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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2009)
The INDEPENDENT, January 1, 2009 Page 3 Letters Vernonia family shows true care and concern To the Editor: At a time in our world where it seems as if we focus on the negative, it is good to know that there are truly good things go- ing on out there. I would like to share one with you that in- volves three of your fellow Ver- nonians. My daughter Katie is a student at Ecola Bible School in Cannon Beach. It is her first time away from home and al- though she is fairly independ- ent, there are some circum- stances that you can never ful- ly prepare for. She and a class- mate were to fly home to New Mexico, on Friday December 12th. As they neared the Port- land airport she became aware of the fact that she had mistak- enly brought her insurance card rather than her driver’s li- cense. Knowing they would miss their flight if they attempt- ed to return to Cannon Beach, they gambled on security allow- ing them to board their plane. It became quite evident that this wasn’t to be the case and by the time our daughter was re- leased to travel by the TSA, they had missed all outgoing flights for the remainder of the day. The weather in Portland as well as throughout the coastal areas of Northwestern Oregon was rapidly deteriorating. Trees and power poles were down throughout the area so travel was obviously becoming less advisable. Katie had contacted my wife and I by now and told us of her predicament. I can’t tell you how helpless we felt at that moment. This is where the, “good,” begins. Katie’s classmate Bonnie, who had driven her to the air- port, had stayed on to see how things were going to work out. When it appeared that Katie wasn’t going to be able to trav- el, she [Bonnie] called her Dad, Dan Organ and explained the situation. He immediately drove to the airport so that Bonnie, Katie and another classmate, Kelly, could follow him to the Organ home in Vernonia. Mr. Organ told Katie that he would drive along with Bonnie back to Cannon Beach for her driver’s license while she and Kelly were fed and tucked safely in bed. Mr. Organ and Bonnie ar- rived back in Vernonia in the wee hours of the morning of December 13th after having driven through terrible weather and road conditions. At about 4:30 that same morning, Mr. Organ and Bonnie drove Katie and Kelly to the airport, where they were able to catch their flight home. What a blessing Dan, Katie and Bonnie Organ have been to our family. They had Katie to their home for Thanksgiving, which may not seem like a big deal, but to us it was. And the sacrifices made the night of December 12th were just awesome. The last thing a parent wants to feel is Ike Says… From page 2 yards and, sure enough, the bull was standing in one of the few openings in the young forest. I hit him a couple more times and soon it was apparent he was mine. The rest of the herd bolted down through the reprod to the creek in the bottom; later they made their way out through another new clear-cut and there were no more bulls with them. I field dressed the bull, then headed back home. My good friend, Jim King, volunteered to help pack the bull the next day and we actually had a good time packing the bull the two miles back to the pickup. Learning to take your time and carry lighter loads really makes packing more enjoyable, something I think many hunters are missing in this sport called elk hunting. With most big game seasons now closed, it is the duck and goose hunters who are out in force and they love this snowy, rainy, nasty weather. Duck hunters also like to band together to support their sport and, coming in January, is the next Ducks Un- limited fundraiser. The Sunset chapter of Ducks Unlimited will hold their fifth annual event on January 24th at 4:30 p.m. at the Verboort Visitation Parish. The Izaak Walton League, contact person for the event is Nehalem Valley Chapter Robbi Porter at 503-528-0463. meets monthly on the 3rd Get your tickets early, they Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Call usually sell out. 503-428-7193 for location. total helplessness when it comes to a situation their child is in. We all hope that someone will step in and do the things that we as parents would do if we could. That is exactly what the Organ family did for us. When we couldn’t be there to take care of our child, someone did. I believe that God always puts people in just the right place, at just the right time and in this case it was the Organ family. These folks are a true blessing to us and our daugh- ter. Vernonia can be glad to know that such citizens grace their town. Greg and Barbara Youngs Silver City, New Mexico It’s hard to survive on $2.3 million a