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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2008)
The INDEPENDENT, November 6, 2008 Page 3 Letters Thanks for helping United Way activity To The Editor: We wish to thank the busi- nesses and their customers who supported our “Dine Out for United Way” the week of Au- gust 22-31,2008. The total dollars raised from this week long event reported as of October 6, 2008 is $1696.67. These businesses featured special dinners, drinks or deserts to help emphasize this fund raising event. We are grateful for the hard work and time to make this event hap- pen. We could not do it without your support. Please make sure and stop by these businesses through- out the year and let them know that they are making a differ- ence in your community. • Bridge Street Mini Mart, and Sentry Market, in Vernonia. • Clatskanie Mini Mart, Clatskanie, Subway, Flowers & Fluff, Fultano’s Family Pizza, Humps Restaurant in Clatskanie. • Cornerstone Café, Jiu Chang Restaurant, The Pas- time, Luigi’s Pizza, Evergreen Tavern in Rainier. • Dockside Steak & Pasta, Dutch Bros Coffee, Express Lane Espresso, Klondike, Mr. Joes Coffee, The Village Inn, Sunshine Pizza in St. Helens. • Mark’s on the Channel, Subway Sandwich, Express Lane Espresso in Scappoose. Please mark your calendars for next year’s event which is scheduled for August 21-31, 2009. Sincerely, Kathye Beck, Executive Director United Way of Columbia County Grateful to Roadside Angel for Hwy 47 help Women’s Resource To The Editor: I am a local here in Vernon- Center thanks many ia; a lifelong resident and like many of us I’ve lost friends due to accidents on Hwy 47. What I didn’t know was that on Octo- ber 6 it was my turn to have an accident. On October 6, 2008, I was driving on old 47 towards Hills- Where to Find Them U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. Representative David Wu (Democrat-01) 620 SW Main, Suite 606 Portland, OR 97205 Phone: 503-326-2901 Fax: 503-326-5066 2338 Rayburn Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-0855 Fax: 202-225-9497 Website: http://house.gov/wu boro. Just past the county line a truck headed to Vernonia lost control in the rain and we had a head-on collision. I was ejected from my Wrangler. As it rolled, I found myself in the woods; very broken, very bloody, and very scared I would not see my wife and three children again. A passerby, Kelly Davis, stopped and found me there and held my head up out of the mud. She wiped the mud and blood off of my face and com- forted me until the ambulance got there and I was Life-flighted to the hospital. I’m home now recovering from my injuries. Kelly Davis, Thank You for being my Roadside Angel. Tim Jensen Vernonia Senator Betsy Johnson (Democrat-16) PO Box R, Scappoose, OR 97056 Phone: 503-543-4046 900 Court St. NE, S-314 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1716 E-mail: sen.betsyjohnson@ state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or. us/johnson 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 To The Editor: All of us at the Columbia County Women’s Resource Center would like to thank the community for all its support during our recent shutdown for cleaning and repairs. In addi- tion to the volunteers who came to the shelter and gave of their time and hard work, we re- ceived many other types of do- nations, including, of course, fi- nancial help for all the things needed to make our facility safer and cleaner for our clients and their children. We would like to give special thanks to the local businesses and organizations that helped: Best Western Oak Meadows Inn, Tualatin Stake LDS Girls Group, Ladies of the Elks, Fred Meyer, Dollar Tree, Red Apple Market, Ace Hardware, Safe- way Food & Drug, Richardson’s Furniture and Bethany Luther- an Church. Also special thanks to Senator Betsy Johnson for her continuing support of the work we do. Thank you, Volunteers! Thank you, Columbia County! Sincerely, Karin B. Kaczmarek — CORRECTION — The Normand Memorial, on page 21, should have run in the October 2 issue of The Independent , but was unin- tentionally left out. We sin- cerely apologize to the friends and family of John A. Normand, Jr. for our mistake. Program Coordinator Bad judgement leads to bad outcome To The Editor: It is said that SUCCESS is not final, FAILURE is not fatal, and it is the courage to contin- ue that counts. I came across an article initially printed in the New York Times , then in The Oregonian on Oct. 1, 1999, al- most 9 years to this month. Having a personal experience, as a Builder, of providing a house like the Habitat for Hu- manity’s project for a low-in- come friend, this article resur- faced now with a greater edu- cational view. Although this article is 9 yrs old, it defines what we current- ly are going through economi- cally. Pressures from stock holders to maintain phenome- nal growth in profits coupled with the government, during the Clinton administration – placed pressures on Fannie Mae to expand mortgage loans among low-and-moderate-income peo- ple, which increased house ownership among these con- sumers. Now filtering through the Bush administration, the 9-year so called “pilot program” involv- ing 24 banks in 15 markets are the ones that were encouraged to make the loans to individuals whose credit generally was not good enough to qualify for con- ventional loans, yet allowing further reductions in down-pay- ment and interest rate helps. Mortgage brokers qualified many borrowers whose credit was just a notch below what had been significantly regulat- ed. Fannie Mae aimed for a na- tionwide program being the biggest underwriter of house mortgages, expanded house ownership for millions of fami- lies. History proves “the pilot” was not “the new area” after all, as the 9 year old article goes on to state that the government will have to step up and bail out the mortgage industry (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) the way they did the thrift industry. This is a good example of the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. As for me, I learned through watching the decisions made by my friend, until the house was lost. One can never get around responsibility – the abil- ity to manage the expectation is required. Qualified renters are qualified renters. I realized that the reason my friend could not retain the ownership in the house is because I was not liv- ing there. Now I hear president- elect debate talk about making the mortgage payments for the qualified renters, and I ask my- self, does not government al- ready have cheaper rent subsi- dies in place for qualified renters? This is where my friend is now and we are both happier for it. It is also said that a house is not a home, and success is a journey, not a des- tination. K. E. Jackson SC Jackson Construction, Inc. Banks 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. Ike Says… From page 2 would be more worthwhile to try and adapt to the changing times. Here at home, the deer hunting doesn’t seem to be much better than over East, but this is no surprise given the low deer populations. The weather has not helped this year and it looks, as I write this, that the end of October is going to warm and dry. Hunters like wet and cold weather; it makes the deer more active and covers up the hunter’s presence in the field. Remember to be safe out there guys and gals. Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Call 503-428-7193 for location.