The INDEPENDENT, December 2, 2004
Page 3
Letters
Community PTA is
for all local schools
To the Editor:
In a recent issue of The Inde-
pendent, published on October
21, an Executive Board Mem-
ber of the PTA was quoted that
the $5,000.00 (not exact figure)
was raised at the PTA carnival
to purchase playground equip-
ment for WGS and we need to
know where to put it, at the Oc-
tober School Board meeting.
This was a misunderstanding.
Portions of the carnival pro-
ceeds will be used for the pur-
chase of graphic calculators for
VHS, school supplies/books for
the Jr. High, and also funding
towards a future playground for
WGS. I’m sorry for any confu-
sion this may have caused.
The Vernonia Community
PTA is not school specific and
we service any and all chil-
dren’s groups in Vernonia. Cur-
rently we serve WGS K-8,
VHS, and Head Start (Head
Start joined us in late October).
If you’d like your children’s
group represented in the Ver-
nonia Community PTA, or any-
one who would like their opin-
ion heard or would like to sup-
port us in our commitment to
Vernonia’s youth, please join
us.
Our meetings are once a
month on the third Thursday, in
the WGS library. This month’s
meeting is on Thursday, De-
cember 16, at 6:30 p.m.
Any other questions or con-
cerns regarding the Vernonia
Community PTA, please call
me, Camrin Eyrrick, President,
at 503-429-0470 or e-mail me
at <just.mommy@verizon.net>.
Thank you,
Camrin Eyrrick
Vernonia
Holiday Bucks will
help local businesses
To the Editor:
This letter is addressed to
the citizens of Vernonia and
area.
The Holiday Bucks Promo-
tion was set into full swing on
Friday, November 26. This pro-
motion encourages all of you to
buy in Vernonia during the
Christmas Holiday season.
There are 32 local businesses
involved and to make this pro-
motion successful they need
your support. This is your
chance to shop Vernonia and
have a chance to win some ex-
tra Holiday Bucks. There will be
four different drawings; Dec. 4
at Vernonia Inn, Dec. 11 at
Bretthauer Vernonia Station
(Tom’s), Dec. 18 at Country
Kitchen. At these drawings a
Holiday Bucks Gift Certificate
for $25 will be given away. The
last drawing will take place on
Thursday, Dec. 23 at True Val-
ue Hardware at 12 noon. Those
draws will be for $50, $75, and
$100 in Holiday Bucks Gift Cer-
tificates. These certificates can
be used at any participating
business before February 14,
2005.
Please look in this paper for
our full page ad. It will list the
businesses that are in this pro-
motion and a complete list of
rules. Watch for the Red Holi-
day Bucks Cards in the partici-
pating businesses.
Last but not least, I would
like to personally apologize to
Between the Bookends
By Ann Krutsinger, Library Assistant
Banks Public Library
Please make note of
changes in hours due to
the upcoming holidays.
The library will be closed
Friday and Saturday, De-
cember 24 and 25 for the
Christmas holiday, and will
also be closed Friday &
Saturday, December 31st
and January 1st for the
New
Year's
holiday.
Please use the outdoor drop box to return items.
Due dates will be modified to reflect the clo-
sures.
Want to save 20 percent off the list price of all
your holiday gift books? Pre-order and plan to
shop at the 3rd Annual Friends of the Banks
Public Library Holiday Book Fest! If you are a
current Friend of the Library or bought books at
last year’s sale, you should receive your order
form in the mail. If you are neither, but want to
save money on your holiday gifts, pick up an or-
der form at the library. Or email annwsk@hot
mail.com and receive your form by email. Please
turn in your order forms by Thursday, December
2nd. Shop the selection of gift books at the Holi-
day Book Fest from 3-7:00 p.m. This event is a
nice time to browse, enjoy a cookie, and avoid
holiday crowds. The proceeds from the Holiday
Book Fest help fund the ongoing programs
sponsored by the Friends of the Banks Public Li-
brary – the Summer Reading Program,
Preschool Storytime and the purchase of adult
bestsellers.
There are new exciting best selling reads that
are on the library shelves or will be soon. The
Big Bad Wolf is back in London Bridges by James
Patterson. The latest Alex Cross thriller has all
the current terrorist threats on a worldwide scale.
Millions of lives depend on Alex’s executive abil-
ity as the FBI, CIA and Interpol hunt for the per-
petrator of evil.
