Sanders Creek work
is impressive effort
To the Editor:
Was very impressed with the
recent article on road and cul
vert removal to improve salmon
habitat in Sanders Creek. Good
things don’t just happen. A co
operative effort and dedicated
spirit gets things done.
Using
private
money,
Longview Fibre, with the Ne
halem Watershed Council,
provided a spark and made an
improvement.
Recognition to those men
tioned, Jim Buxton, Maggie
Peyton, Tom Budge, R & M
Taylor and especially Longview
Fibre. Your effort and work are
appreciated.
Steve Calhoun
Vernonia
Open letter to a thief
To the Editor:
This letter is addressed to
the thief or thieves who are
stealing AVON cologne (and
maybe other things that I
haven’t noticed yet) from The
Menagerie. First of all, I want
you to know that the AVON is
the only source of income I
have. You must not have any
income, or you wouldn’t keep
stealing things. But, then again,
maybe you do have money and
just get a kick out of stealing.
But, trust me, if you are caught
(and you will be, eventually, if
not here, then somewhere
else) you will be given more
than just a “slap on the hands”.
I work hard to have what I have
and you have taken money out
of my pocket just so you can
smell nice. I sincerely hope that
the cologne causes you to have
a terrible reaction to it. Just re
member, what goes around,
comes around.
I would hate to have to take
all of my stuff out of the
Menagerie or put it in a locked
cupboard (much to the incon
venience of honest people), so
think twice before you do this
again.
If you think the law will be
tough on you, let me tell you
one last thing, you had better
hope that they catch you in
stead of me.
Sincerely,
Janie Wasmann
Vernonia
P.S. Do us both a favor and
put $6.00 per bottle of cologne
in an envelope with my name
on it and drop it off at the
Menagerie. No one will ques
tion this, as I have other things
Between the Bookends
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
Library patrons were
very generous this year in
adopting books provided
by the St. Helens Book-
Shop as gifts for the library.
Twenty-three books were
purchased (adopted) and
are now available for circu
lation. This is a wonderful
selection of books for readers of all ages. Titles
such as / Have a Cold and Back to School?
Cool! are available for beginning readers.
Mossflower and Stand Tall will appeal to teens
while The Little Friend, Crimson Petal and the
White, Portrait of a Killer, Raising Ourselves, and
The Last Girls are a few of the titles for adult
readers. A special thanks is extended to all who
made this adoption of books for the library a suc
cess this year.
Other new acquisitions include: How to Cook
a Tart by Nina Killham, Death by Chocolate by G.
A. McKevett, The Last Place by Laura Lippman,
Prey by Michael Crichton, Four Blind Mice by
James Patterson, and The Little Chinese Seam
stress by Dai Sijie. A new copy of Tuck Everlast
ing and one of my all time favorite books for
youngsters, Miss Twiggly’s Tree, have also re
cently been purchased.
The library has been the recipient of a large
number of paperback mysteries by various au-
dropped off there for me. I
could really use the money and
I’m hoping you could use a
clear and clean heart.
Measure 28 is fault
of state legislature
To the Editor:
The state budget is in sham
bles. After numerous legislative
sessions our representatives
have been unable to resolve
our budgetary problems. In
stead, they now tell us that it is
our responsibility to solve the
problem by passing Measure
28. This crisis is not the result
of a single, unforseen, cata
strophic event. Rather, it is a re
sult of legislative negligence
over a number of years.
The legislature allowed the
budgets of state agencies to
grow far out of proportion to in
creases in state population or
inflation. New programs were
initiated. Old programs were
expanded. There was little, if
any, oversight over the opera
tion or spending of state agen
cies. And, there was no fund
established to enable the state
government to cope with diffi
cult times such as we are now
experiencing. On the contrary,
our state representatives re-
•.•.•.•iw??::??»
thors and most of these are now available for
circulation. The selection of audio and videocas
settes has increased over the past several
years, mainly through generous donations. For a
rather nice selection of children’s videos or of
older, classic videos for adults, the library is the
place to look. Audiocassettes continue to be in
demand and the library now has a few CDs. Pe
riodicals range from Dirt Rider to Smithsonian
with issues ranging from the latest publication to
those of the past year. The computers are avail
able for Internet use, word-processing or playing
educational games. Computer search of the li
brary’s catalog has become familiar to many pa
trons and is so much more efficient than the old
card catalog method. The library serves so many
needs in the community—from a place to obtain
reading, listening or viewing materials to a place
to attend meetings or special events to a place
that offers children’s programs to a place to use
computers to a place to sit and read in comfort.
