Page 16
The INDEPENDENT, October 18, 2000
M on Letters
From page 15
gines blocked the way, and
again, we were stopped. It
took a few minutes to get rid of
the accursed and cursing cab
by and to realize that it was my
house that was on fire. There I
was in the crowd, with my suit
cases, and w ith lite ra lly no
place to go. A sym pathetic
neighbor brought me a chair
and I sat on the sidewalk in the
midst of the total chaos and
clouds of smoke.
That was only the first of a
series of difficulties that would
seem exaggerated in a novel. I
won’t go into them all, and I do
thank my lucky stars that my
floor (I rent) was left inhabit
able in spite of boarded up
w indow s and “ em ergency"
electricity that made by com
puter go haywire and burned
out my toaster completely. Af
ter eight months, the house is
finally being repaired, very,
very slo w ly - it seem s San
Francisco has such a shortage
of contractors, not to mention
the tightest housing market in
the country, that they can only
work evenings and weekends.
At least that’s what my land
lord says, and I am too e x
hausted to argue, since I acted
as his agent and interpreter
with the insurance and every
body else th ro u g h o u t this
time.
In spite of e ve ryth in g , I
have worked steadily on my
book, Pulling up Stakes: A Pi
o n e e r’s Guide to S ta rtin g
Over at Sixty. The formal pro
posal is now at the W riters’
Market in Maui, hoping to be
no ticed by a sym p a th e tic
agent or editor. With priorities
being my health, not good,
and my vehicle, which has
been in the shop since July,
you can easily believe it has
taken me these eight months
to process the chaos and to
write about it.
I ta lk often in my book
about the risks of startin g
over, the courage it requires
to let go of all we’ve already
won and strike out for the un
known, having packed light.
But courage doesn’t just apply
to ris k -ta k in g in the ou te r
world; it applies also to the
bravery one needs to face
one’s own weaknesses. To
me “the dark night of the soul”
represents those times when
we seem to be stripped of ev
erything, when what hope re
m ains is c lin g in g w ith the
dregs to the in sid e of our
glass.
The last eight months have
forced me to face my grief,
anger and frustration in full
m easure, and, if anything,
have made even firmer my re
solve to move eventually to
that beautiful valley where
people take the time for hu
man relationships, where I felt
at home and welcome, even
as a stranger. For now, life
has intervened and forced me
to put those plans on hold, but
I’ll continue to subscribe to
The INDEPENDENT to keep
my dream alive. With many
thanks for the kindness you
all showed me and hoping to
see you again soon.
Carol Sawyer
San Francisco, California
Likes C o rs ig lia ’s
track record
To the Editor:
I support Joe Corsiglia for
county commissioner. He has
a proven track record for lis
tening to the public, making a
decision and then following up
on it. It d o e s n ’t m atter
whether it is a big or shall is
sue; he’ll go to bat for it. Joe
was the o n ly city cou ncil
member to vote for the sup
port saving the historic black
walnut tree in St. Helens, and
agreed that voters should be
involved and approve annexa
tions (instead of the city coun
cil making them). When there
was a controversy to change
existing street names, Joe lis
tened and supported public
wishes. Joe is his own man
and d o e s n ’t belong to any
“good old boy” groups. He will
have some good ideas and
ways to support and finance
our county parks, giving them
the attention they deserve.
C om m issioner Hyde has
never had his priorities in the
right place! While subsidizing
big b u sin e ss and what he
considers to be “family wage”
jobs ($10 per hour), he’s com
pletely forgotten the public he
serves and our quality of life
that we so desperately need.
In my o p in io n , Joe C o r
siglia won’t be running around
the whole country spending
our tax d o lla rs. He w ill be
here, in Columbia County, lis
tening to and caring for the
needs of the citizens.
Thelma Bonar
Warren
Editor’s Note: Joe Corsiglia is a
candidate for Position #1 on the
board of commissioners; Tony
Hyde is seeking re-election to
Position #3. They are not oppo
nents.
