The INDEPENDENT, April 19, 2007
Page 3
Letters
Join volunteers to
Make Vernonia Shine
To the Editor:
A reminder to all you able-
bodied people that April 28 is
the annual “Make Vernonia
Shine Day.”
Registration starts at 9:00
a.m. at the Providence Medical
Center. Groups may pre-regis-
ter by calling Genny Fisher at
429-4019.
There will be no free dump
day this year, however there
will be a dumpster for green
waste – no garbage, please –
located on the south side of the
library on the old railroad
grade.
Dad’s Recycling will be open
that day and he takes almost
everything.
Metals,
bed
springs, metal buildings, wire
fencing, car batteries, paper
and clean plastic, engine trans-
missions, computers. On that
day, he will also be taking com-
puter monitors, and all appli-
ances, even those with freon;
free of charge. Check with him
for a more complete list.
Lunch will be served at 1:00
p.m. at the Scout Cabin.
Please come out and help
us make this the best clean up
day ever.
DeLoris Webb
Vernonia Pride
Have healthier air to
breathe; don’t burn
To the Editor:
I, too, have been guilty of
buying a couple of burning per-
mits. But, I am no longer naive,
and am aware of the hazards of
Salem Scene
By Representative Brad Witt
Oregon District 31
The Rainy Day Fund
that the Legislature ap-
proved several weeks ago
is already paying off for
taxpayers. This week we
received very good news
from the State Treasurer’s
office. Standard & Poor’s,
one of the three major na-
tional credit rating agen-
cies, revised Oregon’s general obligation bond
rating from “stable” to “positive.” The agency cit-
ed the state legislature’s approval of the Rainy
Day Fund as a reason for the upgrade. Wall
Street clearly approves of what we have done to
shore up our finances and we are now just one
step away from getting an increase in our bond
rating, from AA- to AA.
An improved credit rating would save the
state millions of dollars each year in interest. For
instance, veterans’ home loans would be less
expensive, and public schools would enjoy low-
er interest rates on their bond issues through the
Oregon School Bond Guaranty Program. Other
positive issues mentioned in the S&P analysis
include a more diversified state economy and a
manageable debt burden. One item that helped
get Oregon’s financial house in order was the
Public Employees Retirement Fund (PERS) re-
forms that took place during the 2005 legislature.
Because of those reforms, PERS is now fully
funded.
In addition to this good news from the Trea-
surer, the Legislature has passed several very
good bills that I would like to share with you as
well. The first, HJR 14, seeks to reform Oregon’s
double majority election law. Currently, any prop-
erty tax increase must be approved by both a
50% majority of those voting and at least 50% of
those registered to vote. In other words, even if
100% of those who turn out to vote approve the
measure, if they do not make up at least 50% of
the registered voters, the levy will fail. This gives
those who do not vote more control over the bal-
lot box than those who do. There is something
patently undemocratic about this.
HJR 14 does not of itself change the law. In-
stead, because the Constitution would need to
be amended, the bill calls upon Oregonians to
once again consider this issue at the ballot box.
Global Warming.
I see all the huge piles of
wood ready to be burned, and
those burning, and see that
there are still many naive. We
must change our ways. Buy a
chipper.
Oregon is the 3rd worst state
in high smoke emissions – and
everyone needs to stop burning
now! Or was it yesterday?
Also, I’ve heard cars can run
off of water, so why do we trap
ourselves in this gas crisis?
Make the obvious mandatory
[change] immediately, and let’s
try and save our earth.
We need all to “Pitch-in” and
reverse Global Warming.
Virginia Kepner
Vernonia
Changes have been
made in Youth Soccer
To the Editor:
Spring has started and
sports have sprung. As some of
you have noticed, though not
for Vernonia Youth Soccer…
yet! To better focus on the fall
Please see page 23
Out of My Mind…
If passed, the new law would allow local proper-
ty tax levies to be passed with a simple majority
twice a year, at the May and November elec-
tions. This ballot measure will come before the
voters at the next general election, November
2008.
The next bill, SB 362,expands the Oregon
Prescription Drug Program (OPDP) to include
business associations, employee groups, em-
ployer-sponsored health plans, and additional in-
dividual users. The OPDP was established in
2003 in order to create a pool of participants
large enough to have some purchasing power in
the pharmaceutical market place.
