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The INDEPENDENT, January 19, 2006
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410. Publisher Clark McGaugh,
clark@the-independent.net • Managing Editor Rebecca Mc-
Gaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net • Editor Noni Ander-
sen, noni@the-independent.net
Opinion
Work of volunteer officials
should not be overlooked
It is easy, and wrong, to overlook the efforts of elect-
ed officials, particularly the volunteers who fill city
councils, school boards, fire district boards and all the
other positions that are vital to the citizens who are af-
fected by the actions of these officials.
Conversely, those who seek these positions should
not overlook their responsibilities, either. These posi-
tions are not ceremonial; they require a lot of study if
the officials are to do their jobs adequately.
It is frustrating to citizens who attend public meet-
ings in hope of learning how their city or district oper-
ates, when they feel that decisions have been made in
private and are voted on without public discussion.
This is most likely to occur because volunteer officials
don’t want to say anything publicly that might upset
anyone. Nevertheless, public discussion of public af-
fairs is absolutely necessary if the goal is public trust.
Also frustrating to citizens are decision-makers who
abstain from voting on a particular issue. Again, this is
usually because they don’t want to upset anyone, but
(unless there is a conflict of interest, which hasn’t been
declared) it is an abdication of their responsibility. An
issue that is sensitive, requires clear responses.
These positions are important. The volunteers who
use their time and effort to fill them deserve respect.
The voters who elected them, however, also deserve
respect, in the form of conscientious office holders.
No reason for boredom
There are some very interesting public presenta-
tions scheduled locally.
The next Chautauqua program at the Vernonia Pub-
lic Library is “Coyote Tales from the Northwest” on Sat-
urday, January 21, at 2:00 p.m. Curt Yehnert, a profes-
sor of English at Western Oregon University, combines
aspects of folklore, mythology and anthropology as he
retells and creates a cultural context for Coyote tales
told in the Pacific Northwest.
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum has scheduled “Mu-
seum Talks” throughout the year. January 29 will fea-
ture stories about Nettie Lloyd, who was a midwife in
Vernonia, and the grandmother of Nancy Dailey, who
will present the talk.
Salem Scene
By Representative Brad Witt
Oregon District 31
On the move in Oregon–
Senate Bill 71
One of the hallmarks of
the 2005 Legislative Ses-
sion was the concerted ef-
fort to pull this State out of
the economic doldrums.
Oregon sank deeper and
stayed longer in the reces-
sion that gripped us in
2003 and 2004, than any other state in the
union. With this in mind, Senate Bill 71 was intro-
duced at the request of Governor Kulongoski.
This bill came to be known as the Connect Ore-
gon proposal, and its intent was to address seri-
ous transportation problems throughout the state
and at the same time create jobs. SB 71 author-
izes the issuance of lottery bonds to establish a
Multimodal Transportation Fund to be used to
provide grants and loans for air, marine, and rail
transportation projects.
It is encouraging to know that SB 71 provides
that 15% of the funds generated from the bond
sales will be allocated to projects in each of five
regions in the state. This means that projects will
not just be concentrated in large metropolitan ar-
eas, but that rural communities will benefit as
well. Those of us in outlying communities often
suffer from inadequate services, and our low-in-
come workers, the elderly and those with disabil-
ities depend on organized transportation to ac-
cess employment, medical services and other
life sustaining resources.
I’m pleased to have been able to support this
bill, and I encourage those of you involved in
transportation projects to submit applications to
the Oregon Transportation Commission for re-
view.
Stop the Outsourcing – House Bill 2924
This decade has been marked with an out-
pouring of jobs from the United States to points
unknown. It is difficult to forbid private industry
from engaging in this activity, but we can limit
what your state government does. Rep.Diane
Rosenbaum and I were chief sponsors of a bill to
prohibit state agencies from awarding contracts
for services that would be performed outside of
the United States, except under special circum-
stances.
I feel that international outsourcing exacer-
bates unemployment and workforce dislocation,
deprives Oregon residents of job opportunities
and deprives Oregon of industries and jobs this
state has expended resources to attract. It
erodes state and local revenues, and it may also
jeopardize the protection of personal information
in the course of delivering the service.
This bill was a good idea that, unfortunately,
did not make it through the process. But it is an
issue that is on everyone’s mind and it is not go-
ing away. Again, it is an economic issue that ei-
ther has already touched your family or will at
some time in the future. I look forward to taking
another run at this in the next session.