The INDEPENDENT, April 1, 2004
Page 3
Letters
Difference explained
between tax and fee
To the Editor:
As a member of the Oregon
House of Representatives during
the ‘80s I served on the Revenue
committee for six years and the
question “Is it a fee or a tax?”
came up frequently. The courts
have clarified the issue many
times and have stated a clear
distinction.
A fee is an assessment for a
specific use paid by the particular
user of a public service. (e.g. a
fee for the collection of garbage
or a fee to use a State park
campsite)
A tax is an assessment to
generate funds for general gov-
ernment purposes. The cigarette
tax is, in fact, a tax even though it
is assessed only against people
who buy cigarettes, because the
money collected is allocated to
the State general fund for gener-
al government purposes.
When the Columbia County
aggregate depletion fee [of 10
cents per ton] was first estab-
lished, it was dedicated to admin-
istration of the County’s surface
mining ordinance which regu-
lates and benefits the mining in-
dustry, with any surplus going to
the road department. The road
department was not guaranteed
any of the proceeds of the aggre-
gate depletion fee.
When it was raised to 15
cents, it became a tax because a
portion of the 15 cents was allo-
cated to the road department.
The most recent proposal was
also a tax because it not only
maintained the road department
allocation but added parks and
animal control as dedicated re-
cipients.
Bruce Hugo
Scappoose
are heard.
We would like you to come
down and meet your neighbor-
hood representative. Our next
meeting is the 2nd Tuesday in
April, April 13, 2004, 7:00 at
City Hall. Come for dessert.
Sincerely, your Upper Ne-
halem Citizen Planning Adviso-
ry Committee,
Tim Bero, Nancy Dailey,
Gayle Lee, Rick Gardner,
Susan Goodhope
Vernonia
Join program
Opinion on land use? Adopt-A-Soldier
Bring your thoughts
To the Editor:
What is your opinion of land
use in this county? We want to
hear about it.
We are your local C.P.A.C.
We are residents of the Ver-
nonia area. There is one volun-
teer from each of five neighbor-
hoods. We are your voice to the
Land Use Planning Dept. We
advise the Planning Commis-
sion on Land Use Applications
that are applied for by Vernonia
area residents. The County
Commissioners also keep us
informed about any land use
changes that are occurring so
we can make sure our voices
to
To the Editor:
Have you ever wondered
how you could help our soldiers
who are continuing to defend
our freedom? Well, here is your
opportunity. Cub Scout Pack
201 is joining up with The Boy
Scouts of America Cascade
Pacific Council in supporting
the “Adopt-A-Soldier” program.
You can help by donating items
at any one of the following local
businesses: Sentry, U.S. Bank,
Western Auto, or Vernonia
Hardware.
If you have questions or
need to arrange for a pickup of
your donated items, please
contact Kinnell Steward at 503-
Between the Bookends
By Ann Krutsinger, Library Assistant
Banks Public Library
Winter and early spring
are good times to read
and prepare for summer
fun and adventures. In
that vein, the library has
purchased some new out-
door guides to help our
patrons plan trips in the
Northwest.
Washington's
Rail-
Trails second edition, by Fred Wert, outlines and
maps old rail trails that are now available for
walking, running, bike riding, in line skating and
horseback riding. There are four sections in the
book: Northwest Washington, Puget Sound,
Southwest Washington and Eastern Washing-
ton. Another book about Washington State is
Best Hikes with Dogs in Western Washington by
Dan A. Nelson. Nelson’s book outlines both safe-
ty and health requirements for hiking with a dog,
and outlines specific trails that are “dog friendly.”
Regarding Oregon’s beautiful outdoor experi-
ences, the library has purchased the companion
volume, Best Hikes with Dogs in Oregon, by
Ellen Morris Bishop. Bishop has a thorough
overview of both health and safety requirements
and many trails. Her chapter headings include
the Coast Range, the Columbia River Gorge, the
Cascade Mountains and the Blue Mountains.
Other new outdoor books about Oregon are
Best Short Hikes in Northwest Oregon, by Rhon-
da and George Ostertag, Soggy Sneakers: A
Paddler’s Guide to Oregon’s Rivers by Pete
Giordano and the Willamette Kayak and Canoe
Club, and Hiking the Oregon Coast by local
guide Lizann Dunegan. I got excited reading
about the riding possibilities in Bicycling Ameri-
ca's National Parks: Oregon & Washington, by
David Story. This book has the best road and
trail rides from Crater Lake to Olympic National
Park.
