fRoM A V étéran
n. INDEPENDENT
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. Edi
tors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen. Sports Edi
tor, Caren McGaugh. Phone/Fax: (503) 429-9410.
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Independence as an
American tradition
When Americans celebrate Independence Day, it is
generally with stories and remembrances of noble
and/or patriotic deeds. But carping and complaining
bitterly about politicians, bureaucrats and government,
in general, is also in the American tradition of indepen
dence, as the following stories illustrate.
THEY CALLED HIM DEBAUCHED— As president,
George Washington was accused of stealing from the
Treasury and of legalized corruption, ostentation,
treachery, and being “the dishclout” of “dirty specula
tion.” Benjamin Franklin Bache, the grandson of Ben
jamin Franklin, wrote: “If ever a nation was debauched
by a man, the American nation has been debauched
by Washington.” The beleagured Washington com
plained of attacks in “such exaggerated and indecent
terms as could scarcely be applied to a Nero, a notori
ous defaulter, or even to a common pickpocket.” He
declined a third term most vehemently.
THE MISSING MISTRESSES— Opponents of Pres
ident John Adams circulated a story that Adams had
sent General Pinckney to England in a U.S. frigate to
procure four pretty girls as mistresses, two for Pinck
ney and two for Adams. When the story reached
Adams, he wrote: “I do declare upon my honor if this
be true General Pinckney has kept them all himself
and cheated me out of my two.”
HE MARRIED A MARRIED WOMAN— “Ought a
convicted adultress and her paramour husband be
placed in the highest office of this free and Christian
land?” was the provocative question Andrew Jackson’s
opponents asked the public. The reference was to the
fact that he had inadvertently married Rachel Donel-
son before her divorce came through and had to go
through the ceremony a second time.
The presidents, too, sometimes made independent,
and less than flattering, statements about the office of
the presidency.
GEORGE WASHINGTON— “My movements to the
chair of Government will be accompanied by feelings
not unlike those of a culprit who is going to his place of
execution.”
JAMES BUCHANAN TO INCOMING PRESIDENT
ABRAHAM LINCOLN— “If you are as happy, my dear
sir, on entering this house as I am in leaving it and re
turning home, you are the happiest man in this coun
try.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN— Being president is like “the
man who was tarred and feathered and ridden out of
town on a rail...A man in the crowd asked how he liked
it, and his reply was that if it wasn’t for the honor of the
thing, he would much rather walk.”
RUTHERFORD B. HAYES— “I am heartily tired of
this life of bondage, responsibility, and toil (spoken
when refusing a second term).”
JAMES A. GARFIELD— “My God! What is there in
this place that a man should ever want to get in to it?”
WOODROW WILSON— “The office of President re
quires the constitution of an athlete, the patience of a
mother, the endurance of an early Christian.
HARRY TRUMAN— “Being a President is like riding
a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed.”
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By Julius Dalzell
Vernonia City Councilor
A Missing Piece, Possibly
Vernonia is now well underway with a number
of important improvements that have been de
scribed and referenced in several articles and
columns. Made possible in part by grants, the
activities are being coordinated as a composite
under the oversight of a broad-based communi
ty level committee. Participation includes the
Planning Commission, a new Parks Committee
and a number of organizations and individuals
having various responsibilities and interests.
The activities include the following:
• design and construction of a new City Hall
and a Library. An added feature will be a pock
et park with consideration being given to the
opening of Bear Creek on the grade.
• rehabilitation of the City’s water system.
• pursuit of a Master Plan study entailing
streets, water, sewer, storm-water management
and parks.
• facilitation of a Transportation System Plan
having a 20 year horizon and encompassing
streets, bicycle and pedestrian routes and path
ways.
• a downtown revitalization study.
• streetscape improvements.
The overriding objective of all these activities
is to improve Vernonia, capture its potential and
provide a basis for economic opportunity. As we
have stated many times before, it is all com
bined by the phrase, “livability” — a better place
to live, opportunities to work and enjoy an envi
able lifestyle.
This vision was again spoken to by Gordon
Zimmerman, the City Administrator, at a recent
workday held June 19 (see article, page 4). The
session was sponsored by the Vernonia Com
munity Development Corporation (CDC) and el
ements of the Oregon Rural Development Coun
cil. The focus of the function was guidance and
assistance for downtown businesses. At several
times the focus of discussion considered the im
portance of a favorable environment in which
commercial retail can be nurtured, will be suc
cessful and grow.
A point of dialogue, and indeed debate, that
surfaced at the work session had to do with cus
tomers, visitors — essentially how many. Too
few and businesses do not thrive. Too many and
we have congestion. Ann Berblinger, our U.S.
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Economic Development Administration contact,
offered the intriguing observation that not all
shoppers are equal. One hundred individuals
spending $100 each while visiting will accom
plish the same level of trade as one thousand
customers spending $10 each. The point is, yes,
we need to increase trade in the downtown. But
possibly we need to be selective in what we
make available as goods and services. We want
our merchants to prosper, however, we don't
want to lose sight of the need to protect livabili
ty. Congestion is something that will detract from
the rural ambiance.
So what’s the answer? One possible re
sponse is for the business community-at-large to
think about how we want to present Vernonia to
the outside world. Do we want to be known as a
theme village, an example being Leavenworth,
Wash., and its Bavarian village presentation.
This type of consideration gets sequestered un
der the heading of market considerations. In
volved is assessment, strategic decision-making
and implementation to accomplish defined ob
jectives.
In a structured and more formal context, this
type of analysis is often described as a system
atic evaluation of past trends, current conditions
and future expectations about types of busi
nesses and real estate activity within a defined
trade area In this instance, that trade area is
downtown and, more generally, the area around
Vernonia. The key phrase in this definition is
“system evaluation”.
What nature of entity or organization con
ducts this type of analysis? Typically it is the
chamber of commerce or a downtown business
association. That organization works with the
city, businesses, investors, etc., to ensure full
participation. In our situation, either the Cham
ber of Commerce or the CDC could fulfill the
role.
Equally important to facilitating the task, is
timing. In fact, this type of analysis and consid
eration should be carried out prior to, or concur
rent with, activities to plan and improve the
downtown. The product of the market work be
comes an important input to those parties, i.e,
the oversight committee concerned with
streetscaping and downtown design. In many
ways, it establishes the community's “tag line’’.
Vernonia, the community that offers
It is a missing piece and one that all of us
have some role in ensuring fulfillment.
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