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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1995)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, June 28,1995 iklHDEPENDEin 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, V ernonia, OR 97064, as a free new spaper. E ditors and P ublishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen, (503) 429-9410. ■ , f j • - Supporters of recall are not the issue The defense developed by supporters of Columbia County Commissioner Bruce Hugo presents him as the only person in state and county government who has ever accomplished anything positive; it also im plies that his opponents are people of bad character. What his supporters haven’t done is address the is sue: Hugo was convicted of two counts of theft of county money and one count of using his office for personal benefit. The two theft counts stemmed from 21 separate incidents when he used a county credit card for personal benefit. It was not a single mistake; it was a pattern of malfeasance. A mailer defending Hugo was sent to voters claim ing there would be “A return to backroom deals in the county courthouse,” if Hugo is recalled. That may not call Commissioners Joel Yarbor and Bill McDonald dishonest, but the only thing it lacks is to spell out their names. The statement also strongly implies that former county commissioners Jack Peterson, Michael Sykes and Dale Heimuller are dishonest. Apparently Hugo’s supporters forgot whose fingers were caught in the till. On the front of the mailer, in big, bold letters is: “Bruce Hugo is not the first public figure to make a mistake. But Bruce might be the first to honestly ad mit he did.” The first sentence is accurate; the second is ludicrous. Hugo’s supporters say he should be retained be cause he is bright and competent. That attitude says a lot about their ethical standards—it’s okay to retain competent thieves, but inept thieves should be re called. This situation is why the recall process was devel oped. The only issue is that Hugo stole county monies and used his office for personal gain. He should be recalled. Court decision no surprise to watchers Anyone who has been watching the steady erosion of constitutional rights over the past fifteen years, es pecially the rights of juveniles, can’t be surprised by the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of Vernonia School District’s mandatory “suspicionless” drug testing policy. The most discouraging part of the majority decision was the emphasis Justice Antonin Scalia placed on the importance of having schools function as surro gate parents, rather than considering the purpose of the Fourth Amendment. On the other hand, Justice Sandra O'Connor, who wrote the minority opinion, presented an outstanding, brief history of how and why Fourth Amendment rul ings have evolved. For the first time ever, the court has permitted ran dom searches of a broad group of people without grounds for suspicion, according to Stephen Kanter, a professor at Northwestern School of Law. This decision threatens the rights of all Americans. Ihe By Rep. TimJosi Oregon Representative, District 2 Now that the 1995 Oregon Legislative As sembly is over I want to take this one last op portunity to thank everyone again for the chance to serve as your State Representative. I recognize what a privilege and honor my fel low citizens have bestowed on me by sending me here to be your collective mind, heart, and voice. To be entrusted with formulating public policy that will affect my friends and neighbors is a great responsibility. I will always be in debted to you for your confidence in me to do the job well. Though I am moving on to a new life with my family I want you to know that this experi ence has touched me in many ways that I will never forget. I can truly say I have grown as a person during the five years I have served you, and I would like to think that this personal growth and awareness has increased my abili ty to serve you well. Over the three sessions I have represented you, the state has had to address many divi sive and difficult issues, that is, of course, to be expected. As our state’s population in creases and our traditional resource-based economy gives way to one that is service and technologically based we will continue to ex perience disagreement on which policies are best to carry our state forward into the next century. It is now that we need to be thinking in the long term so we may develop a coher ent plan which will enable Oregonians to con tinue to enjoy the beauty and bounty of our SWjll W M great state. Some of the most important of the issues that face us entail the use of our natural re sources. I have been fortunate to be on com mittees that worked these policy areas. The questions of how, when, and by whom our re sources will be used will continue to be ex tremely important. We have worked on these issues constantly and will continue to work on them; there is no escaping it. How do we de vise good land use planning laws that protect our farm and forest lands without destroying reasonable growth? How do we maintain or recreate healthy watershed systems to ensure clean water? How do we divide our water so that human consumption, agriculture, busi ness, and fish survival needs are all met? How do we protect and manage our wildlife so that clams, salmon, deer, and yes, even spot ted owls, are still here in years to come? I have come to believe that we can find common ground on which we can address these questions and arrive at answers that will benefit us all long term. It is not easy, but it is possible. I sincerely hope that I have been a positive part of this process during my tenure in office and that as I leave the legislature, our state will be better for my having been here. Thank you again for allowing me to serve you. Rep. Josi may be reached at: State Capitol Room H491 Salem, OR 97310 Phone: (503)986-1402 FAX: (503)986-1575 * By David Michael Jones, member Isaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter I just got back from a fishing trip on the De schutes River and would like to share some in formation with our readers. I was fishing the salmonflys and golden stoneflys for native red- sides and hooked and lost the biggest trout I have ever had on a fishing line of any type. That “hook-up" was on a black stimulator; but I had the best luck on bullet headed salmonflys. This is not delicate dry fly fishing, the flies are often all of two inches long and fish are ag gressive as one could possible want. In four days (two trips) I hooked, landed and released ...••...■ •• . (granted, some were long distance releases) more large native trout than I ever have in my life of fishing. I brought a number of fish in just long enough to turn the barbless hook out and slip them gently back into the current. One of the largest I had to hold in the eddy of my waders while its mouth and gill covers pumped the cool, clear, oxygenated water past its gills. When it felt strong, I gently released it into the river. A nice three to four pound trout released into the clear water of its home to propagate its species. The reason this fishery is so good is be cause it is a baitless, barbless fishery in which
