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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2007)
The INDEPENDENT, November 1, 2007 Page 3 Letters Yes on 49 to protect our property rights To the Editor: Please join me in voting Yes on Measure 49! Like thousands of Oregoni- ans we purchased a home con- fident that zoning regulations would protect the life style we dreamed about. In our case lot size restrictions limit building; and commercial and industrial development is banned. Then Measure 37 came along and with it the possibility that our dreams would be shattered. If you aren’t in a similar situation you undoubtedly know some- one who is. Many argue that people should be able to do whatever they want with their own prop- erty and in principal I agree. However, I have a problem when it starts interfering with the property rights of others. Properties eligible for Measure 37 claims – many of which are owned by large timber compa- nies – are bordered by proper- ties owned by individuals like you and me. The possibilities are endless, but if your neigh- bor is allowed to put in a chem- ical plant or slaughter house, it is going to have a negative ef- fect on everyone in the area. Property values will probably drop and so will your quality of life. It is time to stand up and pro- tect the majority of Oregonians by voting Yes on Measure 49! Judith D. Litwin Scappoose Plan now for Big Rig Christmas Parade To the Editor: Coming soon to Bridge Street.: Vernonia Lighted Big Rig Christmas Parade! The time has come to put your thinking caps on and plan how you are going to decorate your best looking rig for our Lighted Big Rig Christmas Pa- rade on Saturday, December 1st, right after the lighting of the Christmas tree at City Hall. We are blessed with some of the best looking log trucks rolling Ike Says From page 2 seasons the access will be al- lowed throughout the seasons. It is “hopefully” because Fred brought to my attention that a certain individual has endan- gered that privilege. It seems that on the night of October 20th, this individual used his pickup to tear up one of the log- ging roads by doing “cookies” all up and down Kauppi main- line. Fred added that contin- ued misuse like this will indeed get the gates closed. He also pointed out that hunter access is allowed only from one hour before daylight and you must leave by one hour after sun down. The kicker with this inci- dent is that Fred has a good idea who the culprit was. An- other example of vandalism would be dirt roads on the tim- berlands that don’t get rocked before the rainy season. In the past, the timberland owners would place piles of rock in the front of these spurs to deter people from driving down them and still allow access into the general area, but what did we see? It seemed that the piles or stumps would act more as a challenge to individuals and what was the result of that? Yep, gates that simply don’t open, and we have several ar- eas this year that are an exam- ple of this. It was also men- tioned that if the timber compa- nies do decide to lock up the gates, it has been rumored that the names of the people re- sponsible for the gates being locked up will appear on the sign. Of course nobody will know how the names got there, but would you want your name on that sign? That would be like getting a one way ticket out of town in my book. Please be safe out there, there have been several people shot this year. Remember, wearing hunter orange may save your life, especially when you meet one of these guys that shoots at sounds in the brush. Surviving a gunshot wound just isn’t a thing any of us want to do; not surviving is the other option. For you guys that shoot at sounds, get anoth- er sport, we don’t want or need you out in the field. Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Call 503-428-7193 for location. daily through our quaint little town, not to mention having fire trucks, West Oregon Electric trucks, school buses, pretty pickups and even the tallest SUV I have even seen. I went to look at it and I barely cleared the tires, and they are located here in Vernonia. We use this parade to kick off our Holiday Season. If there is one thing all of Vernonia en- joys it’s a great parade and we have some of the greatest ones here. Let’s make this parade one to look forward to each year, as we do the other pa- rades in our great town. There will be a prize for the brightest big rig, the most origi- nal, and the best Christmas Spirit displayed. For more infor- mation, please call me at 503- 429-0946. Carolyn Velasco Vernonia Domestic violence is problem in workplace To the Editor: We here in Oregon have re- cently been riveted by a story about a teacher in Medford who was carrying a concealed weapon in her classroom. To date the debate has raged