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.