C olum bia County
Parks need support
To the Editor:
Like most property owners,
my husband and I try to pro
tect our investment by periodi
cally repainting our buildings,
putting fresh gravel on our
drive to p re ve n t ruts from
forming, keeping fences in re
pair to keep our animals in
and oth ers o u t...th e usual
chores that property owners
do.
As Columbia County resi
dents, we also have an own
ership in county holdings such
as the Parks system.
Measure 5-67 will allow us
to m a in ta in ou r parks and
keep them open for use by
the public, who are the own
ers. 780 acres of parks, with
more than a m illion dollars
w orth of b u ild in g s , boat
ram ps, restroom s, homes,
full-hook up RV sites, playing
fields, baseball and soccer
fields, are at risk of being ne
glected, or closed if this levy
does not pass. Parks are not
funded by local taxes. Every
a v a ila b le asse t has been
used thus far, to keep parks in
operation. Those limited as
sets have been exhausted
and thus we are asking the
residents of Columbia County
to vote YES on Measure 5-67
and protect our valuable in
vestment in parks, and keep
them available to our resi
dents, their families and visi
tors.
Glenda Williams
Clatskanie
Scott Burge is my
choice, he cares
To the Editor:
I wanted to take a moment
and tell everyone why I hope
that you will elect Scott Burge
our next county commission
er. As a recent graduate of
Scappoose High School and
freshman at the University of
Portland I had the opportunity
to get to know Scott while
working at Columbia Espres
so Company inside Fred Mey
er. He would come in for his
coffee and w e ’d ta lk often
about issues that faced Scap
poose and Columbia County.
He alw ays seem ed kn o w l
edgeable and sincere in his
discussion of the issues. He
seemed to be very passionate
about serving the people of
our county in a positive way
that would make everyone in
the county proud. Scott a l
ways seemed to look at things
op tim istically and regularly
encouraged me to be involved
in politics and to learn the is
sues. He was always nice and
polite to me and that is the
kind of person I want repre
se n tin g me as my county
com m issioner. Because of
that when I get my ballot I’m
going to vote for Scott Burge
for County Commissioner and
hope you will all do the same.
Sincerely,
Raeann Spaulding
Portland
VRFPD says thanks
for business support
To the Editor:
The Vernonia Rural Fire
Protection District would like
to thank the following busi
nesses for their support of the
N a tion al Fire P revention
Agency, which provides our
fire district with fire prevention
materials:
N orth w e st N atural Gas
Co., Weller & Sons Trucking,
Gwin & Sons Logging, Allied
Logging Company, Inc., Ad
hesive Packaging Systems,
Inc., Buckner Land Salvage,
Inc., Bridge Street Mini Mart,
M e y e r’s Auto Body, L.J.
C h risto p h e rse n T rucking,
Mike Pihl Logging Co., Inc.,
Providence Health System,
RSG Forest Products, Triple
S S e rvice , V ernonia Inn,
Holce Logging Company, Inc.,
L. Jepson & Son, LLC, Read
Builders, Inc., Vernonia Pack
aging & S hipping S ervice,
Skidmore & Son, Creative Im
pulse, Natal Shake & Ridge,
Vernonia C ountry Kitchen,
Vernonia Hardware, Vernonia
Realty & Insurance, Vernonia
W estern A u to -T ru e Value,
Gardner Farm & Home Sup
ply, G lo ria ’s S par Tree
Restaurant, Mist Store.
Fire Chief Paul Epier
VRFPD
Your voice is heard when
you speak from the ballot
box, so please
Register and Vote
L o o k in g F o r A T
ax
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Please call for more information.
(503) 494-7888
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AS YOUR COMMISSIONER
I WILL WORK HARD TO:
’ Make County government more accessible
to ALL of its residents.
' Increase child care options
’ Improve transportation options for
commuters and seniors
’ Provide ethical & courageous leadership
VOTE SHAWNA SYKES
COLUMBIA COUNTY COMMISSIONER #3
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