Page 2
The INDEPENDENT July 2, 1997
The
INDEPENDENT
B U A -L A W Y E R ?
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Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice
monthly, on the first and third Wednesdays of each
month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge
Street, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper.
Editors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen, (503)
429-9410.
Opinion
A l^
Ignorance isn’t bliss,
it’s harmful rumoring
A legitimate, detailed study has been on-going re
garding present and future needs for a municipal
building (“City Hall”) in Vernonia. A committee com
posed of local residents has been in charge of the
study, with the aid of a project director, architect/plan-
ner and timber consultant. All of their recommenda
tions have gone to the Vernonia City Council, which
has ultimate responsibility for decisions regarding the
building.
In the process, committee members have recom
mended a site, a preliminary design and preliminary
financing methods. The city council has accepted the
recommendations, with some adjustments, and has
directed staff to follow through with the required pro
cedures.
All of this has been done in public meetings.
Now, one person who obviously knows nothing
about the study, is asking how the residents of Ver
nonia will repay a $1.5 million loan...and even asks
why the city doesn’t “rent or buy one of the vacant
buildings in town”!
Anyone who has followed the progress of financial
considerations for the building knows that there has
never been any intent to borrow $1.5 million. The
council reduced the total amount to $1 million and ap
proved logging city-owned timberland for part of the fi
nancing. Additionally, it is seeking other funding mech
anisms, including grants. There will be a loan, yes, but
nowhere near $1.5 million.
Anyone who has attended the meetings knows that
space requirements for all of the city functions— of
fices, police department, justice court, library and
council, plus parking for all of those functions— cannot
be met with any existing building in town. City hall is
already in an inadequate building, why should it seek
another inadequate building?
Whether you approve or disapprove of the project,
falsehoods are both invalid and harmful.
Jamboree is in jeopardy
If the Vernonia Friendship Jamboree is going to
continue, then someone must turn out to do the work.
People are needed to help with vendors, the pa
rade, Port-A-Potties, and many more activities. It isn’t
all fun and it often is hard work.
Many events are handled by groups that have been
taking care of them for years. The need is for people
to handle the functions for which the Jamboree com
mittee is responsible.
If you can help, call Treasa at 429-4006. If you don’t
care, plan on this being the last year for the Vernonia
Friendship Jamboree.
Council needs more public input
The Vernonia City Council was elected to make de
cisions. Their duties are unpaid, time-consuming and
often controversial. Nevertheless, when a problem
such as the Scout Cabin needs a solution, it should in
clude a lot more public comment than was allowed pri
or to this decision. Consensus building has value.
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By Rep. TimJosi
Oregon Representative, Dist. 2
When a legislative session nears closure,
the pace picks up rapidly and the hours be
come much longer. Most committees close
down and legislators spend the majority of
their time on the floor voting on bills. The
capitol building becomes a beehive of activity
and then suddenly it’s all over. Most often the
legislature adjourns in the middle of the
night. The next day the halls of the capitol
are like a ghost town. It’s an interesting phe
nomenon.
This is also a time to move legislation
which has been stuck in committee. Senior
legislators have learned to take full advan
tage of this opportunity. The days ahead will
be challenging for me and should be fruitful.
HB 2469 is a bill of mine which is now fi
nally moving again after being referred from
the House Education Comittee to the Ways
and Means Committee. This bill, in its origi
nal form, provides that residents of Washing
ton who are admitted to Columbia Gorge
Community College and Clatsop Community
College shall be considered as residents of
Oregon for tuition rates.
Currently, there is a reciprocity agreement
between the Washington State Higher Edu
cation Coordinating Board, the Oregon State
Board of Higher Education and the Oregon
State Board of Education. The agreement al
lows a certain amount of Washington and
Oregon residents to pay in-state tuition rates
at certain schools in Oregon and Washing
ton. For out-of-state students paying in-state
tuition rates, the host state pays the balance
of the expenses to the community college.
Oregon students paying Oregon tuition rates
don’t cover the complete cost of their educa
tion; the balance is paid by the state through
incom e tax revenue. Clatsop Community
C ollege and Colum bia Gorge Community
College have always struggled because of
their rural base. The passage of Measures 5
and 47 places these two community colleges
in an even tighter financial squeeze. This leg
islation, if passed, will go a long way in keep
ing budgeyary cuts to a minimum.
Both colleges serve isolated, rural Oregon
communities. Their student populations, from
both sides of the state line, tend to be lower
income, adult students who cannot afford
high out-of-state tuition. Many students in
these rural communities are site-bound be
cause of jobs and family, and traveling to
larger instititions in the Willamette Valley is
not an option. These com m unity colleges
make post-secondary education more afford
able for their community residents, since stu
dents avoid relocation costs and tuition is
less than half that of Oregon’s higher educa
tion institutions.
Serving Washington students helps these
colleges achieve a critical mass in selected
programs so that they may be available to
Oregon students.
The m em bers of the J o in t W ays and
Means Committee have decided to amend
the bill. They reasoned that if a reciprocity
agreement was good for Columbia Gorge
Community College and Clatsop Community
College then all Oregon Community Colleges
should have the sam e a g re e m e n t. The
amended bill would consider students of all
Oregon community colleges, who are resi
dents of Idaho, Washington, California and
Nevada as residents of Oregon for tuition
rates.
Last week HB 2469 was heard by the
Ways and Means Education Sub-Committee.
Committee members passed the bill and re
ferred it back to the full Ways and Means
Committee for consideration. If all goes well,
the bill should be on the House Floor later
this week. Then it will go to the Senate floor
for final consideration before going to the
Governor. I will be there every step of the
way.
Ed. note: Since Rep. Josi submitted this
column, HB2469 received approval from both
the House and the Senate. It has been sent to
the Governor John Kitzhaber for signature.
Rep. Tim Josi may be reached at
H-491 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97310
Phone: (503)986-1402
FAX: (503)986-1575
E-Mail: Repjosi@oregoncoast.com