Page 20
The INDEPENDENT, July 16, 2009
Letters
From page 14
ty. Our freedom would be lost if
ment ever takes this right away
from us. Everything our found-
ing fathers have fought for and
everything we all have fought to
maintain over the past two cen-
turies would be lost. This is
something that we all should
remember and pay tribute to
when July 4th rolls around, be-
cause this is what our inde-
pendence and freedom is all
about.
The Oregon Supreme Court
reaffirms our first amendment
right in the “State of Oregon v.
William Charles Johnson” by
city Article 1, section 8, of the
Oregon Constitution: “No law
shall be passed restraining the
free expression of opinions, or
restricting the right to speak,
write, or print freely on any sub-
ject whatever; but every person
shall be responsible for the
abuse of this right.”
A city council member who
doesn’t agree with this funda-
mental right should resign.
A word specifically for Kevin,
Cindy, and Brett: I don’t think I
ever really said you didn’t ques-
tion. I believe I said you rarely
vote against the VPD. Even if
you are friends with Mike you
should refrain from showing
any bias of favor for the
VPD…it doesn’t look good.
Furthermore, the questions you
do ask are rather shallow. As a
council person, I personally
wouldn’t accept just an answer.
I would place all requests under
the microscope and require a
“Show Me” or a “Please Pro-
duce Documentation.”
With this I close and it’s time
to move on. I’m sure everyone
is getting tired of hearing about
this.
Edward Johnson
Vernonia
Citizen appreciates
Vernonia police work
To the Editor:
I sincerely wish to apologize
to the fine officers of the Ver-
nonia Police Department for
the letters written by Mr. John-
son and Ms. Brasure. Their
words and sentiments do not
represent all the citizens of Ver-
nonia that you protect and
serve. We are fortunate to have
officers of your caliber. I, for
one, truly appreciate your serv-
ice to our community.
I do have one suggestion,
however, and that would be to
have Ms. Brasure submit your
next shift schedule. She appar-
ently knows a way to cover 24
hours a day for seven days with
four police officers. (Ms. Bra-
sure, don’t forget they each
need two days off a week when
planning that schedule.)
Mr. Johnson and Ms. Bra-
sure think that because Ver-
nonia is a small town our
crimes are somehow less sig-
nificant then larger cities? I
work for a larger city (yes, I
commute) and the crimes are
the same, just on a smaller
scale. Police officers are
trained to handle different
crimes requiring different stan-
dards of force. I don’t know of
any police academy that in-
structs their recruits to use
force based on the size of the
town.
In Vernonia, and in larger
cities, it is typical for parents
with problem children to blame
the police (and the schools),
rather then take responsibility
themselves. Most children grow
up and never have contact with
police, unless in a positive
manner. If your child is having
negative contact with police,
there is most likely a reason for
it. Implementing a School Re-
source Officer (SRO’s) Pro-
gram in the Vernonia School
system would address juvenile
crime and safety concerns.
SRO’s promote a safe, secure,
and orderly learning environ-
ment, as well as, facilitate
youth programs to address ju-
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venile needs and the opportuni-
ty to succeed. Isn’t that what
we want as a community?
I know what it means to be a
police officer, as my grandfa-
ther was Vernonia’s first “paid”
law enforcement officer. His
name was Acel Dallas Lolley. I
am extremely proud of his serv-
ice and dedication to this com-
munity. He made many sacri-
fices in order to “serve” this city,
most of which went unnoticed
and unappreciated. I missed
my grandfather while growing
up because he was serving and
protecting people like Mr. John-
son and Ms. Brasure while the
rest of his family attended a
school function, enjoyed a holi-
day, or went to Church.
VPD, I thank each of you for
your sacrifice, service and tire-
less dedication to preserving
our communities’ safety. I do
notice and appreciate you.
Proud Granddaughter of
Former Chief Lolley,
Allyson Cameron,
Evidence Technician
Vernonia
Many enjoyed great
4th of July parade
To the Editor:
We want to thank all who
participated in the 4th of July
Parade. It seems every year it
gets bigger and better.
Don and I followed the pa-
rade through town and couldn’t
believe all the people who
came out to watch it. The side-
walks were full from Weed to
State Ave. You would have
thought it was the Jamboree.
