The INDEPENDENT, September 16, 2004
Letters
From page 17
mies rumbling because they
didn’t get to eat, tears because
the adult at home yelled at
them, yawns because no one
got them to bed at a decent
hour, or domestic violence kept
them up all night. No one at
home cared enough to spend a
few extra minutes to be sure
their child had a good start to
the day. When a driver has to
wait while a child scrambles to
find homework, has to tie their
shoes when they get on the
bus or help them with their
jackets, it holds up everyone
…including you, the impatient
driver stuck behind the bus.
Older children also need to
have a decent breakfast, and
have their backpacks and
lunch pails ready a few minutes
prior to the bus arriving. Just as
with adults, when a child starts
off the day hungry, or wolfs
down an inadequate breakfast
and rushes madly out the door,
there is a stress load already
weighing them down.
Drivers, leave adequate
room between you and the
back of the school bus! DON’T
TAILGATE THE BUS! Just like
trucks, if you can’t see us in
your side mirror, we can’t see
you. Buses have rear view mir-
rors, but drivers depend on
side mirrors since back and
side windows often fog up.
Climbing on our rear ends isn’t
going to make us speed up. In
fact, it will cause us to SLOW
DOWN. Why? This little item is
in the drivers manual for a rea-
son. If you are so close that
you would hit us if we had to
stop suddenly, we’ll make sure
you are going at an even slow-
er speed. Then if you rear-end
the bus, the impact will be less.
School buses follow the
same routes, on the same
days, at the same times, give
or take a few minutes. If you al-
ways end up behind a bus,
leave earlier, or leave later. It’s
not the bus’s fault you get stuck
behind it every day. And please
DO NOT even consider speed-
ing around that bus just to save
you 2 or 3 minutes. Is your
agenda more important than
the safety of a child? Worth the
risk of injuring or killing a child?
Or a head-on collision with
someone in the other lane? No
one else will think so, especial-
ly the family of the child you
might kill.
The next time you are stuck
Page 21
Obituary
behind a school bus, instead of
fretting and fuming, give thanks
that, although our schools are
overcrowded and underfunded,
we have schools. We are
blessed to live in a country
which not only has schools, but
also has a system that allows
ALL children to attend school,
city or rural, even providing
transportation. So give the the
kids a break, give the bus driv-
ers a break. Change your atti-
tude, back off a few yards,
watch out for them and help
keep them safe.
Thank you,
Cat Ross
Former school bus driver,
current sub bus driver,
Vernonia School District
Seven reasons for
supporting Ekstrom
To the Editor:
It was, indeed a pleasure, to
see in the paper that Bob Ek-
strom was running for the office
of county commissioner. I have
known Bob and his lovely wife
Vicki for many years.
First, I would say this for Bob
and Vicki, they have raised a
fine outstanding family, one to
be proud of.
Second, Bob is a successful
businessman. This takes
brains, our county surely needs
some.
Thirdly, Bob is an honest
man, these are hard to come
by in these days, believe me.
Fourth, Bob is a man of high
moral convictions, one who
practices what he preaches.
Fifth, Bob is a humble man
who thinks and prays upon
each serious issue that comes
before him.
Sixth, Bob is a man of in-
tegrity, he stands for right re-
gardless of the cost.
Seventh, Bob is a man of
high moral values, who stands
for what is right and the consti-
tution as it was written by our
founding fathers.
In other words, my friends,
we could never find a better
man than Bob Ekstrom for
county commissioner, or Presi-
dent of the United States of
America for that matter. Let one
and all who stands for decency
get behind this outstanding
man.
Thank you,
Juneious F. Harty
Scappoose
BEECHER F. MASON
Beecher F. Mason, 79, Portland,
died September 8, 2004. A funeral was
held September 13 in Lincoln Memorial
Funeral Home.
Mr. Mason was born June 10, 1925,
in Madisonville, Tennessee. He moved
to Timber in 1950 and to Portland in
1959.
In 1948, he married Villa Wear. He
was a bus driver for Greyhound.
Survivors include his wife, two sons,
Roger and Stan; three daughters,
Sharon Johnson, Darlene Mihaljcic and
Rhonda Criado; 15 grandchildren; five
great-grandchildren.
MAY KATE NIKOLAUS
May Kate Nikolaus, 81, Hillsboro,
died September 4, 2004. A funeral
service was held September 10 at the
First Christian Church in Forest Grove,
with Rev. Spencer King officiating. Pri-
vate burial took place in Union Point
Cemetery in Banks.
Mrs. Nikolaus was born October 27,
1922, in Ghost Pine Creek, Alberta,
Canada, to James and Maude James
Quance. She was raised in Canada.
In 1949, she married Gordon Niko-
laus. They made their home in several
communities in Canada and the United
States, including Banks and Hillsboro.
