Page 8
The INDEPENDENT, February 19, 2004
Bits & Bites
By Jacqueline Ramsay
I
am
guessing
you know
Spring is
not here
yet. It is
too cold,
too foggy
and
there’s no real heat in the sun.
The old folk are still bundled up
in their sweats!
Valentine’s Day was made
happier at the Senior Center
Party due to the Lincoln School
2nd graders’ Valentine cards –
a special thank you to Miss
Charlotte who made the one I
received – Thank you to all of
you kids’ hard work.
Flash #1. Audeen tells me the
Spelling Bee has been moved
back one day to April 2nd at
1:00 p.m., still at the Senior
Center, though. Seems there is
something else happening on
the 3rd and we don’t want a con-
flict of interest to keep you from
entering the Spelling Bee. For
your crossword or spelling bee –
Ubiquitious = being everywhere
at once.
Question?? Do you know
personally someone born on
February 29?? I don’t; strange
you can live 80 years and not
have run into at least one per-
son. I know several born on
April 1 and a couple born on
Christmas or New Year’s Day
and even Valentine’s Day.
Flash # 2. The pink flamin-
goes are back – I hope they
find enough to eat. I saw them
in the City Hall flower bed the
other day.
Flash # 3. If you missed
page 7 in the February 5 issue
of The Independent, Donkey
Basketball is due back in April
in Vernonia. Mark your calen-
dar – Last year it was a blast of
the past.
City Council in Banks – but –
I’ve lived in several different
towns and this I know. You can-
not make a horse drink water if
it does not want to, even if you
lead it to the source. Likewise
City Council meeting are open
to the public. You are allowed to
speak, if you ask to be heard.
But, you have to turn off your
T.V., leave your house, go to
the meetings. Open your eyes,
ears, mind and mouth. The
Mayor is a person chosen by a
vote of the people (all who
vote) who clarifies problems
and does the mandate of the
people, after the council (also
chosen by the people) has vot-
ed yea or nay. The Mayor is not
the only voice in town.
A field mouse can jump to
the ground from heights of 20
feet without hurting itself.
Flash # 4. Our Vernonia
swan has taken up residence
on a private pond – so it’s not
dead.
Plaza of Discovery meeting Feb. 23
There will be a Plaza of Dis-
covery committee meeting on
Monday, February 23 at 5:30
p.m.
The meeting will be at Scap-
poose Bay Kayaking, 57420
Old Portland Road in Warren.
For information or special
accommodations, contact Jan
at 503-397-4322.
!!
Quality
w ent
er
e
Custom
N em
New
Low
Prices!!
!
Service!
ag
n
Ma
WWII Saipan and Tinian Vets
sought for anniversary honors
The Oregon Department of
Veterans’ Affairs in conjunction
with the Committee for the
Commemoration of the 60th
Anniversary of WWII, is asking
for help in locating veterans
who fought in the WWII Battles
of Saipan and Tinian. Veterans
who took part in these battles
will be honored in a historic an-
niversary event to be held June
12–16, 2004, on the island of
Saipan, Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.
More than 70,000 American
marines, soldiers, sailors and
airmen fought the World War II
battles for Tinian and Saipan,
and more than 4,000 lost their
lives. The airfields on Tinian
and Saipan were critical for the
B-29 missions that hastened
the end of the war, including the
historic flight of the Enola Gay.
If you or someone you know
was involved in either of these
battles, send the name and
contact information to Jessica
Jordan, <marianas04anniver
sary@yahoo.com>,
phone:
607-234-7211, or mail: PMB
409 Box 10000, Saipan MP
96950.
For more information about
the 60th Anniversary of the Bat-
tle for Saipan and Tinian, visit
the website at <www.World
WarII.info>.
Vernonia military student chosen
for Who’s Who Among Students
Cadet Anthony C. Morrow of
Vernonia was selected for
Who’s Who Among Students In
American Junior Colleges, from
Marion Military Institute, Mari-
on, Alabama. He is the son of
Mrs. Jill Wiseman of Vernonia.
