The INDEPENDENT, January 16, 2002
Page 3
Letters to tbe Editor
Community displays
generosity - again!
To the Editor:
Well done, Vernonia!
Because of your generosity,
Vernonia Cares Food Bank dis
tributed ninety holiday food
baskets! Some of you sent
money directly to Vernonia
Cares and others dropped off
food or meat to our facility. Two
pinochle groups gave to the
food bank instead of exchang
ing gifts or earning prizes. Sev
eral churches provided canned
food and funds. St. M ary’s
Catholic Church and St. Vin
cent De Paul purchased all the
fresh produce. The Salvation
Army also donated funds to
help meet food needs. Two
Christmas tree farms (Mike’s
Tree Farm and Marvin Meyer’s
Tree Farm) placed cash dona
tion receptacles out to receive
money for the food baskets.
Vernonia Sentry kept the
canned food donation barrel
available in their store so peo
ple could contribute food items.
Many, many more people, busi
nesses and organizations con
tributed in similar ways! Thank
you!
Beside the donation of food
and money, twenty volunteers
came and helped assemble the
boxes (which contained forty
food items, including a turkey).
Those ninety food baskets con
tained groceries for a Christ
mas dinner for 295 people.
Thank you, Vernonia, for
showing that Vernonia cares
and shares!
Sandy Welch, Director
Vernonia Cares Food Bank
Concern is fine, but
participation better
To the Editor:
I read the letter to the editor
by M. Silverman, sharing her
Betweon the Bookends
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
A New Year always brings reflection on the
past year and bright hopes for the year that is
just beginning. One brand new and exciting
event this past year was the organization of The
Friends of the Library. Their membership drives
and fundraisers were successful, the benefits of
which are reflected in the library in the form of a
family pass to the Children’s Museum for patrons
to check out and in an assortment of new books
for beginning readers. A first-time project, Give a
Christmas gift to the Library, was presented to
the public during December. This resulted in 19
books being purchased and added to the li
brary’s collection. A new board member, Schann
Nelson, was welcomed to assume the position
vacated as good-natured, hard-working, Larry
Doppke moved from Vernonia. A generous do
nation from Lorna Poetter of Farm W oman’s
Nursery and a grant from SOLV added plants
and barkdust to nearly complete the landscaping
at the library. The goal of entering 10,000 items
in the computerized library system was realized
by June and has now reached nearly 13,000.
Oftentimes activities that were innovated one
year overlap into the next year and just get bet
ter and better and this is the case with the library.
The after-school reading/activity program, which
was initiated by Orissa Burghard last year, is
now being funded through a grant and is under
the supervision of Trish Maldonado. In an effort
to revitalize the pre-school story time, a craft re
lated to the story has been added to each of the
Monday programs. Record-setting attendance
occurred during the past Summer Reading pro
grams, with this coming year’s theme of “Don’t
Bug Me I’m Reading” expected to draw large au
diences and to encourage many youngsters to
read during the summer. Circulation of library
materials has increased dramatically each year
since the move to the new building and the num
ber of registered library patrons is also at an all
time high. The use of library computers for word
processing, Internet and educational games
continues to increase and a potential grant from
the Gates Foundation should provide an addi
tional computer later this year. The meeting
room is used regularly; people use the library.
With a program celebrating National Library
Week being planned by The Friends and with the
prospect of having a presentation in the near fu
ture by an established Northwest auihor, the
year 2002 has all the indications of offering
some more bright hopes to the community.
Tax forms are also available in the library and
don’t forget to check the special display table
featuring a Winter theme, or the new book sec
tion with newly released novels by Dean Koontz
and Lilian Jackson Braun.
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
Salam Scans___________
From page 2
grams that have been approved but not yet im
plemented.
There is a debate between "across the board”
cuts - where every program is cut by the same
percentage — and “targeted cuts” which specify
programs or services. However, interest in per
forming across the board cuts seems to have
waned, in part because the Legislature and Gov
ernor are interested in maintaining control over
where cuts might take place.
The most likely outcome of a special session
will be a combination of agency cuts and some
revenue generating strategies. How deep the
cuts will be and from what programs they will
come is a long way from settled.
