The independent., November 18, 2004, Page 3, Image 3

T h e IN D E P E N D E N T , N o v e m b e r 18, 20 04
Page 3
Letters
Thanks to citizens and
good wishes to future
To the Editor:
I would like to thank the VOT­
ING citizens of Vernonia for allow­
ing me to serve our fine city these
past four years as a city councilor.
It was an exciting and fulfilling ex­
perience. And yes, (to be honest),
on rare occasions a bit boring. But
the efforts put forth, and accom­
plishments that were realized by
the city staff and my fellow coun­
cilors, for the good of Vernonia,
brightly illuminates in my memory
the exciting times, more than any­
thing else.
I know that the folks who remain
on the council, and the new people
that are coming on board will con­
tinue to put forth their best efforts to
face the exciting challenges, and
deal with the mundane aspects of
helping to guide our wonderful city
to a successful and secure future. I
wish them all the very best.
Glen Purvee
Vernonia
Remember our troops
during the holidays
To the Editor,
The holiday season is rapidly
failing upon us, and the hustle and
bustle is about to start. I would like
to take a moment to remind people
to take some time to remember
our service members. W hether
they are serving here in the states
or in another country, be it combat
or non-combat, this time of year
can be the loneliest.
I know from personal experi­
ence because I served one Christ­
mas on the East German border,
and then the next Christmas in the
Persian Gulf. These people need
our support in any form we can
give them. Remember, they are
doing their jobs, they cannot “opt
out” of a particular conflict or war
because they may not agree with
it. Simple things can be done to let
them know we appreciate their
sacrifices they are making to de­
fend our freedoms.
There are organizations we can
donate money to for care pack­
ages and calling cards so they
may call home. Many of us have
friends/family members or know
someone who has friends/family
members serving. Ask them how
we can help. It’s amazing how a
simple letter saying “thanks” can
help boost moral. If you meet
som eone w ho is home for the hol­
Between the Bookends
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
O u r co m m u n ity has lost
a n o th e r o f its h a rd e s t-
w o rk in g an d m o s t-lo v e d
c itiz e n s ,
E nid
P arrow .
E nid w as a c tiv e ly involved
in m a ny effo rts to m ake
V ern onia a b e tte r pla ce to
live and to p reserve its
past. W e w o u ld like to e x ­
te n d ou r co n d o le n ce s to
he r fa m ily and to let the m know th a t a m em oria l
fun d w ith T h e F riend s o f the Lib ra ry has been
e sta b lish e d in h e r m em ory. B ooks p u rcha sed
from th is fund to da te includ e: Columbia County
Neighborhood Cookbook, Savor Oregon Cookbook,
The Oregon Trail— A Photographic Journey, The Old
Farmer's 2005 Almanac, and Scenic Driving Oregon.
T h e last m entioned of th e se in clu d e s a loop
thro u g h S herm an C o u n ty w ith an article ab o u t
D ufu r and its log ca b in m useum , its B alch H otel
and C ity Park. W e w ill no t fo rg e t E nid w ith he r
sen se o f hum or, he r w illin g n e ss to help and,
hopefully, som eon e w ill ca rry on he r tra dition o f
brin ging b row nies as re fre sh m e n ts fo r atte n d e e s
to e n jo y at library program s.
For th o se lucky e n o u g h to have been at the
last C h a u ta u q u a program and heard Jen i F o ster
sing and relate the p lig h t o f Irish em igrants,
th a n ks fo r attend ing and w a s n ’t it g re a t! Tw o of
the books, The Famine Ships: The Irish Exodus to
America and Out o f Ireland: the Story o f Irish Emigra­
tion to America, th a t Ms. F oster re com m e nd ed
have been added to the lib ra ry ’s collection.
