Page 20
The INDEPENDENT, April 5, 2000
tatters to the Editor
From page 3
Let’s find these people and
get them out of our town so we
can keep Vernonia the way it
should be, a safe community
for good families. If you have
any information, please contact
the Vernonia Police Depart
ment. Together we can make
sure Vernonia is the good
place to live!
Candace Swayze
Vernonia
Adult foster care
home nears closing
To our many Vernonia friends:
Having owned and operated
an adult foster home for over
six-and-a-half years, my wife
and I want to give thanks to the
many wonderful families and
individuals who have entrusted
us and our caregivers to tend
to the needs and provide the
required care of their loved
ones. Over these years we
have cared for 42 different indi
viduals, most of whom either
lived in our community or have
had family ties to Vernonia.
Over these years, while tend
ing to your mothers and fa
thers, your grandparents or
your siblings, many of you
have become very close to us
and, indeed, we value your
friendship, your love and your
support. You and your loved
ones have always given us the
impetus to continue in a very
demanding, yet socially re
warding business. Thank you
all for your many kind words
and gestures over the years.
Unfortunately, due to per
sonal health issues, we will not
be accepting new clients into
our facility from this day for
ward and we regret the incon
venience this will undoubtedly
cause to some of you. We will,
however, do our best to contin
ue answering your questions
and will try to help you find ac
ceptable alternative arrange
ments for your loved ones,
should you want our input and
our experience with dealing
with the elderly. We are sad
dened that, at this particular
point in time, there are no oth
er facilities located in Vernonia.
My wife and I challenge any of
you with large hearts, loving
hands and endless compas
sion for our frail elderly to con
sider for yourselves the values
of this wonderful business.
On a personal note, I want
to thank each and every one of
you who has offered their love
and support to me, as well as
their friendship and the attribut
es attached for caring about
me, and the endless offers of
help while I am dealing with
personal health issues. You are
a wonderful group of friends
and I thank you one and all for
allowing me a place in your
community and in many of your
hearts. God Bless you.
Sincerely,
Don Foster
Rising River Ranch
Retirement Residence
Vernonia
From Page 2
We probably saw more elk
than deer, but we didn’t keep
track of the elk numbers. We
observed one deer with hair
loss syndrome, but most of the
deer were too far away to get a
good look at them. We did not
count even one fawn.
Our discussion turned to elk
and the low bull escapement
numbers in the Saddle Mountin
Unit. The management goal for
bulls was set at 20 bulls post
season, as observed in early
winter counts. Currently post
season is only averaging
around 18. Herman indicated
he may recommend that either
tag numbers or the number of
hunting days be curtailed to try
and bring the bull numbers
back up to the management
goal. Currently, 4,000 tags are
being sold for the two elk sea
sons; Herman suggested that
number may have to be cut to
3,000. As for season shorten
ing, we would probably have to
revert back to the four-day and
seven-day season format that
we started out with in 1979.
These
will not be popular
Women’s Resource Center.
For more information, con changes with local hunters,
tact Donna Jo, at (503) 397- and one must ask if this is fair
5863, or Karin, at (503) 397- to bull hunters while ODF&W
has waged war on cow herds
7110.
in the Saddle Mountain Unit.
Remember, the population of
elk in 1979 was close to 11,000
elk; today ODF&W claims we
are at or near the management
objective of 7,800 (my num
bers come up with about
6,000). With this many fewer
cows, bull production is down
(250 less by my calculations),
so it is no mystery why we are
not escaping more bulls post
season. In fact, many hunters
believe ODF&W has intention
ally managed the Saddle
Mountain Unit to fail so they
can place it under another
management scenario (spike
only) to maximize tag sales.
If you want to make your
feelings known about this sub
ject, attend the North Coast
Game Association’s annual
spring meeting?The meeting
will be April 29, at 3:00 p.m., at
Astoria Middle School. Repre
sentatives of ODF&W have
been invited this year to ex
plain their concerns and man
agement of local wildlife. Par
ticipants will be allowed an op
portunity to respond directly
during the meeting.
about gardening,
- Extension publications,
- Audio files from the North
west Gardens radio show,
- Monthly garden calendars,
- Other gardening websites.
To access Oregon’s online
Agricultural Progress Maga
zine go to <http://eesc.orst.edu/
agcomwebfile/magazine/>.
Dessert, dance benefit for Women’s Resource Ctr.
- The Columbia County Do
mestic Violence Council will be
holding a Dessert and Dance
Saturday, April 29, at the Time
and Again Ballroom, 213S. 1st
St., St. Helens. This event is
sponsored by the Domestic Vi
olence Council as a way to
reach out to the community ina
positive and supportive man
ner, as well as to raise money
for the Columbia County
Women’s Resource Center.
The Dessert and Dance will
feature
the music of Zuzo
Blue. Tickets are $25 per per
son, and the proceeds will ben
efit the Columbia County
Web sites for garden information
Gardeners can’t seem to get
enough information about their
favorite subject. For a rundown
of all that OSU Extension & Ex
periment Station Communi-
cations offers on the subject,
look up <http://eesc.orst.edu/>,
Go to “Gardening information,”
then link to:
- The latest news releases
Izaak Walton League
meetings are on the third
Thursday of each month,
7:00 p.m. The public is
welcome. For meeting loca
tion, call (503) 429-7193.