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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2005)
The INDEPENDENT, August 18, 2005 Page 3 Letters Aloha families, team enjoy day in Vernonia To the Editor: I don’t know how long the City of Vernonia has been mak- ing a swimming hole out of Rock Creek, but the Aloha Bliz- zard softball team sure love it. The Blizzards parents and girls want to thank you for the enjoyment they have received at the swimming hole over the last four summers. We have been coming out here each year to play a Vernonia softball team. It is much easier to find a field to play on in your town. It is a better experience to come here and play a group of girls that are here to have fun, improve their skills and win some ball games. I know that some friendships have been formed over the years. Super competitive teams have an almost win at all cost attitude and having fun is not high on the priority list. Pizza and pop shared down by the riverside, swimming with both teams bonding together. What a great way to finish a great day in Vernonia. Yes, the parents look for- ward to the Vernonia trip each year. Thanks to all the coaches and players from the Vernonia area who made this another memorable season. Bill Shaw Blizzard Coach Aloha Bird watchers enjoy lake, spend $$ here To the Editor: We recently stayed at Big Eddy County Park, in part be- cause of a recommendation in a guide to birding in Oregon that described the opportunities of the old logging pond. After meeting you (Clark McGaugh) at the pond and reading about the Jamboree in your special edition, we want to join you in your concern about the fire- works first of all, but go a step further and relate to your read- ers the asset we feel they have in the pond and the wild life it attracts. We know it hasn’t been that long since birders Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library It’s been a great sum- mer for the reading pro- gram. Camrin Eyrrick, Lin- da Johnston, and Orissa Burghard organized and presented some really wonderful activities for the youngsters of the commu- nity. To date, twelve chil- dren have completed their reading goals with the highest number of hours read, so far, being twenty-four. Goals may be met and prizes awarded until September 1st. Continue to read! Wasn’t that a great float in the parade and wasn’t it wonderful that it was cho- sen for the Mayor’s trophy? Representing the theme of Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds, most of the artwork was done by Orissa with help from the Johnston family. Candy thrown from the float was once again donated by Randy at Sentry Market and the gray paint for the cas- tle was donated by the Tolonens of True Value. All involved with the program are to be congrat- ulated for participating in a fun-filled, rewarding summer program. The Friends of the Library realized about $440.00 at the Saturday book sale and would like to thank everyone who donated and pur- chased items. Lucky raffle winners were Tammy Argue, (Makenzie Rice?), and Bob Schilling. All proceeds will be used to benefit the library and its programs. Numerous new intriguing books have been added to the collection this summer, but they are checked out almost as fast as they are processed and placed on the New Shelf, some- times even before that. Books in high demand in the last two months include Broken Prey by John Sandford, Hard Truth by Nevada Barr, True Be- liever by Nicholas Sparks, Ya-Yas in Bloom by Rebecca Wells, Superstition by Karen Robards, Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik, Rage by Jonathan Kellerman, and Out of Range by C. J. Box. The most recent acquisitions include Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper, Double Tap by Steve Martini, Cold Hit by Stephen J. Cannell, and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Two of my favorite protagonists, Cork O’Con- nor and J. P. Beaumont, are also back in Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger and Long Time Gone by J. A. Jance. If you’ve forgotten, Cork O’Connor is the sheriff of Tamarack County in Minnesota. After an eventful summer in his beautiful Northwoods jurisdiction, O’Connor faces a season of murder, adultery, and deceit that puts his life and that of his family in danger. J. P. Beaumont is now with the Washington State Special Homicide Investigation Team. In Jance’s newest novel, Beaumont gets involved in two cases—that of a middle-aged nun who suddenly recalls a 50 year-old murder whose coconspira- tors happen to be prominent members of the Seattle community—and a case where Beau- mont’s best friend is suspected of killing his ex- wife. If you are fans of the O’Connor and Beau- mont series, be sure to read these and if you’ve not read these series, be sure and start with the first. Book for discussion to be held September 12 at 5:50 is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Let us know of your interest and we will be sure and see that a copy is available prior to that date. As mentioned in last month’s article, the li- brary will soon be having a family movie night as well as a Saturday afternoon matinee for young- sters. The license agreement has been received; the popcorn machine has arrived; and we will be starting as soon as dates and times can be de- termined—probably not until September. Your recommendations of movie titles as well as pref- erence of date and time would be appreciated. Enjoy the rest of the summer. Remember the library is air-conditioned and COOL! Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m., when school is in session. Phone: (503 ) 429-1818 were considered to almost be from another planet. But now, one out of five Americans de- scribes themself as a bird watcher. More importantly, an awful lot of us direct at least part of our travel so that we can enjoy good bird watching. That means we come to your town; we stay in your campgrounds or motels; we buy food and sta- ples in your stores; we eat in your restaurants; we buy gas in your stations and even your laundry gets our clothes. Hey, wouldn’t you like another source of revenue to help level out the crazy ups and downs of logging? All you have to do is realize you have something people like us want. You have a wonderful place where wildlife come, and we will come to see them. We birders will never bring back the days of the Oregon - American Lumber Company, but if you treat this great re- source you have with pride and care, we will be regular visitors to Vernonia — and hopefully add to your well being even as we add to our enjoyment. Jerry & Shary Hammon Silver City, New Mexico Mark your calendar now and we hope to see you there! Kinnell Steward Vernonia Community PTA Carnival Donation Committee Careless or biased? To the Editor: The article "Social Security topic of meetings" in the August 4, 2005 edition of "The Inde- pendent" was at best an exam- ple of lazy reporting, and at worse an example of shilling a politician's talking points. If the author of the article thinks that Congressman David Wu's votes against voluntary privatization of one's own So- cial Security funds is a vote to "protect Social Security", then that should given in an opinion piece and not stated as fact in a news article. Sincerely, Mitch Seibert Vernonia Ed. Note: Mr. Seibert is correct. Publishing a late press release without adequate editing allowed a political statement on a news page when all that was needed was the topic and meeting dates. I should have caught that, but didn’t. —NA PTA getting ready Use taxes to make for School Carnival officials look good? To the Editor: The Vernonia Community PTA will be holding our second annual School Carnival on Sat- urday, September 24, 2005. There were 4 great prizes raf- fled at our Jamboree booth. Tickets that did not win at Jam- boree will continue on for the drawing at the carnival. Tickets will sell for $1.00 each, or 6 for $5.00. Another exciting feature of the carnival will be a silent auc- tion for themed baskets and other goodies. This year, the most exciting item up for auc- tion is a Harley-Davidson mo- torcycle. The bidding for this item started at the Jamboree booth. The bidding continues at the Clever Cricket until the car- nival. You are welcome to stop by during business hours for more information. Along with the raffle and silent auction, at our carnival, we will also have a BBQ, game booths, a cake walk and lots of fun for the whole family. To the Editor: Last week the Chronicle quoted at length from an email Commissioner [Joe] Corsiglia sent other county officials. In his email Corsiglia complained that local newspapers were keeping the public too closely informed of the action, fiscal and otherwise, of the commis- sioners, including Mr. Corsiglia. Mr. Corsiglia’s response is to propose that the commission- ers assign a county employee half time to the task of manu- facturing pro-commissioner press releases to make the commissioners look good to the public. The employee in question is the county’s eco- nomic development coordina- tor. Taxpayers pay this person $81,130 per year with fringes (or $324,000 over commission- er Corsiglia’s four year term). The press release writing func- tion would therefore cost tax- payers of this county approxi- Please see page 25