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.