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The INDEPENDENT, December 17, 2009
Attorney General provides useful
tips for wise charitable giving
There are nearly 16,000
charities registered with the
Oregon Department of Justice,
and many of them are actively
seeking donations. The state
cannot dictate how charities
spend your money, but Attor-
ney General John Kroger is
providing some basic advice to
ensure that your gifts go to a
worthy cause.
The Oregon Department of
Justice Charitable Activities
Section is responsible for en-
suring that organizations solic-
iting funds in Oregon register
and file periodic financial re-
ports showing how donations
are spent. The section also
protects the public against or-
ganizations that attempt to mis-
lead Oregon donors. This year
they took action against sever-
al charities that claimed to ben-
efit local search and rescue
teams, schools, and veterans.
CHARITABLE GIVING TIPS
Don’t give to unregistered
charities. Before donating,
make sure the organization is
registered with the Attorney
General’s Office by searching
the online database at www.doj
.state.or.us or by calling 971-
673-1880. You can also visit
www.guidestar.org, a national
clearinghouse of information
on charities and how they
spend your money. Make sure
your gift goes to groups that will
use your donation in a manner
that matches your goals.
Do your research. There
are more than 1.2 million chari-
ties registered with the IRS.
Ask yourself: “What is impor-
tant to me?” Focus on your own
priorities when deciding where
your contribution should go. In
addition to www.guidestar.org,
there are other groups that rate
and provide information about
charities and their perform-
ance, such as the Better Busi-
ness Bureau (www.give.org),
Charity Navigator (www.chari-
tynavigator.org), and the Amer-
ican Institute of Philanthropy
(www.charity watch.org).
Resist impulse decisions
to donate. Beware of callers
who want your money fast. If
you are interested, ask the
caller to send written materials
about the charity; no legitimate
organization will insist that you
donate immediately. And watch
out for solicitors who use dra-
matic, heart-tugging stories.
Do not donate cash. Legiti-
mate charities will be pleased
to receive a contribution by
check. Don’t send contributions
by wire or with an overnight
parcel pick-up service.
If you don’t remember a
pledge, you probably didn’t
make one. Watch out for solic-
itors who begin by thanking you
for your previous support if the
organization is unfamiliar to
you. Some organizations will
also send an invoice claiming
you made a recent pledge
when you didn’t. These meth-
ods are intended to confuse
and intimidate you into giving
money.
Contact the charity direct-
ly. Call the organization directly
to learn if it exists and make
sure the charity is aware of any
fundraising efforts on its behalf.
Bogus charities often use
names or logos that resemble
those of reputable organiza-
tions.
Don’t give personal or fi-
nancial information over the
phone. Be wary of requests for
payment over-the-phone. Le-
gitimate charities are pleased
to receive a contribution by
check.
Beware of sweepstakes
for charity. Legitimate chari-
ties may conduct raffles as
fundraising events. In contrast,
questionable charities may try
to entice you to contribute by
implying that you are a guaran-
teed winner in a sweepstakes.
The “guaranteed” prize may be
as little as 10 cents. In some
cases, the solicitor represents
that you are the grand prize
winner if only you will make a
substantial contribution. The
values of such prizes are exag-
gerated and the required “con-
tribution” means that the
“sweepstakes” is likely to be an
illegal lottery. Reputable chari-
ties do not employ such de-
vices to gain contributions.
Reduce solicitations by
registering your phone on
the Do-Not-Call List. Under
Oregon law, if your number is
on the No-call list, charities
may not solicit donations over
the phone unless you are a
past donor or expressed a pre-
vious interest in giving. Oregon
residents may register by call-
ing 1-888-382-1222 toll free, or
online at www.donotcall.gov.
Can You Dig It
By Schann Nelson
OSU Master Gardener
Brrrr! No question now
– plants destined to suc-
cumb to the cold have
done succumbed, what
with the ground frozen sol-
id for a week! As I write,
the clouds have moved in
and we are approaching a
balmy 28 degrees. It really
bugs me that TV weather-
man routinely report the expected wind and ice
storms in the Gorge where severe weather con-
ditions are normal. The Coast Range, and Ver-
nonia, generally has weather within a few points
of that in Washington County. But sometimes,
like last week, there’s a pretty dramatic differ-
ence. It thawed during the day in Hillsboro!
