The INDEPENDENT, April 18, 2001
Page 3
Letters to the Editor
Voters should watch
what county is doing
created. As I see it, there are
three problems with this plan.
One, the county coffers lose
revenues by waiving the fees;
To the Editor:
two, there’s no guarantee the
Does anyone wonder why miners will fill the holes, even if
only basic road repairs are be they do get the fee waiver; and
ing done? Is anyone con three, why are the County
cerned about the future condi Commissioners ignoring the
tion of our roads and bridges?
adopted Surface Mining Ordi
Over the past couple of nance
reclamation
plan?
years, aggregate mining deple Maybe our County Commis
tion fee revenues (for the Road sioners are becoming addicted
Department) have been drop by the big bucks presented by
ping, while aggregate mining more mining companies com
depletion fee revenues (for the ing into the county creating
Land Development Services more mines - as the schools
Department) have gone up. have become addicted to
The County Commissioners
Coca-Cola big bucks.
are catering to the wishes of
In 1996, the people ap
the miners - to the detriment of proved a 2-year Road Levy for
the county coffers. This is evi $500,000 annually to maintain
denced by the levy measures
our roads and bridges. Be
presented to the public for ap cause of Measure 50, the levy
proval in both 1996 (passed) became permanent. Some
and 2000 (failed).
thing is rotten in Denmark
This May, the County Com somewhere? The Road De
missioners are again present partment has never received
ing a measure requesting your
the full $500,000 annual rev
approval to waive the reclama enue. It’s been $450,000 or be
tion fee on fill material, which is low each year. Now, the Road
currently required by the Sur Department has been informed
face Mining Ordinance for the levy money could stop at
reclamation plans in the hopes the whim of the County Com
miners will fill the holes they’ve
missioners and go directly to
the General Fund. According to
the levy AND STATE ORS,
these funds are dedicated only
to our County Roads, not the
General Fund or anything else.
If one wants to view the 1996
Road Levy, you may obtain a
copy at the County Elections
Office located in the Court
house.
Voters: Demand to know
what your County Commmis-
sioners are doing. Read pro
posed levy measures and
make sure the requirements of
the levy passed are carried out.
Thelma Bonar
Warren
Street work is good,
but not in all ways
To the Editor:
In addition to the two ques
tions in the recent citizen sur
vey that I mentioned at the City
Council meeting March 13, one
other question bothered me.
Paraphrased, it asked if we ap
prove and/or appreciate the
street work done in Vernonia.
(Yes. Streets downtown look
Betwoon the Bookends
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
Library patrons— Beware! All accrued fines
must be paid before further library materials may
be checked out. These fines did not disappear,
nor were they forgotten just because the materi
als were returned, so do not be surprised, if,
when preparing to check out further materials,
you are told that your debt to the library must
first be paid.
Patrons have been enjoying the lovely Easter
Lily on the circulation counter. This was a recent
gift from Jo Ricker, whose husband, John,
passed away this last year. John was an avid
reader whose name can be found on many book
cards, as he used the library with regularity.
John was a member of the 41st Infantry Division
of the U.S. Army Sunset Division, which was
honored when U.S. Hwy. 26 was dedicated as
The Sunset Highway. He was also an enthusi
astic collector and restorer of gas-powered en
gines, saws, etc. It was always an occasion for
a pleasant conversation when John visited the li
brary and having this lovely lily in the library re
minds me daily of my friend, John, and the
thoughtfulness of his wife, Jo.
The library is lucky to have some very nice
books recently donated by Diane Varner of
Yamhill. Surprise, surprise—one of these enti
tled, Peace at Heart, captures the ordinary joys
and blessings of country life in_Oregon’s Yamhill
Valley. Another, Gem Trails of Oregon, lists sites
for rockhounding in Oregon. It gives travel de
scriptions to sites, describes points of geological
interest and includes maps of the surrounding
areas. Another is Dungeness Crabs and Blue
berry Cobblers. Along with recipes for foods in
digenous to the area, author Janie Hibler has in
terwoven fascinating pieces of lore, history, ge
ography and personal reminiscences of some of
the delights that the Pacific Northwest has to of
fer. These and the other donations by Ms. Varn
er are very welcome additions to the library.
If you are looking for something just a little dif
ferent from the “happily ever after” or the “per
fect people” or the “predictable” in your next
book, try reading Anita Shreve or Jodi Picoult.
Shreve’s novels include The Pilot’s Wife,
Strange Fits of Passion, Resistance, The Weight
of Water, and Eden Close. In The Weight of Wa
ter, the question, “If you take a woman and push
her to the edge, how will she behave?" is posed.
Two separate, but similar plots are combined in
this novel to answer the question, but each read
er might have a different opinion of just how,
when pushed to the edge, she might react.
Eden Close was Andrew’s next-door neighbor
and best childhood friend. Seventeen years after
the tragic night in which Mr. Close is killed and
Eden is blinded, Andrew returns to his home
town to attend his mother's funeral, and is drawn
into the tragic legacy of Eden. As the truth of
Eden’s past comes to light, the grisly truth of
thwarted family love is revealed and Andrew’s
attraction to Eden is reawakened. This novel
also poses some intriguing questions of how
each of us, as individuals, would react in similar
situations.
Jody Picoult’s novels include Plain Truth,
Saving Grace and The Pact. I think you will find
these equally enjoyable and thought provoking.
New acquisitions include Lone Eagle by
Danielle Steel, Murder One by William Bern
hardt, A Common Life: The Wedding Story, by
Jan Karon and Witness for the Defense by Jon-
nie Jacobs.