It’s reasonable to anticipate that there will be
additional opportunities for public input, espe
cially as the Legislative Leadership begins to
narrow the lists of options for spending reduc
tions and revenue sources.
I will need your help to know what citizens in
our newly-designated House District 31 want to
see as outcomes. Please share your thoughts
with me as we move through this process.
Rep. Betsy Joh nson
900 Court Street NE
H-373 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-986-1401
outrage about the listing of the
KKK being established in Ver
nonia in 1922. This historical
fact was displayed on the kiosk
at Vernonia Lake. I agree with
M. Silverman’s opinion about
the KKK. Hate and prejudice
have no business in any com
munity. The truth is that the
KKK did exist here in 1922. It
certainly isn’t an event in histo
ry that Vernonia is proud of,
but, like many com m unities
around the nation, the KKK did
exist in Vernonia in 1922. Does
listing this historical fact mean
that this practice is supported
today? Of course not. Vernonia
is one of the most friendly, non-
prejudiced com m unities you
will find anywhere. In any case,
the City and Vernonia Pride
agreed that this reference to
the KKK should be removed
from the kiosk.
The City received two kiosks
as part of a state tourism grant.
The City of Vernonia asked
Vernonia Pride to develop infor
mation to place inside to help
share Vernonia’s history. We
also wanted to highlight some
of the visitor attractions we
have here. The primary goal
was to give tourists a sense of
Vernonia’s past and information
to encourage them to spend
time and resources in our local
community.
If M. Silverman had taken
time to attend a Vernonia Pride
meeting and met this group of
ladies, she would understand
how blessed Vernonia is to
have people who are dedicated
to our com munity. Instead,
without asking them for their ra
tional, she decided to condemn
a group of volunteers for simply
stating a historical fact about
Vernonia’s past.
Vernonia Pride is a group of
volunteers who spend hun
dreds of volunteer hours mak
ing Vernonia a better place to
live. I don’t know of any group
who works harder for their com
munity than Vernonia Pride.
Planting flowers, coordinating
the annual community cleanup
day, the annual July 4 parade
and fireworks display, and do
ing whatever it takes to make
Vernonia a better place for res
idents and visitors alike is their
main mission.
I am glad that M. Silverman
is concerned about where Ver
nonia is heading. We need
everyone to step forward and
help build a healthy and vibrant
community for ourselves and
our families. We have celebrat
ed many community success
es, mainly because we have
had many people who will give
hours of their time for the bene
fit of all of us. If we have differ
ences, let’s resolve them with
respect and open com m unica
tion. We face many serious
challenges in our community.
We will only be successful if we
work together.
Mario P. Leonetti
Mayor of Vernonia
Slanderous remarks
are upsetting
To the Editor:
The other day, while at work,
I got somewhat of a surprise.
There, on the front page of the
D aily Astorian, was the head
line, “Mention of Kian upsets
town.” The town was Vernonia,
my home. I had read the letter
to the editor in The Indepen
dent the week prior from M. Sil
verman, in which he/she voiced
concern about the listing of the
KKK in a roster of firsts in Ver
nonia. I was not aware of a
great concern in our com muni
ty. While I support a person’s
right to object, I felt that this sit
uation was getting carried
away, if it was getting press in
Astoria.
I wield a pen to inform peo
ple of injustice, but I never do
so without giving the person
that I am attacking an opportu
nity to explain their actions. It
appears that the letter to the
editor was the first contact
made on this subject, otherwise
M. Silverman would have un
derstood that Vernonians do
not support racial prejudice, but
were only listing an interesting
occurrence in Vernonia’s past. I
was quite surprised to learn
that th e 'K K K bad organized
here in Vernonia, I, however,
am not surprised that it no
longer exists. Are there racists
in Vernonia? Probably, but no
more than anywhere else in
Northwest Oregon.
W hat troubles me the most
is the apparent effort to portray
Vernonia as racist. I could pos
sibly understand an outsider
getting a wrong first impres
sion, but not someone who has
lived here for any time. It has
been suggested that spreading
this story into the Daily Astorian
and the W illamette Weekly is
not the work of M. Silverman,
but others in our community. Of
course, these people are hiding
their identity, which would sug
gest we have devious and slan-
Please see page 5