It’s nice to see more people putting up lights
this year – I even got some up out here. Now if I
could just get timers installed so that I didn’t
have to remember to plug and unplug the darn
things. It is good to have adequate lighting to get
in and out of the house in the dark days ahead.
A Great Mystery, worthy of winters contempla-
tion, that when the days get longer, they seem
shorter as clouds will be our near companions
more often than not until summer.
Which is not to imply that there’s no garden-
ing to be done. After weatherizing the lawn mow-
er, etc. take a look at your hand tools. There is
no finer rake than one with a long, well-oiled
smooth handle. I think this would be a great
Christmas present (hint, hint). I know that tools
work best when clean and sharp, but I have a
terrible time finding the time or energy to file the
hoes and shovels, oil the handles, clean and
sharpen the pruners and loppers. Definitely a job
for the Christmas Garden Fairy!
Meanwhile, my attempt to turn my office win-
dow into a Zone 10 environment is so far suc-
cessful. The geraniums are blooming! My 3 x 5
foot window faces south and gets direct sun from
about 11 a.m. to 4ish at this time of year. It can
get positively sultry in the middle of the day when
we capture direct radiant heat from the sun, mm-
mmmm! I’m trying to find a way to keep ‘Kent
Beauty’ ornamental oregano, Origanum rotundi-
folium, alive. My preserved tag says they are
hardy zones 9 –11, so I originally thought I only
had to provide one additional zone of protection,
which shouldn’t be too difficult outside. The last
two years I have had these spendy babies sur-
vive until mid-winter, but just not be able to hang
on until the weather really warms up. Part of the
problem is that a few warmish days seem to
make it think it needs to start growing. The new
growth is immediately slammed by the next frost.
I’m willing to keep trying because mature speci-
mens in hanging baskets are amazing and good
bee plants. I have post-top planters I am hoping
will become homes for huge cascades of pink
and green flower foliage. I potted my ‘Kent Beau-
ty’ in the fall after frost and I cut all of last year’s
stems off close to the crown. The darn things
have such brittle stems that I can’t seen to han-
dle them without breaking several large stems.
So far, it’s thriving in the window though it’s hard
to keep it watered.
Water is the life and death of indoor plants,
they often get too
much or too little.
Being
observant
and attentive to
these indoor gar-
dens will sooth your
gardener’s soul and
improve your indoor
air quality.
Happy Holidays!
Keep warm! Be
safe!
Church Directory
N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH
S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST
F IRST B APTIST C HURCH
Gary Taylor, Pastor
Grant & North Streets, Vernonia
503 429-5378
Sunday School 10:00 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.
Nursery available
Wednesday Service 7:00 p.m.
Gary S. Walter, Pastor
2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia
503 429-8301
Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m.
Sabbath School 9:30 a.m.
359 “A” Street, Vernonia
503 429-4027
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.
A SSEMBLY OF G OD
S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH
Wayne and Maureene Marr
662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia,
503 429-0373
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship 11:00 a.m
Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator
960 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-8841
Mass Sunday 12:00 Noon
Religious Educ. Sunday 10:30 a.m.
V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH
V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH
Sam Hough, Minister
410 North Street, Vernonia
503 429-6522
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m.
(meets in Youth & Family Center)
Home Group Meeting
throughout the week
at various locations
Grant Williams, Pastor
957 State Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-6790
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 a.m.
Morning Worship 9:45 a.m.
Children and Nursery 10:00 a.m.
Youth Group 6:00 p.m.
Preschool Mon. & Wed. 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Prayer 6:00 p.m.
Tues. & Fri. Adult Volleyball 7:00 p.m.
V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH
Carl Pense, Pastor
850 Madison Avenue, Vernonia
503 429-1103
Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.
Children’s Sunday School
C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST
OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS
Marc Farmer, Branch President
1350 E. Knott Street, Vernonia
503 429-7151
Sacrament Meeting, Sunday 10 a.m.
Sunday School & Primary 11:20 a.m.
Relief Society, Priesthood and
Young Women, Sunday 12:10 p.m.