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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1998)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, February 4,1998 n. INDEPENDENT I Sn„Uil) pAVe To Arte ft MY 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. Sports Editor, Caren McGaugh. Phone/Fax: (503) 429-9410. FQ6 UGHI* orrn pexT T ime i w/ct'. Vote yes on fire bond for practical reasons On a mail ballot arriving shortly, Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District voters are being asked to approve a $320,000 bond issue. The money is being requested for a new truck and to update some older, but still ser viceable, equipment. Every voter needs to ask whether this is an appro priate use of tax funds and, in this case, the answer appears to be “yes.” At this time, the district’s most modern fire engine is a 1980 model. A new one will cost $240,000. In addi tion to improving the district’s ability to respond with adequate equipment, a new truck will put firefighters inside the extended cab, taking them off the tradition al, but unsafe tailboard. The remainder of the bond would be used for a new chassis for the rescue vehicle— which now must carry much more equipment than it was built for—and to convert an older engine into a water tender. Though a lack of water is the last thing on anyone’s mind in this area, at present, there are many local areas where the water supply is inadequate for fire fighting, especially in summer, and where a water tender is vital. The bond would increase property taxes in the dis trict by 33-cents per $1,000 of valuation, for a total tax rate of $1.16 per thousand. The district’s present tax rate of 83-cents per thousand is the lowest in the coun ty; the next lowest rate is Mist-Birkenfeld at 98-cents per thousand. As in most small towns and rural areas, Vernonia relies on volunteers to staff the department. In St. Helens, which has an entirely paid department, the fire district tax rate is $3.16 per thousand. Their service is good, but so is the service here...so it makes sense to increase our tax rate enough to purchase an engine that would help keep the volunteers safe. In 1998, the VRFPD averaged 20.8 calls per month and, whether you have a fire or not, the quality of their response to those calls will affect the cost of your fire insurance. In the long run, a new fire engine may be less costly than the old one. Vote Yes on the fire bond, for practical reasons. Your vote will be counted whether you vote or not! How can that be? Do your remember Measures 47 and 50? These measures require that every person who doesn’t vote on a money measure— bond issue, levy, tax base, etc.— is to be counted as a No vote unless at least 50-percent of registered voters cast a ballot. If less than half of the voters return marked bal lots, even though an issue is approved by a majority of those who voted, it cannot pass. While this seems to blatantly violate traditional stan dards by counting votes that weren’t cast, it hasn’t yet been tested in court. In any case, it is more important than ever that registered voters pick up a pen, mark their ballots and return them to the courthouse. Don’t let voter apathy make your decisions. M AFAAlb THERE M ò r it E A ÜEXT tiaè £>£ARJ — __ Letters to the Editor Firefighters, citizens both need approval for Fire Bond To the Editor: I have been a volunteer for the Fire Department for the past seven years. This com munity needs to know what the bond measure means to the volunteers—and to you. At this time, when we get to a house fire, it takes about 3-to-5 minutes from the time we arrive until we are ready to go into the structure because we have to put on safety equipment and make sure it is working right. With a new crew-cab engine, we would be ready to go in when we arrive. The time this new engine could save is the difference between bringing someone out of the house and giving them oxygen or bringing them out and doing CPR to revive them. I would rather give oxygen than the other. There is no way to explain our feelings, when we get a call saying, “STRUCTURE FIRE, UNKNOWN IF PEOPLE ARE OUT.” One of our worst nightmares is that someone is still inside. We know the day will come when someone is inside and time means everything. We can’t guarantee that this person will be saved, howev er we would like to know that we have every possible chance to do what is needed in a safe and time-efficient manner. We, as volunteers, sleep with our pagers turned on and are ready to go when the pager goes off. We realize that this is our choice, but we enjoy helping people. If we didn’t do it, who would? If the call goes off at 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 p.m. it takes approximately eight minutes to be on scene within the city limits and a little more time outside city limits. The guidelines we follow do not specify what time of day or night it is. Whether the call is to help someone who just got out of the hospital and needs help to go from their car into the house, or because someone unconscious and not breathing, we are still there. We, as volunteers, have never asked for any thing for doing this. Our reward is of a selfish nature; we like the feeling we get from being able to help anyone in their time of need. We have seen a lot of changes within the depart ment in the last year, most being for the good. When we had the breakdown of the EMS Department, the citizens of this community were never in any danger of someone not responding to their need. None of the Volunteers would have ever put you citizens in jeopardy. When we lost one of our most respected fire fighters and citizen, we were at an all time low, however, we were always ready to go on the next call. This was one of the worst times in the Fire Department history, however we got a lot of support from the community. And no one will ever know what this meant to each one of us. In closing, when you call 9-1-1, you are trust ing us with your life, a loved one’s life, or your most treasured possessions. So please trust us when we ask for a new piece of equipment because we feel the need is there. The advan tages of this new piece of equipment are too numerous to mention in this letter. If anyone would like to come by the Fire Department to see what we are really talking about, please do so. This is your department and the Volunteers, the Chief, and the Board of Directors will ensure that it is being run the way you would want it to be. We can’t please everyone, however every one is always in mind. Please vote yes on the Fire Bond Measure #5-35 Sincerely, Tim Bamburg Volunteer Firefighter/Medic Vernonia Consider lives before dollars To the Editor: I am one of the fire and ambulance volunteers who works very hard to make a difference in our community. I spend approximately five hours a day doing various tasks at the station. I do another 14 hours a month at drills and meetings. This does not include extra committees, addi tional education, or fire and ambulance calls. I am also getting ready to go to school to become an EMT- Basic. Some of the cost to do this will come out of my own pocket. It will take another 156 hours to complete the courses. These hours are on my own time, away from family. I respond to every call that I possibly can. It could be in the middle of the night or the mid dle of dinner. It simply doesn’t matter, I will be there. When my younger kids hear the alarm, they simply say good-bye and run and give hugs. My teenager mans the house, knowing mom and dad will return sometime (Dad is also a volunteer). I don’t expect a paycheck; my reward comes from within, knowing that whatev er was accomplished made a difference to someone. It takes the whole family doing their Please see page 3
