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.