The newly initiated display area has been a
remarkably successful project. Currently on dis
play are items relating to mothers and Mother’s
Day. These are items from the stacks pertaining
to mothers and, yes, they certainly may be
checked out.
To date, 8,802 titles and 9,132 copies are
ready to be searched and checked out electron
ically; there are now 913 active library patrons.
The Friends of the Library organization is ac
tively recruiting members and ideas for fund
raising projects. The next meeting will be Tues
day, May 8th, at 1:00 p.m. in the library. Every
one is welcome. Anyone interested in helping
with any aspect of Summer Reading is especial
ly encouraged to attend or to contact the library.
Orissa will continue conducting story/craft
sessions on Monday afternoons at 3:30 through
the end of the school year.
Plans for a question/answer computer class
are taking shape. A sign-up sheet is on the
counter in the library for anyone interested. Date
and time will be arranged shortly.
The library’s circulation continues to increase
with this past March’s record-breaking 1,692
pieces of material circulated.
The library continues to be a busy, exciting
place. Come and check it out.
Vernonia Library 701 Weed Avenue
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tues., Thur. 2 p.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Preschool Story Time, Mondays, 10:30 a.m.
Phone: (503)429-1818
great.)
I have a complaint against
one contractor. A couple of
years ago when paving in my
area on Rose Avenue and they
were putting in culverts, I ques
tioned this gentleman as to
whether there would still be
good drainage in front of my
home, for it didn’t appear so to
me. I have underground
drainage tile and ditches to
drain my property into the ditch
by the road. He assured me
there would be good drainage.
Several weeks later, I ap
peared before the City Council
to complain he was wrong, that
water flowed into the ditch, but
not out of it. Shortly after that, I
discovered when this contrac
tor installed the adjacent neigh
bor’s culvert, the 4-inch pipe
used by this neighbor for a cul
vert was not removed. The
contractor simply laid the cul
vert on top of the pipe. This
pipe can still be seen. Had this
pipe been removed and had
the area been scooped out pri
or to putting in the new culvert,
it certainly would have better
drainage than what it has now.
This is inferior work.
I believe this contractor felt
he had only to please the ad
ministration of Vernonia. I felt,
and feel, he “humored” me and
then ignored the situation. Ver
nonia is a family community
and in Vernonia, every citizen
is important.
Dare I suggest another citi
zen survey at some point in the
future? With space for, and
consideration thereafter, of
added comments?
Jetta Gomes
Vernonia
Thanks, regrets at
leaving position
To the Editor:
It is with a mix of regret and
anticipation that I write this let
ter. I have accepted another
position as Director of the Con
nections Project for Astoria
School District. I will begin this
position, full time, in early May.
This is a newly funded position
charged with designing and im
plementing a summer and after
school program for all students
in the Astoria School District.
I have worked hard over the
past 5 years to make Caring
Options program services
meet the needs of our commu
nities. This time period has
seen many important changes
in the way Oregon regulates
childcare and the need for
childcare by working families.
Caring Options has been effec
tive in meeting these changing
needs. I am proud of the sup
ports currently available to
providers and the quality refer
ral process now in place
through our toll free access
number. Over the past three
months, we have expanded
awareness by businesses and
community partners through in
creased Rotary and Chamber
of Commerce presentations.
These services are helping
us to raise awareness in our
communities about the critical
need for qualitly, affordable and
accessible childcare. Commu
nity Action Team, the lead
agency for Caring Options pro
gram, is committed to main
taining
program
integrity
through this transition.
Please see page 13
Salem Soene
By Rep. Elaine M. Hopson
Second District
On Thursday, April 5, the
House considered House Joint
Memorial (HJM) 13. HJM 13
summary statement says:
“Urges President of United
States, Senate and House of
Representatives of U.S. and
Administrator of United States
Environmental
Protection
Agency to enforce environ
mental laws equally between
government bodies and those
in private sector." The essence
is to ask the federal govern
ment to balance its imposition
of penalties as they are as
sessed to public entities (for
example: cities and counties)
and private entities (for exam
ple: businesses and ranchers).
The HJM focuses on Port
land and mentions our largest
city by name over five (5)
times; no other public entity is
mentioned. I voted against this
Memorial for several reasons.
First, such memorials are a
waste of time and money. They
pass on our opinion and may
be helpful occasionally but
most often are put in the
wastebasket.
Second, I felt this was an
other rural/urban fight. Al
though I realize the challenges
we rural folks face as we chal
lenge the dominance of the ur
ban areas, I don’t believe this
type of a fight is productive.
Third, when we send such
statements to the federal gov
ernment from Oregon, I believe
they should be representing
the state as a whole and not
showing divisiveness among
our various constituents. We
are ALL Oregonians; we may
fight within our “family” but we
are still family. We need to
have the world see us as that
and not hold up a member of
our family as the “bad child.”
A “minority report” was de
veloped that eliminated the
specific Portland accusations
but still contained the same
message to the federal law
makers. I supported that as I
do believe there needs to be
fair and consistent implemen
tation of the rules and there
may be a need to reconsider
some of the rules in place. That
was voted down on the floor
and the original Memorial was
passed out. As we work to ap
preciate and acknowledge the
need for additional rural/urban
cooperation, I feel it was nei
ther beneficial nor appropriate
to support and send this
Memorial.
Rep. Elaine Hopson
H-376 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97310
Phone: 503)-986-1402
email:
ehopson.rep @ state.or.us