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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2005)
The INDEPENDENT, October 6, 2005 GUEST OPINION By Diane Dillard, Chairperson Citizens for Safer Communities NOW! Citizens for Safer Communities NOW! is a committee of peo- ple organized to advocate for [Columbia County] Sheriff Phil Der- by’s Enhanced Law Enforcement Operating Fund. The Board of County Commissioners recently put a ballot measure to create that fund on the November 2005 ballot. We applaud the Board of Commissioners stepping forward and acting decisively to put this essential measure on the ballot. However, we have let the Board of Commissioners know that our committee won’t be actively campaigning for the measure in November. That may seem a little odd, and many people have questioned it, so we thought it might be a good idea to say why. • In spite of strong support for adding more deputies and law enforcement personnel, we don’t feel there is adequate time to fully inform voters and ensure adequate voter turnout in order to validate the election. • Because the November election is a Special Election and this is a funding measure, a majority vote for approval must also be accompanied by more than 50% voter turnout in order to be a valid election. • Unfortunately, Columbia County voters historically don’t reach a 50% turnout in local Special Elections. The most recent one, in May of this year, only had about 29% of registered voters even participate. Though the Sheriff’s measure is one of the most im- portant our county has ever had, it’s not realistic to expect that this Special Election turnout will be any different. • Further, because it’s a Special Election and there are only two measures, a Voters Pamphlet with helpful, essential information explaining the measures will not be printed and mailed to voters. It’s too costly for such a small election. In our view, the Voters Pamphlet would contain vital information for voters to make an in- formed decision — especially since all our elections are vote-by- mail. The next regularly scheduled election, in May 2006, will have a Voters Pamphlet. With all of these considerations in mind, we’ve asked Sheriff Derby and the Board of Commissioners to commit to re-placing the Law Enforcement Operating Fund on the May 2006 ballot, which is a regularly scheduled Primary Election. Unfortunately, because the ballots have to be printed well in advance so they can be mailed to absentee voters the November Special Election ballots can’t be changed. So while Measure 3-138 will remain on the November ballot, Citizens for Safer Communities NOW! will not be campaigning for the measure for the November vote. Not because we don’t sup- port the Law Enforcement Fund — we absolutely do. Instead, our volunteers and other resources will be conserved and focused to- ward the May election, beginning now. We’re looking forward to a full public conversation about the benefit to people and their families from enhanced law enforce- ment, answering any and all questions and working for approval of this important Law Enforcement Fund. Putting up to 15 more deputies and law enforcement personnel out on the roads of Columbia County is vital, and an important step forward for our county in combating crime, methampheta- mines and other illegal drug activity. Further, this will be the first time a voter-approved operating fund exclusively for law enforce- ment will be created for our Sheriff and our county. With the pop- ulation increase we have seen over the past decade, 2006 is clearly the time for us to more fully staff our Sheriff’s Department in order to be able to protect our families, friends and neighbors as we need and deserve. We appreciate the Board of Commissioners’ decisive action and strong support for this measure. We’re not encouraging any- one to vote no in November, but we’re being realistic about voter participation and planning for the future. We enthusiastically invite anyone interested to join the Citizens for Safer Communities NOW! as we prepare for a successful election in May. Please con- tact us at Citizens for Safer Communities NOW!, P.O. Box 114, St. Helens, OR 97051. Page 3 Letters Cycle Oregon event was great fun for all To the Editor: Cycle Oregon made a great impact on us as well as us on them. What a huge success the ride was here in Vernonia. I, and others constantly heard comments from the riders that Vernonia was the best town of the ride. They were greeted with a big round of applause from Marilyn Nicks and her daughter dressed in vintage garb to Janie Wasmann with her horn and the many store keepers and public applauding them on the street. We had a wonderful group of greeters here that were employees of Freightliner who