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The INDEPENDENT, February 18, 2010
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
Lots going on in Vernonia
There is a lot going on in Vernonia these days. Probably
more than at any time since the 1920s when the Oregon-
American Mill was being built and the town was growing to
meet the increased need for workers there.
Many people, unfortunately, are still waiting to get their
homes lifted or bought out so they can get resettled for the
first time in over two years, since the Flood of 2007.
As part of that new schools project, it seems like some-
thing changes in those plans daily. The latest information will
be available at a Town Hall on February 25 (see page one
for details). But, don’t expect anything to be set in stone yet.
Though the district wants to start construction this Spring,
plans are not final. One recent change is the possibility of
getting some extra FEMA money to buy out the middle
school building, which could then be moved to the new site
and may house science classrooms and even be a living
laboratory for university and college students in Oregon to
come work on sustainability and other projects.
If all the current schools are removed, the city will have
new park space and there has been recent talk of using
some of the Bridge St. park area for the skate park the Li-
ons Club has been working on for over five years.
There is a consultant in town working on a Main Street
project to identify what the community would like Bridge
Street and the commercial zone to look like in coming years.
Speaking of zones, the city is looking to rezone part of Rose
Avenue (the Hwy 47 part) from residential to commercial.
The city’s stated purpose is to move downtown businesses
to get them out of the flood zone. Economic development
has been on the table recently, too.
There has recently, as in just this week, been talk of a
project that would use biomass to fuel some buildings and
use our surrounding forestland for biomass or carbon proj-
ects.
City Administrator Bob Young recently suggested adding
two more Vernonia police officers to serve the school district
boundary, not just those who live inside the city. On the oth-
er hand, there is a committee set up by the Columbia Coun-
ty Commissioners looking at better meeting the needs of the
whole county for law enforcement and one of the ideas be-
ing batted around there is getting rid of city police forces and
beefing up the Sheriff’s Office to handle all law enforcement.
This is a great time to get involved and really make a dif-
ference in your community. Join a committee, go to council
meetings or even get elected to the city council. There are
two council positions, plus the Mayor’s seat up for election
this fall. Think of the possibilities and help Vernonia reach
them.
Out of My Mind…
by Noni Andersen
We may be accus-
tomed to political hypocrit-
ical, but the past week has
presented a few scenarios
that will, or already have
appeared on shows such
as SNL, The Colbert Re-
port or The Daily Show.
To explain, I watched
the live C-SPAN broad-
cast from the recent Re-
publican Congressional retreat, where they
asked questions of, or made comments to Pres-
ident Barack Obama. One GOP complaint was
that the president has failed to live up to his cam-
paign promise of making the process of health
care reform transparent. The president agreed
that he had fallen short, and said he is trying to
do a better job of transparency.
This wasn’t the first time Republican Con-
gressmen had made that charge, either. Rep.
John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, previ-
ously slammed the administration for “secret de-
liberations” for its failure to televise the health
care debate; he was also a vocal supporter of C-
SPAN’s request to televise negotiations. Addi-
tionally, all Republican Senators signed a letter
to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seeking
“increased transparency” and opposing “closed
door negotiations.”
Fast forward to the president’s announcement
of a February 25 health care summit that would
include the leaders and key legislators of both
parties, and would be televised by C-SPAN. Did
the GOP congratulate themselves for prodding
the president to turn words into action? No.
The Republican leadership announced that
they wouldn’t attend the president’s summit un-
less they could specify who would attend and
what would be discussed!?! That was so mind-
boggling stupid that even they realized the pub-
lic knows that, when the president holds a meet-
ing, he issues the invitations and the agenda. So,
after months of insisting on transparency, how
can they avoid a televised meeting?
Aha! Their current mantra is “How do we know
it’s not a trap?” and “We can’t let ourselves walk
into a trap!” If they really believed in their ap-
proach to health care reform – and transparency
– they would jump at the opportunity to expound
their views to the president and the public.
Their problem likely goes back to that retreat,
when the president responded easily and logical-
ly to policy issues and political attacks in far more
detail than they wanted. For instance, when one
congressman spoke of “a 2,300 page bill that the
Democrats can’t pass”, Obama didn’t say that
was a lie, he merely said that both houses had
passed it, and that it includes Republican ideas.
Oops, transparency can be uncomfortable.
In case you have forgotten why health care re-
form is needed: Anthem Blue Cross in California
announced a 39% premium increase for individ-
ual policyholders, acknowledging that some
won’t be able to afford it, but they need the in-
crease. In 2009, their parent company, Wellpoint,
had record profits in excess of $2.5 Billion.