Remember, it’s your library, so be sure to take
advantage of the services it offers.
Don’t forget! The ballot drop site is the library,
from now until January 28 at 8 p.m. for this elec
tion as well as posted dates for all upcoming
elections.
Vernonia Publie Library: 701 Weed Ave.m
Hours. Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.;
Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. - 7 p.m.
S
Sat. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Phone: (503 ) 324-1382
cently enacted legislation which
reduces state tax revenue.
(This was the establishment of
a new tax credit for those who
contribute to the Oregon Cul
tural Trust.)
We have been told that our
current budgetary problems are
a result of the inexperience of
many legislators who have
come into office as a result of
term limits which were imposed
by the voters and later nullified
by the courts. Who, may I ask,
heads legislative committees?
Who decides which bills will be
voted on? Who negotiates
compromises? Am I to believe
that all of this is done by new
comers to the legislature? I pre
fer to believe that legislative ac
tion or inaction is the direct re
sult of what our long-term legis
lators do.
And, what about all of the
“institutional memory” I hear
about? Isn't it those with many
years in office that are respon
sible for our current budgetary
difficulties? Not only should
they remember how they got us
into this mess, they should be
able to figure a way to get us
out!
We are told that if we vote
“no” on Measure 28 that the
state police will be fired, that
criminals will be released from
jail, and that old folks will be
thrown into the streets. We are
told that these and other un
conscionable events will occur
if we vote “no.'' This is not true.
If any of these things will hap
pen, it will be the result of our
elected officials not meeting
their responsibilities to the citi
zens of Oregon.
Place the responsibility for
the creation of this mess and its
solution where it belongs — on
our elected representatives in
Salem. To vote in favor of Mea
sure 28 is to vindicate them.
We will be sending a message
to them that they can do any
thing they want without any po
litical consequences.
Don McDaniel
Astoria
S en . D u k e s p h o n e n u m b e r c h a n g e d
Residents of Senate District
16 wanting to dial direct to
State Sen. Joan Dukes during
the upcoming legislative ses
sion will have to use a new
number: (503) 986-1716.
Dukes’ phone number has
changed because the number
of the district was changed dur
ing redistricting from number 1
to number 16.
Dukes’ capitol office address
remains the same: Room S-
318, State Capitol, 900 Court
St. N.E., Salem, OR 97301.
Her email is: dukes.sen®state,
or.us.
“I hope my neighbors in the
district will take a moment and
contact me during the session,”
Dukes said. “Keeping in touch
with them helps me determine
the district’s priorities."
District 16 includes all of
Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillam
ook counties, as well as West
ern portions of Washington and
Multnomah counties. The 2003
legislative session began Mon
day, January 13.
The toll-free number for gen
eral legislative information is
(800) 332-2313.
Area includes slopes of 40-60 degrees
From page 1
the Riparian Management Area
(RMA) for medium Type F
streams at 70 feet and for small
Type F streams at 50 feet.
The logging plan is for 216
acres, about half of which in
cludes 40-60 degree slopes
that, Savage said, will be cable
logged, with no ground based
logging equipment permitted
inside the RMA.
Savage said that the land
exchange between the state
and Longview Fibre has been
planned to eliminate some
“checkerboard” patterns of land
ownership. In this particular ex
change, one purpose is also to
increase state ownership of
timberland around Spruce Run.
— N O T IC E —
The INDEPENDENT is published on the first and third Thurs
days of each month. There are five Thursdays in January, so
there will three weeks between this issue and the first issue in
February.
Deadline for the issue of February 6, 2003, will be January 31.
t