The INDEPENDENT, March 15, 2007
Zoo has volunteer opportunities
Do you enjoy interacting with
people and animals? The Ore-
gon Zoo has opportunities for
youth and adult volunteers to
work at least one 3-hour shift
per week from mid-May to La-
bor Day in the Winged Won-
ders butterfly exhibit as
ZooAmbassadors.
ZooAmbassadors provide
general animal and exhibit in-
formation to visitors, while
spending time with colorful but-
terflies in the butterfly garden.
Ambassadors 15 and older can
volunteer on their own, while
people between the ages of 10
and 14 can volunteer with a
parent.
The zoo is encouraging en-
tire families to volunteer. “Last
year several family members
volunteered together,” com-
mented Tony Vecchio, Oregon
Zoo director. “It’s rare for chil-
dren to be included in these op-
portunities. It’s a unique way to
create lasting family memo-
ries.”
The program is designed to
extend knowledge about the
importance of wildlife conser-
vation, while simultaneously
bringing families together. Du-
ties include talking to zoo visi-
tors, insuring the safety of the
butterflies, and monitoring the
exhibit doors to prevent butter-
flies from flying away.
“I have seen huge changes
in the demeanor and communi-
cation skills of kids who volun-
teer,” commented Paula Mc-
Call, volunteer coordinator. “It’s
a fun learning experience for
everyone involved.”
There are many benefits to
volunteering. ZooAmbassadors
meet people who share similar
interests and values; receive
free zoo admission and a com-
plimentary train ride; have the
opportunity to volunteer at zoo
concerts; learn about how to at-
tract local wildlife; and partici-
pate in training opportunities
only available at the zoo.
Potential ZooAmbassadors
are required to attend one ori-
entation session. After attend-
ing the orientation overview,
those choosing to continue will
receive 10 hours of training.
The orientation will be offered
on the following days:
• Saturday, March 31, 10
a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, April 3, 6 p.m. to
7:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 13, 10 a.m. to
11:30 a.m.
• Saturday, May 5, 10 a.m. to
11:30 a.m.
To R.S.V.P. for the session
of your choice, please call 503-
226-1561, ext. 5397, or e-mail
zooambassadors@metro.dst.o
r.us. The deadline to sign up for
the first orientation session is
March 20.
The Oregon Zoo has one of
the largest zoo volunteer pro-
grams in the country. More
than 2,000 individuals volun-
teer more than 156,000 hours
per year.
The zoo opens at 9 a.m. dai-
ly and is located just off High-
way 26. General admission is
$9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25
(65+), children $6.75 (3-11),
and infants 2 and under are
free; 25 cents of the admission
price helps fund regional con-
servation projects through the
zoo’s Future for Wildlife pro-
gram. A parking fee of $1 per
car is also required. Additional
information is available at
www.oregonzoo.org or by call-
ing 503-226-1561.
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Page 13
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer,
General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
A Moment of
Clarification
I was approached by a
couple of members who
wanted to know if two of
my articles about renew-
ables were in conflict with
each other. I would like to
take this opportunity to clarify my position. When
it comes to renewable energy, there are very
clear and distinct points to be made as they re-
late to West Oregon Electric Cooperative. I will
try to make them easier to understand.
• Renewable energy is good, clean, and envi-
ronmentally safe.
• Renewable energy, other than hydro, is also
more expensive.
• Hydro power from existing dams is renew-
able energy, despite the Governor trying to ex-
clude it in his Renewable Portfolio Standard.
• Developing additional renewable sources of
energy is a good thing and should be pursued by
utilities to augment our current power supply, not
to replace it.
• Wind, solar, and wave energy, while certain-
ly clean renewable sources of energy, do not
produce firm (continuous) power and therefore
must be combined with another constant source
to provide sustainable and reliable power.
• Wind, solar, wave, methane gas, and geot-
hermal are from 25 percent to 100 percent high-
er in cost than our current hydro power and,
therefore, would have a significant impact on our
power costs if we are forced to replace our cur-
rent hydro with them.
• We are adamantly opposed to the Governor
imposing mandates on our member owned elec-
tric cooperative. We are owned, operated, and
governed by our member owners and they alone
should decide what is best for their utility, not los-
ing local control to state or federal government
standards.
• As responsible citizens we should always
look for and develop alternative sources of ener-
gy that make economic and reasonable sense.
While West Oregon fully supports the devel-
opment of renewable energy sources, and has
been and continues to be involved in projects,
we do so only if and when it makes reasonable
and economical sense to our members. We are
well aware that the amount of energy produced
by BPA from Bonneville Dam is nearing capaci-
ty.
Future load growth may require us to turn to
alternate sources to obtain our power supply, so
we are proceeding cautiously and with due dili-
gence to identify the sources that are best for our
members. We are looking at all possible
sources, which includes renewable energy. As I
pointed out above, while wind, solar, and wave
are very clean and environmentally friendly, they
do not provide a reliable, firm source of power
and therefore must be combined with another
constant source. The only currently available al-
ternatives that produce constant sources of pow-
er other than hydro, are are fossil fuel based,
such as coal and gas. Nuclear power is making
a return, but is far on the horizon.
Coffin Butte, the methane gas project we are
part owners of, comes the closest in cost to our
current hydro power. In our Green Power pro-
gram, we pass along the additional cost to only
those members who want to participate in this
program, not the entire membership. It is a way
for us to participate in a supportive way of devel-
oping and offering an alternative renewable
source of power at a reasonable cost.
We are opposed to the Governor’s Renew-
able Portfolio Standards not because we oppose
renewable energy, but due to the following rea-
sons: The fact that it refuses to acknowledge our
current hydro as renewable, wants to take away
local control (one of the reasons cooperatives
were created in the first place), and mandates
standards that would demand we replace exist-
ing low cost, clean, renewable energy with in-
consistent, higher cost energy.
I hope this sufficiently clarifies the issue for
everyone. I am always available to discuss it fur-
ther with any of our members. I appreciate hear-
ing from you.
503-429-0280
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