In November of 2006, Oregonians over-
whelmingly passed Ballot Measure 44, that al-
lowed any Oregon resident without prescription
drug coverage to participate in the state’s pur-
chasing pool. SB 362 expands upon that meas-
ure, further harnessing the state’s bulk purchas-
ing power to make prescription medications
more affordable. This measure is good for busi-
ness, it benefits families, and it is simply the right
thing to do. It passed the House unanimously.
As of February 2007, OPDP has enrolled ap-
proximately 12,500 people with an average sav-
ings of $28 per prescription.
The last measure I want to discuss is HB
2650. This bill will set minimum standards relat-
ed to portion size, calories, sugar and fat content
of food sold to students through vending ma-
chines and school stores. The standards would
also apply to school-prepared individual entrees,
but not the broader school lunch program admin-
istered by the USDA.
In the face of an epidemic of obesity facing
our nation’s children, a coalition of parents, pub-
lic health advocates, physicians, nutritionist,
teachers and administrators expressed con-
cerned about the proliferation of unregulated
junk food sold in schools. Oftentimes this under-
mines the efforts that parents make on the home
front to provide their children with a nourishing,
low-fat diet. Hopefully, this legislation will help
our children avoid a future plagued by the many
illnesses linked to obesity.
Rep. Brad Witt
Address: Capitol Bldg., 900 Court St., NE,
Room H277, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-986-1431
email: Brad.Witt@state.or.us
From page 2
back most of his $15,000 bo-
nus. Town left Fort Carson ow-
ing the Army more than $3,000.
Why did he settle for this?
Town said a psychologist at
Fort Carson assured him that
he would receive disability ben-
efits, VA medical care and that
he’d get to keep his bonus. He
discussed the good news with
two soldiers in his unit at Fort
Carson. “We talked about it
many times,” Brandon Murray
confirmed. “Jon said the doctor
promised him benefits, and he
was happy about it.” Town
shared the excitement with his
wife, Kristy, shortly after his ap-
pointment with the psycholo-
gist. “He said [the doctor] had
explained that he’d get to keep
his benefits,” Kristy says, “…it
was all coming with the chapter
he was getting.” Promises were
made about what would hap-
pen if he went along with the di-
agnosis.
“The final day, we find out,
none of it was true. It was a to-
tal shock. I felt like I‘d been be-
trayed by the Army.”
Russell Terry, founder of the
Iraq War Veterans Organiza-
tion (IWVO), said his veterans'
rights group has been receiving
calls from distraught soldiers
discharged under Chapter 5-13
for more than a year. They de-
scribe how their military doc-
tors pushed the personality dis-
order diagnosis, strained to
prove that their problems exist-
ed before their service in Iraq
and refused to acknowledge
evidence of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), trau-
matic brain injury and physical
traumas, which would allow
them to collect disability and
medical benefits.
Trying to reverse a 5-13 dis-
charge is a frustrating process.
A veteran has to conquer pa-
perwork, appeals panels and
backstage political dealing.
Even with the guidance of an
experienced advocate, few are
successful.
In the last six years the Army
has diagnosed and discharged
more than 5,600 soldiers be-
cause of personality disorder –
805 cases in 2001, 980 cases
in 2003, 1,086 from January to
November 2006. “It’s getting
worse and worse every day,”
said an official who handles
discharge papers. “…the num-
bers started out normal. Now
it’s up to three or four soldiers
each day. It’s like, suddenly
everybody has a personality
disorder. They’re saving a
buck. And they’re saving the
VA money too. It’s all about
money.”
What does the Army get for
throwing wounded veterans out
on 5-13 discharges? With an
average disability payment of
about $8,900 a year and a
medical cost of about $5,000
per year over a 40-year period
per soldier, separating 22,500
of them would save the Penta-
gon $8-billion in disability pay
and $4.5-billion in medical care
over their lifetimes.
Terry noted that recruits are
screened psychologically when
they join the military, and has a
pertinent question: “if all these
soldiers really did have a se-
vere pre-existing condition,
how did they get into the mili-
tary in the first place?”
To read the full article, in-
cluding more veterans’ experi-
ences and responses from
Army officials, go to <www.the
nation.com/issue/20070409>
and click on “How Specialist
Town Lost His Benefits”.