T h e IN D E P E N D E N T, S e p te m b e r 18, 2003
Jamboree will be as
good as you make it
To the Editor:
T h ank you to eve ryon e w ho
helped during the Jam boree.
As p re sid e n t of the J a m
boree C om m ittee, I’d like to
give recognition to the co m m it
tee m em bers w ho helped m ake
this y e a r’s Jam boree a su c
cess. I apologize now fo r a n y
one I m ay have m issed. The
C om m ittee m em bers are: G len
P u rve e -V e n d o rs, D onna W ebb
and Enid P a rro w -W a s te M an
agem ent, Katie P o e tte r-A d v e r-
tisin g , C h ris tin a P u rv e e -F i-
nance, B ert T s c h a c h e -E n te r-
ta in m e n t, R o b b W ils o n and
S haron P a rro w -P a ra d e , and
Shelley Clines-Children’s Games.
Each of these ind ividuals un
selfishly gave of th e ir tim e to
help co o rdin ate and execute
the Jam boree, so tha t you and
your fam ilies could en joy it. I
w ould also like to th a n k the
Event C oordinators and th e ir
helpers - w ho I c a n ’t nam e b e
cause I d o n ’t know the m all -
from the Logging Show, H orse
Show, C ar Show, S oftball Tour
ney, W orship S ervice, S ynchro
S w im m ing, Teen D ance, and
Fishing Derby. A special thank
you to Noni A nde rsen of The In
depen den t fo r getting all of m y
last m inute press releases in
the paper.
I norm ally do not voice my
opinion in this m anner, h o w ev
er each of the Jam boree C o m
m ittee m em bers w orked very
hard to do the best th e y could
in each of th e ir areas and they
deserve to be praised fo r th e ir
efforts, not pu blicly berated w ith
insinuations tha t the re needs to
be a few oth er thin gs to do, or
tha t this y e a r’s Ja m b o re e w as a
failure! Therefore, I w ou ld like
to com m ent on a cou ple of c o n
cerns I have a b o u t the J a m
boree.
First, in the S e p te m b e r 4 is
sue of The Independent, the
S m ith F a m ily a n d F rie n d s
w rote in th e ir le tte r to the editor,
“ P erhaps a few o th e r thin gs to
do that w eekend w ou ld help,"
and “T here w e re n ’t even any
kids gam es this year. W hat a
sham e!” In defense of the J a m
boree C om m ittee and e sp e cia l
ly S h e lly C lin e s (out of the
g o o d n e ss of h e r h e a rt she
agreed at the last m inute to
he lp b e ca u se no o n e e lse
w ould step up to do the Kids
G am es), fo r the kids there w ere
the Fishing Derby, the Parade,
a 5K Fun R u n /W a lk, Teen
Dance, and Kids G am es at the
s w im m in g po ol (a lso , th e re
w ere at least tw o booths with
kids gam es). For the adults,
there w ere, in addition to the
above m entioned events, the
A lte rn a tiv e
S tag e,
S o ftb a ll
T o u rn a m e n t, B la ck P o w d e r
R endezvous,
S y n c h ro n iz e d
S w im m ing D em onstration, Li
b ra ry B o o k S ale, V e rn onia
G ra n g e E lvis T rib u te , local
bands perform ing live m usic,
P astoral A ssociatio n W orship
S e rv ic e w ith c o n te m p o ra ry
C h ris tia n m usic, A lte rn a tiv e
S tage G olf Tourney, Vernonia
R idge R iders H orse G am ing
Show, and the Logging Show.
Now, if you fe e l th is is n ’t
enough to keep you occupied
o ve r the w eekend, then get in
volved and help us plan and ex
ecute m ore events next year!
