Page 2
The INDEPENDENT, November 7, 2002
The
INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice
monthly, on the first and third Thursdays of each month,
by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge Street, Ver
nonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper. Editors and Pub
lishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen. Phone/Fax: 503-429-
9410, e-mail: noni@ vernonia.com
JLliT An& TH$
tfMSuAÉ I
ù lù rtT WA a /T
I
I SHoulû
HAVéfteAi
Stuoia
TU-fr VoTeftS
Guioeeerr«»
I
I CArfT
I WiJT
V#T€ »
/
Opinion
No surprises in balloting
Unofficial final results of the November 5 election
showed 9,408 Columbia County voters opposing Mea
sure 5-109, the county-wide law enforcement levy, with
7,572 voting in favor and another 727 who skipped that
decision. These numbers indicate a potential for future
approval, but only if the measure includes a more fru
gal approach and language that specifies just how
much would be used for patrol deputies and how much
for jail operations. Citizens want to be sure that money
approved for patrol deputies can be used only for that
purpose; they are not interested in supporting an open-
ended approach that would allow the funds to be taken
from patrol and used for the jail or for court protection.
Those who are responsible for the overall administra
tion of any agency, understandably prefer some flexi
bility but, given public apprehension about how the
funds are spent, may have to more closely define just
how people’s taxes can be used—and how they can’t.
There were only two other local money measures on
the ballot, both in the Scappoose area. One was a
bond issue to refurbish schools, the other was a three-
year tax levy for the library district; both measures
were defeated by voters.
Nearly 71 percent of registered voters in Columbia
County voted, about the same as statewide figures,
and, with a couple of exceptions, the results were also
just about the same.
Complete Columbia County returns may be seen on
page 17.
Bitten by the technology bug...
After working for the past year with a great need for
upgraded computer equipment, The Independent fi
nally bit the bullet and made those upgrades. While
there are always some glitches (to use a technical
term) when new and old equipment, operating sys
tems and software are combined, this particular ex
perience has been horrendous (another technical
term)!
For this late paper, I apologize. I think most of the
problems have been worked out and we should be
back on track with the next issue.
However...If I ever start talking about “upgrading”
again, will someone please tie me to a tree until I for
get about it?
Noni Andersen
\
I
/
£L£CXl6t\ *fc£Su£TS
.................*.................................1................................
Ike Says...
By Dale Webb, member
Nehalem Valley Chapter Izaak Walton League
The
hunting
Gods
shone on me opening day
of deer season this year. I
had my choice of seven
bucks, plenty of time to
choose and frosty cold
weather in which to field
dress my choice. By 8:20
a.m. the ham m er was
tripped and the knife was in action. My only re
gret was that I didn’t get to hunt more, in fact I
was thinking of not shooting, but the biggest
buck of the bunch forced my hand by trying to
run over me.
The local hunting scene has been slow
through the fourth week of October, partly due to
weather, gate closures and lack of deer. The ac
tion should have picked up during the remainder
of the season with a heavy lean toward older
bucks. I have kept score on the size of bucks
taken and, as of the 28th, it was an even split be
tween forked horns and three points or better. I
would expect by the end of the season the ratio
will be 70 percent older bucks, which is close to
what happened last year. This again points out
the problem in the local area, which is a low deer
recruitment rate. The primary cause of this low
rate of recruitment is the hair loss syndrome that
has been with us for about five years. Of course,
ODF&W adding about 500 antlerless kills to the
cause is not helping the situation. I believe after
this year, ODF&W will be forced to reconsider its
Blacktailed deer management. Many biologists
to the south of us are very concerned about this
disease and are pushing for reforms.
By the time you read this article, most gate is
sues will have been resolved. Here are the gat
ing issues as I see them for Elk season:
Longview Fibre - Most gates will be open,
with the exception of active logging areas, areas
that have experienced vandalism and the Co
lumbia River Mainline during weekdays. The
mainline will be open on weekends. Longview
Fibre was the first to open their gates during
deer season and the company has a pro-hunter
attitude; please foster this relationship by being
a responsible hunter.
Olympic Resource Management - There is a
new tw ist this year, with only three gates
...Crooked Creek, Kauppi (off Bum Road) and
Pebble C reek... scheduled to be open during Elk
season. ORM has posted maps at local busi
nesses showing locations and times. The gates
will be opened one hour before daylight and
closed one hour after dark. Carry your cell phone
(ATT is the only one that works in this area.) be
cause, if you get locked in, you will have to call
the number on the back of the gate to get out.
Calling several hours after the gates are closed
will probably be frowned on. Do not leave a ve
hicle inside the locked gates as a way of beating
the morning crowds, it may be towed. ORM is
trying this new system to see how it works. Since
most vandalism occurs after dark, this should
curb the activity. It should also cut down on hunt
ing after dark, which is a major problem in our
area. I feel the one-hour-after-dark gate closure
may be a little too early, but we will see what
happens. I expect the morning rush will be inter
esting also, from a h u n te r’s perspective. I w ill
Please see page 3