on about the rights of gun owners to carry a licensed and permit- ted weapon on school grounds. I would like us to take this op- portunity to refocus the ques- tion. This teacher has begun car- rying a concealed weapon be- cause, as a victim of domestic violence, she fears for her life. We know that domestic vio- lence doesn’t stay home when a victim goes to work. Why is that? For starters, the workplace is likely to be the one place a batterer knows to find the victim. Beyond that, victims report an inability to concentrate on their work, they report being preoccupied with the abuse and report that many times the place they are most likely to disclose their abuse is at work. Did you know that 70 per- cent of victims of domestic vio- lence HERE IN OREGON are employed at the time of the abuse. And that 89 percent of batterers are employed at the time they perpetrate their crime. So if you think domestic vio- lence is not an issue for the state’s Labor Commissioner, think again. I am launching a program here at the Bureau of Labor and Industries that addresses the rights and responsibilities of employers. My goal is to train employers to recognize the signs of abuse, to know who to contact in a crisis, and to un- derstand what their responsibil- ities are under the law. Workplace safety should be a high priority for all employers – and we at BOLI will do every- thing we can to bring the need- ed information to employers about this important topic. Let this situation be your call to action. When we have victims of vi- olence and sexual assault right here in Oregon who are afraid to go to work, who resort to car- rying a concealed weapon, then we need to stop and take a serious look at what we doing for those victims. What are YOU, as an em- ployer, doing? Do you have a policy on do- mestic violence in the workplace? Do you have a safety mitiga- tion plan? Have you reached out and gotten trainings for you and your employees? Trainings and materials are available through our agency. Contact us at 971-673-0782 for our Technical Assistance for Employers hotline, register for our Employment Law Confer- ence on December 5 and 6 where we will host a three hour panel with the state’s top Do- mestic Violence experts, or get online at www.oregon.gov/boli to find out more about what you can do to help victims of Do- mestic Violence in YOUR work- place. Dan Gardner, Labor Commissioner Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries Portland We must protect our right to bear arms To the Editor: I found Mr. Tom Davis’s let- ter, dated October 24, titled ‘Easy Way Out,’ very interest- ing, and very well said! United States Citizens have always been inclined to protect themselves and not wait around for someone else to do it for them. For over a hundred and fifty years, they carried a gun as a means of self protec- tion. Why else would Mr. Colt have manufactured the ‘Peace Maker,’ and the ‘Equalizer’? Then our Government says, “Relinquish your guns, we will protect you!” I could insert a Ha! Ha! Ha! there, but I won’t! (I think John Wayne said some- thing like that in a movie one time!) Has our Government for- gotten that the Constitution of the United States implicitly states in the Second Amend- ment, that all U. S. Citizens have the right to Bear Arms? Our Forefathers wanted us to be able to protect ourselves from a Runaway Government, and from enemies, either for- eign or domestic. We have a duty to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We must never allow our own Government or anyone else from usurping or manipulating our guns away from us. Benjamin Franklin said, “He who trades liberty for freedom, will in the end, have neither lib- erty nor freedom!” I have heard many politicians lately telling the American people that they may have to give us some of their freedoms so our Govern- ment can protect us. That is not how we will be protected, but how we will be enslaved! Let me cite you two exam- ples: (1) In Czechoslovakia, their Government said, “We need to register your guns so that if a crime is committed, we will know what guns to check.” Then when the guns were all registered they said, “You have a gun, we want it!” If you an- swered no, you were shot dead! (2) Then we have Poland during World War II with Ger- many. It was, “Lay down your arms, and surrender to mine!” The Poles did that very thing and were captured. Appease- ment never works!! We have a Government where the wolves are guarding the sheep. If they remove our defense of weaponry, and get their Police State in order, you will cow down to the authority figures with the Big Guns, and there will be no way to resist their Take Over of America! Hold onto your Gun Rights! Stay on the Defensive! It is every American’s DUTY! Don’t be derelict! Keith Carpenter Scappoose
