The INDEPENDENT, September 21, 2006
Page 5
Business Notes
New business is offering
technical services, supplies,
cell phones, and more
Bits and PCs, a new busi-
ness in Vernonia, is open and
offering a wealth of services
and supplies that area resi-
dents haven’t had available in
town.
The one-stop services at
Bits and PCs include computer
repair and service, Cingular
cell phone service plans, sales
of cellphones and accessories,
office and shipping supplies,
and printer cartridge refill serv-
ices. Oh, yes, you can even
sign up for Agalis.net internet
service.
Owners, Jim Gooch and Jeff
Hopkins, already were offering
some of these services, includ-
ing internet services by
Agalis.net, computer service
and repair. But you had to con-
tact them, you could not just
walk in and talk to them.
The idea for Bits and PCs
started when Hopkins was
looking to extend his internet
service territory and Gooch of-
fered his house as a relay
point. They kept talking and the
store grew out of those discus-
sions, additionally many people
had mentioned to one or both
of them that the city needed a
source of office supplies.
Future plans to expand in-
clude moving to a new, larger
site on Bridge St. as soon as
possible, then growing their in-
ventory and the services they
offer. One idea is to be able to
weigh printer cartridges to de-
termine by weight if they are
truly empty – if they aren’t emp-
ty, the problem may be the
printer, not just a need for ink.
Both Gooch and Hopkins
live in Vernonia, and Gooch is
glad to leave the commute be-
hind and mind the store. Gooch
was looking for an alternative
to high-tech work while still
making use of his technical
knowledge and Hopkins was
looking to expand services, so
the timing was right for a part-
nership. “I like meeting people
and being able to help them
out,” said Gooch.
Bits and PCs is here and
waiting for you to bring in emp-
ty printer cartridges for replace-
ment, get or change cell phone
service, buy supplies and ac-
cessories, get help with com-
puter troubles, or have them
put together a new computer.
Find what you need at Bits and
PCs, 842 Madison Ave., Ver-
nonia, Monday through Satur-
day from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m., or call them at 503-429-
TECH (8324).
Keith new Fire Cost administrator
Former Oregon Department
of Forestry official Tim Keith
took over September 1, as ad-
ministrator of the Emergency
Fire Cost Committee. He re-
placed Tom Lane as head of
the four-member panel that
oversees the Oregon Forest
Land Protection Fund. The
fund serves as a revenue safe-
ty net that covers firefighting
costs for large wildfires.
Recently retired as assistant
state forester for the depart-
ment’s Forest Protection Divi-
sion, Keith is no stranger to
wildfire. He served 16 years as
a commander for the depart-
ment’s incident management
teams. Made up of skilled fire-
fighting personnel, the teams
manage the suppression effort
on large wildfires.
Established by the Oregon
Legislature in 1946 following
the huge Tillamook fire of the
previous year, the Oregon For-
est Land Protection Fund pays
firefighting costs whenever a
wildfire exceeds the budget of
the department district in which
it occurs. Acreage assess-
ments paid by forest landown-
ers, minimum lot assessments,
a surcharge on improved forest
lots and a timber harvest tax fi-
nance the fund.
The Emergency Fire Cost
Committee supervises and
controls the distribution of
monies from the fund, to bal-
ance protection costs from re-
gion to region.
Keith can be reached at
Oregon Department of Forestry
headquarters in Salem.
Friends of the Vernonia Library are $500 richer thanks to a September 18 donation from US
Bank’s corporate giving program. Offering the donation are (l-r) US Bank personnel Jonathan
Farmer, Julie Allen, and Vernonia Branch Assistant Manager Sarah Norburg, while Claudine
East and Joann Glass happily accept the check on behalf of the library support group.
Whipple, Sikora elected as co-chairs of OFRI
The board of directors of the
Oregon Forest Resources Insti-
tute (OFRI) has elected Carol
Whipple, owner and manager
of the Rocking C Ranch, a fam-
ily forage and timber growing
operation near Elkton, to a one-
year term as its chair. The
board also elected Pete Sikora,
lands manager for Giustina Re-
sources in Eugene, as co-chair.
OFRI is funded by a portion
of Oregon’s tax on timber har-
vests. Its board includes repre-
sentatives of small (Class 1),
medium (Class 2) and large
(Class 3) producers, small
woodland owners and employ-
ees, each appointed by the
Oregon State Forester. A public
member and the dean of the
Oregon State University Col-
lege of Forestry serve as ex-of-
ficio members.
Whipple, who was first ap-
pointed to OFRI’s board in
2001, represents Class 1 pro-
ducers (those who pay the har-
vest tax on less than 20 million
board feet of timber annually).
Sikora was appointed to the
board in 2005 and represents
Class 2 producers (those who
pay the harvest tax on more
than 20 million board feet of
timber annually but less than
100 million board feet).
The Oregon Legislature cre-
ated OFRI in 1991 to improve
understanding of the state’s
forest resources and to encour-
age sound forest management.