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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2008)
The INDEPENDENT, April 17, 2008 Page 3 Letters Access to information is American tradition To The Editor: I like opening up a fresh copy of The Independent and reading the various columns provided by townsfolk. I find this new wrinkle that Aldie Howard, as interim city manag- er, has thrown at the editorial staff, to be a disservice to the community. I like Mat Workman and Nancy Burch’s input. I find both columns very informative and a plus to us commoners. I beg the mayor and the city council to chastise Mr. Howard for his impertinence with re- spect to providing services war- ranted to the media absent of bias. A man of his civil distinc- tion should be above such pet- tifoggery. The American concept of freedom of the press (the Fourth Estate) reflects the gen- eral social interest. Behind it lays the right of the people to have information and opinion on matters of public concern gathered and disseminated through the medium of the press FREE FROM GOVERN- MENTAL CONTROL OR RE- STRAINT. This freedom is guaranteed by the First Amend- ment of the Constitution of the United States of America. Shame on Aldace Howard. One in his capacity should show allegiance to the constitution when working as a “civil ser- vant” or suffer the stigma of per- petrating an act of “disturbing the tranquility of the status quo”, sometimes know as sedition. Folks tell me that in times past, civil servants that de- bunked the law would be put in pillory and on display for public humiliation. Let me be the first person to offer my services, gratis, to build and install such a device in front of city hall. I can make the unit mobile as to allow those subjected their wishes to gad about town and ruminate at their pleasure. Those interned for compunc- tion shall be treated to a little scorn and ridicule with a dash of sarcasm thrown in. Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library At the suggestion of some of the regulars at the monthly book discus- sion, the library will be showing movies for ma- ture audiences once a month, beginning tonight — April 17th. Examples of the type of movies to be shown are To Kill a Mock- ingbird , Sometimes a Great Notion , The Glenn Miller Story , Snow Falling on Cedars , Rain Man , and Roman Holiday . As you can see, these movies probably would not hold the interest of youngsters so we are, for want of a better phrase, calling them “movies for mature audi- ences”. Join us for the first of these evenings of entertainment at 7:00 p.m., April 17th to enjoy the antics of Oscar winner Lee Marvin, co-star- ring with schoolmarm-turned-outlaw Jane Fon- da, in Cat Ballou . Suggestions regarding movies to be shown, as well as the night that works best for those interested in this event, will be taken into consideration. Weekly movies for families will become “once a month movies” in May. The scheduled night for these will become the second Saturday of the month at 7:00 p.m., with Snow Buddies to be shown May 10th. Due to rescheduling of Matt Love’s presenta- tion on the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, there will now be two Chautauqua programs taking place in May. On Monday, May 12th, Jeni K. Foster will be presenting a program entitled, Birdsong: Birds as Metaphor in American Folk Music and on Thursday, May 22nd, Love’s program entitled, The Portland Trail Blazers. Championship Sea- son: An Oregon Story, will take place. Both of these events sponsored by The Oregon Council for Humanities and The Friends of the Library will take place at 7:00 p.m. New acquisition, Winter Study by Nevada Barr, finds Park Ranger Anna Pigeon on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale learning about managing and understanding wolves. Shortly after Anna’s arrival, the wolf packs begin to behave in pecu- liar ways and this beautiful refuge becomes a place where unnatural occurrences and out-of- the-ordinary danger cause Anna to fight not only for the wolves, but for her own survival as well. Sue Henry’s latest Jessie Arnold mystery, De- grees of Separation , has also recently been added to the library’s collection. Jessie, recover- ing from knee surgery, begins training for the Id- itarod when she hits a bump on the trail that turns out to be a snow-shrouded dead body. With this discovery, she and Alaska state trooper Alex Jensen are once again back to chasing criminals. Sandra Dallas’s novel, Tall Grass , about an internment camp for Japanese-Americans dur- ing World War II (last month’s book for discus- sion) has led to the purchase of a book entitled, Stubborn Twig . Written by Lauren Kessler, who directs the graduate program in literary nonfic- tion at the University of Oregon, this relates the story of three generations of the Yasui family. Masuo Yasui arrived in America in 1905 and, by 1941, owned, co-owned, or had an interest in close to 1000 acres of orchard land in the Hood River Valley. He and his wife had a nice house with one son helping with the farmland, another with a law degree, three more in college, and two in high school…Then came the war and the bombing of Pearl Harbor and, as the next chap- ter is entitled, “paradise lost” . What a sad and frightening period this was in our history, yet I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn more about it through both fictionalized and true ac- counts. Timely additions to the collection, made possi- ble by The Friends of the Library, are several books on home improvement, remodeling, build- ing porches, and landscaping. Be sure to check these out as you are repairing, remodeling, and replanting following the flood. 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 I proffer a standing offer to Aldie Howard to be the first to test drive this vehicle for public humiliation. Humble thyself Al- dace. Admit it…you have made a mistake. Otherwise, I can only conclude that wherever Aldie goes, nothing grows. Mark J. Akers Vernonia Newcomer suggests better resource use To The Editor: A voice from outside-in. My family and I moved to Vernonia from Pascagoula, Mississippi this past February. We were victims of hurricane Katrina. I can relate to the grief and struggles of this communi- ty. The city of Pascagoula, with a population around two-hun- dred and fifty-thousand resi- dents, completely flooded due to storm surge. The first two blocks along the beach was wiped from the map. The city and its residents recovered, with only one FEMA park of about 60 travel trailers remain to date. This was accomplished without raising taxes which would only put more burden on those who have lost so much already. I have read each issue of The Independent since arriving here and see things that are not in the best interests of the citi- zens of this city. This is a city that already makes it difficult for low income families. The elec- tricity rate is way out of sync with the majority of the state, not to mention the co-op re- quires a $750 deposit to have services turned on. Trash serv- ice is inflated. Water prices is not too bad. I find myself wondering how much of this city is made up of low income families and how do they afford to remain here. The city talks of tax increases to fund repair projects that they should be able to get [done with] assistance from the state Policy on Letters The INDEPENDENT will not publish letters that in- clude personal 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 ad- dress or phone number. and FEMA. If the sewer system Please see page 20 Where to Find Them US Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat-OR) 1220 SW 3rd Avenue, Suite 585 Portland OR 97232 Phone: 503-326-7525 230 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-5244 Website: http://wyden.senate.gov US Senator Gordon Smith (Republican-OR) One World Trade Center 121 SW Salmon St., Suite 1250 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: 503-326-3386 Fax: 503-326-2900 404 Russell Senate Ofc. Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3753 Website: http://gsmith.senate.gov US Representative David Wu (Democrat-01) 620 SW Main, Suite 606 Portland OR 97205 Phone: 503-326-2901 Fax: 503-326-5066 1023 Longworth Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-0855 Fax: 202-225-9497 Website: http://house.gov/wu Senator Betsy Johnson (Democrat-16) PO Box R, Scappoose, OR 97056 Phone: 503-543-4046 Fax: 503-543-5296 900 Court St. NE, S-314 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1716 Fax: 503-986-1940 E-mail: sen.betsyjohnson@state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or.us/john son Representative Brad Witt (Democrat-31) 21740 Lindberg Road, Clatskanie, OR 97016 Phone: 503-728-4664 900 Court St. NE, H-277 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1431 E-mail: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or.us/witt Representative Deborah Boone (Democrat-32) PO Box 926 Cannon Beach, OR 97110 Phone: 503-717-9182 900 Court St. NE, H-375 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1432 E-mail: rep.deborahboone@state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or.us/boone