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The INDEPENDENT, December 7, 2006
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Assoc. Editor Noni Andersen, noni@the-independent.net
Opinion
Let the Christmas season
be joyous with simplicity
Shopping for Christmas presents can exhaust both
your body and your bank account, but there really are
ways to make the whole season more enjoyable.
For instance, it isn’t necessary to spend hours – and
gallon$ of ga$ – in your car. We who are lucky enough
to live in small towns should first take a good look at
what is available at home.
Vernonia has many businesses now. There are very
good antique and gift shops; excellent teas, coffees
and specialty food items are available; choices are
abundant for household goods, automotive equipment
and accessories, as well as pet and garden supplies.
Other businesses include children’s clothing, games
and toys; computers and other electronics, including
cell phones; a flower shop; a family clothing store, a
saddle shop that also does leather repairs, and a jew-
elry store.
Banks may have fewer shops, but a variety of good
quality merchandise is available right in town. Inciden-
tally, don’t drive too fast through Manning, or you’ll
miss a few gems there, too.
You can also take advantage of the many service
businesses in your area with gift certificates for a mas-
sage, hair styling or a soothing pedicure. How about a
gift certificate for an oil change or a car wash, or for
dog grooming?
If you know a reader who lives outside city limits, giv-
ing one year’s fee to a city library would make a great
gift. Someone who is concerned about physical fitness
would be delighted with a gift certificate to a local gym
or fitness program.
Other readily available presents could be gift certifi-
cates to restaurants, especially if the gift included an
evening of baby sitting, as well.
Speaking of baby sitting, some of the most loving
gifts you can give to those you care about will cost
nothing but time and energy. Personal gift certificates
for window washing, gutter cleaning, vacuuming, mop-
ping, dog walking, lawn mowing, weeding, or other
tasks that are physically difficult for some, are truly
wonderful gifts that show you care.
Christmas should be a time of warmth and joy, not a
competition to see who can do the best job of exhaust-
ing both their bodies and their bank accounts.
Take a good look close to home, it’s worth it.
Ike Says…
By Dale Webb, member
Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter
It is that time of year
again, the slow time, hunt-
ing seasons are winding
down and, hopefully, meat
is in the freezer. What I’m
hearing from the field this
year is that things were
comparable to the past,
which means deer season
in our area was slow at
best. Elk season seemed a little slower this year
during both rifle seasons, we will have to wait
and see what the stats show.
Speaking of stats, next year all hunters will be
asked to report their success, or lack of, for each
species that they hunt. This is good news; sta-
tistics are a very important part of managing
wildlife, without those facts, mistakes can and
have been made. Previously, hunts that in-
volved lots of hunters had good statistics be-
cause large enough samples of hunters were
called. The degree of accuracy become more
questionable in hunts with fewer hunters. The
new system should solve this problem and not
be a burden on sportsmen. It sounds like there
will be three options for reporting your harvest –
phone, computer and POS locations. The first
year will be voluntary, but expect the reporting
requirement to become mandatory in the future.
I hunted the second rifle elk season in the
Saddle Mountain unit this year. I managed to be
successful, taking a bull on Thanksgiving Day. I
even managed to get home in time for dinner! I
have been fairly successful hunting elk and
many people wonder what it takes to get a bull
elk. First, I would have to give a large share of
the credit to my father; through his instruction
and mentoring I have developed a successful
strategy that seems to work. Of course I have
added my own twist to hunting, as each individ-
ual always will.
So what does it take to be successful at hunt-
ing elk? First, persistence has to be at the top of
the list. Hunting is a lot like fishing, if your hook
isn’t in the water, you cannot catch a fish. So
you have to plan on being in the field, daylight to
dark. In order to do this, you have to be comfort-
able, which means the right clothing, boots,
pants, coat and hat. This year, the season was
extremely wet, which meant having clothing that
kept you dry. I have been wearing Cabelas Dry
plus pants and pullover top; it is incredible how
resistant to rain this material is. At times I felt
like I was getting wet, but this was mostly from
sweat on the inside, once slowed down and
cooled off, the wetness went away. At the end of
the day, I always felt dry. Boots are one of the
most important articles of clothing a sportsman
will wear, they have to be tough, have good trac-
tion and keep your feet warm and dry. This is a
tall order and most boots will fail this test. I have
had great success with a combination type boot
that has rubber bottoms and leather uppers. I
did not have a day this year that my feet felt wet.
Lastly, a hunter needs a good hat; because I
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