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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2009)
The INDEPENDENT, October 15, 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: http://merkley.senate. gov/contact 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 Do not accept Federal funds for new school To the Editor: Passing the Bond IS Pass- ing the Buck All Vernonians are proud of their history, ancestors, and how they made their way How hard they worked and struggled to make the town what it is today Our ancestors valued edu- cation and built a school of brick for their children to attend A school the community and parents made a plan for and funded in the end The question is did they build it all at once, since they were poorer than poor? Or did they upgrade and im- prove over time when they needed something more They must have had trust and faith in the system to in- crease taxes and raise support Their elected officials proved fiscally responsible especially when the people’s paychecks were short Every community member recognizes the importance of a new school, and raising tax dol- lars to do so But times have shown that consistency and fiscal respon- sibility are at an all time low After ‘96 everyone truly be- lieved they had a long time un- til the next “100 year” And when it happened again in ‘07 school officials knew their “opportunity” for a new school was here They say the school will close if this bond does not pass And we have the “opportuni- ty” to get “free federal dollars” at last They have asked the com- munity for their opinions, sup- port and ideas for a new school But I have to question whether this was just to ap- pease and keep tempers cool There are a lot of options, but all I hear are threats And I am shamed at the prospect that Vernonian’s aren’t ready to pay for their own debts. Other communities don’t ex- pect America’s citizens to pay for their schools because of tragedy And they step up to the plate to create bonds funded by local citizens with the utmost respon- sibility Passing the bond IS passing the buck...I know it doesn’t sound as cute But we cannot expect to get away with paying just 13 mil- lion, leaving America the rest of the bill to foot I will not be guilted or delud- ed into thinking we deserve other taxpayers money to com- plete this new school I’ll be voting “NO” on this bond, because I am not going to “pass the buck” to the rest of America like a fool I know my “NO” will sound small, to the resounding “YES” vote But I will hold the principals and values of my ancestors as I sign that note While others will be rejoicing and prideful because they built a new school When I enter the doors, I will hang my head in shame, as a rule. Kandis Strassel Sewell and Kara Strassel Kemper Vernonia Annual assessment We can be proud to increases bond $$ vote for new schools To the Editor: To the Editor: ASHAMED? Will you be ashamed of yourself come election day? Well I think some residents in our community will be. I have heard talk around town regard- Guest Opinion From page 2 defendant had engaged in a terror campaign against her after his original arrest. According to the allegations, in defiance of the temporary re- straining and no-contact orders – sometimes with the assistance of fellow officers – the defen- dant had stalked, harassed and deliberately frightened the accuser. One extraordinary detec- tive defied both camps to conduct an unbiased investigation. As a result, the acquitted officer faced new criminal charges. At the time the complaints of domestic vio- lence first surfaced, the chief of police in Toledo was in the process of transferring elsewhere. He was replaced as chief by Don Denison – who would go on to be the first police chief in the state ever convicted of ethics violations. Denison was a staunch supporter of the acquitted officer, who had been his personal protegee. By con- trast, when the long-standing chief of police in Newport retired, he was replaced by an experi- enced out-of-county chief who brought and en- forced his standards of impartiality with him. I was in the audience when the acquitted offi- cer was tried for violating the temporary restrain- ing order. The Newport police officers who had first offered to testify on behalf of the defendant were now, months later, called as prosecution witnesses. Their voices reflected a state of shock over a fellow officer’s betrayal. When asked about this officer’s reputation for telling the truth, ing some longtime residents actually questioning why we need new schools and why tax- payers should contribute. Hon- estly, wake up people! I under- stand the lack of employment and the current economic woes but we all must realize how much worse things will be if we don’t get our schools in order. Anyone who had the opportuni- ty to go to school in Vernonia or simply knows a current student in the system needs to VOTE YES! I want you to vote for my grandkids so they can have a future in Vernonia and I want you to vote for Vernonia be- cause if you don’t vote Vernon- ia will not survive. Please don’t be ASHAMED and please VOTE YES for Vernonia schools. Shelley Elton VHS 1970 they sorrowfully reported that, no, his reputation was now for dishonesty. In fact, they had been duped. He had been caught in a web of lies and hurt the image of all of them. It took years for this community to heal all the wounds the initial rift had created, but that healing began the day the first fellow officer testified against Michael Kay. After his conviction for having violated a tem- porary restraining order, I assumed Kay’s career in law enforcement was over. When I proudly read of Vernonia’s courage in the face of devas- tating floods, the last thing I expected was quotes from “Acting Police Chief Michael Kay.” Citizens of Vernonia inspired the state and the nation with their resilience and courage in the face of a natural disaster. We are now looking to see what you do with one that is man-made, and far more predictable than the weather. Alice Vachss, JD, is the former Chief of the Special Victims Bureau of the Queens (NYC) District Attor- ney’s Office. She is the auther of Sex Crimes (Ran- dom House, 1993). Before assuming leadership of the Special Victims Bureau, Ms. Vachss was a VISTA vol- unteer, a counselor in a maximum security prison for violent youth, and a trial attorney in New York City’s Legal Aid Criminal Defense Division. Ms. Vachss con- tinues to lecture and consult, nationally and interna- tionally, and is the author of numerous articles, includ- ing “All Rape Is Real Rape,” (New York Times Op-Ed). She is also the co-publisher of Teal Ribbon Publica- tions, LLC, a small press specializing in non-fiction on the topic of sexual assault response. I was examining my Colum- bia County tax statement to de- termine how much I would have to pay for the school bond measure each year. The as- sessed valuation is the figure to use, times $1.90 per each $1000 of evaluation. For $250,000 assessed evaluation I would pay approximately $500 for the first year. However, do you realize that according to state law our assessed valua- tions can and does go up 3% See Letters, 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. — NOTICE — The INDEPENDENT pub- lishes on the first and third Thursday of each month. Be- cause there are five Thurs- days in October, there will be three weeks before the next issue is published on No- vember 5, 2009. The dead- line for the next issue is Fri- day, October 30, 2009.