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The INDEPENDENT, December 3, 2009
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Mentor Noni Andersen
Printed on recycled paper with vegetable based dyes
Opinion
Musings on music issues
On November 20, a granite bench was installed at
Vernonia Lake in memory of Robert Isted. By Novem-
ber 24, there were chips in the back of the bench. We
can’t imagine that anyone who knew Mr. Isted would
have done such a thing. For those who didn’t know Mr.
Isted, he was a much-loved music teacher at Vernonia
schools for many years. He even used his own money
to buy musical supplies, including instruments, so that
all could enjoy the benefits of some musical training.
Personally, we always feel the spirit of the Christmas
season arrives when we go to the Vernonia schools
holiday programs to hear and enjoy the kids making
music. Unfortunately, this is the first year in memory
that there won’t be a program at Washington Grade
School. And the reason given was that Bonnie Holce,
the elementary music teacher, had to be let go due to
budget cuts last spring. Holce said, “I was really sad
that the program is no longer,” then she added, “I
couldn’t ask for a better community to work for. Every-
body is just the best. My heart is here and always will
be. I thank the community for supporting the program
and all the work we’ve done.”
We have an excellent middle/high school band pro-
gram (thank you, Mr. Izzett). The band has even played
in the Portland Macy’s Parade the last two years, quite
an honor. We wonder, though, how long the program
can excel without the elementary music “feeder” pro-
gram. It will be very difficult to get great, quality band
musicians without the experience and musical founda-
tion that Holce and Isted provided.
Many studies show that kids who participate in mu-
sic programs have improved spatial-temporal skills, en-
hanced academic performance, and better social skills.
In a 2001 College Entrance Examination Board study,
students with coursework or experience in music per-
formance scored 57 points higher on the verbal section
of the SAT and 41 points higher on the math; those who
participated in music appreciation scored 63 and 44
points higher, respectively, than students with no arts
participation. A 1999 UCLA Graduate School of Educa-
tion study showed that gains from music were as great
or greater for students of low socioeconomic status as
for privileged students.
Hopefully, the elementary music program and Bon-
nie Holce will both be back soon. Vernonia School
Board: Please find the funding for this very important
program. Thank you, Bonnie, for the 24 years of music
and dedication!
Ike Says…
By Dale Webb, member
Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League
Elk season is over for
me for another year and,
yes, I was successful
again! The season start-
ed for me on Thursday,
two days before the sea-
son officially opens, no, I
wasn’t poaching. Spend-
ing two days scouting, be-
fore the season, is always
a part of the hunt for me,
and like a lot of years, I never saw a bull during
those days scouting. I mainly look for tracks and
don’t want to push any animals around.
Opening day was guaranteed to be wet, just
like the previous two days when I had been
scouting. Oh well, I stayed nice and warm and
dry in my hunting clothes. I spent most of the
first day chasing ghosts, I thought for sure I had
seen a bull from far away the day before, but I’ll
be danged if I could find him. The second day
wasn’t much better, but the rain had died off and
I knew the tracks would soon start appearing and
then the chase would be on.
Day three I was back at it just before daylight,
pushing my mountain bike up the hill. The
evening before, my hunting partner had seen a
lone elk in a small clear-cut from across the
canyon. We hadn’t had time to chase that elk
then, but I was soon carefully checking it out in
the morning. The fog was semi-thick and I was
trying to be careful not to leave a bull standing
out in the open. Suddenly I looked up the road
ahead of me and saw a very large elk standing
right on the edge of the road I was walking up.
The rifle came to my shoulder and a quick look
showed a very large cow elk. With that excite-
ment over, I made my way back to my bike,
which I had parked down the road, and started
my push up to the top of the hill and a couple of
good looking clear-cuts.
The fog had pretty well lifted when I rode up
to the first good vantage point that overlooked a
clear-cut with older reprod in it. I pulled my rifle
out of it’s bike rack and walked about three steps
when my eyes saw a blonde body on the oppos-
ing hillside through the gap in the small trees on
my side. I silently stepped back and pulled my
shooting sticks from my pack. I eased up to the
gap in the trees and viewed not one, but two
bulls grazing on the opposite hillside, 275 yards
away. I knew they were bulls just by their coat
color, but I didn’t know if they were legal bulls, a
big difference. The Saddle Mt. unit requires 3pt.
or better for bull elk, so I tried to find just how
much antler these two bulls had. Soon, I found
myself shaking badly from the prospect of get-
ting a longer range shot at a bull elk. Finally I
had to lay my binoculars on my shooting sticks
to calm the shakes. I determined the smaller
bodied bull was legal; he looked to be a rag horn
4-5 pt. The bigger bull had his head behind a
tree and I had to wait for him to walk out into the
open. Finally, he did just that and I could make
out nice ivory tips dancing against the straw col-
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