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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 2000)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, August 16, 2000 I OVM/sZ A irlo c k /tO O O c w re t. ........ ''77/et£ Gûez ru e 'Veisn&tMloob"? Decision by only one should not prevail Vernonia school board rules allow decision-making to be determined by only one person, as described on page one. To say that this defeats the intent of rule by the majority...the foundation of our democratic form of government...is a mountainous understatement. The Vernonia school board should undertake a re view of their rules and determine whether any others also undermine that principle or, in some other way, create a situation that allows negative unanticipated consequences. It may behoove them to return to a more standard set of rules, including requiring a second before a mo tion is accepted for voting purposes. If nothing else, this requirement allows quicker resolution when only one member wants to grandstand. This statement, in cidentally, does not refer to any present board mem ber. It’s a good board, but it has some bad rules. School board members needed; apply today Two vacancies on the school board an opportunity to seek appointment to tions. The pay is lousy but the rewards the district office for an application or tion. mean there is fill those posi are great. Call more informa City councils need more people to seek election Two council seats in Vernonia, three in Banks and mayoral positions in both towns will be on the ballot in November. At this time, not enough people have filed to fill all of those vacancies. It is a healthy situation when voters have a choice, so you can help keep your community healthy by filing for election. The deadline in Banks is August 25; in Vernonia it is August 29. Like the school board, the pay is lousy but the rewards are great. You won’t want to miss this developer’s meeting Chris Liu of EBS Trust invites citizens to an infor mational meeting Thursday, Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m., to discuss his plans for manufactured homes on small lots. This is one of those rare opportunities to ask the horse’s mouth what his intentions are. Instead of rely ing on rumor and misinformation, attend the meeting at City Hall and ask your own questions. UoAMUf A i ” * «A/ 7/7 £ S»^£/>/yioA o f ' / " t TAtFfic y/A f / Ska Says. . . By Dale Webb, member Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter The creatures grew quickly, hidden from view by the heavy algae bloom in the lake. Silently their size doubled and doubled again till some were the size of beach balls, all the while they strained the algae from the water for food. Soon the water in the lake became clearer and the people on shore became aware of this new and foreign visitor. Many speculated that the large gelatinous masses were alien pods waiting to hatch their offspring and take over the world. If you have been to Lake Vernonia lately you, too, may have wondered what kind of creature has taken over the lake. Large gelatinous masses can be seen by the hundreds, anchored to the bottom and woody debris in the lake. Many have the appearance of a large brain with mottled lines dissect ing the sphere. A closer inspection re veals that most of the creature’s mass is made of a clear gelatinous material. So, are these strange new crea tures aliens from space? No, they’re just Bryozoans. Bryozoans are a member of the animal phylum Ecto- procta which date back in geologic time 500,000,000 years. So, you see, we are actually the newcomers in this case. Bry ozoans are microscopic animals that group to gether, not unlike coral. The large masses that can be seen in Lake Vernonia are made up of millions of Bryozoans and their secreted struc ture, called a statoblast, which is an over-win tering shelter for the Bryozoans. The statoblast — NOTICE — The INDEPENDENT is published on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Four months of each year, there are five Wednesdays, but the publishing schedule is not changed. There are five Wednesdays this month, so there will three weeks between this Aug. 16 issue and the issue of Sept. 6. Deadlines for the Sept. 6 issue will be Sept. 1 for both news items and display advertising, and Sept. 4 for classified ads. C a r is composed 99% of water. Bryozoans repro duce both sexually and asexually. Asexual re production occurs by budding and is the main way by which colonies expand their size. Bry ozoans are also hermaphroditic, which means they contain both male and female organs and thus can reproduce sexually. Most Bryozoans are marine dwellers except for the freshwater forms classified in the Phylac- tolaemata, which is the kind that are in Lake Ver nonia. Marine Bryozoans are found to a depth of 8200 meters but most inhabit shallow waters. One remarkable species makes a living while floating in the Antarctic Ocean. Bryozoans feed on small microorganisms, in cluding diatoms and other unicellular algae. Fish sometimes feed on Bryozoans. I strongly sus pect that the sudden clearing of Lake Vernonia’s waters may be a direct result of this huge infes tation of Bryozoans. According to Kin Daily, a warm water fish bi ologist for ODF&W, Bryozoans are quite com mon in the Willamette valley and he was not too surprised that we are seeing them in Lake Ver nonia. Kin added that the Bryozoans are not a concern so far as having any ill effects on the lake or fishery. No literature suggests any con cerns regarding humans and, in fact, one ma rine species produces the drug bryostatin 1, which is currently under serious testing as an anti-cancer drug. So, unless I am wrong in my diagnosis, there will not be aliens crawling out of Lake Vernonia, at least not in the near future. Izaak W alton League meetings are on the third Thursday of each month, 7:00 p.m. The public is welcome. For meeting location, call (503) 429-7193.
