The INDEPENDENT, March 16, 2006
Page 13
State warns consumers to check credentials of “Senior Specialists”
The Oregon Department of
Consumer and Business Ser-
vices (DCBS) urges consumers
to carefully check the creden-
tials of investment or insurance
professionals who call them-
selves “senior specialists.”
A senior specialist designa-
tion may imply the individual
has had special training on is-
sues important to the elderly,
but the training they receive
may be nothing more than mar-
keting and selling techniques
that target seniors.
“There are organizations
and professionals who work
hard to understand and meet
the insurance and investment
needs of seniors, but there are
also many unscrupulous ones
who view seniors only as a ripe
opportunity for sales and prof-
it,” said Cory Streisinger, DCBS
director. “The alphabet soup of
letters after salespeople’s
names can be confusing or
even deliberately deceptive.”
The number of senior-relat-
ed designations is on the rise,
according to the Washington,
D.C.-based North American
Securities Administrators Asso-
ciation. Although there are
some legitimate organizations
whose members must com-
plete rigorous training pro-
grams, a number of the recent-
ly created designations have
less stringent requirements.
The NASAA reports securi-
ties regulators have opened 26
cases in the past year involving
senior specialists in the eastern
half of the United States alone.
In some cases, individuals who
were not properly licensed sold
unregistered securities. In other
cases,
senior
specialists
steered investors toward equi-
ty-indexed annuities, which are
complex insurance products
with high commissions and
long holding periods that make
them unsuitable for many older
investors. There currently are
no cases in Oregon, but regula-
tors note that once a case is
open it is often too late to help
the victim. Even if a shady op-
erator is caught and punished,
it is unlikely that much, if any, of
their victims’ money will be re-
covered.
Senior specialists generally
target customers at senior cen-
ters, where they gather groups
of seniors for presentations,
said Cindy Jones, market sur-
veillance manager for the
DCBS Insurance Division. Oth-
ers might go door to door or ad-
vertise in newspapers, she
said.
See page 27
More on East Humbug Creek work to improve salmon habitat
From page 12
(ODFW) using the Oregon
Aquatic Habitat Restoration
Guidelines. Field guidance for
the proper placement of wood
in the stream corridor was pro-
vided by ODFW Aquatic Habi-
tat Restoration biologists, Jane
Hatfield and Dave Plawman in
2004 and Troy Goby in 2005.
All efforts were made to re-
main on solid ground and keep
disturbance to natural areas at
a minimum. Operators went so
far as to avoid a small bird’s
nest and rescue salamanders
and trout present in the project
area.
Once the in-stream work
Vacca.
Reforestation efforts are
aimed at reversing the effects
of past deforestation practices
and at creating a more diverse
forest stand. The improved
stand has the potential to pro-
duce large conifers for the fu-
ture that can be recruited by the
stream and become large
woody debris, as nature intend-
ed.
The improved stream condi-
tion will benefit not only Coho,
but Chinook, Steelhead, Cut-
throat Trout, and numerous
other aquatic species such as
Pacific Giant Salamander,
Sculpins, and Pacific and
Above, a small bird on a stump stops work on East Humbug
Creek. Every effort was made to avoid disturbing wildlife dur-
ing the project.
was complete, UNWC was able
to follow-up with some riparian
tree planting. In the winters of
2004 and 2005, restoration
workers planted conifer and
hardwood seedlings in the un-
der story of the existing red
alder trees along all project
reaches. Joining the riparian
reforestation effort was the Co-
lumbia River Youth Conserva-
tion Corps supervised by Anna
Brook Lamprey.
So, please be still a mo-
ment…and allow your mind to
ponder the divinely inspired
miracle of salmon. Vibrant, full
of life and mystery, silver and
infused with the colors of the
rainbow, guided by starlight
and driven by the instincts of
creation, seeking only to co-ex-
ist in the universal stream of
time, a time that is now, mani-
fest in a place we share…the
magnificent Nehalem.
Then, in appreciation for
your renewed awareness ask
yourself, “What more can I do
to help restore native salmon
populations?” You can:
• Donate funds to your local
watershed council and/or vol-
unteer your time.
• Plant native trees along
rivers and streams.
• Protect and restore wet-
lands, estuaries and headwater
springs.
• Be aware of land and water
use regulations.
• Take measures to reduce
soil erosion from streamside
land.
• Maintain forest, farm, resi-
dential and public roadways.
• Exclude farm animals from
rivers and streams by fencing
and providing off channel wa-
tering sources.
• Seek economic incentives
to allow forests to mature and
become more diverse.
• Conserve water at home,
business, farm and municipali-
ty.
• Store household, farm for-
est and industrial chemicals
and other toxins out of the
floodway.
• Eradicate noxious weeds
from streamside property, es-
pecially knotweed and English
ivy.
• Learn all about salmon,
watersheds and ecosystem
functions.
• Teach a child all you have
learned.
• Most of all – appreciate and
enjoy the Nehalem River and
share it with a friend.
The Upper Nehalem Water-
shed Council and its coopera-
tors are working hard to do our
part. If you would like to learn
more or become more in-
volved, contact Maggie Peyton
at 503-429-2401 or via email at
The East Humbug project
was made possible through
the efforts of all of the follow-
ing:
• LFC who provided 50
percent of materials and la-
bor; in kind donation of LFC
personnel for 280 hours in-
cluding vehicles and equip-
ment;
• Oregon Watershed En-
hancement Board shared
costs for materials and labor;
• U.S. Bureau of Land
Management provided trees,
clean straw, native grass
seed, labor and a contracted
hydro-seeder who treated ex-
posed areas so soil erosion
would not occur;
• ODFW identified the proj-
ect potentials, conducted
field recon., provided project
oversight and monitors the
project’s effectiveness, and
S
info@nehalem.org.
Michele Long of ODFW pro-
vided Coho carcasses that
were placed in the stream to
increase nutrients.
Others involved include
Euchre Mt. Construction of
Tillamook, R. Prom Construc-
tion of Warrenton, Dissen
Technologies of West Linn,
Don Averill Trucking of Tillam-
ook, M.H. Welding of Tillam-
ook, Braxling & Braxling of
Newport, Quality Timber Cut-
ting of Knappa, Road
Builders Inc. of Seaside,
Leonard Schmidlin of Ver-
nonia, Bayview Transit Mix of
Seaside, Roscoe Steel &
Culvert Co. of Missoula,
Montana,
Brown-Strauss
Steel of Longview, Oregon
Culvert Co. of Hillsboro,
Kwik-Way Erosion Control
Co., Inc. of Oregon City.
Gardens He
y
t
i
rb a
n
e
r
A
Unique
Garden
Shop
l
e
Celebrating Wise Woman Ways
s
Now Featuring IMPORTS
Smudging Wands ~ Nag Champa ~ Resins ~
Charcoals Sterling Silver Jewelry ~ Pottery ~
Hand Woven Tapestries ~ Brass Bell Chimes
Carved Soapstone ~ Oil Diffusers ~ Bone &
Brass Treasure Boxes
OPEN: Wed. thru Sun.
11 am to 6 pm
after hours by Appt.
812 E. Bridge st.
Vernonia, Oregon
Cash & Checks Only! Sorry, No Visa