The INDEPENDENT, May 16, 2001
Page 3
Batmen the Bookends
B y Rep. Elaine M. Hopson
Second District
It appears the Major League
Baseball issue is dead, even
though HB2941 authorizing
$150 million in lottery bonds to
provide a grant to an Oregon
city for construction of a stadi
um, passed out of the House
last week. The latest word is
that it won’t be going any place
and that is fine with me. We
have too many other unmet
needs for those funds.
The purpose of the lottery
bonding is to help rural areas
build infrastructure and pursue
a strong and meaningful family
wage jobs to support our com
munities. I could not be con
vinced that this was a way to
do that, even though having a
baseball team in Oregon would
be nice. The lobbying on this
issue was the strongest I have
ever experienced, both in
terms of personal contact by
professional lobbyists and by
written comments, via mail or
email. Almost all were support
ive of the project.
The big issue continues to
be energy deregulation. Sever
al bills dealing with the subject
are awaiting a thorough de
bate. This extremely complex
issue engenders strong opin
ions and a great deal of confu
sion. Although the current in
creases in energy costs are not
attributable to deregulation,
there continue to be fears and
second thoughts as to the po
tential advantages and disad
vantages of deregulation.
It is a big issue on both the
'substantive side and the politi
cal side. The choices on the
merits of deregulation are
whether to implement it now,
postpone it, or repeal it alto
gether. It is an extremely com
plicated issue on the merits
and it is also a critical chess
player on the political side. It
appears there will at least be
some postponement of the
Oregon plan, which does differ
substantially from that being
used in California.
In House Education we con
tinue to try to find ways to re
fine the education process and
become accountable. A strong
push to add Health to the Cer
tificate of Mastery require
ments was defeated in commit
tee. Although I agree that
health is a very important sub
ject for our youth, it isn’t time to
add more recordkeeping re
quirements to the CIM as we
work toward implementation.
We, in Education Ways and
Means, continue to await the
May 14 revenue forecast be
fore we move forward with
funding for K-12, community
colleges and higher education
as well as the many other ar
eas in the budgeting process.
Inherent in the forecast will be
a determination as to whether
or not the “kicker” kicks. In oth
er words, are the revenues
high enough to trigger the re
turn of monies in excess of
what was projected to be re
ceived?
As always, the balance is
between money needed and
services provided. In all of this
budgeting process, we play a
guessing game as to what the
economy will be like two years
in the future. We budget ac
cording to our “best guess” and
then wait to see what happens
at the end of that two-year pe
riod. There never seems to be
enough money to do every
thing we want; therefore, what
do we cut? Education, health,
transportation, community im
provements, social services?
I’d welcome your thoughts on
this.
The second bill regarding
the right of local entities to al
low restrictions on smoking
passed the House this week.
HB 3874 prohibits the use of
tobacco tax money for advo
cating smoking bans. Even
though research very clearly
states that local bans have
proven to be the most effective
way to curb smoking, there are
efforts to prevent local jurisdic
tions from using the money to
push for such limits. In other
words, the money goes to pub
lic entities to prevent smoking
but we can’t use the money to
promote the most effective tool
available? We will see what
happens in the Senate and
when it hits the Governor’s
desk.
HB 3451, which insists that
DLCD work closely with coun
ties and cities in a concerted
effort to identify ways we can
look at flood mitigation, passed
the House this week. Hopeful
ly, this will allow us to use in
formation we currently have
and what we will soon be gain
ing from computer simulation
to identify ways to prevent fu
ture damage such as we have
seen on the North Coast. This
bill does not allow dredging.
It was close, but the desig
nation of swans as predators
was derailed by having it sent
back to committee where, it is
assumed, it will die. The bill al
lowing the killing of wolf-hy
brids as predators did pass out
of the House and moved to the
Senate.
HJR 16 allowing 18 year
olds to serve in the legislature
passed out and over to the
Senate.
Although I voted
against it because I believe life
experience of a few more
years would provide a better
background for a legislator, I
was not dismayed that it
passed. This is one of those is
sues about which I could com
fortably argue either side.
I did vote against the Em
ployees Retirement System
Budget because it cut five
counselor positions. It seems
to me that all of us need as
much help as possible to make
decisions regarding retirement
and the money earned through
various manners. It passed out
anyway and I just hope people
can still access appropriate as
sistance when facing some of
these decisions.
Please keep in touch.
Rep. Elaine Hopson
900 Court Street NE H376
Salem, OR 97301
Phone; 503)-986-1402
email:
ehopson.rep@state.or.us
B y Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
Plans are being finalized for an exciting sum
mer of reading at the Vernonia Public Library, re
volving around the theme of “Read a Wild Tale.”
Activities including stories, crafts, games and
presentations will take place on Thursdays, be
ginning in late June and ending with an entry in
the Jamboree parade in early August. Reading
will be stressed with prizes awarded for hourly
reading. Pre-registration is encouraged and
adult volunteers are always welcomed. Join us
this summer for fun with the “wild west.”
The goal of having 10,000 items electronical
ly accessible to library patrons is fast approach
ing. Since June, 9752 copies have been entered
by the use of over 350 volunteer hours. If these
volunteers had been paid minimum wage the
cost would have been $2,275.00 and if these
items had been sent to a company for retro
spective conversion, the cost would have been
$4,485.92. These volunteers certainly deserve
credit and we are going to celebrate when the
10,000th item has been entered.