The second issue I’d like to
a d dre ss is, W E N E ED YO U R
HELP. S ta rtin g in Jan uary,
eve ry 2nd Thursday, w e m eet
at 7:00 p.m . at the W G S Library
to start planning the next J a m
boree. E very ye a r in ou r press
releases, w e ask fo r m ore c o m
m unity invo lve m en t and rep-
p e ate dly say som ething along
the lines of, “if you have som e
new ideas or w ould like to help
co o rdin ate a Jam boree event,
please plan to attend!" So, to
T h e S m ith Fam ily and Friends
and anyone else w ho believes
there need to be “a few oth er
things to d o ” and “ kids gam es"
w e again extend an invitation to
each of you. C om e on dow n
and get involved, or the sham e
w ill tru ly lie w ith you!
Sincerely,
R an dy Parrow , P resid ent
Vernonia Jam b o ree
C om m ittee
Chief actions bring
unwarranted disgrace
To the Editor:
No S econd C hance!
R e g a rd in g
th e
re ce n t
b ro u h a h a c o n c e rn in g P olice
C hief C a h ill’s actions during the
Friendship Jam boree, I w ould
like to urge that he be fired or
forced to resign fo r several rea
sons.
First, it is abundantly clea r
from his actions that he does
not understand the people of
th is co m m u n ity. U nlike “c ity
fo lk ,” w e do not need a Big
B rother/N anny to m icrom anage
o u r personal affairs.
Also, there w as absolutely
no reason fo r the disgusting
show of force displayed. T his is
n o t so m e in n e r c ity g h e tto
w here w e loot, riot and burn as
a form of entertainm ent. There
m ade us look like a bunch of
has never been any a p p re cia law less, drunken buffoons. T h is
ble trouble at the Jam boree, at
is not som e Old W est fro n tie r
least none that I’ve heard of or tow n, nor do w e act like that.
seen.
However, I thin k the last s e n
W hy, then, did C hief Cahill
tence of that article is the best
“call in the M arines?” The only
reason of all to not give C hief
reasons I can discern are that
C a h ill “ a n o th e r c h a n c e ,” as
he disrespects the people of
som e suggest we should. The
this com m unity and fears them .
paper quoted him as saying,
A nd it d o e sn ’t take a genius to
that w ithout his actions, “th e re
realize that an arm ed, scared
is no telling w ha t w ould have
person is the m ost dangerous
happened” . C hief C ahill, I can
creature there is. Increasingly,
tell you w hat w ould have h a p
there is an “ Us versus T h e m ” pened: the sam e thing as usual
m entality in m any police d e - not m uch. He d id n ’t “get it"
partm ents, but this is usually
then, now or in the future. His
found in urban high crim e a r m indset is such that he w ill a l
eas. I do n’t thin k Vernonia q u a l w ays disrespect and fe a r the
ifies.
people of this tow n and I’m c e r
The apparent blatant show
tain he w ill not and c a n n o t
of favoritism show n regarding
change. O nce a bully, alw ays a
the beer garden situation w as
bully.
probably illegal and, w orse, un
I beg all citizen s to dem and
ethical.
that this m iscreant be rem oved
I was under the im pression
from office N O W . D em and tha t
that one of the reasons w e had
the m a yor and council take im
a police force w as to protect us
m ediate action and correct th e ir
from thugs and bullies. W here
dism al m istake and m ake ou r
do w e turn w hen the police be com m un ity w hole again. T h e ir
com e the thugs and bullies?
job is to serve the electorate,
P erhaps w e should turn to the
not em place som e petty d ic ta
folks w ho hired him, the city
tor.
council and mayor. It seem s,
But, if, fo r s o m e u n fa th
how ever, th a t th e y a re not
om able reason, C hief C ahill is
m uch inte reste d in rectifying
allow ed to rem ain in office, I
the situation. This is som ew ha t
suggest w e cha nge the nam e
understandable as th e y spent
of the Jam boree to “V ernonia
m uch tim e and effort in the
G estapo D ays - R e-live 1938
search fo r a police chief, on ly to
G erm an y!” or, how ab out “A r-
discover that they had failed
restFest ‘0 4 ” ?
m iserably to choose a suitable
Finally, C hief C ahill - I c h a l
person. E veryone m akes m is
lenge you to take the correct
takes; I jud ge people not so
and honorable cou rse of action
much by the ir m istakes as by
and resign. You d o n ’t like us
w hat they do to correct them .
and w e d o n ’t like you. Let us
I com e from the S outh and
part com pany on civil term s
have seen first hand w ha t ha p w hile w e still can.
pens w hen police are allow ed
W olfg an g R o tb art
to abuse th e ir power. I sure as
V ernonia
hell d o n ’t w ant to see tha t hap
pen here!
