The INDEPENDENT, August 5, 2004
Page 3
Letters
Good reasons not to
despair about youth
To the Editor:
I just had a custom two-
horse barn built on my little
farm in Mist. It is attractive with
oil stained board-and-batten
siding, a cupola, Dutch doors
on the stalls, large custom-
made rustic hardware, and a
flag flying. The only bother-
some thing about it is that my
daughter has called it a “Barbie
Barn” in front of me twice.
If you feel disparaged about
the local youths in our commu-
nity, let me tell you about Jor-
dan Zoeller and his brother, Ja-
son (ages 21 and 19), who built
my new barn. They are both
graduates of Jewell School.
The older brother, the boss,
wrote a contract which we
signed, all in a good business-
like fashion. The amount was in
the neighborhood of ten thou-
sand dollars. These fellows did
a fine job, it is my first time
while living in this area for ten
years, that I hired out major
work and ended up completely
satisfied. These fellows are
meticulous artisans and their
barn business is really sizzling,
it was the fourth barn they have
built. If our community can pro-
duce fine enterprising young
fellows like those two, we’re on
a roll.
Thanks for letting me write
you about these guys.
James Woods
Clatskanie
Please pick up your
trash at public pool
To the Editor:
Has anyone visited the swim-
ming pool lately, in the mornings?
I have and it is not pretty.
I must assume that people us-
ing it in the evenings do not know
that there are garbage cans lo-
cated in the park. I, and I’m sure,
the lifeguards and other public
works employees will agree, that
spending half an hour picking up
litter in the mornings is not fun.
The swimming pool is free.
There is not a day use fee, even
though the city pays a lifeguard
six hours per day every day.
Please be considerate and pick
up your garbage (including ciga-
rette butts) when you leave.
Jeff Burch
Vernonia Public Works
Sen. Dukes thanked
for action on roads
To the Editor:
Sincere thanks are extended
to Senator Joan Dukes by the
farmers and rural residents of
Washington County. Senator
Dukes makes sure that roads in
the rural area get attention in
our rapidly urbanizing county.
Fortunately, we have elected
leaders who “Get it.” Rural
roads are important to every-
one. The entire state benefits
from a vibrant farming econo-
Between the Bookends
By Ann Krutsinger, Library Assistant
Banks Public Library
The Banks Public Li-
brary open hours have
been reduced by one hour
per day. We open at 12
noon instead of 11 a.m. on
our regular open days. We
will still be open Tuesday -
Saturday. We will continue
to be closed on Sundays
and Mondays. We are sor-
ry for any inconvenience
this might provide.
The final Summer Reading Program is today,
August 5th, but kids started turning in their com-
pleted reading records as of August 1st. The
award for completing your reading goal is a free
book. Verizon, State Farm and Wells Fargo
sponsor the purchase of the reward books.
Preschool Story time will discontinue in August.
But look for it again the first week of school.
For adult readers, I’d like to suggest an author
I have recently discovered. Tracy Chevalier
writes historical novels that are fascinating sto-
ries. I’m reading “The Virgin Blue,” Chevalier’s
first novel. This novel goes back and forth be-
tween 16th Century France and modern France.
The characters in the 16th Century, it turns out,
are relatives of Ella Turner, a modern American
midwife who is living in a small town in France
because of her husband’s work. Ella is not very
happy in France – people treat her coldly, and
she is self-conscious about her French. She has
a recurring dream about the color blue, a vivid
blue found in some paintings from the 16th Cen-
tury. Ella starts researching her family history in
France and meets Jean Paul, a Frenchman who
works at the local library. As the book goes back
to the 16th Century, we learn that the character
of Isabelle du Moulin is one of Ella’s relatives.
Part historical novel, part mystery, you won’t be
able to put it down.
I have also read “The Girl With A Pearl Ear-
ring” by Chevalier. This book takes place in the
town of Delft in the 17th Century. Chevalier has
created a story about the unknown subject of
one of Vermeer’s paintings. Griet, an illiterate
young maid, is sent by her poor Protestant par-
ents to be a servant in the house of Vermeer (a
Catholic). In her new world, Griet is not treated
well. The work is demanding, the six children are
ungrateful, the other servant feels resentful and
Vermeer’s wife is bitter at being neglected by her
husband. Vermeer takes an interest in Griet, and
teaches her how to mix his colors. The sudden
attention causes a lot of backlash for Griet, but
she is excited by what she is learning, though
wary about the attention she is receiving from
Vermeer. Ultimately, no good can come from this
relationship. When Vermeer decides to paint Gri-
et, she knows what has been gossiped about the
last maid he painted – how she bore his child.
