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The INDEPENDENT, August 21, 2008
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Mentor Noni Andersen
Printed on recycled paper with vegetable based dyes
Opinion
Vernonia needs your help
There is a group of people in Vernonia who are on
the scene at traffic accidents – whether caused by ice,
deer, alcohol, fatigue or any other reason – at every
call for medical help; chest pain, trouble breathing, bro-
ken bones, cuts, bleeding or any other acute medical
need. They show up to help our children, our elderly
and everyone in between, including you. That’s a lot of
people. The fire volunteers also support law enforce-
ment on calls when needed.
There are a lot of people who need help and only a
limited number of volunteers. When someone you care
about needs help because of a fire, accident or medical
emergency, there are only 12 volunteers to cover calls
24/7. On average, it takes 10 minutes for volunteers to
show up at the fire station, get needed equipment and
arrive on the scene. If there aren’t enough volunteers
available here, assistance may be available from Mist-
Birkenfeld or Banks, but that will add about 30 minutes
to the response time and that may be too late.
These volunteers are just like you, they have lives,
they may work out of town, they may be at the hospital
having a baby, or on vacation visiting relatives in
Wyoming. How can you be sure someone shows up
when needed? The answer is simple, you can volun-
teer, too. Not all the volunteer positions require the abil-
ity to go into a fire or lift heavy equipment. For exam-
ple, they can use people to fill air bottles, flag traffic,
take over a vehicle at the scene so the driver can per-
form other duties.
All it takes is time and training. You give time and get
the tremendous satisfaction of helping your loved ones,
friends, and neighbors in times of great need.
To find out how you can help, call the fire department
at 503-429-8252, stop by and talk to Fire Chief Paul
Epler (a really nice guy, in case you don’t know him), or
attend one of the drills as an observer. The drills are
every Monday, from 7-9 p.m. at the Fire Hall, 555 E.
Bridge St.
There is one more thing we can all do; when you see
a member of our volunteer fire department: say Thank
You. To those of you who already volunteer…THANK
YOU.
A last word on city volunteerism. The final day to ap-
ply for the position of city councilor or mayor is August
27. All the information is available at City Hall. You
could be one of the people who helps shape the city.
Our community runs on volunteers, please help.
Out of My Mind…
by Noni Andersen
Another married politician has admitted to an
extramarital affair, this time it’s John Edwards,
but what’s new? Like a long-running play, the
names of the cast change and the settings are
updated, everything else is the same.
The usual condemnations and expressions of
shock and dismay have been amplified, in this
case, because Edwards was a candidate for
President. So I ask again, what’s new?
Other presidential candidates whose affairs
are public knowledge include Gary Hart, Rudi
Guiliani and John McCain. The only one whose
presidential aspirations were derailed by expo-
sure was Hart, although both Guiliani and Mc-
Cain have acknowledged multiple infidelities.
Here is a partial list of U.S. Presidents with
one common activity – extramarital affairs:
Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van
Buren, James A. Garfield, Grover Cleveland,
Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight
Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
and Bill Clinton.
Many other politicians are, were, or will be fol-
lowing the same path. The list is far too long for
this space, but two who made it to the top of my
personal list of hypocrites are former Congress-
men Henry Hyde and Newt Gingrich, who both
loudly condemned Clinton’s transgressions.
Asked about his own five-year affair with a
younger woman, Hyde loftily dismissed it as a
“youthful transgression,” although he was in his
forties. Gingrich made the list because he was
carrying on an affair at the same time he was
leading the charge against Clinton – and it was-
n’t his first, or last, affair.
We already know that those listed are faith-
less liars whose supporters have, and will contin-
ue to excuse their behavior. Admitting to affairs
after being caught doesn’t erase the behavior.
Yet when a reporter wrote that McCain “may
not have been” in a cone of silence, as Pastor
Rick Warren said during Barack Obama’s ques-
tioning by Warren at Saddleback Church, before
his own appearance, a McCain spokeswoman
said “The insinuation…that John McCain, a for-
mer prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous.” An
odd statement because the reporter wasn’t insin-
uating anything, and McCain was not isolated,
he was in a car enroute to the church during
Obama’s appearance, with possible radio, phone
and TV coverage. In any case, it’s too late to pre-
tend he doesn’t cheat, but what did his experi-
ence as a POW have to do with that?
Despite the odd response, this is a pretty typ-
ical reaction by someone who supports a partic-
ular candidate. Most people’s expressions of
shock and dismay mean very little beyond an op-
portunity to point fingers at someone else for be-
havior that is both reprehensible and common.
Most often, the fingers point only at someone
the pointer doesn’t like – at the Democrat or the
Republican – but are securely tucked in the palm
of the hand when the transgressor is someone
they like. That is when the accuser needs a mir-
ror, to point to the hypocrite in front of him.
Again I ask, what’s new?