M y re co m m e n d a tio n s fo r the m onth are by
a u tho rs C hris B ojhalian an d Justin C ronin. Bo-
jh a lia n ch o o se s co n tro ve rsia l top ics such as h o ­
listic m e dicine, w a te r w itching , m idw ifery, and in
his late st o ffe rin g — an im a l rights and gun c o n ­
trol. Before You Know Kindness be g in s w ith tw o
EMTs leaning o ve r a n im a l-rig h ts a ctivist S p en cer
M c C u llo u g h ’s g u s h in g s h o tg u n w o u n d . T h e
w e a p o n is ow n ed by his b ro th e r-in -la w and has
been fire d by his 12-year-old daughter, C har-
lo tte -w h o b e com e s th e c e n te r o f a tte n tio n and
m e d ia fre n zy led by S p e n c e r’s em ployer, F E R A L
(F e d e ra tio n for A n im a l Lib e ra tio n ). T h is novel
ta ke s the re ade r th ro u g h the o rd in a ry d a y s le a d ­
ing up th e accid e n t, and fo rw a rd a g a in as
S p e n c e r’s fa m ily co m e to te rm s w ith th e after-
m ath o f the incident. B o h ja lia n is a g ifte d a u th o r
th a t I highly re co m m e n d . C ro n in ’s novel, The
Summer Guest, is a w o n d e rfu lly w ritte n love story.
It re vo lve s aroun d rich fin a n c ie r H arry W ain­
w rig h t w h o has re turn ed to a M a in e fishin g cam p
fo r o n e last da y o f fishin g b e fo re he d ie s o f te r­
m inal cancer. C ronin a rtfu lly w e a v e s J o e and
Lucy C rosby, the c a m p ’s o w n e rs; th e ir d a u g h te r
K ate; and Jordan , the c a m p ’s g u id e ; into a c o m ­
plex w eb of fa m ily dram a. T h e re a d e r is led
th ro u g h W orld W ar I and V ietnam , w ith th e sto ry
reachin g its clim a x on a late s u m m e r d a y in
1994. I tend to th in k that, in g e neral, m a le a u ­
th o rs w rite a m ore be lie vab le , co m p le x love sto ­
ry tha n w om en autho rs, w ith th is novel being an
e xa m p le of tha t belief.
O nce again in pre p a ra tio n fo r th e h o lid a y s e a ­
son, a sele ction o f b o o ks w ill be a va ila b le fo r in­
d ivid u a ls to p u rcha se as g ifts fo r th e lib ra ry at
20 % o ff o f th e ir retail value. T h e se b o o ks w ill be
d isp la ye d in the libra ry th ro u g h the m o nth o f D e­
c e m b e r and have been o b ta in e d th ro u g h th e St.
H elen s B ookshop.
Attention Parents!
Tonight, Thursday, N o ve m b e r 18th at 7:00
p.m ., you and yo u r c h ild re n are invited to hear
som e g re a t be dtim e sto rie s at th e library. D ress
in y o u r pa jam a s and co m e on do w n to e n jo y this
tim e w ith C am rin Eyrick. (I heard she eve n m ade
co o k ie s last m onth.
Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave.
Hours: Mon., Wed., F it 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, 10:30
a.m., when school is in session.
Phone: (503 ) 429-1818
iday, shake their hand and tell
them “thank you." This is the least
we can do for our service mem­
bers who are giving selflessly of
themselves. They deserve our re­
spect and support. Also, “thank”
the family members for the sacri­
fices they have had to make.
Happy Holidays, and God
Bless Our Troops.
Mike Orth
Vernonia
Thanks for help with
M-B Fall Festival
To the E ditor:
W e w ou ld like to th a n k all of
the m e rcha nts and people th a t
so ge n e ro u sly d o n a te d to the
M ist-B irke n fe ld H elping C ircle
Fall Festival. W e w o u ld like to
th a n k eve ryo n e invo lve d in the
program . It w as great.
W e w ou ld also like to th a n k
e v e ry o n e th a t p a rticip a te d in
o u r d in n e r in any way.
T h e auction w as a w onderful
su c c e s s and w e w ou ld like to
th a n k all of you th a t p a rticip a t­
ed in any way.
It is a lw a ys a g re a t tim e to
see and visit with ou r neighbors.
S h irle y K yser, P re sid en t
M is t-B irk e n fe ld
H e lp in g C irc le
Reason to appreciate
caring community
To the E ditor:
I’m not sure w e a lw a ys a p ­
p reciate w h a t a w o n d e rfu l c o m ­
m u n ity w e live in. T h is is such a
ca rin g com m un ity. W h e n w e
lost Zack, it se e m e d like e ve ry
sin g le pe rso n I ran into had
kno w n him in som e way. T h e
ca rin g and su p p o rt sho w n by
fam ily, frie n d s and c o m m u n ity
m e m b e rs w a s an d is w o n d e r­
ful. W h a t is eve n m o re a m a zin g
is th a t pe o p le still k n o w th a t w e
are su ffering his loss, an d ask
ho w w e are doing, o r if th e re is
a n ything th a t th e y c a n do.