The descriptions are vivid and the details bring
17th Century Delft to life. The lack of choices in
Griet’s life is astonishing.
Two other books by Tracy Chevalier that I
have not read yet are “Falling Angels,” and “The
Lady and the Unicorn.”
Banks Public Library: 111 Market Street.
Hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs., 12 - 7 p.m.;
Fri. and Sat. 12 - 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.
my close to dense urban living.
Thank you, Senator Dukes,
for listening, understanding,
and taking action. Members of
the Washington County Road
Operations and Maintenance
Advisory Committee (RRO-
MAC) are most grateful for your
commitment to the importance
of rural communities to the en-
tire state.
Mark Bauer
and 11 additional signers
RROMAC
We should vote only
for trusted person
To the Editor:
For the last fifty years I have
been paying attention to the
candidates that the controlled
political parties have been run-
ning for office, especially for
president. They have without
fail ran someone that we didn’t
want and in opposition they ran
someone that we didn’t dare
have. Some of the time we got
the one we didn’t dare have!
I also keep hearing that if we
don’t vote for the one we don’t
want, the one we don’t dare
have will get into office. What if
everyone who says this would
say, “I will only vote for a per-
son that I can trust?”… and will
not vote for the lesser of two
evils, and would vote for candi-
dates that they know are trust-
worthy? That candidate would
get into office and we could
with God’s help turn our coun-
try back to a nation under God,
and the constitution our found-
ing fathers intended.
Respectfully,
Keith Carpenter
Scappoose
Thinks Bush right to
go to war with Iraq
To the Editor:
“Three Cheers.” This letter is
written in response to a letter
written by Mr. Juneious Harty of
Scappoose in the June 17 edi-
tion of The INDEPENDENT. I
wholeheartedly agree with Mr.
Harty’s assessment of our two
presidential candidates. I ap-
plaud President Bush for his
courage and decisiveness in
the way he sought to hold the
people accountable who were
responsible for the terrorist at-
tacks in our nation on Sept. 11,
‘01. He did not go after them
with a motive of revenge or re-
taliation, but with justice in
mind.
For those of you who are op-
posed to the war, remember
this – War is never pleasant,
but is sometimes necessary.
How many more of our citizens
would have been killed or crip-
pled by repeated terrorist at-
tacks if President bush had not
taken the firm stand that he
did? Yes, war is costly, but we
can ill afford to roll over, go
“back to sleep” and ignore the
people who attempt to control
others through fear and intimi-
dation, as the terrorists have
done. The cost of ignoring them
and hoping they will just go
away will be far greater than we
can imagine. There is always a
price to pay for freedom, but it
is always worth the cost.
So, to Mr. Harty, “Three
Cheers” to your comments.
Robert Huntington
Birkenfeld
4-H Clubs appreciate
support of businesses
To the Editor:
We would like to thank all of
the following businesses for
supporting our 4-H market proj-
ects at the Columbia County
Fair. We had four market pens
of rabbits and two market goats
this year from different Vernon-
ia 4-H clubs that qualified for
the auction. Despite the heat
wave, many buyers showed up
to support the kids. Prices were
such that we didn’t actually
need to use any of the money
pledged by Vernonia business-
es, but the pledges help us to
bid the prices up.
Thank you very much to Wil-
low and Jay of Vernonia Hard-
ware, Gail and Rick Gardner of
Gardners Feed, and Ben and
Lisa Edgar of Creatures.
Sincerely,
All Creatures Great & Small
4-H Club, D’Lisa Watts, and
Buxton’s Boers & Bunnies
Stacey Hargrove, Kirk Avila
Village Kids program
can use more help
To the Editor:
Dale Scobert (who was inter-
im Police Chief) called me to
tell me about a car accident
with two children. He was dis-
appointed not to have some-
thing, such as a quilt, to give
them. He is from Sandy, where
Bonnie Gallagher had started
Please see page 20