The INDEPENDENT, March 7, 2001
Page 3
Letters to the Editor
Cartoon had it right,
God is in control
To the Editor:
Hats off to Mr. Wilson.
I would like to commend
Robb Wilson for his acknowl
edgement that God is in control
of the weather, as depicted on
his cartoon in the last issue of
The Independent, where he
contrasts the rainfall for the
year ‘96 and the year ‘01. That
part is accurate, since God is
sovereign over all of creation,
as well as all human affairs.
There is one part of the car
toon that needs clarification.
The caption at the top showing
God saying through the clouds,
“I can’t please anyone” is not
accurate, because God does
not have to “please” anyone. It
is true that God blesses those
who have first put their faith
and trust in the death, burial
and resurrection of the Lord Je
sus Christ as the only provision
for salvation, and then continue
to live in obedience to his word.
(He doesn’t always bless us
with health and wealth, but
peace and joy, among other
things)
We were created to bring
honor and glory to God, not the
other way around.
Robert G. Huntington
Birkenfeld
Citizen apathy won’t
serve citizen needs
To the Editor:
First of all, the following
statements are my own and, in
no way are intended to reflect
the views of the mayor, my fel
low city councilors, commis
sioners or any city employee.
That said, the subject a citi
zen survey recently sent to 745
Vernonia residents (citizens re
siding within the city limits).
The survey had 21 questions
asking citizens to rate the city
on issues such as community
involvement, communication
between the city and the pub
lic, parking and one way
streets, senior center needs,
satisfaction with city services,
etc.
The survey’s purpose was to
receive input on important sub
jects facing our community so
those of us on the council, dif
ferent commissions and the
city administration are able to
guide our future based on the
community’s feelings.
Of 745 surveys mailed, 24
were returned as undeliverable
by the post office. Of the 721
surveys that were delivered,
only 66 were completed and
returned.
To the nine percent of the
residents who took the time to
fill out and return these sur
veys, I say “Thank You!” To the
91 percent of citizens who
chose not to respond, threw
away the survey as junk mail or
just didn’t take time to respond,
“Shame on You!” Vernonia is a
reflection of its citizens and, if I
was an outsider looking in, I
would have to presume that the
citizens are apathetic (and I
dare say the percentages
would back me up).
As a follow-up to mailing the
surveys, and after the nine per
cent (66 out of 721) of the sur
veys returned had been tallied,
a public forum was held at the
Scout Cabin on February 26.
This forum was open to ALL
Salam ftaport
By Rep. Elaine M. Hopson
Second District
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
It was extremely rewarding to be appointed
by the Speaker to the newly established Leg
islative Task Force on Funding for Senior and
Disabled Services. Faced with serious budget
concerns, this group is charged with identifying
ways to maintain support for our seniors and dis
abled - some of our most vulnerable citizens.
This appointment balances out my life-long pas
sion for the education of children with my great
desire to care for our seniors and those with dis
abling conditions. Meetings are scheduled
around the state to hear problems and, hopeful
ly, we will be able to come up with some solu
tions and resources to address the issues.
The need for health services in the schools
was addressed in House Education. Limited
funding is available for support in this area and
legislation has been proposed that would contin
ue to support some of the School Based Health
Clinics currently in service. Although I strongly
support health services for children who are un
able to access it in any other manner, I am dis
mayed that we continue to fund the same
schools and no District 2 schools are within the
current operations. With more and more children
in need of medication during the day, additional
immunization requests, and routine emergency
needs often encountered in our schools, we
need to make sure we can meet the needs of
our young people.
The Coastal Caucus continues to address the
challenges of maintaining hatcheries while as
sessing the type of work they are doing. Keep
ing track of the “science” is challenging and
changing, but science does that. Several other
issues are pertinent to the North Coast, includ
ing a recognition of the importance of having a
point person on the preparation and implemen
tation of plans for the Lewis and Clark Celebra
tion.
I attended a meeting with Senator [Gordon]
Smith’s office on March 23 to discuss some of
the transportation issues on the Coast and in
particular Highway 101. The discussions fo
cussed on safety and evacuation issues, but we
also discussed the viability of increasing eco
nomic development with the increase in road ca
pacity. Cooperation between and among the
various agencies - U.S. Forest Service, Oregon
Department of Forestry, Parks, counties, and
others is critical and forthcoming. Safety issues
are of first priority but the viability of communi
ties is also very important.
MARCH 2, 2001
Two bills related to education passed from the
House this week after considerable discussion
and debate. The first (HB 2682) dealt with elim
inating the liability of school staff members (most
often school secretaries) from prosecution when
they dispense medication to students. Although
we would like to be in a world where every
school had a trained medical person to perform
these functions, we don’t. The law still requires
training, oversight of these duties will continue,
and all safety aspects will be carefully consid
ered. The second bill (HB 2752) extended the
timeline for the foreign language requirement for
high school graduation.
It was my pleasure to speak before the House
Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Re
sources in support of the Oregon Department of
Forestry’s budget. The timing was very appropri
ate as I had just been part of the group visiting
the God’s Valley sites on Saturday, February 28,
where a number of people had the opportunity to
discuss the State Forest issues with representa
tives of the Oregon Department of Forestry. Al
though not everyone agrees on the specifics of
the management of the forest, all were heard
and good discussion and education ensued.
