The INDEPENDENT, April 17, 2008
Page 15
Did You Know…
By Chief Mathew Workman
Vernonia Police Department
Moth-
er Nature
contin-
ues
to
want to
extend
the Win-
ter sea-
son here
in the Vernonia area and the
rest of the Pacific Northwest
with another round of snow and
ice. Both Oregon and Washing-
ton extended the use of stud-
ded tires until April 5. Normally
the deadline to remove the
studded tires is April 1. Make
sure you have your studded
tires removed or you could be
subject to a $145 fine accord-
ing to ORS 815.160.
I have done previous articles
and talked at length on Internet
Safety for both children and
adults. I even assisted Repre-
sentative Brad Witt with his
work on HB3515 which made it
a crime for predators to solicit a
minor on the Internet. The Ore-
gon Attorney General’s office
released some more good
news recently when they an-
nounced a nationwide agree-
ment with MySpace to better
protect children on the very
popular web site, including the
creation of a broad-based task
force to explore and develop
age and identity verification
technology. Beside developing
on-line identity authentication
tools, other specific changes
and policies include: allowing
parents to submit their child’s
email addresses so MySpace
can prevent anyone from using
those email addresses from
LNG opposition group to meet
Landowners along proposed
liquefied natural gas pipeline
routes are invited to a public in-
formation meeting sponsored
by the Columbia River Clean
Energy Coalition. The meeting
will be tonight, Thursday, April
17 at 6:00 p.m., at the
Clatskanie River Inn, 600 E.
Columbia River Highway (Hwy.
30) in Clatskanie. All people in-
terested in LNG pipeline issues
are welcome.
Two LNG terminals and
pipelines are proposed for Ore-
gon along the Columbia River,
at Warrenton and at Bradwood.
Many landowners have already
been contacted by Palomar
Gas Transmission, Northern-
Star, or Oregon LNG Terminal
and Pipeline.
“LNG pipelines require huge
easements, restrict future use
of the land, and yet still require
landowners to pay full property
taxes, even if the land’s resale
value
decreases,”
said
Schmidt.
At this meeting landowners
can establish another chapter
of Oregon Citizens Against the
Pipeline (OCAP). Maps, LNG
information, and NO LNG but-
tons will be available at the
meeting. OCAP groups are ac-
tive in Yamhill and Washington
Counties. Washington State
has its own very effective
landowners group, Landown-
ers and Citizens for a Safe
Community. Another Oregon
group, the Northwest Property
Rights Coalition, is based in
Birkenfeld.
Speakers at the meeting will
present updates about the pro-
posed projects, including the
state and federal oversight, le-
gal challenges, and a summary
of action taken by OCAP. Not
all landowners along the pro-
posed routes have received let-
ters from the companies, so
people attending the meeting
are encouraged to bring others
who might be affected.
For pipeline information,
contact Olivia Schmidt at
oliviariver@gmail.com or Dan
Serres at dserres@gmail.com
and 503-890-2441. For other
NO LNG information, contact
Laurie Caplan at 503-338-6508
or lcaplan@pacifier.com.
Alley Auto Wrecking ✮
✮ Gasoline 503-429-7581
Most parts under warranty
Open Tuesday-Saturday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
54372 Nehalem Hwy South, Vernonia, OR 97064
6 miles south of town on Hwy 47
Buying unwanted vehicles with clear title
setting up profiles, making de-
fault setting “private” for profiles
of 16 and 17 year-olds, promis-
ing to respond within 72 hrs to
inappropriate content com-
plaints, and committing more
staff and/or resources to review
and classify photographs, dis-
cussion groups, eliminate links
to pornographic web sites, and
making it more difficult for
adults to contact children.
The State of Oregon was
one of the first states to re-
spond to reports that registered
sex offenders were using My-
Space to contact potential vic-
tims. Remember that there are
numerous web sites similar to
MySpace that can be potential
safety hazards for both children
and adults. As a responsible
parent/adult we must take an
active role in our children’s
lives by educating them of the
dangers on the Internet, as well
as being aggressive in monitor-
ing your child’s on-line activi-
ties, accounts, and who they
are connecting with.