The INDEPENDENT, February 16, 2006 Page 3 Letters Here’s why Vernonia is a great place to live To the Editor: I want our entire town to know why I’m so grateful to live and work in the town of Vernon- ia. I recently had an opportunity to ask for help from “OUR” den- tist, Dr. Christopher M. Scheuerman, D.M.D. The son of one of my coworker’s has leukemia and is in line for a bone marrow transplant in Jan- uary. There was only one BIG problem…he had to have all of his teeth removed before he was able to receive the trans- plant. The family had contacted the “government agencies” that are supposed to be there to help when we need it. They re- ceived NO HELP at all. This is where “OUR DR.” came into the picture. Another school employee and I went to Dr. Scheuerman and asked if there was any way he could help this young man. I explained the situation and that there was no money OR insur- ance. The good Dr. did not even blink an eye!! By the next day arrangements had been made to do all of the proce- dures within the month. This was a life saving effort on the part of the Dr. and he was not looking for what he would get out of it. This is why I LOVE LIVING IN VERNONIA. PEO- PLE DO CARE. I addressed the people that were at the Vernonia Middle/ High School band concert, ex- plaining Tim Dean’s dilemma. Karen Roberts and I stood at Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library After having some pos- itive feedback concerning tidbits taken from old li- brary board minutes which were included in last month’s article, I’ve decid- ed to include a few more. It appears that the librari- an’s salary varied from month to month during the 1930s—sometimes it was $4.00 and sometimes $5.00. All of the ex- penses and income were listed for each month. For the month of May, 1935, expenses included: $5.00 for librarian, Edna Owens’ salary; $1.01 for postage and $ .39 for postage. Income of $2.24; $1.45 for rentals; $.08 for postage; $1.05 for a lost book and $4.52 from donations was re- ported for that month. Money was very tight as follows: When bills of $8.43 and $1.30 from J. K. Gills were presented, the board voted to approve the first of these and to pay the latter at a later date and a motion was made to purchase some children’s books, not to exceed $4.00. By Octo- ber 1936, things were looking up financially when $25.00 a month salary was approved for li- brarian and $125.00 was approved to purchase books for the year. In November of 1936, the li- brary board voted to send $5.00 to Bandon to help start a library to replace the one burned dur- ing the fire that burned all but 16 of the 500 build- ings in Bandon. (It is uncertain how the fire start- ed, but it was kept going by the gorse—similar to Scotch Broom—which had been planted by the Scottish settlers as an ornamental shrub.) Present library board minutes include the ap- pointment of Tammy Jennings as a new board member, discussion of the last Chautauqua pro- gram (Coyote Tales) and the upcoming one enti- tled, American Songs of Protest, to be held March 15 at 7 p.m., Family Movie Night to fea- ture Pete’s Dragon on Friday, February 24 at 6:30, the new computer made possible by matching funds from the Bill and Melinda Gate- way Foundation, and of course—money—be- cause budget time is approaching. With March being National Nutrition Month, li- brary displays will feature appropriate materials and a special after-school reading/activity will be conducted by Cecelia Haack, Nutrition Educator for OSU extension, on Monday March 20 at 3:30. A varied and interesting shipment of books re- cently arrived and will soon be available for checking out. The Colony by John Tayman re- veals the untold history of the infamous Ameri- can leprosy settlement on the island of Molokai and the exceptional people who survived under the most awful circumstances. James Grippan- do’s newest Jack Swyteck thriller, Got the Look, promises to provide the twists and turns that keep a reader on the edge of his seat. House Poor by June Fletcher gives advice on surviving the housing crisis. Haven Kimmel’s memoir, She Got Up Off the Couch, rejoins the quirky and hi- larious Jarvis family saga, with Zippy growing up and with the spotlight shining on her remarkable mother, Delonda. Other books in this shipment include John Banville’s, The Sea; M.L. Mal- colm’s Silent Lies; Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies; and J.D. Robb’s Memory in Death. With proceeds from the last Study Club tea, a selection of DVDs has been purchased. These include 30 Years of National Geographic Spe- cials, When Cowboys Were King, Underground Railroad, Anatomy of a Shark Bite, Egyptian Pyramids, Creepy Creatures, and Discovering Alaska. Recommendations for books to include in the library’s collection are always given thoughtful consideration and purchased if possible. The goal is to provide materials that the citizens of the area most desire and that fall within the lim- its of the budget. (It is now considerably more than $125.00 a year, thanks to economy changes for the better and to a supportive budg- et committee.) During the month of March, the library will be accepting nonperishable foods in place of fines for overdue materials. One item of food will be accepted for Vernonia Cares in lieu of each $1.00 that patrons owe in fines. It’s the perfect time to round up those overdue items and return them while helping someone less fortunate. 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 the door to collect any donation that people could give. It was amazing!!! Both of our cans were full in 20 minutes. Over $800.00 was donated that night by people who thought they were coming to a “free” band concert. Next I spoke to the WGS audience of the “free” Christmas Program. Jennifer Boren and I stood at the exits with our donation cans and again they filled up. I was blown away again because there was over $800.00 given on that night. Two Providence workers immediately started thinking of contacts they might have to help the Dean family with the problem of housing for the 100 days after the transplant. An account was set up at Wauna Federal Credit Union for tax de- ductible donations. Pam Weller at Wauna contacted me with the great news that about $5,000.00 total had been do- nated. The removal of the teeth started. Everyone is not financially able to help, but one thing you could do is to give Dr. Scheuer- man your business. We need to let him know how much our town values him so that he will want to stay in our community. Dr. Scheuerman’s and Vernon- ia residents’ instantaneous help is what small towns and the Christmas spirit is all about. Thanks to all that have offered help! Kudos to you, Dr. Scheuerman, you will have my business!! Tim is waiting for his mouth to heal and is in the final stages of preparations before the transplant. Everything had to be pushed back a little but he is still on the schedule to receive the transplant! Thanks to all of you that gave and all of you that have kept the family in their prayers. I will try to update Ver- nonians after the transplant is complete to let you all know how it went. Vernonia IS a great place to live! Cathy Ward Vernonia Long range planning will help community To the Editor: Something exciting is hap- pening at the Vernonia School District. A group of dedicated community-minded individuals and staff have been working to- gether to set goals and visions for the future of our children’s education. Schools are the life blood of our community. A successful school can be the link between parents, staff, community mem- bers and businesses. Taking this to heart, the Long Range Planning Committee, working in conjunction with the school board, is looking to the future to assure that our children have adequate schools to aide in their academic success. I became involved because I am a strong believer that edu- cating our children is one of the most important roles as a par- ent and community that we have. I want our children to have available all the learning opportunities that bigger schools offer but in the security and safety of our small town. I am looking forward to having a voice in this process and I invite you to share your ideas, con- cerns and enthusiasm with the committee. Whether your are a student, parent, grandparent, senior citi- zen, community individual, edu- cator, and/or a business, I en- courage you to be proactive in assisting the long range plan- ning committee. The work that we do together will significantly affect the success of our stu- dents, our schools, and our community. Our next meeting is sched- uled for Tuesday, February 21, at 5:15 p.m. at the district of- fice. Hope to see you there. Sincerely, Liz White Vernonia Internet use can be dangerously unsafe To the Editor: It has come to my attention recently that we have a growing number of our students using their computers, or someone else’s computer, to communi- cate with large chat groups. One of the most popular of these sites is MySpace.com. The technology explosion has made it very easy for us to share information and commu- nicate with our friends. My wife and I have a MySpace account that allows us to share pictures and communicate with family and friends who are scattered throughout the United States. However convenient this is, Please see page 25