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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2003)
The INDEPENDENT, October 16, 2003 From page 2 efficient and effective 9-1-1 emergency response possible. We’re very proud of the job that the staff does at your 9-1-1 District. They operate very effi ciently, with fewer employees than they could have, without sacrificing 9-1-1 call service, dispatch or emergency service coordination. And they help us keep our promises, like getting the 9-1-1 Call Center built for about 1/3 the cost of other 9-1-1 centers, and qualifying Columbia 9-1-1 for Computer Aided Dispatch and Enhanced 9-1-1 service. Those are complicated to ex plain, but they result in faster dispatching when you call. Another important promise we’ve been able to keep to the ........ voters is getting a countywide count on 9-1-1 as a vital service microwave backbone radio sys for your children, grandparents, tem funded and installed - us friends and co-workers. You ing over $1.4 million in other count on 9-1-1. We all count on funding sources - instead of 9-1-1. Likewise, we all count on District tax revenues. That means safer, more reliable ra your vote on Novermber 4th, dio coverage for every part of and your YES vote to renew Operating the county - doing much more, Columbia 9-1-1 with less. That new system will Funds. Over half of all regis tered voters must cast their be operating in November. As a result of effective man vote and a majority of those agement, the rate requested for must approve this renewal for it the renewal of the District's to pass. Please vote and vote five-year operating funds is YES. LOWER than it was five years Thank you for the opportuni ago. That means that the tax ty to serve you through Colum rate to you, the taxpayers, will bia 9-1-1 Communications Dis go down, while our 9-1-1 relia trict. Board of Directors of bility and service increases. Columbia 9-1-1 This is a team effort, and we Communications District take our responsibility very se- Dee Wooley, Clatskanie riouslv - because we know .............. Botwoen tbs Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library Those of us in the library would like to express our heartfelt sympathy to the Parrow family. Art Parrow was a true “friend of the li brary.” For many years he read and read. On cards that are remaining in some of the older books his name may be found time after time. Art was a liaison between the library and The Lion’s Club, always requesting ideas for projects to benefit the library. One of these proj ects was the construction of two portable book shelves, with materials being donated by The Li ons and the work being done by Art. Art became a member of the library board in 1993 and served until 1997, when he was appointed May or of Vernonia. He was always supportive, while intelligently helping to guide policies and prac tices. Memorial donations to The Friends of the Library have been made in honor of Art and are being used to purchase a book about raising dahlias, another on beginning woodworking proj ects, several novels, and a book entitled, The Wisdom o f Grandfathers. The recent Chautauqua presentation was well received by those in attendance. Rick Fran- cona’s presentation about the Japanese attacks on Oregon’s coast prompted the purchase of Silent Siege— III, a documentary by Bert Web ber, on these attacks during World War II. The book is quite detailed and contains many inter esting pictures of Fort Stevens and its personnel at that time and of the bomb carrying balloons. Listed in the book are the 297 sites where parts of these balloons were found, ranging from Ore gon to Montana, British Columbia, Alaska, Michi gan, South Dakota and Texas. Isn’t the technol ogy that the Japanese had during that time just amazing? Also recently added to the library’s collection is Mr. Francona’s book, Ally to Adver sary, An Eyewitness Account of Iraq’s Fall from Grace. The last book discussion meeting was the best-attended and liveliest one yet. To Kill a — Mockingbird proved to be an excellent choice. Snow Falling on Cedars is the current selection. Copies of the book are available as well as au dio and video editions. Discussion of this novel will take place Thursday, October 23 at 7 p.m. in the library. New acquisitions include Blacklist by Sara Paretsky, Stone Cold by Robert B. Parker, De ception Point by Dan Brown, Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson, Orchard by Larry Watson, Split Second by David Baldacci, Blood is the Sky by Steve Hamilton, Three Weeks in October by Charles A. Moose and Charles Flem ing, and The Smoking Gun by Gerry Spence. Having recently completed the 2003 Oregon Public Library Statistical Report, I am excited to report that circulation increased from 17,222 last year to 21,732 this year. Since the move to the new building, when yearly circulation was about 10,000, the number of items checked out has