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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2005)
The INDEPENDENT, October 20, 2005 Page 3 Letters Service members cheered by contact To the Editor: I would like to thank every- one who has signed the cards and banners for our military, at the fourth of July festivities and at several yards sales this sum- mer. Three of the banners have been sent. The two which have arrived at the bases were re- ceived with much appreciation. The third banner should have arrived at its intended Army base sometime in the last two weeks. Your kind words and signa- tures on these items really do cheer up these guys and gals. These are emails I received from “my” young Marine and his SSgt when they received their banner with a couple hun- dred Vernonian signatures: July 28, 2005, “Wow…got 2 pack- ages today. oh my. i would like to extend our deepest thank yous. that banner you guys had put together was amazing. Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library October is such a dra- matic month. It assaults the senses in so many ways — sights, smells, touch, and even one’s hearing and taste. The leaves are gorgeous with their many colors; wood stoves and burning leaves produce odors that one smells only once a year; the air feels crisp and invigorating; the wind causes the remaining leaves to rustle while the thuds of football hel- mets, pep bands and referee’s whistles can be heard at schools around the country; and just thinking about juicy apples and spicy pumpkin pie makes the mouth water. It’s also the time of year when one thinks about the upcoming winter weather and wonders what will be in store this year. The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been used for many years for forecasting the weather and the library has just purchased the 2006 edition for both adults and children. Even though this lit- tle yellow book is associated mainly with weath- er forecasting, its first and foremost annual re- sponsibility is to present the astronomical struc- ture of the forthcoming year as it relates to us here on earth. Since its first issue in 1792, the Al- manac has served as a weekly, monthly, and an- nual calendar, and has offered a sort of human agenda in harmony with the earth’s place in the universe. If you are lucky enough to have saved issues throughout the years, you’re in for a real treat as you reread them. The library has only a few copies, but does have a volume entitled The Best of the Old Farmer’s Almanac—The First 200 Years . This contains such pearls of wisdom as this cure called the Hungarian Hat Trick for drinking too much alcohol, as follows: “Place a hat on a bedpost. Get into bed and start drinking. When you see two hats, stop drinking.” How about “Do nothing in great haste except catching fleas and running from a mad dog.” Then there’s this good common-sense advice “Don’t be idle, plan your daily activities, send your children to school, stay on the farm, avoid hard liquor, watch every penny, mend your fences, and be good to your wife.” Be sure to look for these issues on your next visit to the library and don’t forget to look for this winter’s weather prediction. By the way, Birds and Blooms magazine tells us that woolly bear caterpillars can be weather predic- tors—If they have lots of black segments, expect a harsh winter and if the segments are reddish- brown, expect a mild winter. Through the month of October, youngsters may guess the number of candy and other Hal- loween-related items in the containers in the li- brary. Winners will be announced during the Oc- tober 31 Reading Enrichment program, between 3:30 and 4:30. Youngsters are also encouraged to guess the answer to the daily Halloween rid- dle that is displayed on the bulletin board in the library’s entryway. This time of year means that programs for adults will once again be taking place. Saturday, November 5 at 1:00 p.m., Merv Johnson will be at the library presenting a program on historic logging. He will be showing slides of early log- gers and logging equipment. This should be a very interesting program and the community is invited to attend. There will be no charge and re- freshments will be served. The library has the latest issues of Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, County, Taste of Home, Country Living, Country Extra, Reminisce, Family Fun – all reflecting the Fall theme. New acquisition, Holiday & Celebra- tions Cookbook 2005 , features all kinds of the- matic treats for the palate, including Evil Eye Truffles and Goblin Eyeballs. For a good Hal- loween scare you might want to try Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein Books 1 & 2, the old Hitchcock video— Psycho , something by John Saul or Stephen King or how about Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales of Suspense ? Everyone may not want to be frightened but would like something to read while sitting by that warm fire watching leaves fall. At least one of the new acquisitions should meet that need. They in- clude School Days by Robert B. Parker, A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, The Divide by Nicholas Evans, The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant, A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher, or The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans, Burning Fence by Craig Lesley, or The Price of Silence by Kate Wilhelm. Saturday, October 29 at 7 p.m. will be the first Family Movie night at the library. Fresh popcorn and apple juice will be provided. This first movie night will feature a comedy from the past that will be enjoyable and suitable for all ages. Experience this season to the utmost and don’t forget the library as a source of sugges- tions to make it more enjoyable. 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 we’ve go it hanging right in our office. as soon as you walk in, you can’t help but notice it. we’ll be the envy of all the other peo- ple around. we took some pic- tures of it with us in front of it, and we’ll send them your way later tonight.” A few hours later: “Hi Cat. Well I think that that banner was a wonderful idea. When we hung it up, we just kind of stood there in awe, looking at it. We had seen stuff like that be- fore, but nothing has been for us like that. It was cool cause it has our shop specifically on it, and not just the mals 26.” From his Sergeant that day: “Ma'am, I’d like to take time to thank you for this great looking banner that you sent out to Steve. We hung it inside our of- fice space and took pics and I’m sure you will get them soon. Thank you for all your support. Your friend, Jason” Thank You to all who helped! Be sure write some cards and letters to put in the drop boxes. Cat Ross Vernonia Condemnation legal, but bad government To the Editor: Recently the U.S. Supreme Court approved of the right of local governments to use their condemnation power [to] take away peoples’ homes and busi- nesses to transfer the use of the property to big corpora- tions. A lot of folks – both pro- gressives and conservatives – objected to this saying that if a big corporation wanted your land and you didn’t want to sell that should be the end of it. We now have right here in our own backyard the Port of St. Helens proposing to con- demn and dispossess the Thompson family from their farm outside Clatskanie to transfer the use of the property to a New York-based corpora- tions that the Thompsons have refused to sell to. The Scappoose-Spitzenberg Citizen Planning Advisory Com- mittee took up the issue of this use of the condemnation power at its last meeting and passed a resolution condemning the Port’s use of or the threat to use its condemnation power to dispossess people from their homes and farms in favor of third party corporations. If you think the Port’s actions are an abuse of power, now is the time to say so. If they can do it to the Thompsons they can do it to any of us; if they get away with it in Clatskanie sooner or later they’ll try it in the south county. If the Port doesn’t change its mind on this it may be the time for all of us to start thinking about abolishing the Port and ending the Port’s long line of misadventures once and for all. Michael Sheehan Scappoose Bridge St. crossings are not safe for kids To the Editor: It is not safe for our children to cross Bridge Street on their way to school in the morning. When the children get to the crosswalk at Washington and Bridge they end up waiting a long time before they can cross safely. Most of the cars are in too much of a hurry and they don’t notice the children waiting to cross. Some are simply not paying attention. We teach our children not to step off the curb until all traffic has come to a complete stop. This is the problem. In most cases the cars don’t stop un- less a pedestrian steps off the curb and starts crossing in front of them. I have seen students step off the curb in front of mov- ing traffic just so they can get to school on time. Banks, Hillsboro, Beaverton and many other cities provide blinking lights and student crossing safety signs in front of their schools. I think it is time for the city of Vernonia to install blinking yellow lights at both ends of the schools on Bridge Street for our children’s safety. It shouldn’t take a tragedy be- fore something is done. Shawna and Adam Lloyd Janet and Richard Moore Vernonia County Parks Dep’t says thanks for help To the Editor: Columbia County Forest Parks and Recreation would like to thank all the volunteers who have donated time and money to the County Parks. Please see page 21