To ho n o r Z a c k ’s m em ory, w e
e sta b lish e d the Z a c k R um b olz
M em orial S ch o la rsh ip , a tax e x ­
e m p t o rgan ization . T h e s c h o l­
arsh ip w ill be give n th is ye a r to
a m e m b e r o f the C la ss o f 2005,
Z a c k ’s g ra d u a tin g c la s s . W e
plan to co n tin u e w ith th e s c h o l­
a rsh ip a fte r that. To raise m o n ­
ey w e have held alu m n i v o lle y ­
ball ga m es, a tee n d a n ce d u r­
ing Ja m b o re e , and a ta c o feed
d u rin g the d o n k e y b a sketb all
ga m e. T h e se have all becom e
a n n u a l events.
T h e 3rd A n n u a l A lum n i V ol­
leyball ga m e w ill be held Fri­
day, Nov. 19, at 7:00 p.m . in the
V H S G ym . A ll p ro ce e d s w ill
be n e fit the scholarship.
M a ny pe ople have also d o ­
nated both tim e and m oney. I
w o u ld like to th a n k D ick, K a th ­
leen, M arcie, Rick, Jud i and
D arrell G w in, S h e lly and H erb
H uson, C a s s a n d ra and Je rry
B udge, D ana H yde, K atie Poet-
ter, Bill and M ary C ota, Kala
and C h ris C ota, D oug Tesdal,
P atty Fetherston, D ebbie B erg-
e rs o n , th e A R P fo u n d a tio n ,
R achel C am p, R andy Parrow,
the V e rn o n ia S choo l D istrict,
the alu m n i v o lle yb a ll players,
the d a n ce ch a p e ro n e s, the taco
helpers, the cla s s e s of 2005
an d 2 0 0 6 , a n d all w h o are
re ady to help o u t w ith a project.
I w o u ld like to again tha nk
m y fam ily, frie n d s and c o m m u ­
nity. You have all helped us for
the last 3 years. T h a n k you for
yo u r ca rin g and generosity.
S incerely,
Kat hi Fetch
V ern o n ia
Our President cannot
bring nation together
To th e E ditor:
T h e E lection, A s I S ee It.
O u r nation is divide d. It w as
d iv id e d be fo re th e e le ctio n it is
still divid e d . P re sid e n t B ush is
being ca lle d up on to heal the
nation an d bring the tw o fa c ­
tio n s ba ck tog eth er, a ta s k he
can no t d o eve n w ith his high
m o ral p rin ciples.
T h e p re s id e n t did no t d ivid e
the n a tio n fo r it is th e a g e old
d iv is io n b e tw e e n g o o d a n d evil,
b e tw e e n rig h t a n d w ro n g , b e ­
tw e e n m o ral an d im m o rality. N o
p re s id e n t can brin g th e s e tw o
fa c to rs to g e th e r, w h e n o n e
c o m p ro m is e s tru th w ith fictio n ,
tru th b e c o m e s a lie. G o o d b e ­
c o m e s evil, an d so o n ...
O u r bra ve an d w ise fo re fa ­
th e rs e s ta b lis h e d th is na tio n as
a C h ris tia n nation u n d e r G od,
(the o n ly nation, o u ts id e the na­
tio n Is ra e l to be s o e s ta b ­
lish e d .) W e w o n o u r fre e d o m
a g a in s t im p o s s ib le od ds. G od
b le sse d us and w e g re w in to a
m ig h ty nation un til 1948 w he n
w e u n w is e ly b e c o m e a pa rt of
the U nite d N ations. W e w e re
fo rm e d a sovereignty, w e lost
th a t s o v e re ig n ty w h e n w e b e ­
ca m e a p a rt o f th e U.N. (O ne
c a n n o t h a v e s o v e re ig n ty a n d
P le a s e s e e p a g e 16