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