New acquisitions include Jane Kirkpatrick’s,
All Together in One Place and No Eye Can See.
Based on an incident recorded by Ezra Meeker,
of having met eleven wagons, returning on the
Oregon Trail, with not a man left in the entire
train, Kirkpatrick explores the possible fates of
the twelve surviving women. By interweaving
stories of love tried, challenges met and faith
tested, with historical facts, Kirpatrick’s charac
ters are brought to light with clarity, and a feeling
of reality exists in the events which challenge
them. The third and final installment in this se
ries is due to be released in the Fall of 2001.
The Courage Tree, by Diane Chamberlain,
combines many ingredients for a fantastic
read—a lost sick child, distraught family, ex-hus
band and his new girlfriend, a hidden shack in
the woods with another mother and daughter
who are hiding out for their own reasons, and a
mother who is determined against all odds to
find her missing child. Chamberlain has the abil-
ity to create tense drama and then to reveal se
crets a little at a time—just enough to keep the
reader satisfied while turning the pages at a
frantic pace. I recommend this novel for anyone
looking for a fast-paced, enjoyable read this
summer.
My other current recommendation is The Per
sian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. This is not a
new release, as it was published in 1996, but it
was brought to my attention by a library patron.
The Persian Pickle Club is made up of a group
of women who meet weekly to “improve their
minds” while quilting and gossiping. The setting
is Harveyville, Kansas, in the 1930s, when a
drought has stretched on for years and farmers
are losing their farms and unemployed families
drift in and out of town. The “Pickles” have be
come true friends during their quilting sessions
and have formed an informal support group to
help each other during both good and bad times.
Other than depression related problems, life
seems pretty good until the newest member
starts to unearth a dark secret. Thank you to the
patron who made this recommendation. I loved
the book and others are saying the same thing
after reading it.
Other new acquisitions include On the Street
Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark, Silent
Joe by T. Jefferson Parker, and Dream of
Wolves by Michael White.
A demonstration of pen and ink wash will be
presented by Tony Hyde at the Society of Arts
and Crafts on Thursday, May 17, from 6:00 to
8:00 p.m. in the library’s Thiele-Petti meeting
room.
The next meeting of the Friends of the Library
will be June 12, at 1:00 p.m. in the library. Mem
bers and potential members are invited to at
tend.
Cartoon appeared to Blessed to know a
special friend
be blatant racism
To the Editor:
I was sadly disheartened by
your last issue after seeing the
cartoon in that issue. I
searched all over page 2 and 3
for anything this cartoon could
apply to other than blatant
racism. I was at a loss. I would
hope that this cartoonist does
not feel that we all feel this way.
I do not. If this cartoon was
meant differently than that, I
would think you would look
closer at the implications.
Chad Sulloway
Vernonia
Ed. note: Please see Robb Wil
so n ’s column on page two. Thank
you for expressing concern; it is
appreciated.
Citizens’ generosity
will feed the needy
To the Editor:
I would like to express my
appreciation to the many
Postal patrons on the city route
who contributed food to this
year’s Letter Carrier Food Dri
ve. Thanks to your generosity,
nearly 1000 pounds of food
was collected. It was taken to
Vernonia Cares and, from
there, it will be distributed to
members of our community
who are in need.
Peter O’Leary
Postal Carrier
Vernonia
To the Editor:
New friends, even for a
short time, know right from the
start, that both of them have a
special person to rely on, to tell
their problems to, to laugh with
and even a shoulder to lean
and cry on.
Even though Mrs. Florence
Hines was much older than I,
we knew from the start that a
true friendship had begun.
The first time I met Mrs.
Hines, several months ago, we
hit it right off. [We] knew that
we had someone to talk to for a
little bit, to share our lives with.
One of the things she liked was
that her son was named Den
nis, and mine was too. We both
had a few things in common.
Even though I had never met
him, I was just as close to him
as his own mother was, and
very proud of him. It seemed
like she adopted me into the
family and I was very proud to
be called the other Dennis.
I could only see her on Mon
days, Wednesdays and Fri
days, and when I came over, I
couldn’t hardly wait to get there
for our short, but special, talks.
Oh, I forgot to say I deliver the
meals on wheels from the Ver
nonia Senior Center. And, let
me tell you, if there were things
that were too hard for her frail
body and stomach, I would put
everyone on hold to see if I
could fix her something to eat
that would be easier on her
stomach.
This frail, but strong-willed
woman was the best thing to
happen to me ever since I lost
my father, grandpa, grandma
and two aunts back in Ken
tucky in the mid 90s.
I cherished every moment I
got to spend with her, if only for
a few months, she changed my
life forever.
I just pray that I will be able
to see her when my time
comes to move on into that
promised land.
And to Dennis and his
daughter, and Donna, who I
have met, meeting their mother
was the happiest time of my
life.
God bless you all and I know
she is very proud of every one
of you all. I hope I can be half
the person she was the rest of
my life.
Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Carter
Vernonia
— NOTICE —
The INDEPENDENT is
published on the first and third
Wednesdays of each month.
There are five Wednesdays in
May, so there will be three
weeks between this issue and
the first issue in June.
Deadlines for the issue of
June 6, 2001, will be June 1
for both news items and dis
play advertising, and June 4
for classified ads.