The INDEPENDENT, October 19, 2006
Free workshop for horse owners
Horse owners are invited to
learn practical ways to improve
their land’s value and their ani-
mals’ health. The Clatsop Soil
and Water Conservation Dis-
trict is offering a repeat of last
year’s successful free work-
shops, “Keeping Your Horses
and Land in Good Shape.” The
workshops start at 7:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, November 7, at the
Mist-Birkenfeld Fire Hall and
Wednesday, November 8, at
Jewell School.
The guest speaker, Karin
Hunt, is owner of the nationally-
known Shady Springs Farm.
Hunt uses cost-effective land
management practices to keep
her operations near Portland
and Clatskanie productive and
profitable. She is a popular
speaker throughout the north-
west, nationally known for her
successful and innovative
horse operations, pasturing,
and grounds maintenance.
Hunt keeps her pastures free of
mud and standing water, which
dramatically reduces rates of
infection and hoof rot.
“Even small acreage land-
owners can maintain dense,
green, and weed-free pas-
tures,” said Dave Ambrose, the
CSWCD Watershed Technical
Specialist. He said the work-
shops will present local re-
sources to help with land and
animal management. The num-
ber of horses in Clatsop Coun-
ty continues to increase, and
the CSWCD’s goal is to help
owners maximize the pleasure
and minimize the dangers and
aggravations to their horses
and land.
The free workshops are
sponsored by the Clatsop Soil
and Water Conservation Dis-
trict with a grant from the Ore-
gon Department of Agriculture.
For more information call the
CSWCD at 503 325-4571.
Wildfires still a threat, be careful
Two wildfires that broke out
October 11 in northwestern
Oregon served as a blunt re-
minder that cooler tempera-
tures and recent rains have not
eliminated the fire hazard in the
forest.
When Oregon Department
of Forestry firefighters re-
sponded to a grass fire north of
Banks Wednesday afternoon,
they didn’t anticipate a long
night. But just as they gained
control of the rapidly spreading
fire, saving a home in the
process, another report of fire
came across the radio, this one
northwest of Yamhill in the
Tillamook State Forest.
As firefighters from the de-
partment’s Tillamook and For-
est Grove districts converged
on the new blaze, Forest Grove
District Forester Dave Johnson
activated a helicopter to work
the incident with water bucket
drops as an added measure to
contain it at small size.
Though his district has re-
ceived about three inches of
rain in recent weeks, Holloway
said, strong easterly winds
have dried out the forest vege-
tation once again.
Both districts are still in wild-
fire season, and additional re-
strictions on recreational and
logging activity remain in place.
“Just because we’ve had a
little rain and it is cooler,” John-
son said, “Don’t be lulled into
thinking we’re done with fire
season. The forest will still
burn.”
Firefighters stopped the
Banks fire at less than eight
acres and the Tillamook Forest
fire at just over five acres. But
under the current weather and
fuel conditions, any fire that
starts has potential to grow
large.
The Department of Forestry
urges everyone to exercise
caution with campfires, motor-
ized equipment, smoking and
backyard debris burning. Con-
tact the nearest department of-
fice or the local fire department
for current fire safety rules.
Page 13
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer,
General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
Saving
Money
and
Lives
U n -
fortu-
nately
we find
o u r -
selves in a very serious situa-
tion that is costing our mem-
bers and the Co-op money, and
jeopardizing the lives and safe-
ty of my Crew as well.
The perpetrators are putting
their own lives at risk, as well,
as a news article from LaCen-
ter, Washington, illustrated.
The article told of a man who
saw smoke smoke coming from
a Clark County PUD regulator
station. When he stopped his
car to call 9-1-1, he also saw a
body on fire inside the fenced
area.
When deputies and firefight-
ers arrived, they couldn’t enter
the station until the power was
shut off. After the fire was extin-
guished, deputies found a hole
had been cut in the fence.
The man who died inside ap-
parently was trying to steal the
copper wire and, in the
process, tried to cut a live wire
leading to one of the regulators.
The wire carried 7,200 volts of
electricity.
The same thing could hap-
pen here. Any person who en-
ters one of our substations or
attempts to tamper with one of
our power lines, will meet with
VERNONIA INN
Enjoy a quiet weekend with us.
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Queen Beds • Private Bath • Separate Entrance
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FOR RESERVATIONS CALL
1-800-354-9494 / 503-429-4006
Gift Certificates Available
900 MADISON AVE., VERNONIA, OR 97064
Just one block off scenic Nehalem River Hwy. (Oregon 47)
serious injury or death, as the
high voltage is extremely dan-
gerous.
It also puts the lives of my
Line Crew at risk if they enter a
substation to do work and are
unaware of grounding being
taken, parts missing or tam-
pered with, that might alter volt-
ages inside. Already this year
across the U.S. more than a
dozen people have died while
attempting to steal wire from a
power line or substation.
We have had several break-
ins and thefts at our pole yard
and at two of our substations.
Each time equipment, tools,
wire, or supplies are stolen, it
comes out of our members’
pockets to repurchase these
items. It costs us all in time, re-
placement costs, and potential-
ly not being able to accomplish
a job if the items we need are
not available when we need
them.
West Oregon EC is installing
security systems in all of our
substations and pole yard to
help combat this growing prob-
lem. We will be prosecuting to
the fullest extent anyone who
steals or damages any of our
equipment or system. We hope
our members will help us stop
this problem and inform us if
they have any information
about persons responsible. We
are also working with other
electric co-ops in Oregon on
legislative and legal assistance
to deal with this increasing
problem.