The INDEPENDENT, July 6, 2006
Page 3
Letters
Working together, we
had a great July 4th!
To the Editor:
Vernonia Pride wishes to
thank all of those who helped to
make this year’s 4th of July a
success.
George and Donna Tice, of
the Buckhorn, for providing the
spaghetti dinner, we made the
most ever. A special thanks to
Dixie Palmer and the Jamboree
princesses who volunteered to
help serve, and also the Ver-
nonia Pride gals who helped.
They did a great job.
The princesses also helped
to collect donations after the
fireworks. We really appreciate
all their help.
To all of you who supported
the fireworks by your dona-
tions, no matter how large or
small, it wouldn’t have hap-
pened without your support.
A big thank you to our py-
rotechnician, Tom Ramsey, and
his fellow firefighters for anoth-
er great show.
Thanks also to all of you who
entered the parade.
To all of you our sincere ap-
preciation,
DeLoris Webb
Vernonia Pride
Thanks for making
plant sale a success
To the Editor:
On behalf of the Vernonia
Senior Center, I wish to ex-
press many thanks to those
that helped in making this
plant/garden sale such a big
success, names being listed in
Karen’s Senior News Column.
I also thank everybody who
came and participated by pur-
chasing and contributing to our
fundraiser. We were very pleas-
antly surprised how much mon-
ey was in the bucket that was
passed around for any kind-
Between the Bookends
By Sarah Vandehey, Library Assistant
Banks Public Library
The Washington Coun-
ty Cooperative Library
System will begin email
notification soon. Notices
sent by email will include
the following: A reminder
3 days before an item is
due, a notice when an
item is 2 days overdue,
and a notice that your card
will soon expire. If you would like to receive
email notices, please stop by the Banks Library
so we may add an email address to your ac-
count.
The theme for Washington County Libraries
Summer Reading Program is “Claws, Paws,
Scales and Tales”. Sign ups for the Summer
Reading Program at the Banks Public Library
continue through July 15th.
Every child in Washington County who signs
up for the Summer Reading Program will receive
a coupon good for one free attraction at the
Family Fun Center & Bullwinkle’s Restaurant
(coupon expires September 9th). Children who
meet their goals and turn in their reading records
will also receive a paperback book, a coupon for
a non-caffeinated drink at Starbucks, and a
coupon good for an all day Oaks Park Amuse-
ment Park bracelet for only $2.00. Reading
records may be turned in from August 1-31, but
the “End of the Summer Reading Party” at Oaks
Park is on August 16th. If you want to attend this
event, turn in your reading record by August 16!
All special entertainment programs are Thurs-
days at 2:00 p.m. Weekly drawings are held be-
fore each event and every child signed up for the
summer reading program may fill out one draw-
ing slip for every book they’ve read that week.
The schedule for Banks Public Library is:
July 13th: Reptile Man
July 20th: Furfest (for 4th and 5th graders)
July 27th: When Animals Were People
August 3rd: Pink Pig Puppet Theatre
Preschool Story time will continue through
July, on Wednesdays at 10:15 a.m. It will resume
the first week of school in September.
July 12th: The Cat’s Meow
July 19th: Down on the Farm
July 26th: Picnics with Pals
(Ants in my food)
Some of our newest books include:
The Bookwoman’s Last Fling by John Dun-
ning. Former homicide detective Cliff Janeway
finds more than he bargains for when he agrees
to appraise a collection of rare children’s books.
Thievery and murder ensue in Idaho as Janeway
becomes embroiled in the world of books and
horse racing.
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury. This
novel by celebrated screenwriter Khoury is de-
scribed as cinematic, and in the style of Dan
Brown’s work. In a dramatic scene, four horse-
men dressed as Templar Knights invade the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and steal one of its
pieces. Archeologist Tess Chaykin and FBI
agent Sean Reilly pursue the murderous horse-
men.
At Risk by Patricia Cornwell. When the district
attorney running for governor of Massachusetts
asks a state investigator to use cutting edge
technology to solve a 20-year-old murder case,
violence disrupts the case. Is this a personal or
professional attack? Surprises await the reader
of this thriller!
Blood Orange Brewing by Laura Childs. In
this 7th installment of the Theodosia Browning
series, our heroine caters a fund-raising tea par-
ty for Charleston’s elite. When a respected politi-
cian is murdered at the event, Theodosia may be
able to dig up more information than the police.