For the ladies, Janet Evanovich has written
Metro Girl. This fast-moving mystery is full of
Evanovich’s fast-paced action and mis-action,
but none of the familiar, well-loved characters of
her Stephanie Plum series. This quick, funny
read where animals never die and bad guys are
almost always brought to justice (somehow!) is
going to be a must for Evanovich fans.
Diane Mott Davidson writes mouth watering
mysteries centered around of all things – food.
Double Shot is her latest effort. Goldy Schulz’s ex-
husband has been released from prison. Soon
after, Goldy begins to receive repeated threats,
rumors and violence. A murder that someone is
trying to pin on Goldy and two ardent detectives
interferes with the running of her successful
catering business.
Banks Public Library: 111 Market Street.
Hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs., 12 - 7:00 p.m.;
Fri. and Sat. 12 - 5 p.m.
Preschool Story Time: Wednesdays, 10:15
a.m.
Phone: (503 ) 324-1382
Internet: www.WILInet.wccls.lib.or.us. to
browse library resources or to reserve
materials electronically.
West Oregon Electric Coopera-
tive, Inc. and Seams Sew Easy
for misspelling your business
name in the original cards and
rules that went out. It HAS been
corrected. All future information
will have the correct spelling for
both businesses. Again, I apol-
ogize profusely for this mistake.
Janie Wasmann
Holiday Bucks Promotion
Mayor-elect thanks
voters, tells goals
To the Editor:
I wish to take this opportuni-
ty to thank the voters for select-
ing me to be your next Mayor. I
appreciate the vote of confi-
dence and will do my darndest
to do my best.
I also wish to extend kudos
to Cindy Ball. I feel she has set
Vernonia on the right course
and deserves our thanks for
her tireless service to the com-
munity.
I also want to thank Nancy
Dailey, Gina Faber, Darlene
Wilcoxen and Brenda Gooch
for the wonderful ‘Meet the
Mayor’ Party. There was a won-
derful turn out. Good food and
good talk was enjoyed by all.
So, what are my goals as
Mayor?
#1 on my list is to continue to
make this a ‘user friendly’ city.
Anyone with questions will get
answers. Anyone with prob-
lems will have them addressed.
#2 Promoting the business-
es already established and en-
couraging light industrial.
#3 Continued beautification
of the downtown core.
#4 Building bridges within
the community so we all work
as a team.
I’m so looking forward to
serving you.
My door is always open.
My phone is 503-429-8425.
Thanks again for this oppor-
tunity.
Most sincerely,
Sally Harrison
Vernonia
Community will miss
help of Enid Parrow
To the Editor:
Both the Vernonia Pioneer
Museum and Vernonia Pride
will miss our dear and wonder-
ful friend Enid Parrow. She was
a great asset to us and such a
worker and inspiration. Thanks
Enid, you will be missed.
The museum will be having
a meeting on Wednesday, Dec.
8 at 5:30 pm at the museum.
We are looking for a few good
volunteers to not only open the
museum up on the week ends,
but also to fill some vacancies
on the board. We need a pres-
ident, secretary and treasurer.
Please come and see what is
going on at the museum. Join
us and have some fun. Re-
member your museum is made
possible by volunteers like
yourself.
Vernonia Pride will be deco-
rating down town for Christ-
mas. We would like to thank
Meyer’s Tree Farm for the do-
nation of a community Christ-
mas tree. Thanks also to Miss
Gingerich’s class at Washing-
ton Grade School for decora-
tions. We would also like to
thank the city’s public works
department for getting the tree
and setting it up for us. There
will be a Christmas Tree light-
ing at City Hall on Dec. 4 at
5:30 pm. Come for hot choco-
late, cookies and Mrs. Santa.
Following the lighting will be a
downtown lighted truck parade
and open house at downtown
businesses.
Donna Webb, for
Vernonia Pride and
Vernonia Pioneer Museum
Local United Way is
reflection of County
To the Editor:
It is amazing that in this
world of cynicism and despair,
there is a small, community-
based organization that can
provide so much support to so
many people, yet go practically
unnoticed. I’m talking about
United Way – not the distant
United Way on television or the
obscure United Way in the
newspapers - but rather our
very own United Way of Colum-
bia County. Our United Way is
run by local people who care
about local people. Every pen-
ny given to our United Way
STAYS in our neighborhoods.
Year after year as we all
drive down Highway 30, the
thermometers go up, the red
rises and traffic continues to
flow barely acknowledging
what that sign really means.
After all, once you know what
that sign really stands for, you
may never drive by it again
without wishing that the red
Please see page 17