PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Vernonia, OR 97064
Permit No. 37
Vol. 22, No. 3
“Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley”
Wyden hears concerns about
county fund, Iraq, health care
Lunch time
This bald eagle at Vernonia Lake apparently stopped in for a frozen entree while ice cov-
ered most of the lake .
Flea market planned to help B’feld couple
The Mist-Birkenfeld Helping
Circle and Natal Grange are
sponsoring an area-wide flea
market fundraiser, including a
bake sale and lunch items sale,
on Saturday, February 10, from
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the
Natal Grange to help Bill and
Lynne Kyser of Birkenfeld,
whose home was damaged by
a chimney fire December 17.
While the Kysers were home
the evening of December 17,
they noticed a clicking sound,
then saw sparks around their
chimney. They immediately va-
cated the house.
The Mist-Birkenfeld Fire De-
partment responded and put
out the fire. However, much
smoke damage occurred and
February 1, 2007
chimney repairs are needed
before they can move back in,
according to the fire marshal.
Since the fire, there has been
additional damage due to the re-
cent wind storm. They are cur-
rently staying with a neighbor.
There is no estimate on the
cost of repairs yet. The Kysers
had no fire insurance due to
on-going medical expenses
from Bill Kyser’s heart trans-
plant.
Another local fami-
ly is also in need of
help because of
medical expenses.
For
information,
please see Letters,
Items are being sought from
the public to be sold at the
fundraiser. Donated items can
be delivered to the Natal
Grange on Friday, February 9,
from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. Cash
donations can be made by
check to Mist-Birkenfeld Help-
ing Circle, Secretary-Treasurer
Irene Jones, 69099 North Bank
Road, Birkenfeld, OR 97016.
Anything not sold before
5:00 p.m. on the day of the sale
will be sent to St. Vincent de
Paul or Goodwill. Donors who
wish to pick up their unsold
items should do so by 5:00 p.m.
Funds raised will be used for
materials, permits and contrac-
tor expenses necessary to re-
pair the Kysers’ home.
Oregon citizens are con-
cerned about the loss of feder-
al payments to counties, Iraq,
and increasing health care
costs, Senator Ron Wyden told
reporters Monday morning, fol-
lowing conversations with Ore-
gonians during five town hall
meetings during the weekend.
Before a law passed in Sept.
2000, counties received pay-
ments based on 1908 and
1937 laws requiring the federal
government to share 25 per-
cent of U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) receipts and 50 per-
cent of Bureau of Land Man-
agement (BLM) receipts with
counties in any state where
timber was cut on Federal land.
In the nineties, federal timber
sales declined by over 70 per-
cent nationwide, and the corre-
sponding revenues shared with
rural counties also declined.
The Secure Rural Schools
and Community Self Determi-
nation Act of 2000 established
a six-year payment formula,
based on historical timber re-
ceipts, for counties that had
been receiving revenue shar-
ing payments for the USFS and
BLM lands. The formula estab-
lished a stable revenue source
for education, roads and vari-
ous other county services in ru-
ral areas. Because the federal
government owns more than
50 percent of Oregon land, 33
of Oregon’s 36 counties re-
ceive the funds.
Without reauthorization of
the act, Columbia County will
lose $2.4 million, which is 25.9
percent of its general fund – the
discretionary funds that are
used for law enforcement,
roads, transportation and other
vital services. Some Oregon
counties will lose as much as
70 percent of their general
funds.
Citizen’s comments about
Iraq were “spirited,” Wyden
said, but regardless of their
opinions, they feel it is neces-
sary to protect the troops.
There was no consensus re-
garding funds for additional
troops.
Escalating health care costs,
about 11 percent for 2007, are
resulting in more people with-
out health insurance. Wyden
has introduced a health care
act which The INDEPENDENT
will cover in future issues.
A Life Flight helicopter landed at Vernonia High School about
2:00 a.m., Jan. 23, to transport a local woman to OHSU hos-
pital after she fell five feet from a balcony and suffered a con-
cussion. She was released from OHSU on Jan. 30.