The INDEPENDENT, March 5, 2009
Page 15
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
Good News and Updates
I finally get to report some good news for West Oregon
Electric Cooperative. We have received news from Senator
Ron Wyden’s Office and Representative David Wu’s Office
that WOEC has a $475,000 earmark in the Omnibus Bill. The
request for these funds was submitted in February of 2008.
The bill should soon be passed and the President has indicat-
ed he will sign it immediately. It will take about three months
from there for the Co-op to receive the funds. This money is earmarked for the con-
struction of the new Vernonia Substation. The new substation will be designed in
2009 and constructed in 2010.
The current main substation that serves Vernonia is located behind Vernonia
Cares and was flooded in 1996 and underwater in 2007. Flood waters shorted out
the reclosures causing us to lose power to Vernonia in the afternoon of the 2007
event. Adding to the situation is the fact that the current transformer is due to be re-
placed next year as it will be 40 years old, typically the expected guaranteed lifes-
pan of a transformer. It made no sense to put a brand new transformer back into
the flood plain so we are taking this opportunity to relocate the main substation up
where it will be safe from flood waters and able to continue to provide power dur-
ing a flood event. It will be constructed on property WOEC already owns and serves
as our pole yard.
Watch out for new jury duty scam
Oregon Attorney General
John Kroger is warning Oregon
citizens about a jury duty scam
that seeks to trick consumers
into providing personal, confi-
dential information. The scam
involves emails and telephone
calls that claim recipients have
missed jury duty and will be ar-
rested or face other legal sanc-
tions if they do not turn over
Social Security numbers, bank
accounts information or dates
of birth.
Oregonians recently have
been receiving emails with
what appear to be subpoenas
from the U.S. District Court.
These are invalid and may con-
tain harmful links to viruses and
identity thieves.
Most of the bogus emails
come from “uscourts.com,”
which is not a government Web
site.
Oregon residents receiving
jury scam calls or emails
should call local police or the
Attorney General’s consumer
protection hotline at 1-877-877-
9392 or online at www.doj.
state. or.us.
Consumers who think they
may have turned over personal
financial information to jury
duty scammers should go to
the Federal Trade Commission
website at http://www.ftc.gov/
idtheft for specific directions in
defending themselves against
ID theft.
Consumers who have been
legitimately summoned for jury
duty may find information at the
Oregon Judicial Department’s
website: http://www.ojd.state.
or.us/jurorinfo/index.htm.
Since applying for the funding a year ago, we have been hopefully watching the
progress of our request as it went through committees, then to the House and Sen-
ate, then to the Joint Committee for consideration. What started out as a $1.5 mil-
lion request was pared down to $475,000, approved by both the Senate and the
House, and inserted into the Omnibus Bill. We would like to express our apprecia-
tion for all of the work done by then Senator Gordon Smith and Senator Ron Wyden
on the Senate side and Representative David Wu on the House side. Without them
and their staff who worked so hard on our behalf, we wouldn’t have received these
much-needed funds. We extend our gratitude and thanks to them for their assis-
tance and work.
As an update on the Timber/Elsie Transmission Line project, the WOEC Board
of Directors awarded the bid for undergrounding the line to Michels Power. They will
begin construction of the line as soon as the final permit from Washington County
is received. The line is being paid for with $1,984,031 million of FEMA funds,
$600,000 of Oregon Emergency Management funds (which we applied for as a re-
sult of the windstorm in 2006), The remaining $3,431,762 will come from a low in-
terest Rural Utility Services Loan, around 3.25 percent over 30 years. We are ex-
cited to get this line back into operation and underground, which will increase the
reliability of the transmission line and decrease the costs of maintenance and re-
pair as a result of wind and tree damage.
We are working with our local, state, and federal elected officials to see how
WOEC might benefit from Stimulus Bill Funds. We are actively pursuing funds and
programs that will be of benefit to our members and our system. We have success-
fully applied for and received over $1 million so far for WOEC projects and will con-
tinue to bring needed resources to our service area.
Sheriff’s Office offers self-defense class
The Columbia County Sher-
iff’s Office will offer a self-de-
fense class to the public on
Saturday, April 11, in the Sher-
iff’s Office Training/Conference
Room at 901 Port Avenue, in
St. Helens. The class will be
from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
There is no charge to Columbia
County residents.
The course will be taught by
certified defensive tactics in-
structors who received their
certification through the Ore-
gon Department of Public Safe-
ty Standards and Training
(DPSST) and American Coun-
cil on Criminal Justice Training
(ACCJT). The course is de-
signed to teach participants
skills to protect themselves in
situations that could result in
SBA offers free small business briefing
The U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) Portland
District Office, 601 S.W. 2nd
Ave., Suite 2030, Portland, will
hold a free briefing on Financ-
ing a Small Business, on
Thursday, March 19, from
11:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m.
The loan briefing is present-
ed by a SBA Loan Specialist
and will cover financing options
to start or grow a small busi-
ness. Topics will include: SBA
Loan Guarantee Program,
credit requirements, use of pro-
ceeds, how to approach a
lender and loan proposal assis-
tance.
Time permitting, there will be
a mini-tour of the Business Re-
source Center. No early regis-
tration is required. For addition-
al information, call 503-326-
2682.
Alley Auto Wrecking ✮
✮ Gasoline 503-429-7581
Most parts under warranty
Open Tuesday-Saturday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
54372 Nehalem Hwy South, Vernonia, OR 97064
6 miles south of town on Hwy 47
Buying unwanted vehicles with clear title
serious assault or death. The
course will be taught in “hands
on” format. Topics will include
personal safety strategies for
the workplace and travel.
All participants are asked to
bring a bottle of water and to
wear comfortable clothing,
socks and tennis shoes. Partic-
ipants under the age of 18 are
required to have a parent pres-
ent and sign a release form in
order to participate in the class.
If you plan to send your child
with another adult, please con-
tact the Sheriff’s Office prior to
the class to ensure the accom-
modation can be made. Due to
the mature nature of the infor-
mation presented, this class is
not appropriate for children 13
years and younger. Future
classes will be provided to
meet the needs of our younger
citizens.
Class space is limited and
individuals interested in partici-
pating must pre-register to at-
tend. Registration forms are
available at the Columbia
County Sheriff’s Office or by
contacting Deputy Caldwell or
Deputy Ritchie at 503-366-
4611, Monday through Friday.
VERNONIA INN
Enjoy a quiet weekend with us.
FULL SIZE, IN ROOM
HOT TUBS
Queen Beds • Private Bath • Separate Entrance
Cable TV • Phones • Handicapped Access
• Commercial Rates
FOR RESERVATIONS CALL
1-800-354-9494 / 503-429-4006
Gift Certificates Available
900 MADISON AVE., VERNONIA, OR 97064
Just one block off scenic Nehalem River Hwy. (Oregon 47)