The Hunt Club by John Lescroart. P.I. Wyatt
Hunt and his friends, the Hunt Club, investigate
the murder of a federal judge and his mistress.
Their efforts reveal scandal and turn up an unex-
pected suspect in the form of Trial TV commen-
tator Andrea Parisi. No Brad Pitt in this Hunt
Club.
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. thru July
Phone: (503 ) 324-1382 for information
(503) 846-3245 to renew material
Internet: <www.WILInet.wccls.lib.or.us.>
Browse library resources, reserve or renew
materials online. Call for information.
hearted
contributors
on
Wednesday!
It was great to see all the fa-
miliar faces and welcome the
new ones. Because of all of
your efforts it was a huge suc-
cess.
Thank you once again,
Romanna Manusos
Vernonia Senior Center
Fundraiser Chair
Opposition to state’s
revised cougar plan
To the Editor:
I am writing to express the
fact that a mistake was made in
an earlier column. It was print-
ed that I support the newly
passed “Revised Cougar Man-
agement Plan,” when in fact I
am whole heartedly against it.
In this plan, houndsmen do
not get their rights back. In fact
they are put farther from our
reach. But the worst fact of all is
that at a time when our state is
in serious need of funds we are
paying 2 individuals to hunt
cougars. This fact is stifling
when houndsmen are willing to
pay a fee to hunt these ani-
mals. This could be accom-
plished in the same way that all
fish and game are managed,
with licenses and fees and lim-
ited to the number of cats that
need to be managed.
Cougars and bear are dan-
gerous animals. Yes they are
beautiful and amazing animals,
but the truth is that since hunt-
ing the big cats with dogs was
abandoned their numbers have
increased steadily. And so are
bear populations. Cougars are
territorial, each animal staking
its claim on a domain and
guarding it fiercely from com-
petitors. This means that
younger and displaced cats
have to travel farther from
prime habitat to establish a new
home.
This is the reason we are
seeing cougars nearer towns
and cities more each day. We
are also hearing of cougars and
bears stalking and attacking
humans on the news at least
once a week. Our children and
pets are easier targets for a
hungry cat than fast moving
deer and elk. This is why
cougar and bear attacks are
becoming more common. Most
healthy cougars probably will
never attack a human, but old,
injured or very young and inex-
perienced cats can and do.
Hunting these cats with
hounds is a safe and reason-
able method and will not affect
Oregon’s population, but it will
lower the numbers. Of course
the state game officials would
set a “quota” or limit on the
amount and sex of the animals
taken, ensuring their future.
Hunting with hounds enables
the hunter to view the animal
and take an animal based on a
more informed decision. Espe-
cially if you think about the fact
that cougar tags are sold to rifle
and bow hunters who are lucky
to ever even see one. With
hounds the cougar or bear is
treed, allowing the hunter to de-
termine age, sex and the condi-
tion of the animal. In this situa-
tion the hunter can make an in-
telligent decision, according to
Game Commission rulings, al-
lowing young and protected
sex animals to go free. This
would allow us to take sick, in-
jured or debilitated animals.
This would protect our children,
pets and livestock from a very
dangerous predator.
Why should we the taxpay-
ers pay for a privilege that
houndsmen are more than will-
ing to pay for. By helping
houndsmen you are protecting
and helping yourselves. This
will also help to put the fear of
man and dog back into cougars
deterring them from our towns
and cities in the first place.
Thank you,
Rebecca L. Thies
Forest Grove
( Editor’s Note: In the last 100
years there have been only 14
fatal attacks on humans in the
entire U.S. by cougars vs. year-
ly deaths of 15,000 attributed to
lightning, 4,000 by bees,
10,000 by deer and 1,300 by
rattlesnakes. Oregon has never
recorded a human fatality at-
tributed to cougar. )
Had a wonderful time
at Vernonia Airport
To the Editor:
I just wanted to let you know
how great a time I spent in Ver-
nonia on Sunday, June 11. Lar-
ry, my paraplegic boyfriend re-
ceived an email from his friend,
Mike Seager, and his wife
Georgeann, about an event at
the airstrip in Vernonia. I reside
in Vancouver, Washington. The
group that gathered at your
Please see page 23