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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2009)
The INDEPENDENT, August 20, 2009 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 107 Russell Senate Ofc. Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-3753 E-Mail: senator@merkley.sen ate. gov WebSite: http://merkley.senate. gov U.S. Representative David Wu (Dem) OR District 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) Senate District 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 Representative Brad Witt (Dem) House District. 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 Representative Deborah Boone (Dem) House District 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 Page 3 Letters Pet Party so much fun there will be another To the Editor: I would like to thank every- one who participated in the Pet Party at First Friday on the first day of Jamboree. Everyone had so much fun making the scarves for their pets and it was so much fun to watch the “dogs bobbin’ for dogs”! They had so many differ- ent techniques, but large and small alike all got their hot dogs! Even though we didn’t get as many donations as I had wished, Vernonia Cares – Pet Food Division benefitted from your generosity. Watch for this and more at the next First Friday, Septem- ber 4, where we’ll also be hav- ing a Pet Parade & Party. This will be another benefit for Ver- nonia Cares – Pet Food Divi- sion. If you would like to make a donation to Vernonia Cares, it is open every Tuesday and Thursday. Donations will be gratefully accepted at those times. Carol Davis Vernonia Students blamed for Police-caused crash To the Editor: The evening of New Year’s Eve 2006 was to be a joyous night of celebration and family. My son and nephew headed north to town for a pizza. The terrible phone call came along with temporary disbelief. There had been an accident. My nephew, an honor student at V.H.S. and his cousin, my son (an athlete and student) had been in a car wreck. Trav- eling north to Vernonia, my nephew’s vehicle came over a blind hill, to the words across the side of a cruiser’s door: Vernonia Police Dept. The cruiser, motionless and light- less, was blocking the entire left and part of the right lane. The driver reacted quickly, swerving to the right, leaving but inches between his car and the front grill of the police car. Yanking back to avoid the em- bankment, he found himself face-to-face with southbound traffic. Narrowly avoiding a sec- ond car my nephew over- steered to the right and was launched off the 30-foot em- bankment, clipping an alder that actually straightened out their fall. They tumbled 360 de- grees width-wise to land tires- down in the frigid waters of Beaver Creek. As the floor boards filled with water, they jumped on their seats and grabbed valuables. They asked for assistance, from the officers, in retrieving a laptop from the car, but the offi- cer asked only if they needed a rope, but no rope was found. The climb up the cliff was po- tentially very dangerous for the boys after such a severe acci- dent. The ambulance rushed them to the fire station, some- one said there was no need for an alcohol breathalyzer for ei- ther because they “looked visi- bly” sober. Bringing the boys home, we passed the accident site. The thick black skid marks traced where they swerved back and forth before leaving the high- way. Ten hours later I returned to take some pictures. All traces of the skid marks were gone. Not so patiently we waited for the police report to be fin- ished. Officer Kay stated the boys came speeding over the hill and nearly rear-ended him, as he was increasing his speed coming out of a driveway and already traveling north. A sim- ple look at the alder can prove this claim false, as the injured tree marks where the boys exit- ed the highway, approximately 30 feet from the driveway. Compensation for the car was initially denied as was car tow- ing, hospital bill, vehicle re- placement, etc. The south-bound car with two witnesses swore the police car was spread across their lane at a 90-degree angle. My neighbor said as she drove past the re-routed traffic, “This lasted well into the late evening.” Why? There was no glass from the wreckage. My nephew was amazing…suc- cessfully maneuvering through both cars without a scratch. From this passerby, I received a notarized statement that city workers were scrubbing the original tire tracks off the high- way. Our suspicions were rein- forced with information from a respected but unnamed city volunteer who said we, “had Out of My Mind… From page 2 not quite as efficient as the VA, but its adminis- trative costs are far less than 10% of premiums, compared to the 30% of for-profit insurers. So, since Medicare is in the mix, seniors are the target for myriad lies about how they would be affected. The death panel lie, of course, but also that seniors will lose health care, or have to pay more, if the program is expanded. Oppo- nents are doing such a good job that you can hear ludicrous demands from seniors, including “Keep government out of my Medicare!” Such a statement makes it painfully clear that the speak- er either doesn’t know or has forgotten that Medicare is a government program, but also makes it obvious why seniors are targeted. “Health cooperatives” are now being touted as an alternative to a public option, with their promoters citing rural electric cooperatives as models. The problem, of course, is cost. A lot of members, at least 500,000 of them, are needed in order to negotiate favorable rates with drug companies, medical suppliers and hospitals. One area that gets no mention is small busi- nesses, those with 1-10 employees (not 50-100 employees, which are small businesses accord- ing to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce). Most of these cannot afford to provide health insurance for their employees, many can’t even afford it for themselves. There are countless true stories about people who can’t afford health insurance, others who have lost their health insurance, and those who were forced into bankruptcy by massive medical costs. But little attention is focused on how pre- carious the situation is for those who still have in- surance. Too many people are one illness away from bankruptcy and/or homelessness. One thing is certain: Too many Americans cannot get affordable health care; without a pub- lic option, there is no reform. Anything else is us- ing a Band-Aid when surgery is needed. been wronged.” Eventually, the city’s insur- ance caved and compensated the boys, though barely. These two boys could have been such an asset to the community. There wasn’t a mar in their past, just awards and many proud moments for their fami- lies. They moved out of the county. They left their inno- cence in that gully. My son no longer talks respectfully of his hometown’s law enforcement and my nephew had to drop out of college because he had no transportation. I desperately worry for any- one coming in contact with this officer, who nearly caused two deaths in my family. I feel suc- cess is not judged by financial accumulation but how one re- acts to problems in life. God is not done with Officer Kay’s ed- ucation yet. Claudia Lee Vernonia Fishing, prizes and ice cream = kids’ fun To the Editor: The 2009 Jamboree Kids Fish Derby went off well, every- body seems happy with the one hour fishing time. Thanks to True Value and Vernonia Hardware for donat- ing some fishing tackle, and Larry & Gail Snethen at the Old MILL Eatery. Thanks to Bill Yoe, who auctioned off donated items. The proceeds from the auction will go toward next year’s derby. We also had a drawing for prizes. The kids en- joyed that. DeDe Webb donat- ed the ice cream at the end of the derby. We had seventy-one youths fishing this year, and had a lot of fun. There were quite a few youths from out of town, and a good turn-out of local youths. A Big thanks to those who helped measure and count the See Letters, page 22 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.