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The INDEPENDENT, July 5, 2007
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
Unsafe driving claims life
It was only a matter a time; a Vernonian died this
past weekend on Hwy. 47 while passing in a no-pass-
ing zone and, apparently, speeding. See story on page
1. Please let that be the last fatality due to driver impa-
tience. Don’t speed and don’t pass in no-passing
zones. Remember – the minute or two it will save you
may cost somebody’s life.
Library funds reimbursed
In the June 7 Opinion we mentioned the $3,734 City
Administrator M.R. “Dick” Kline moved from the Li-
brary’s Memorial Fund to the General Fund during the
supplemental budget process. On June 25, Kline said,
“Someone is spreading rumors that we are taking
money from the Library Fund…(see full story on page
4).” The cash disbursements approved at the July 2
council meeting included a check from a June 27 in-
voice for $2,438.78 to the Friends of the Vernonia Li-
brary to “reimburse Friends with Memorial Funds.”
Where is the the other $1,295.22, why was $3,734
transferred out, leaving $344 in the Memorial Fund
(since closed out)?
At what cost Skills Park?
Why would a Budget Committee member and a
Planning Commissioner push a Bicycle Skills Park that
will result in costs to the city (the master plan lists
$76,570 for streets, water, sewer, stormwater, rest-
rooms, etc.) when they, more than most, know the se-
rious financial position City Administrator M.R. “Dick”
Kline keeps telling us the city is in? Haven’t they heard
him say that the city can’t undertake any new projects?
Do they think their project is exempt? And, yes, we
know that in addition to the amount above, they have
some grant money. By now, the city surely has learned
that having some grant money doesn’t mean a project
is “free.”
Paper returns to City Hall
The INDEPENDENT is back on the table in City Hall.
A council response to Topics from the Floor (by Kline)
said the newspaper is currently available in the lobby
of City Hall, so we put it back on the table Monday
morning and it was still there Monday evening.
Ike Says…
By Dale Webb, member
Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League
My back was starting to
ache, the sun was hot and
I could feel the sun slowly
trying to burn me through
the sun screen. My arms
strained my back from
their static forward posi-
tion, broken up with times
of strenuous bursts of
pulling and straining. My
hands were dry and rough from all the water.
This went on, starting early in the morning and
ending with the fading of light, day after day af-
ter day. When Dad and I boated back into camp,
boy, was I glad to see the Weller boys, which
meant I would get a couple of days of rest… well
kind of! Yep, Dad and I were on our annual
Snake River fishing trip.
Some people wonder what drives otherwise
sane people to slave through the weather and
the hazards to catch fish, is it the tug on the end
of the line or actually the slack in the line? Is it
pumping in nice catfish with heavy tackle in fast
water? Catching bluegills on a bare hook?
Watching the Osprey and Eagles doing their own
fishing? Big horn sheep, which don’t seem to
care that you are driving on the road? Perhaps
it is the pull of that slab crappie? Maybe it goes
back into that primordial soup of man’s past,
when he proved himself by how well he could
provide food for the family. Ah heck, maybe it’s
just because it is fun!
We had a great trip this year, the weather was
good, the fishing good (for us) and we met new
people and old friends. Then there was Dianne
Weller’s cooking! Can you imagine having
sausage and pancakes with fresh cut strawber-
ries and whipped cream on a camping trip? How
about marinated deer and elk steaks, potatoes
and salad?
Dennis and Dianne, along with all five of their
boys (young men), came up for a long weekend
of fishing, and fish we did. Dad and I had been
on the river all week, so we had sorted out what
was working and what was not. Dad made a
significant discovery, a discovery that was going
to be the highlight of the trip. Of course it is a se-
cret, the cricket secret.
Do you know that feeling when you seem
golden? Well, that was us this year. When we
got to camp our old friend, Bud, clued us in on
the crappie catch and he was doing fine. We
tried out the usual spots with mixed results, then
we headed to honey hole which Bud suggested
was producing. As usual, we were not the only
ones there and we had to set up in a place oth-
er than the spot. We started catching fish and
everything was fine. We thought, heck, this will
do. The next day was not normal; we couldn’t
catch crappie, at least not in volume.
We found a spot the following day that provid-
ed morning action, but no slab crappie; in the
evening we still struggled. I think it was the third
day that the cricket discovery was made. We
Please see page 3