She was preceded in death by a
brother, Fredrick.
Survivors include her husband; one
son, James of Banks; one daughter,
Karen Schmidlin of Banks; one brother,
Charles of Calgary, Alberta, Canada;
two sisters, Minnie Dean of Missoula,
Montana, and Clarice Christie of Three
Hills, Alberta, Canada; four grandchil-
dren; nieces and nephews.
Remembrances are suggested to
the American Heart Association, 1425
NE Irving, Suite 100, Portland, OR
97232-4201.
Duyck and VanDeHey Funeral
Home of Forest Grove was in charge of
arrangements.
LARA DENIKE PEDDICORD
Lara Denike Peddicord, 29,
Knoxville, Tennessee, died July 23,
2004. A celebration of life was held
September 11 at The Grand Lodge in
Forest Grove.
Mrs. Peddicord was born October
22, 1974, in Portland, to Peter T. and
Frances E. Denike. She was raised in
"A Trusted Name in Funeral Service"
Manning and graduated from Banks
High School in 1992. She earned a
B.A. degree in Spanish in 2003 at Ap-
palachian State University in Boone,
N.C.
In 2004, she married Brian Peddi-
cord. They made their home in
Knoxville. She had worked as a
teacher’s assistant for Washington
Count Head Start and in the Banks
School District.
She was preceded in death by her
father.
Survivors include her husband; her
mother; and a brother, David T. Denike
of Grants Pass.
Remembrances are suggested to
the American Cancer Society, 0330 SW
Curry St., Portland, OR 97201.
HELEN L. PEMBLE
Helen L. Pemble, 77, formerly of
Vernonia, died September 11, 2004. A
memorial service will be held Septem-
ber 18 at 11:00 a.m. in Portland Memo-
rial Funeral Home.
Mrs. Pemble was born May 4, 1927,
in Vernonia. Her maiden name was
Fowler. She graduated from Vernonia
High School.
In 1946, she married Weston Pem-
ble. She was a plant scheduler for Tek-
tronix for 18 years.
Survivors include her husband; a
son, R. Scott; a daughter, Candice
Pemble-Belkin; three grandchildren.
Remembrances are suggested to
Washington County Hospice.
MAX EDGAR SNIDER, JR.
Max Edgar Snider, Jr., 76, Portland,
died September 1, 2004. A service was
held September 8 at Willamette Nation-
al Cemetery.
Mr. Snider was born May 12, 1928,
in Vernonia and was raised in Portland.
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in
Adak, Alaska during World War II.
In 1948, he married Helen B. Ful-
gham. He was a truck driver for Zeller-
bach Paper for 39 years.
Angel Memorials
Granite Markers
Second Generation
Family Owned & Operated
JEFFREY & DEBRA ROSE-HOYT
TINA ROSE-REYNOLDS
JANE SCHNEIDER, ROSS MATHEWS
HECTOR DE LOS SANTOS
Attendant: RAY PELSTER
2308 Pacific Av. Frst Grv....357-2161
741 Madison Av. Vern.........429-6611
E-mail: Fuitenrosehoyt@aol.com
SIDNEY E. WITBECK
Sidney E. Witbeck, 80, Cornelius,
died August 31, 2004. Private crema-
tion has taken place.
Mr. Witbeck was born October 6,
1923, in Severance, Colorado. He was
raised in Colorado and served in the
U.S. Navy during World War II.
He moved to Cornelius in 1948 and
worked as a PGE lineman. From the
early 1950s until 1971, he owned and
operated the Laurel Acres Store and
Service Station in Hillsboro. In 1988, he
married Alice White.
He was preceded in death by his
first wife, Nettie “Cec” Witbeck.
Survivors include his wife; three
step-daughters, Kathy Wolfe of Ver-
nonia, Adriene Gardner of Portland,
and Belinda Spegel of Nehalem; nine
grandchildren; six great-grandchildren;
nieces and nephews.
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24 Hr. Service
Honoring all pre-planned
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Serving Hillsboro
Columbia and
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Serving
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All
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9456 NW Roy Rd., Forest Grove
503-640-9045
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475
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Not a funeral home
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Personal home visits
at no extra charge
Prices start at $320
including design
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Tualatin Valley
Funeral Alternatives
Wendy Sears
503-429-1523
Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt
Funeral Home
Survivors include his wife; one
daughter, Linda Ferguson; a sister,
Faye; three grandchildren; four great-
grandchildren.
Remembrances are suggested to
the House of Dreams cat shelter in
Portland.
Crown was in charge of arrange-
ments.
~ There are Options ~
241 West Main St., Hillsboro
503-693-7965
D & V
uyck
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Our family providing your family
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9456 NW Roy Rd.• Forest Grove • 503-357-8749