Page 20
The INDEPENDENT, October 6, 2005
Letters
From page 3
fee and ended up working an 8
hour shift. Many other busi-
nesses also did well.
Cycle Oregon staff and vol-
unteers were very professional
to work with. When we saw that
long line of trucks come in all at
once, we got a little scared.
They took care of it and every-
one and every truck fell into
place. Amazing the organiza-
tion it takes.
These are just a few stories
of the excitement and commit-
ment of the day. I must say the
only damper we had on the
event was the little bit of rain,
but all in all it was a huge suc-
cess. Thanks again to all who
helped without you we could
not have pulled it off. I would
like to extend a special round of
thanks to Barb Carr, Dan and
Heidi Brown, Marla Rethwill,
Marci Gwin, Burt Tschache, Ri-
etta Behnke, Mary Kornegay,
the City of Vernonia, Police
Chief Matt Workman and Fire
Chief Paul Epler, who were all
instrumental in the planning
process here in Vernonia.
Donna Webb
Vernonia Chamber of
Commerce
Support needed for
Sheriff’s funding
To the Editor:
The measure on the ballot in
Cowlitz County to increase
funds for fighting the meth epi-
demic failed last week, but only
by a very narrow margin. It is
clear that many voters felt the
A GALIS
N ETWORK
S ERVICES
county sheriff needed more
money in order to fight the
steadily increasing problems
surrounding the use of
methamphetamines.
One
questioner found, however, that
some who voted against the
measure felt that simply jailing
offenders would not solve the
problem.
The enhanced sheriff’s oper-
ating fund being requested on
the November ballot in Colum-
bia County includes a 90-day
treatment component in the jail,
designed to coincide with the
usual length of sentence for a
second meth use offense. Citi-
zens working to put the meas-
ure on the ballot came to the
same conclusion as those who
opposed the measure in
Cowlitz County; that is, a re-
volving door with no attempt to
break the cycle was not the an-
swer.
In addition to providing treat-
ment, the sheriff’s staff will be
enhanced by fifteen members,
and among other goals, will
more than double the current
four deputies now available to
patrol the roads of the county.
The coverage currently pro-
vides for one deputy on the day
shift and three on nights (forget
such niceties as swing and
graveyard; it’s just nights here).
The night men are on call all
night, from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., and
if anyone is sick or on vacation,
some of those shifts last even
longer. All that overtime doesn’t
save taxpayers any money be-
cause all that overtime has to
paid for. The deputies haven’t
actually received that pay due
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Owned and Operated in Vernonia since 1998
to a shortage of funds, but it’s
accruing and amounts to as
much $60,000 for at least one
of the deputies (which will have
to be paid upon retirement if not
before).
The sheriff is required by law
to provide policing in the court-
house and now uses volun-
teers due to understaffing. The
civil deputy (legal paper server)
position has been unstaffed for
a couple of years. The sheriff
serves papers personally, but
admits he’s about six weeks
behind most of the time.
I could go on, but you get the
idea. There isn’t time to mount
a formal campaign prior to the
ballots going out in the mail on
or about October 21. I urge you
to plan to vote for the measure
when you receive yours without
a formal campaign contact.
Just do it because it needs to
be done.
Nancy Roche
St Helens
Thanks for response
to PTA’s Katrina fund
To the Editor:
On behalf of the Vernonia
Community PTA, I wold like to
extend a great thank you to all
of the students and staff of
Washington Grade School,
Vernonia Middle School, Ver-
nonia High School, Mist Grade
School and Vernonia Head
Start for their contributions to
“Bring your dollar to school
day,” held on September 29.
The PTA organized this
fundraiser to benefit the recent
victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Together we raised $268.08 to
send to the victims of the hurri-
cane. All proceeds will be
equally divided between the
American Red Cross and
Northwest Medical Teams.
Thank you again for your
contributions.
Amy Cieloha
Vernonia Community PTA
L
Send hugs by mail to
military overseas
To the Editor:
October is Vernonia Hug a
Soldier Month. Here is a great
opportunity to show our military
that we appreciate what they
are going through and are sac-
rificing to keep America free
and to make the world a better
and safer place.
Our military personnel in-
volved in Operation Iraqi Free-
dom work in intense heat in the
summer and miserable cold in
the winter. The PXs at their
bases are either non-existent
or run out of basic hygiene ne-
cessities and other small com-
fort items. Our men and women
are in constant danger of at-
tacks from anybody, any place,
and anytime. They are in a war
and every day more are
wounded and more pay the ul-
timate price. The very least we
can do is let them know we
care about them. Many of the
troops get no mail and no sup-
port from their family and
friends.
I have had the privilege of
corresponding with a number of
Marines and soldiers in Iraq for
the past nine months. For them
to take some of their precious
free time to write or email me is
a great honor. It means so
much to them to receive letters
of appreciation and support
from people they don’t know. I
have sent banners, weekly let-
ters, monthly care packages
and a constant stream of
emails to my “adoptees” for the
past nine months. Some I nev-
er heard from – that’s ok. The
point is to let them know they
are not forgotten over there.
With some, I email them every
couple of weeks, and I hear
back every once in awhile. One
wonderful young Marine and I
emailed almost daily for eight
months. He is now safely back
in the states.
As the holidays approach,
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please join me in writing letters
of appreciation and Christmas
cards to sent to these wonder-
ful folks. There are drop boxes
for your letters at US Bank, City
Hall, NAPA Auto Parts, and dur-
ing business hours, inside the
US Post Office. Address the let-
ters to “Dear Hero” or “Dear
Friend.” Not sure what to write?
It can be just a “Thanks” with
our family’s signatures. Or a
short or lengthy letter about
your family and your life. Tell
them about your kids, the
school play, your work. The
family dog and the car breaking
down. Attach pictures, kids art-
work. Soldiers LOVE letters
and drawings from children.
Use a store-bought card or
make your own. Keep your let-
ters upbeat and friendly. In
Christmas cards, slip in a pic-
ture of the family. I am also col-
lecting un-used cards for all oc-
casions to send to the troops,
so they have nice cards to send
to their families. You can put
your address and/or email on
the cards, but don’t expect to
hear back. It is so great if you
hear back, but they are in a
war. And, even though they
may not answer, they still ap-
preciate the cards. No stamps
needed – they will be mailed in
with care packages. Envelopes
aren’t necessary, but if you use
them, please don’t seal them.
Do you belong to a group or
organization? How about get-
ting your group together and
taking an hour to make or write
a couple dozen cards and let-
ters? Would you like to help
sponsor Christmas care pack-
ages? Please give me a call.
Thank you for helping sup-
port our military who are in
harm’s way. A few minutes of
your time will bring enormous
joy to a number of troops. If you
would like to “adopt” your own
Marine, Soldier, etc. please go
to
<www.AnySoldier.com>.
This is a fantastic site, and
where I have gotten many of
my contacts. Another great site
is <www.SoldiersAngels.com>.
Sincerely,
Cat Ross
Vernonia