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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2007)
The INDEPENDENT, November 15, 2007 Page 3 Letters Fencing help needed at Pioneer Cemetery To the Editor: I would like to introduce my- self to the Vernonia community. My name is Colten Patton. I am a student at Vernonia High School. This Fall I will be work- ing on completion of a renewal project at the historic Vernonia Pioneer Cemetery. I am very excited about coming to the conclusion of my years in the Scouting program. The pioneer cemetery is over a hundred years old. It also houses civil war veterans. I would like to in- volve the community as much as possible in my Eagle Scout Project. I will be installing a new fence around the perimeter of the cemetery. All the fencing supplies are being provided. I will only need help in installing the new fence. There will be re- freshments and a pizza party. The date of the project has yet to be decided upon. If you would like to help out please call me at 503-429-0990. Colten Patton Vernonia know where to go for my needs. This letter won’t be printed if it’s not signed – an- other respected standard. I’m proud to be able to say Thank the Lord for where I live; it’s a joy to share publicly that Ver- nonia is really a very special place – when it remembers it- self. Isabelle McDaniel Vernonia Thankful for keeping community standards LOC appreciative of Sen. Johnson’s work To the Editor: Thank the Lord I can live in a community that has a newspa- per that lets me know what’s happening in my town. It’s stan- dards match the “required” standards of its advertisers. I To the Editor: On behalf of Oregon’s 242 cities, the League of Oregon Cities would like to acknowl- edge Senator Betsy Johnson’s outstanding efforts during the Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library It’s pretty bad when one reads an article and finds mistakes that have been submitted by the writer (me). In last month’s arti- cle comparisons were made in library statistics for circulation, service hours per week, and total library materials. The fig- ures were correct but the year for the initial comparison was wrong. It should have been 1992-’93, not 2002-’03. Sorry! For anyone interested in the statistics, the very biggest differences will be found prior to 1999, when we moved into the new building, through the early 2000s. Matt Love, the scheduled presenter of the program on the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, apologizes to Vernonia residents. He dislocated his shoulder in an accident the day before the scheduled program and was unable to drive. The presentation will be rescheduled for April. Public- ity will be plentiful in the hopes that all who missed the program, and others who are inter- ested, will be able to attend. Recent acquisitions include The New Year’s Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini, The Last Wild Wolves by Ian McAllister, Third Degree by Greg Iles, Home in Holly Springs by Jan Karon, The Heir by Barbara Taylor Bradford, The Race by Richard North Patterson, When Day Breaks by Mary Jane Clark, All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockman, Become a Better You by Joel Osteen, and The Chase by Clive Cussler. Suspense, holiday and historical romance, ter- rorism, help for improving one’s self and a por- trait of the unique lives of wolves will all be found in this selection of new books. The book chosen to be discussed this month is one of the most entertaining that I’ve read late- ly. If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name by Heather Lende, takes place in Haines, Alaska. As both obituary writer and social columnist for the local newspaper, Lende knows better than anyone the happenings in tiny Haines, which has no traffic light, no mail delivery and where fu- nerals are community affairs. This is a book of touching stories about neighbors with whom Lende shares wedding celebrations, potluck din- ners, tears for missing fishermen and all the joys and sorrows of family life in this town which is ac- cessible mainly by water or air—and only when the weather is good. Discussion of this book will take place Monday, November 19 at 5:30 in the library. A copy is still available for anyone who might be interested. Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen is an- other book that I would like to recommend. This is an endearing story of Sally and Troo O’Malley and their summer full of turmoil and suspense. Set in 1959, the book remembers the days of lazy summers filled with “red rover”, “green light, red light,” and other playground games. Though it seemed an era of innocence, darkness in the form of a murderer and molester hides in the shadows. This novel is funny, wise, uplifting and intense. Books have been chosen by library board members for the coming Holiday Book Adoption at the library. Ordered through St. Helens Book- shop, these items will be on display shortly after Thanksgiving and may be adopted (purchased) for the library. The cost for each will be 20% less than the regular sale price. This has been a pop- ular way for people to give to the local library with each year becoming more successful than the previous. Remember the after school story/activity hour on Mondays at 3:30, pre-school story time on Mondays at 10:30, and Friday after school board games at 2:30. Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Tues., Thur. 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m., when school is in session. Phone: 503-429-1818 2007 legislative session. Among her many accomplish- ments, Sen. Johnson played a key role in addressing two is- sues that affected the 2.6 mil- lion Oregonians living in cities. She was instrumental in secur- ing $21 million of funding for municipal infrastructure proj- ects directly impacting cities and the environment. Her work as chair of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Eco- nomic Development and Trans- portation was key to securing this funding to improve Orego- nians’ quality of life by helping cities with water and waste- water quality improvements. Sen. Johnson was also an effective champion of Connect Oregon II which will inject $100 million in lottery backed bonds to support critical marine, pub- lic transit, rail, and air related improvements. We at the League of Oregon Cities appreciate Sen. John- son’s work on behalf of all Ore- gonians and her consistent and crucial work to address the special issues and challenges facing cities. Mike McCauley Executive Director League of Oregon Cities United Way works well for all of us To the Editor: Why United Way? We might just as well ask ourselves why United States? Why sports leagues? Why service clubs? or why organ- ized effort of any kind? Why to- gether anything? – looking at it this way brings into focus how fundamental united action is to the well-being of human socie- ty. Without united, organized ef- forts to care together there is only individual action, every one by themselves and for themselves. Togetherness ac- complishes more and accom- plishes things that can’t be done separately. Whether it is building a great nation or a car- ing society, it requires united ef- fort. If it were not for United Way, several problems could devel- op. Large, already prosperous social service organizations, which have the capacity to suc- cessfully raise funds, would do so and would prosper. Small or- ganizations on the other hand, struggle for viability in spite of a great mission, real need and the involvement of many good committed local people invest- ing themselves. Without sup- port, small non-profits tend to fail and disappear, leaving only a limited number of large ho- mogenous non-profits to do so- cial services for society. This reduces consumer's choices of providers and service types and styles. Is this best? In gen- eral, “survival of the fittest”, is one of the lowest expressions of humanity’s values. The human race has learned the hard way that diversity strengthens us. For example, biodiversity preserves natural resources, wildlife and foods. Diversity preserves society’s well-being in other respects as well. Research shows that indi- vidual judgment or guesses are unreliable but estimates made by averaging the guesses of many people are quite accu- rate. In brief, this means that in- dividually we aren’t very smart or capable, but united we have genius and do amazing things. United Way brings us to- gether to find effective ways to care. Achieving collective wis- dom while preserving diversity among service organizations answers the question, “Why United Way?” Deborah Cathers-Seymour Executive Director Chehalem Youth & Family Services NOTICE The INDEPENDENT publishes on the first and third Thursday of each month. Because there are five Thursdays in November, the next issue will be published on December 6, 2007. The deadline for the Dec. 6 issue is Friday, Nov. 30, 2007. Policy on Letters The INDEPENDENT will not publish letters that include per- sonal attacks on private citizens. Because of space limitations, preference will be given to brief letters, 300 words or less. All letters must be signed and include a verifiable address or phone number; all letters are subject to editing for clarity or length.