Cadet Morrow was among 15
students from Marion Military
Institute who have been select-
ed nationally as outstanding
campus leaders.
Students are included based
on their academic achieve-
ment, service to the community,
leadership in extracurricular ac-
tivities and potential for contin-
ued success.
They join an elite group of
students from more than 1,400
institutions of higher learning
in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and several foreign
nations.
April 1 deadline nears for tax
exemption on veterans’ property
April 1 is the deadline to ap-
ply for the Oregon veterans’
property tax exemption. Quali-
fied disabled veterans, or their
surviving spouses, may be enti-
tled to exempt either $10,160
or $13,520 of their property’s
assessed value from property
taxes.
The $10,160 exemption ap-
plies to war veterans with dis-
abilities of 40 percent or more
and to war veterans’ surviving
spouses who have not remar-
ried. The $13,520 exemption
applies to war veterans with
service-connected disabilities of
40 percent or more. It also ap-
plies to spouses of war veter-
ans who died of service-con-
nected illness or injury or who
received this exemption before.
Additional information is
available at the local county tax
assessor’s office and on the
Department of Revenue’s web
site at <www.dor.state.or.us>
under Publications.
Reality Auto
FOODMART
FUEL
ESPRESSO
DELI
Free Coffee with Fill
Winter Hours
Mon - Thur
4 am - Midnight
Fri. 4 am - 1 am
Sat. 5 am - 1 am
Sun. 5 am - 11 pm
MIL
K
STALEY’S JUNCTION ONLY
50470 NW Sunset Hwy, $1.99 PER
GALLON
Banks, OR 503-324-0950
Q UALITY U SED C ARS ,
Q UALITY M AINTENANCE
and R EPAIRS
at a REALISTIC PRICE .
That’ s Reality
re
e
h
W
Certified Acura & Honda
d
Goo ain
Master Mechanic
ls R
Dea
Automotive
Service
Excellence
Certified
Professional
2248 Main Street, Forest Grove
503-357-9060
In the Service
John J. Marshall
Army National Guard Pvt.
John J. Marshall has graduat-
ed from One Station Unit Train-
ing (OSUT) at the U.S. Army
Infantry School, Fort Benning,
Columbus, Georgia. The train-
ing consisted of basic military
training and advanced individ-
ual training (AIT).
Marshall is the son of Mar-
garet Marshall of Manning. He
is a 2002 graduate of Banks
High School.
Online historic
preservation
survey due Mar. 1
Oregon’s State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO)
has an online survey to gather
public input for revising Ore-
gon’s comprehensive historic
preservation plan.
Posted on the Internet at
<http://www.hcd.state.or.us>,
the survey is designed as a fol-
low up to a series of 24 public
meetings conducted around
the state last fall. The question-
naire will be appear on the
HCD website until March 1.
“We sent teams all across
the state to gather opinions
from Oregonians about what
matters most to them about
historic preservation and her-
itage in their local communi-
ties,” said David Bogan, cultur-
al education specialist for the
Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department’s Heritage Conser-
vation Division (HCD). “Now
we are asking the same set of
questions on our website so
that people who were not able
to attend the meetings can par-
ticipate.”
On March 5, SHPO staff will
present results of the survey at
a daylong meeting of historic
preservation stakeholders in
Salem. The work session,
which will begin at 10 a.m. at
the historic Grand Lodge Ball-
room, 187 High Street NE, will
review comments made at
meetings and online.
SHPO will use results of the
March 5 work to develop a first
draft of the plan’s revision,
which will be distributed to the
general public for comment. In
October, SHPO will submit a fi-
nal draft to the National Park
Service.
More information about the
survey and work session is
available from David Bogan,
phone 503-986-0671, or e-mail
<David.Bogan@state.or.us>.