hard choices.
He is guilty of telling the truth when he says an
amendment that can be suspended by a three-fifths
vote of Congress is the same as no amendment.
Most of all, he is guilty of refusing to pander to the
political gratification of his peers. Think about it; if
Hatfield acts like that, voters might expect their own
representatives to tell the truth!
Thank you, Senator Hatfield, for telling the truth
and standing by it. Maybe it will become contagious.
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[ The loWlRepert
By Rep. TimJosi
Oregon Representative, District 2
A year ago the Oregon Department of Fish
& Wildlife was petitioned by several environ
mental groups to list the coho salmon as a
threatened or endangered species due to its
rapidly declining population. Last week the
agency presented their decision to the legisla
ture to not list the coho as threatened or en
dangered, but to continue listing the Colum
bia River and South Coast coho salmon gene
pools as sensitive species and to add the
North Coast coho gene pool to the same list.
A sensitive species is one whose popula
tion is declining in such number, due to the
quality or quantity of its habitat, that it is in
danger of qualifying as threatened or endan
gered. ODFW is charged with the responsibili
ty of taking, supporting and recommending ac
tions that will maintain or improve the specie’s
status.
The agency’s approach is based on several
factors. In order to be listed as threatened, a
species must become endangered within the
foreseeable future within all or a portion of its
range; an endangered species must be threat
ened with extinction within all or a significant
portion of its range.
Biologists have identified six major coho
gene conservation groups in Oregon which
have been grouped together into three gene
pools. While many groups of coho salmon
within each gene pool are indeed showing sig
nificant declines in population, other groups
within the same pool are not showing decline.
For instance, a major river may not have coho
in three quarters of its tributaries, while the
Get fox out of hen
house; recall Hugo
To the Editor:
In regard to the letter, (The
IN D E P E N D E N T, Feb. 22,
1995,) headed, “County work
ers support Hugo,” bearing
23 signatures. I believe that I
know the reason behind the
loyalty expressed, however
<
other tributaries are thriving. Also, on some
river systems there is relatively little decline in
coho populations, while the next stream down
the coast may be totally barren.
While the overall population of the coho is
declining, the number of adults returning to
their spawning grounds has not shown a sta
tistical trend downward, due in large part to
the restrictions on pre-spaw ning harvest.
Once the young coho return to the ocean they
are subject to a variety of adverse ocean con
ditions, such as water temperature and preda
tors, which affect significant growth in num
bers of returning spawners.
Coho survival in fresh water is influenced
by such things as harvest management prac
tices, hatchery management policies, forest
practices, hydroelectric projects, fill and gravel
removal, water quantity and quality, and the
overall health of the watershed in which it is
bred and returns to spawn.
Because the state has already implement
ed action plans that will lower ocean harvest
amounts and significantly decrease the risks
encountered in their freshwater cycle, ODFW
felt the state should hold off an additional two
years to see what kind of impact these mea
sures will have on the coho populations. If, at
that time, there is no significant improvement,
the agency will reexamine the listing status. If
we act as a community now to save our wild
coho, hopefully that will not be necessary.
Rep. Josi may be reached at;
State Capitol Room H491
Salem. OR 97310
Phone; (503)986-1402
FAX; (503)986-1575
E-Mail; RepJosi America On Line
misplaced. Had I seen the ex
p re s s e d w ill of C o lum bia
County voters so perverted
as to result in a twenty year
sa la ry raise to me I m ight
also be loyal.
I hope this would not be
tru e as th e re are only two
paths that we each must trav
el. The upper path is one of
integrity and honor. “Honor!”
an almost forgotten phrase,
isn ’t it? But som ething our
fo re fa th e rs held most p re
cious. Something they lived
by and died for. The lower
path is one of compromise,
dishonesty and confusion.
“C olum bia County has a
fox inside its chicken house!”
An self confessed fox caught
with feathers still clinging to
its whiskers.
Please see page 3
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