If you enjoyed the fireworks,
and I’m sure you did, you can
still donate towards them. You
can donate at Wauna in a Tom
Ramsey Fireworks account.
The fireworks this year cost
$4,500 and your donation
would be greatly appreciated.
De Loris Webb
Vernonia Pride
Thanks for helping
support fireworks
To the Editor:
Thank you to everyone who
donated money for Vernonia’s
4th of July fireworks show. To-
gether we raised over $4500.
All of the money that was
raised went to the purchase the
fireworks only. I also want to
say a special thank you to Lily
Buchanan and Sara Rhodes for
taking the initiative and coming
up with the dog wash idea to
help raise money for the fire-
works. These young girls
demonstrated to me the true
spirit of America and patriotism.
I am proud to say that our fire-
works show was put on by our
community and as long as we
keep this up we will have future
fireworks shows on the Fourth
of July.
Tom D. Ramsey
Vernonia Fire Works Crew
Lead Pyrotechnician
Community Garden
prize was fantastic!
To the Editor:
Thanks to the Vernonia
Community Garden Project.
Thanks for the great raffle prize
I won. What a great job you
guys did. The yard has never
looked better. Where do I buy
the next ticket?
Thanks to Nikki and Zachary
Larke, Kelli and Ben Schulte,
Mark Lemay, Jeana Gump,
Marilyn, Abigail and Hannah
Nicks. Thanks, Gang.
Ann Mitchell
Vernonia
Good law enforcers
don’t commit crimes
To the Editor:
We expect our law enforce-
ment to protect and serve, not
eavesdrop and commit acts of
voyeurism. But that is exactly
what two Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation Agents recently did
in Fairmont, West Virginia.
The non-profit organization
Hospice International, which
provides health care to low in-
come elderly in need of medical
treatment, hosted an event to
provide inexpensive prom
dresses to West Virginia
teenage girls.
Two FBI agents, Gary Sutton
Jr., 40, of New Milton, WV and
Charles Hommema of Buchan-
nan, WV, moved a surveillance
camera above the dressing
room. They zoomed in on the
teenage girls while they
changed clothes. Both were
charged with criminal invasion
of privacy and conspiracy. Their
trials were recently postponed.
More than a hundred girls were
violated by the FBI agents.
“I can’t even begin to put
words around what I consider
an unspeakable act: the mis-
use of surveillance by a branch
of our government in a place
we felt so secure,” said Cynthia
Woodyard, organizer of the
event (AP, April 2009). “Never
in a million years would we
have thought something like
this would happen. We’re in
shock.”
Technology has made video
cameras much smaller. They
can be nearly impossible to de-
tect. Taking from statistics by
criminologists, it is likely that
hundreds of times more crimes
like the one in West Virginia
have occurred, but the FBI cul-
prits were not caught. We need
greater oversight of law en-
forcement, and the creation of
a Department of Civil Liberties
Protection.
Having personally been
beaten nearly to death for
merely participating peacefully
in a demonstration in Washing-
ton, DC, for action on climate
change, I know first hand the
horrors of a police state without
checks and balances. We need
major changes to prevent civil
liberties violations from occur-
ring again. Repealing the Patri-
ot Act, which creates a secret,
Gestapo police force, is a criti-
cal first step.
It is the lack of transparency
that the so-called Patriot Act
creates, that opens the doors
for crimes like the horrific viola-
tions of teenage girls that re-
cently occurred in West Vir-
ginia. These crimes are now
regularly committed by “law”
enforcement.
Chad Kister
Nelsonville, Ohio
Wants Elliot Forest
protesters prosecuted
To the Editor:
To State Attorney General
John Kroger:
This is an excellent opportu-
nity for you to “walk the walk”
on your pledge to get tough on
environmental crimes.
Unless you intend to main-
tain a double standard in your
treatment of Oregonians under
the law, the actions taken by
protesters on the Elliot State
Forest certainly qualify as envi-
ronmental crimes including
trespass, destruction of proper-
ty and physical damages
caused by overturning a vehi-
cle to use as a barricade.
These crimes occurred on state
lands.
Please see page 22