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The INDEPENDENT, July 17, 2003
The
INDEPENDENT
GRIÙLÛCKJ03
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, Vernonia,
OR 97064, as a free newspaper. Publishers, Dirk & Noni An
dersen. Editor, Noni Andersen. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410,
e-mail: noni@vernonia.com Display Advertising, Clark Mc-
Gaugh, 503-429-9410, e-mail: clark@vernonia.com
Use a little common
sense and enjoy the
coming Jamboree
Jamboree is always fun, but it can easily be ruined
when folks forget that the purpose is to enjoy the
events and the other people. Jamboree was started as
a mechanism to bring people together after circum
stances closed Oregon-American Mill and economic
necessity had forced many people to leave Vernonia.
Jamboree was meant to be a big get-together, just a
happy event with some good-natured competition, a
parade and lots of laughter.
Times have changed sufficiently so that a lot of peo
ple now “get together” via the phone or e-mail, which is
great with family and friends, but it really changes the
dynamics of group interaction. Sometimes, it seems,
we forget how to act with consideration for strangers,
not because they’re bad, but because we haven’t met
them. Of course, that is why we call them strangers.
So relax, be considerate, even to people you don’t
know, and above all, smile.
If you aren’t involved, but would like to be, call the
numbers at the bottom of this column - Randy Parrow
or Glen Purvee - they will almost certainly find a way
for you to be part of Jamboree.
If you prefer being a spectator, it will take the whole
weekend just to get around to the various events - fish
ing derby, softball, parade, horse gaming, music, danc
ing, eating, the car cruise-in on Saturday followed by a
Harley show on Sunday and, of course, the logging
show. Even if you think logging shows are passe, you
will enjoy the good-natured competition - they try hard
to win, but cheer each other on to do their best.
So relax, talk to that stranger next to you, smile at
that teenager - we all needed time to grow up - and
some of us will never make it.
Enjoy Jamboree, please don’t drink and drive be
cause there are no Jamboree events going on in the
county jail. Have fun and, remember, smile!
The Jamboree Committee is seeking three non-prof
it groups to pick up garbage during Jamboree.
For more information, call Randy Parrow at 503-429-
1093 or Glen Purvee at 503-429-9400.
GO FIGURE
Opinion
Representative Mark Hass
District 27
How is it the Oregon legislature is passing tax
breaks for Enron before passing out an educa
tion budget?
Let’s start at the beginning.
In 1967, the Oregon legislature passed a tax
incentive designed to help timber mills and other
manufacturers comply with the newly passed
federal Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
This incentive allowed businesses to lower their
state tax bill to compensate for costs of the new
equipment these laws required.
During the 1990s, critics wondered whether
taxpayers should continue paying for this ever
growing subsidy. After all, the new environmen
tal regulations were a quarter-century old. Many
questioned whether taxpayers should continue
to pay businesses for simply doing what the law
required.
In 2001, Gov. John Kitzhaber said the time
had come to let this subsidy expire. But the lead
ers of the Legislature wanted to extend it. In a
rare spirit of bipartisanship, the two sides agreed
to a compromise that called for higher standards
and a gradual phase-out of this credit by 2007.
I supported the compromise.
That’s why I so strongly oppose the new
measure that some House members forced
through this week, without debate - a measure
that would relax the environmental standards
and extend this expensive tax break another 11
years to 2014. The fact that this bill passed the
House before the legislature has addressed ed
ucation funding is a slap in the face to every per
son in Oregon.
__
Taxpayers should be alarmed for another,
even more compelling reason, however. We all
know that Enron managed to escape Oregon
taxes last year, paying only the minimum pay
ment of $10. What many people don’t know is
that Enron received a tax break of $1.1 million
because of the Pollution Control Tax Credit.
Even worse, Enron has applied for $18 million
in similar tax credits next year for work associat
ed with the decommissioning of the Trojan nu
clear plant $18 million!
In addition to padding the bottom line for huge
multi-nationals like Enron, the Pollution Control
Tax Credit enables individuals to take a credit for
buying wood chippers. Wood chippers? Yes.
More than 500 state certificates last year went to
people who bought wood chippers, because
chipping wood creates less pollution than burn
ing wood to dispose of it.
That may be true, but in most instances the
law already prohibits open burning. Whether this
is a valid application of the tax break misses the
point: Does anyone really believe that buying a
wood chipper creates new jobs in Oregon? Does
anyone believe we should cut school days while
subsidizing wood chippers?
Oregon needs to be smart in crafting strate
gies for the new century. We need to build our
economy on real products and services that pull
their weight in the world’s markets — not on
wood chippers and disgraced corporations like
Enron.
Let’s do what Oregonians do best when man
aging environmental standards against econom
ics: Let’s recycle this 30-year-old law and turn it
into something that actually helps us move for
ward.