had a loud fun time cheering the cyclists on. Ms. Ward and Ms. Skinner did a great job at the finish line with the junior high leadership class. The kids were actually fighting over who would hand out the next welcome packet to the next rider. All in all we had about 200 volunteers come out to help. I cannot possibly name each and every one of you, but you know who you are. Without you we could have never pulled this off. As you have heard, in ex- change for volunteering you chose a group to get money for your work. The Booster Club received $1,000, chamber $1,000, learning center/senior center $1,000 and Vernonia School District received $1,000. There were several groups as well that fundraised to earn money such as a towel rental by the scouts and porter services by the kids in school sports. The junior class earned $500 for loading and unloading baggage…and was that bag- gage huge! Some bags were bigger then the kids carrying it. Hands on Art earned $200 for making signs. The porter kids, though, earned a miraculous $1,400 in tips…yes, tips. When a rider would find his baggage the porter kid would then ask him/her if they would like their bag carried to their tent site. When they did, the porter had a wheelbarrow to handle the bag- gage and would then get a tip. Rachel Brown had a cute story to share. Rachel is a small girl and volunteered to help porter. When the rider came in he told her where his bag was. He then asked her if she had a wheel- barrow. After sizing her up, the cyclist then went and got the wheelbarrow and put the bag in it. Rachel followed him to his tent site and retrieved the wheelbarrow when he was done. He then gave her a $13 tip…Wow. The riders were very generous. The kids did a great job handling the baggage (I am sure plenty of them have stacked wood or hauled hay bales). Way to go Vernonia kids. I know that Black Bear Cof- fee did a bang up business this day. The bikes were lined up and down the sidewalk in front of the shop. One former em- ployee came in for a cup of cof- Please see page 20 Between the Bookends By Angie Spiering, Library Assistant Banks Public Library Preschool storytime is under way. Join us Wed- nesdays at 10:15 am. The themes for October are: October 5th: Moon- walking October 12th: Trouble in the Kitchen October 19th: Mousies October 26th: Booooo! We have some new books on our shelves. Dearly Depotted by Kate Collins is the third book in the Flower Shop Mysteries: “Well, it looks like my cousin Jillian is heading for the altar again, and guess which bridesmaid is doing the flowers? Yep, me, Abby Knight, law school dropout, owner of Bloomers, and—did I mention?—ex-fiancee to the best man! That’s a bumper crop of trou- ble, even before I find a party-crashing guest dead at the reception…” The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch. On a moon- lit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O’Malley slips out of his house, packs up his kayak and goes exploring on the tidal flats of Puget Sound. But what begins as a routine hunt for starfish, snails and clams turns into a televised spectacle after Miles finds a rare deep-sea creature stranded in the mud. When he continues to discover more exotic ocean life in the quiet backwater bays near his home, Miles becomes a local sensation. Soon he is shadowed on the flats by people cu- rious as to whether he is just an observant boy or an unlikely prophet. Ready or Not by Meg Cabot, an All-American Girl Novel. The top ten things Samantha Madi- son isn’t ready for: – Spending Thanksgiving at Camp David – With her boyfriend, the president’s son – Who appears to want to take their relation- ship the Next Level – Which Sam inadvertently and shockingly announces live on MTV – While appearing to support the president’s dubious policies on families, morals – and yes, sex – Juggling her new after-school job at Po- tomac Video, even though she already has a job as teen ambassador to the UN (that she doesn’t get paid for) – Riding the Metro and getting accosted be- cause she’s “the redheaded girl who saved the president’s life” in spite of her new, semiperma- nent Midnight Ebony tresses – Experiencing total role reversal with her popular sister Lucy, who for once can’t get the guy she wants… and the number-one thing Sam isn’t ready for – Finding out the hard way that in art class, “life drawing” means “naked people.” Banks Public Library: 111 Market Street. Hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs., 12 - 7:00 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 12 - 5:00 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Wednesdays at 10:15 a.m. Phone: (503 ) 324-1382 Internet: <www.WILInet.wccls.lib.or.us.> to browse library resources or to reserve materials electronically.