considerably more than doubled. The library pre sented 98 programs for children last year with approximately 1,400 persons in attendance and 14 programs for adults with about 400 people at tending. Approximately 13,000 people visited the library last year. Isn’t that remarkable? One fig ure reported for the first time this year is the number of users of electronic resources in the li brary— mainly Internet. This figure was very con servatively reported at 820, and means that at least 3 people used the Internet each day the li brary was open last year. During the hunting/camping vacation of this past week, our family certainly made use of li brary materials. Errold and I each read several novels while the grandchildren read and re-read spooky stories and spooky jokes. Even while driving we listened to books— books on tape. We survived without television just fine, thanks to books and the library. Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. * 7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. -2 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:00 a.m., when school is in session. Phone: (503 ) 429-1818 .................. .............................. m . . . — ................................................ ■■ ■■■ .. — . — - ................. — ......................... Kathy Denckla, Vernonia-Mist Connie Budge, Rainier-Columbia City Rob Anderson, Scappoose Henry Heimuller, St. Helens Voting is easy but be sure ballot counts Some elections you have to think about: some are no-brain ers, just do it. The November election to renew the 9-1-1 levy is one of the latter. Nothing new about this levy, it’s just a bit smaller than the expiring one it will re place. Almost everyone who votes will be for this: the prob lem is getting half the elec torate to mail or bring in their ballots. So, with apologies to Nike for swiping their slogan, Just Do It. Vote. Cordially, Frazier Rohm Vernonia We really do call 9-1-1 when seconds count There is a saying, “When seconds count, call 9-1-1 first.’’ We know it’s true, and we do call Columbia 9-1-1, more than 88,000 times a year; more than 200 times a day. 9-1-1 is a vital service we all expect to be there. We just know it will. So, it’s an easy decision when once every five years, we’re asked whether we want to keep providing the operating funds to maintain 9-1-1 service for every man, woman and child in Columbia County. Of course we do. Vote yes for Co lumbia 9-1-1 on the November ballot. And be sure to vote, be cause while we all need and want 9-1-1 service, we also need a double majority turn out. So please vote, and vote yes on Columbia 9-1-1. Randy Parrow Vernonia EMT speaks from personal knowledge While working/volunteering as an EMT in Vernonia for 9 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with our 9-1-1 dispatchers for Colum bia County. These people are al ways there to help and reas sure those in need and, at the same time, dispatch em er gency responders with the ac curate and timely information we need to assist a caller in their time of need. However, for them to contin Page 3 ue doing their job quickly and efficiently, they need our help now. The levy that passed 5 years ago needs to be renewed and will not even raise our tax es (the cost will actually be low er). So expense isn’t the issue so much as the need for the percentage of registered voters required to pass a measure. Please, GET OUT AND VOTE. The services provided by 9- 1-1 are something each of us will probably need at some point in our life. Unfortunately, no one knows when an emer gency will arise, but the better prepared we are, the greater the chance for a positive out come. Please join me Novem ber 4th in voting “YES” to re new 9-1-1! Christine Purvee Vernonia 9-1-1 service needed in all emergencies We all count on government to provide us with essential services. One of the most es sential services is Columbia 9- 1-1, which coordinates all the police or fire or emergency medical departments in all of our com m unities when we need them. They do it fast and they do it efficiently. There is nothing more es sential in an emergency than dialing 9-1-1 and knowing a person is there to help right away, within seconds. We count on this essential service every day, just look at the num bers: Columbia 9-1-1 handled over 88,000 calls last year. If w e’re using it, and we count on it and it works for us, we need to keep it. We need to renew Columbia 9-1-1 operat ing funds so we have 9-1-1 service for another 5 years - just like we have for the past 10 years. I’m voting YES for Columbia 9-1-1 on the November ballot. It’s a simple, smart decision we can all make to keep something we need. Tom Budge Vernonia Vernonia felt like home on first visit Welcome to Vernonia. Some say that when you die, there are are those who greet and guide you on to the ‘other side’. The first place I stopped in town was Sentry (well, the Please see page 20
