Page 22
The INDEPENDENT, August 21, 2008
From the City
Letters
From page 4
This fall the City intends to
bring in Westside Trail Federa-
tion, a group of volunteer trail-
builders with experience work-
ing in the Tillamook State for-
est, who are excited to help
move this project forward.
Alta Planning and Design
was hired to create a detailed
plan for the Dirt Jump Park
area of the project, a plan that
was accepted by the Parks
Committee on July 16th and by
the City Council on August 4th.
The Dirt Jump Park is expected
to be built by Westside Trail
Federation volunteers and in-
terested locals. As was ex-
plained to the Parks Commit-
tee, the $931 quoted in The In-
dependent is actually being
used to oversee construction of
stunt features, so they are built
to safe standards. By the way,
the features will be secured
with stakes and chains to pre-
vent them from moving again in
the case of more flooding. The
Parks Committee wasn’t told
this. As I understand it, the
Lion’s Club still intends to pour
a concrete slab in the area for
the long awaited Skateboard
Park.
Even though this project is
sponsored by the City, the proj-
ect must still go through a reg-
ular permit process – the same
permit process required of a
private development.
In my experience, projects
being spearheaded by volun-
teer efforts can take years to
plan, and often just as long to
implement. This project has
been funded almost exclusively
with grant funds that have been
secured through the hard work
of local volunteers. About
$36,000 has been received to
date, with an additional
$247,000 pledged from Oregon
State Parks. The Master Plan
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process completed at the be-
ginning of the project helped
secure the grants.
The Mayor mentioned to me
that the community is in need
of economic stimulus and that
youth and adults in this com-
munity need healthy outdoor
activities and places to recre-
ate. This past spring the Ver-
nonia community identified
“places and activities for youth”
as a main priority during the
“Vision 2020” process.
The Bicycle Skills Park is un-
der way and has the potential
to draw visitors and meet the
needs of this community. The
City’s hope is that the commu-
nity will continue to see the val-
ue of this project and support it.
While the Skills Park will not, by
itself, solve all of our economic
problems, it will very likely at-
tract more people to Vernonia
who will spend money in area
businesses.
From page 3
have the sheriff and his staff fo-
cusing their attention on…not
chasing after reports of alleged
illegal workers filed anony-
mously by some disgruntled
competitor. Twice, in the short
time I’ve lived here, this county
has voted down levies to in-
crease the number of deputies
here, so I can’t imagine there
are a bunch of ‘em sitting
around, waiting for something
to do. When your resources are
limited, you’ve got to prioritize
where you use them…and sud-
denly adding tasks that already
belong to OTHER agencies
just doesn’t seem very smart to
me.
Enforcement. This is the one
that gets me itchiest. Fact is, no
matter what Mayo’s supporters
tell you, there is no foolproof
method in this country to verify
if someone is a legal worker.
Hell, the Social Security Admin-
istration just screwed up my re-
placement card…and they’ve
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been taking money out of my
paychecks for over thirty years.
So, if these bills are put into ef-
fect, there’s a very real chance
that your law-abiding hair-
dresser, doctor, or local grocer
could be shut down and fined
because they hired someone –
in good faith – based on false
documents they were given. Or
because a perfectly valid SS
card, for any of a number of
reasons, fails to check out (I’ve
known a couple of people who
have had that happen, I’ll bet
it’s pretty common).
For these and a bunch of
other reasons, I think these
measures are a bad idea…not
to mention dangerous. There’s
no question that the immigra-
tion system in this country is
flawed, and needs to be fixed –
soon. But these measures are
definitely not part of the solu-
tion. I’ll have to accept that I’ll
be written into Mayo’s Bad
American book, because I’m
definitely voting against these
unaffordable, unenforceable
laws.
Jeff Fullerton
Deer Island
Bunny Girt, Agent
1229 N. Adair
PO Box 543
Cornelius, OR 97113-0543
Bus 503-357-3131 Fax 503-357-9667
bunny.girt.b71g@statefarm.com
Obituary
WENDELL F. JAMES
Wendell F. James, 85, Portland,
died August 1, 2008. A gathering and
interment will take place later.
Mr. James was born November 8,
1922, in Banks, to Forrest and Elva
Coffee James. He graduated from Jef-
ferson High School in Portland. He
served in the U.S. Army during World
War II.
In 1948, he married Lucille P.
Sawyer. They made their home in Port-
land, Denver, Colorado and Forest
Grove. He worked for Bell Telephone,
Northwest Natural Gas, and later in
shipping for Southern Pacific until he
retired.
He was preceded in death by his
wife.
Survivors include three daughters,
Direct Cremation
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$
Direct Burial
750
$
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a condolence to the family, go to:
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503-693-7965
Linda Higginbotham of Aloha, Jackie
Syrotchen of Spokane, Washington,
and Jill James of Denver, Colorado;
four grandchildren and 10 great-grand-
children.
Tualatin Valley Funeral Alternatives
in Hillsboro was in charge of arrange-
ments.
STEVEN LEE MEYER
Steven Lee “Steve” Meyer, 58, Sil-
verdale, Washington, died July 21,
2008. A celebration of life was held July
29, with The Reverend C. Eugene
Sabin, retired, officiating.
Mr. Meyer was born October 4,
1949, in St. Helens, to Otto “Joe” and
Hazel (Gouge) Meyer. When he was
young the family moved to Forest
Grove where he was raised. He served
in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam
Era.
In 1977, he met his life partner,
Brenda Jahnsen. They made their
home in Garibaldi, Aloha and St. He-
lens. He later moved to Silverdale,
Wash., to be near his daughter. He
worked as a mechanic in the automo-
tive repair industry.
He was preceded in death by his fa-
ther.
Survivors include four children,
Melinda Lucero of Silverdale, Wash.,
Danny Hinkle of Portland, Raymond
Jahnsen of St. Helens, and Tawyna
Wheeler of Gaston; his mother of Cor-
nelius; three brothers, Michael of Hills-
boro, Roger of Vernonia, and Craig of
Hillsboro; several grandchildren; nieces
and nephews.
Remembrances are suggested to a
local V.F.W. or American Legion Post.
Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral Home
in Forest Grove was in charge of
arrangements.
CARD OF THANKS
Our families would like to express
our sincere thanks for all the support,
prayers and sympathy shown to us
due to the loss of our beloved one –
Brandi Johnston. Your thoughtfulness
was greatly appreciated.
Jim & Kim (mother) Brown
& Casey (brother),
Scott Johnston (father) and
family members
Cathy Howard (grandmother)
Kelly Massing (aunt) & family
Bill & Dorothy Howard