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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2002)
The INDEPENDENT, October 17, 2002 Page 15 Lotters to the Editor, continuad very seriously and is actively seeking solutions. I applaud our Superintendent Mike Funderburg for immediately taking action when concerns were brought to his attention, but he cannot do this alone. As a community, and as parents, we have an obliga tion to our children to provide them with a safe learning envi ronment. Health risks, environ mental safety risks, and structur al instability are never accept able and must be corrected. I certainly don’t have immedi ate answers - that is what the School District is searching for - but, to our most recent surprise, while reading the Voter’s Pam phlet, Measure 15 can very well be the solution we have hoped for. It provides state funding to educational facilities to bring them up to seismic code. I en courage all of you to VOTE YES ON MEASURE 15! When the time comes, and with the combined involvement of parents, teachers, staff, board members, and the administra tion, a reasonable solution can be found. Be aware! Be informed! Marie Botchie Vernonia We urgently need more Sheriff patrol deputies to deal with this in creasing county crime rates. In particular, we have a high number of methamphetamine labs in our county. We also have a serious heroin problem. Because we are a rural county, nestled between the more popu lous Multnomah, Washington and Cowlitz (WA) counties, we have far too many methamphetamine dealers hiding in the back woods. The dealers know we have limited patrol and take advantage of us. We must do something about this urgent problem. We can ei ther pay a little now for increased patrol or pay a lot later. Measure 5-109 is a very mod est proposal. It will cost the aver age property owner about $7.75 per month. It is a small price to pay to make our communities safe. Please vote yes on the Sher iff’s Levy, 5-109. Sincerely, Dick Jacobus Co-Chair, LADPC Mark Lesowske Co-Chair, LADPC Anti-drug group says vote YES on 5-109 To the Editor: My blood pressure has dou bled since the “Mold Investiga tion” article in the October 3 is sue of The Independent. Have you been asleep since May 2001? Did you not read and digest the study a group of us made about the condition of your schools? We did not just worry about seismic safety, we worried about our (your) children. We studied sewer, furnace (heat), power (all lighting and computer bank use), water, mildew, mold, ventilation, communication be tween all rooms, walls, floors, ceiling joists (are they anchored to even stand alone?). Probably much more I’ve forgotten. But, To the Editor: The Columbia County Local Alcohol and Drug Planning Com mission (LADPC) urges you to vote yes on the Sheriff’s Levy, 5- 109. LADPC is an advisory com mittee set up by state statue to advise the County Commission on drug and alcohol issues. We have a serious drug and alcohol problem in our county. This leads to other crimes, such as burglary, domestic abuse and child abuse. It hurts families, small businesses and the com munity. Mold is not greatest problem in schools for your information, you can’t close off or scrub out mold. I know, I live with it 24-365. The town did not wish to cor rect all our findings with new, up- to-code, plus more schools. We advised against jury-rigging the problems at hand by spending al most half the cost of brand new buildings, so now, this new group is in a sweat to get up to code by putting money down the sewer. Opening windows for air is dumb. How many people inhale all kinds of airborne junk that sends them into gasps for clean air to breathe? I’m sorry I didn’t know of your meeting or I’d have been there. The taxpayers will get hit with a bill that won’t solve anything, re ally. One that knew this would come up one day and it has— and you’ve three other schools to consider. Jacqueline Ramsay Vernonia Sheriff’s levy needed for public safety To the Editor: Columbia County Measure 5- 109 for County Law Enforcement is a measure that will make a dif ference for all of us in the Colum bia County. For the cost of less than a case of beer, three packs of cigarettes, ten candy bars, or a tank of gasoline a month, we will get a safer community. For my own home, it will mean less than $10 a month. What will I get for sacrificing that $10 a month? Law enforce ment personnel who are ready to protect my home, my family, and my community. In the thirty plus years I have lived here, our population has grown, but the number of law en forcement available has steadily decreased. I no longer can plan on having coverage 24 hours per day, seven days a week. n R abies S pecial $050 Thursdays 10 am - 5 pm 58376 Nehalem Hwy. S. Vernonia (Near Sunnyside Cafe) Appreciates work of Dukes and Johnson To the Editor: During the most recent special session of the Oregon Legisla ture, many truly awful options were on the table for bringing Oregon’s budget back into bal ance. We all know that the cut Continued on page 20 /fat(ovveen Bash V alley V eterinary C linic tl lists included deep cuts to schools, laying off about a third of the state police, releasing thousands of prisoners and cut ting nursing home and assisted living beds for thousands of the elderly. You may not be aware that among the list of cuts pro posed for Columbia County was also the complete closure of Riverside Training Centers, in cluding all of our vocational train ing programs in St. Helens and all of our group homes county wide. During the two-week period that the legislature was in ses sion, I had an opportunity to work closely with both Representative Betsy Johnson and Senator Joan Dukes as they struggled to forge a compromise that would prevent the worst of these cuts from hap pening. Although this legislative session can best be described as a complete zoo, I must share how impressed I was with our lo cal people. Both Representative Johnson and Senator Dukes have risen to key leadership po sitions in the budgeting process. Their grasp of the issues and their concern for the people of northwest Oregon is apparent to anyone who works closely with them. As Director of Riverside, I re ceived several calls from each of them during the session at criti cal junctures, seeking guidance or information as to the local im pact of their decisions. It is so nice to have elected representa tives who see themselves be holden first to the needs and wishes of the people of their dis trict rather than to the high-power lobbyists in Salem or the obtuse political agendas at work down there. We are not out of the woods yet on this crisis. On January 28, we all get to vote on a temporary tax surcharge to keep our I worry that my husband is not safe traveling our roadways be cause there is not adequate cov erage to get impaired drivers off the road. I am concerned that the case load for our courts and District At torney's office is so large that it takes months and sometimes years to process alleged crimi nals in the system. I am concerned that our trained law enforcement personnel are burning out on the job because of lack of sleep, little time for their families and just the normal stress of the job. Our Sheriff's Department has done a great job protecting us with limited resources. They have managed to keep vehicles on the road that most of us would have traded in years ago. They personally respond whenever possible. Sometimes only one deputy is on duty and unable to respond immediately, especially if they are at the other end of the county. But sometimes there is no one on duty at all and deputies who are finishing al ready long shifts are called back on duty without rest and a chance to eat. When you receive your ballot soon, think about your own safe ty and what a small sacrifice of just $10 or less a month can do for the livability of Columbia County. Return your ballot on time and vote YES on 5-109 to support our local Law Enforce ment. Lynn Chiotti St. Helens SpooRfacotar Buffe*! IW, SATURDAY, NOV. 2 • 9 PM - 2 AM $15 SINGLES • $25 COUPLES A Rocfc O üt v /Î+6 Rocfc Creefc Band/ Prize* fo r Be*f Ho toe toa de Co*+ütv>e*.r ií' * J's Eatery & Pub in Beautiful Downtown Birkenfelct • 503-755-0900
