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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.
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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
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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
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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
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(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