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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2009)
The INDEPENDENT, February 19, 2009 Page 3 Letters A love affair that is going to the dogs To The Editor: Vernonians seem to have a love affair with their dogs, you see them everywhere, not just little household pets but great big ones and not just one but several. I recently saw four large dogs pulling a man along the street. Now dogs can be great, after all they are man’s best friend, but the problem with a dog is they pee and poop everywhere they take a notion. There is a gentleman who walks his dog by our house most mornings and I observe him through my kitchen win- dow. One morning I told my husband, “Here comes that man with his dog. Oh, there he goes peeing on my shrubs.” Another ten feet and he goes again, getting the first light pole, at which point he crosses Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library Does the celebration of Oregon’s 150th year as a state bring back memories of 1959, its Centennial year? Having been a sen- ior in high school that year, my thoughts were on many other things, but I do remember that nearly every male in the state of Oregon grew beards. This meant that most of the fathers, including my dad and future father-in-law, were still sporting these unusual tufts of facial hair at the graduation cer- emonies. The archives of the Vernonia Eagle show that residents here celebrated the occa- sion in many ways, including a Centennial play by eighth-grade students, a Centennial hoe- down sponsored by the Senior class, and the participation of Vernonia Ridge Riders (Mrs. R. L. Thompson, Bob Thompson, R. Cone, Wilfred Holce, J. Siedelman, and Archie Dass) in a Pony Express mail run. Pictures accompany several of these articles in the Eagle if anyone is interested in seeing how Vernonia celebrated in 1959. As Oregon’s Sesquicentennial is observed this year, the Oregon Library Association is en- couraging Oregonians to read three books by Oregon authors – Stubborn Twig, Bat 6 and Ap- ples to Oregon – that focus uniquely on Oregon. Stubborn Twig is the book chosen for discussion Monday, February 23, at 5:30 p.m. The library has been able to borrow an award-winning doc- umentary which aired on the PBS series An American Experience. A Family Gathering was filmed by Lise Yasui, a granddaughter of Masuo Yasui, who came to the United States in 1903 as a sixteen-year-old, and with whom this saga of three generations of a Japanese-American fam- ily begins. Arrangements for viewing this video in the library may be made until Mid-March. The map of Oregon in the library’s entryway is updated weekly to represent the number of books read by patrons from the beginning of February through the end of April. At the end of the first two weeks, 497 books have been read. Prizes will be awarded to the five patrons read- ing the most books during this period as part of the library’s recognition of Oregon’s 150 years of Statehood. Both February movies, Sometimes a Great Notion to be shown Thursday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m., and Free Willy to be shown Saturday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m., were filmed in Oregon. Starring Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Re- mick and Richard Jaeckel, Sometimes a Great Notion was filmed on the Central Oregon Coast, inland from Newport at Elk City, and in the woods near Agate Beach. It’s Ken Keasey’s nov- el of a “strike-busting logger who honors a con- tract on principle rather than union concerns”. Even though Newman and Fonda don’t exactly come across as “real” loggers, the movie has some very nice footage of logging in western Oregon. This movie for mature audiences has an unforgettable scene of Joby (Jaeckel) trapped under a log on the Siletz River, and Henry Mancini’s, All His Children, sung by Charley Pride, is a great theme song for the movie. Asto- ria, Cannon Beach and Portland are the Oregon sites that viewers will see in Free Willy, the fam- ily movie of the month. To further celebrate Oregon’s 150th birthday, arrangements have been made to have a book reading/signing by Oregon authors Eileen O’- Keefe McVicker and Barbara Scot. Their book, Child of Steens Mountains, recounts McVicker’s childhood as the daughter of an Irish immigrant sheep rancher and teacher, growing up on a homestead on the southern slope of the Steens Mountains. Copies of this book will be available for reading and/or purchase prior to the event on Saturday, March 21, at 2:00 p.m. On March 12th at 7:00 p.m., the library board and the Friends of the Library will host a Chau- tauqua program sponsored by the Oregon Coun- cil for the Humanities. In his presentation, The Chinese Diaspora in the Americas: The first “Ille- gal Aliens”, Elliott Young explores the immigra- tion bureaucracy that was created to track, find and capture “illegal” Chinese immigrants, and the strategies these immigrants used to stay one step ahead of government inspectors. Popcorn is always available on movie nights and refreshments will be provided at the book signing and Chautauqua program. New acquisitions include Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich, Bone by Bone by Carol O’Con- nell, Born to Run by James Grippando, Dead or Alive by Michael McGarrity, The Associate by John Grisham, True Colors by Kristin Hannah and Rev- olutionary Road (audio book) by Richard Yates, Friends of the Library will hold a Book Sale Saturday, March 7, in the library from 10-4. All proceeds will supplement library materials and programs and a book bag will be awarded to the person who purchases the 150th item, also in honor of Oregon’s 150th year of statehood. Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Tues., Thur. 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m. when school is in session. Phone: 503-429-1818 the street and takes a poop in the neighbor’s yard. Now I’ve heard of being full of “p…” and vinegar, but 3 times in 75 feet? I asked my husband how come it’s okay for a dog to re- lieve themselves whenever and wherever but we can’t? When we would go camping, and we have a vintage camper, before bathrooms and holding tanks, we couldn’t even drain the sink water on the ground, it had to drain in a sealed con- tainer. It seemed we always camp in the far end of the park, leaving me with a half-mile hike to the nearest bathroom. As Please see page 20 Policy on Letters The INDEPENDENT will not publish letters that in- clude personal 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 ad- dress or phone number. An Oregon Perspective By Senator Jeff Merkley During my time as Director of Portland Habitat for Humanity, I saw how home ownership transformed families. I had the privi- lege to work side-by-side with parents who put in thousands of hours and enormous effort to build a safe home for their children. A home provides the foundation for families to thrive and for chil- dren to reach their full potential. Right now in America, this basis of financial security for families is being threatened by a series of three entangled financial crises: a job crisis, a lending crisis, and a mortgage crisis. This past week, we took a major step toward economic recov- ery by passing a significant economic growth package. The Amer- ican Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will create jobs, provide tax relief to working families, and invest in our long-term econom- ic future. This plan is not a complete solution to the challenges facing Please see page 22 Where to Find Them U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (Dem) 1220 SW 3rd Avenue, Suite 585 Portland OR 97232 Phone: 503-326-7525 223 Dirksen Senate Ofc. Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510-0001 Phone: 202-224-5244 E-Mail: http://wyden.senate.gov/ contact Website: http://wyden.senate. gov U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (Dem.) One World Trade Center 121 SW Salmon St., Suite 1250 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: 503-326-3386 B-40B Dirksen Senate Ofc. Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-3753 E-Mail: senator@merkley.senate. gov WebSite: http://www.senate.gov/ pagelayout/senators/one_item _and_teasers/merkley.htm U.S. Representative David Wu (Dem) OR Dist. 1 620 SW Main, Suite 606 Portland, OR 97205 Phone: 503-326-2901 2338 Rayburn House Ofc. Bldg. Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-0855 Website: http://house.gov/wu Senator Betsy Johnson (Dem) Dist. 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 Rep. Brad Witt (Dem) Dist. 31 21740 Lindberg Road, Clatskanie, OR 97016 Phone: 503-728-4664 900 Court St. NE, H-373 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1431 E-mail: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or. us/witt Rep. Deborah Boone (Dem) Dist. 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