Three other outdoor books that are not strict-
ly about Northwest experiences are The Fly-Ty-
ing Bible by Peter Gathercole, and Marathon
Training: A 100-Day Program to Your Best Race,
by Joe Henderson. It is raining as I write this, but
these books are great ways to dream about
summer and plan some outdoor fun.
Banks Public Library: 111 Market Street.
Hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs., 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.;
Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Preschool Story Time: Wednesdays, 10:15
a.m., through July.
Phone: (503 ) 324-1382
Internet: www.WILInet.wccls.lib.or.us.
to browse library resources or to
reserve materials electronically.
429-8133. If you would rather,
make a cash donation to help
pay for postage or purchase
other necessary items for the
care packages. Checks can be
made payable to “Family Pro-
grams.”
We will be collecting items
for the entire month of April
2004. Some items that are be-
ing sought after are: jerky, nuts
of any kind, trail mix, high pro-
tein power bars, granola bars,
crackers & cheese, tuna pack-
ets (NO CANS), powdered
drinks/lemonade, chips in a
can, store bought cookies, hard
candies, gum, etc. Due to ship-
ping, pre-packaged, non-
gooey, non-crushable items are
preferred. NO pork products or
coffee will be accepted. Game
books, paperback books,
cards, dice, panty liners, inter-
national phone cards & station-
ary are also needed.
Supplies needed for ship-
ping include: plain boxes, tape
& postage vouchers. It is ex-
pensive to ship the packages
overseas; it costs approx.
$8.00 – $20.00 per five pound
package.
Your help is greatly appreci-
ated & we would love to make a
small difference in these dedi-
cated people’s lives. Thank you
in advance for your support.
Kinnell Steward
Vernonia
C.A.S.A. grateful for
generous donation
To the Editor:
The volunteers of C.A.S.A.
(Court Appointed Special Advo-
cates) of Columbia County
would like to thank the Samuel
S. Johnson Foundation for their
generous donation.
Community members do-
nate their time to work with and
assist children of Columbia
County that are under the care
of the Department of Human
Services. Each volunteer works
as an independent voice to
help determine the best needs
of the child in dependency cas-
es. At any given time in Colum-
bia County, a minimum of sixty
children could use the support
of a C.A.S.A. volunteer. Cur-
rently, we have eight volunteers
providing services to nineteen
children.
The Samuel S. Johnson
Foundation has made it possi-
ble to support our volunteers by
providing supplies and allowing
for continuing education. It is
our hope that with the support
of organizations like the Sam-
uel S. Johnson Foundation that
we will be able to grow, provid-
ing much-needed assistance to
many more children in the juve-
nile justice system.
Sincerely,
Doreen Hocraffer, Director
C.A.S.A. of Columbia County
County GOP slates
Candidates’ Fair
To the Editor:
We would like to announce
to your readers that the Colum-
bia County Republicans will be
holding a candidate fair on April
15, 2004, at the Columbia Riv-
er PUD. It is open to all Repub-
lican candidates running in the
primary that is on May 18. It
would be a great time to come
and meet the candidates and
hear their views on the subjects
being presented. Any candi-
dates that we have not yet con-
tacted can contact us at 503-
728-3548. We look forward to
having all interested parties at-
tend.
Pat Powell
GOP Secretary
Rainier
Policy on Letters
From small towns
The INDEPENDENT is
pleased to provide this fo-
rum for public comments.
To help assure your letter is
published, note the follow-
ing:
• Brevity is best. Long let-
ters may not be published,
or they may be edited.
• Form letters and personal
attacks will not be accepted.
• A verifiable name and ad-
dress must be included.
From page 1
five years-old, plus three dogs.
Mrs. Workman is originally
from the Pacific Northwest so
they anticipate a smooth tran-
sition in the move to Oregon.
Both grew up in towns smaller
than Vernonia and believe Ver-
nonia will be a good place to
raise a family.
Workman enjoys sports,
singing and computers, and
claims to have only a few cloth-
ing items in ‘Husker red.