week To the Editor: I was interested to see the column by Pat Zimmerman on Medicare in last Wednesday’s paper (South County Spotlight). In that column she commented somewhat critically that the boss of one of our private Medicare providers makes $124,800,000 a year in salary. I don’t know, however, what the complaint is all about. He’s probably got a mortgage to pay out of that and electric and gas bills just like the rest of us. And when you work the arithmetic $124.8 million a year is only $10,333,000 a month and $2,384,000 a week and who can live on that? Think of it, what would you do if you had to get along on just $339,726 a day? Barely just 3 squares and a cup of coffee. I mean if you work it out for a regular job of 40 hours a week it only comes out to $62,000 an hour. What’ll that get you? It ain’t like it’s any big deal. $124.8 million a year is only the equivalent of a year’s pay for 3,543 families making $35,000 a year. I mean, gee whiz, wouldn’t you rather pay more for health care so this poor fella and his friends can make this kind of money? Yours truly, Mike Sheehan Scappoose Auto makers don’t deserve a bailout To the Editor: As the disgraced Detroit three auto makers are asking Congress for tens of billions of taxpayer dollars, we should re- member the last several billion that we gave the industry, and the outcome of it. In the 1990s, the Partnership for a New Gen- eration of Vehicles worked to make 80+ miles per gallon cars and allowed for communica- tions amongst scientists be- tween the big three automakers to help speed that process along. The Partnership was a huge success, with three 70+ miles per gallon prototypes. General Motors had the Precept, a 5- seat sedan with ample trunk space, with one version getting 108 miles per gallon equivalent running on hydrogen. Ford had the Prodigy getting 72 miles per gallon, and Daimler-Chrysler also had a 72 miles per gallon vehicle. Taxpayers were proud that their billions were not wast- ed, and expected these vehi- cles on the market. But none of the automakers put any of these vehicles into production, or anything similar. Instead, they chose gas-guz- zling SUVs, the epitome of stu- pidity from a climate change and energy conservation per- spective. Using slick ads to push their behemoth vehicles, the automakers are among the biggest culprits in the fast rise in greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. What happened to the effi- cient vehicles? The failure to in- corporate that technology was also a major cause of our eco- nomic collapse. With the rise in gas prices this past summer, the values of SUVs plummeted, and for many, their gas guz- zlers are now worth less than the loan they have on them. Why should we give a bail- out now, when the automakers are the ones who put them- selves into the crisis they are in through their own idiocy? Why don’t they dust off these effi- cient vehicles and put them into production, something both our wallets and our planet could have used a decade ago? They say those who forget history are bound to repeat it. After the foolish follies of the auto industries, in pushing gas guzzlers on the American pub- lic (along with tax breaks that they manipulated through Con- gress), why should we bail them out? What we need is the mas- sive investment in mass transit and high speed passenger rail: a much better way to travel with exponential fuel savings com- pared to the most efficient vehi- cles. Chad Kister Nelsonville, Ohio “Thanks” to thief To the Editor: To whom it may concern; Thanks a lot for swiping the full 5-gallon gas can that was being used to run the generator at the Vernonia Senior Center. The Vernonia Senior Center Photo not a surprise, it was typical action To the Editor: In reference to the picture on page 4 of The Independent newspaper, dated 12-4-08, this is no surprise regarding this person’s actions. She will do anything she can to slander, in- timidate, humiliate or lie about anyone who does not follow her ignorance. This person that is supposed to represent our city is a disgrace to our city and the many fine people who have worked so hard to build what we have left. This person is too busy blaming everyone for her mistakes instead of taking re- sponsibility for herself. She is good at taking sides without knowing what she is talking about. She will read a lying, derogatory letter about an hon- orable citizen without knowing what she is talking about and then legislate every citizen’s 1st Amendment rights away so she can protect herself and her ly- ing so called slime that is no longer here. A BIG THANKS to Mr. Jim Johnson for taking care of this situation. An honorable citizen, Leonard Simmons Vernonia 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.