In the past, I have alw ays
e n c o u ra g e d frie n d s a n d a c
quaintances to attend the J a m To: Vernonia Fine, Police, Para
medics, and Volunteers:
boree. I w o n ’t m ake tha t m is
I would like to take this opportu
take ag ain. O ne pe rso n re
nity as a local resident and business
m arked, “W hat h a ppe ned to
owner of Vernonia to applaud you! I
the “ Friendship” part of th is? ”
take my hat off to you all. Everyone
I have alw ays supported the
of you who serves this community,
dow ntow n business com m un ity
regardless of the politics, who stand
and sho p th e re fre q u e n tly .
proud
in support of life, safety, and
Lately, though, I find m yself
health, are symbols of what this
a vo id in g th a t area (w o u ld n ’t
w ant to get a ticket for under-in community and what this country
flated tires or som ething eq u a l truly represents.
I wish I had known earlier of your
ly reprehensible).
tribute
to 9-11 and those who have
A nother reason for his re
m oval is that C hief C a h ill’s ac fallen on behalf of those in need on
tions have brought un w arra nt that momentous event, so that my
ed disgrace to this great co m family and I could have supported
you more. My handshakes seemed
munity. I hope everyone read
pitiful as compensation for the sacri
the article about the Jam boree
fices you make for my family, my
in The O regonian. The article
Thank you to all
emergency workers
P age 3
self, and my community.
< The tribute that I witnessed on
the evening of September 11,2003
on Bridge Street, was inspirational
and emotionally moving. Through
out the United States many events
took place in honor of those who
served and sacrificed on this day,
but I feel exceptionally rewarded to
know that I am part of a community
that is willing to show its true colors
of love, respect, and admiration, not
only to those who served, but as a
beacon of those who continue to
serve in such a caring manner to
day.
W e have called upon you many
times as a family, and each time you
have proven yourselves to be pro
fessional, necessary, and worthy. I
have never worried about a family
member in your care. Feel proud in
your accomplishments! Your val
ues and what you provide to our
community represent what I strive
to teach my children in regard to
self-purpose, patriotism, love of
country, and mankind.
Remembrance is indicative of
growth, love, and respect. Thank
you!
Sincerely,
Michael Botchie, President
Precision Building
Maintenance, Inc.
Vernonia
Senior Center needs
help from community
To the Editor:
To the C itizens of V ernonia:
W ho are you? A nyon e that
lives in the m a ilin g area of
97064.
I am tryin g to m a ke you
aw a re of a very real need at
yo u r S e n io r Center.
1. A lm o st all o f you say there
is a need fo r the S enio r C e n te r
to be a part of the com m unity.
2. A great m ajo rity of you
know w e exist, but d o n ’t bo the r
to co m e in.
3. A large m ajority of you
co m e in to shop, visit and eat
w ith us and en joy the th in g s o f
fe re d at the center.
4. A sm all m ajo rity of you
b o th e r to jo in us as a m e m be r
($ 1 0 .0 0 a year, p lu s v o tin g
rights on issues that co m e up).
5. A ve ry sm all group care or
b o th e r to be co m e active in the
p o litics of keeping the doors
op en and running. Yes, it's all
v o lu n te e r w ork.
6. I have told you in pa st a r
ticle s I’ve w ritte n that the ce n te r
n e ede d bodies. Now, w e need
m ore tha n bodies. W e need
p e o p le to com e forw ard that
can he lp us run the S e n io r C en-
P lease see pag e 20