Secretary of Education Rodney Paige ad
dressed the legislators March 2 and described
the details of President Bush’s plan for educa
tional achievement. It was very encouraging to
hear the Secretary commend Oregon’s educa
tors on what they have already done in the areas
of assessment and accountability. Specifically,
he mentioned the Quality Education Model
(OEM), a model for identifying the needs of an
ideal school and then determining how to use re
sources to “purchase” what the local district
wants. Secretary Paige also stressed that the
federal government should allow flexibility at the
local level and let the state legislatures do the
“heavy lifting.” Of great concern at the national
level is the wide achievement gap between our
disadvantaged and our advantaged.
Rep. Elafne H opson
Salero Q fte;
H-376 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97310
Phone: 503-986-1402
email: hopson.rep@state.or.us
Tillamook Office; P.O. Box 656
Tillamook, OR 97141
Phone: 1-503-842-5656
e m a il: ehopson@oregoncoast.com
Vernonians, both inside and
outside the city limits. Not
counting the mayor, city em
ployees and councilors pre
sent, I estimate there were 30
to 35 citizens in attendance.
To those who took advan
tage of this opportunity for ver
bal public input, I again say
“Thank You!” I feel that issues
were raised that will help me to
make more informed decisions
about what the citizens of Ver
nonia need or want.
But I am curious—where
was everyone else?
When I was elected to city
council, I was under the im
pression it was to represent the
citizens of Vernonia. Now I
wonder who it is that voted for
me and what it is these same
citizens want or need?
One of the questions on the
survey asked if “There is good
communication between the
city council and the communi
ty.”
Response from the 66 sur
veys returned was about even
between “agree” and “dis
agree.” In my opinion, though,
because 91 percent of the sur
veys were not returned, the
“disagrees” won by a landslide.
Who is reponsible for the lack
of communication? Is it the
mayor, city councilors, com
missioners and city administra
tion who attend the meetings,
workshops and public hear-
ings/forums and carry on much
of the mundane, as well as in
teresting, decisions that are
made regarding Vernonia’s fu
ture? Or is it those invisible cit
izens at city council and com
mission meetings, workshops,
etc. who offer silent input and
nonexistent ideas?
A city council candidate this
past election saif that, “if the
council and city were doing
their job properly, the public
shouldn’t need to be present at
meetings.” I took this to mean
that the only time we should be
seeing the public is when we
err in their eyes. I strongly dis
agree with that viewpoint and
that is one of the reasons I ran
for city council. I want to have a
say in what goes on in the town
I reside in, but I also know my
opinion is not the only one.
Based on the lack of re
sponse and involvement by the
citizens, maybe the candidate
who made the aforementioned
statement is the one who
should have been elected. I
certainly don’t know how 91
percent of you feel, because
you haven’t responded to a
simple 21 question survey.
I realize it is easier to be an
armchair leader and social
complainer than to have to sit
through (to be honest) what
can be very boring meetings.
Nevertheless, every decision
that is made by the city council
is for the city of Vernonia’s ben
efit. This means we are decid
ing the course of our wonderful
city’s future.
A lot of time and effort is put
into decisions made by the
council and city administration
ar;d there are many opportuni
ties for public input before any
final decision is made.
How can we satisfy the ma
jority of our citizen’s wants and
needs if only a minority of the
population tells us what those
wants and needs are before we
make a decision!
Because we live in a small
town, we are more dramatically
affected by the decisions made
for our community than are
people in larger cities and
towns. This also gives us, as a
group and individually, the op
portunity and responsibility to
share our input and ideas on
just about any subject or deci
sion that may arise relating to
the city, and have that input or
ideas considered in the deci
sion-making process.
It doesn’t bode well for the
future if we complain after the
fact about a decision we don’t
like, when we were unwilling to
attend a workshop or public
hearing regarding that deci
sion. Those of you on a tight
schedule can use e-mail and
snail mail to make your ideas
known.
My family and friends know I
am not one to say, “we need to
do this” and do nothing after
that. I believe in getting things
done. (I like to think that is the
reason I was elected). I also
know that the success of any
endeavor takes a lot of effort
from many different people to
plan, initiate and see a project
through to its fruition.
In a public environment, the
experience and knowledge that
can be realized from the varied
backgrounds of a community’s
populace is a great advantage,
but only if it is shared. It is a
waste of our “Social Capital” if
it remains silent. (That is to say,
if you remain silent.)
So, I am challenging you.
Please do not hinder progress
with apathy. Find the time to at
tend a city council meeting (1st
& 3rd Monday of every month -
7:00 p.m.), Planning Commis
sion meeting (1st & 3rd Thurs
day of every month) or a work
shop and/or public hearing.
They are listed in the “Public
Notice” section of this newspa
per and in many different loca
tions around town, as well as in
the city newsletter.
I would be willing to wager,
and I do not gamble as a rule
(you can ask my wife), that you
will attend another. Take part in
the development of our city’s
future and enjoy the satisfac
tion that comes from a sense of
ownership in our community’s
success.
There are many important
issues facing our city. Instead
of wasting time and energy
complaining “after the fact,”
contribute your experience and
knowledge to the effort needed
to bring about decisions that
will benefit our community.
I look forward to working
with you, side by side, and
sharing our combined spirit,
energy and ideas to make Ver
nonia a more satisfying and re
warding place to live.
THE CHOICE IS YOURS!
Glen Purvee
City Councilor
Vernonia
More Letters on page 10