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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2010)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, March 4, 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 Some beneficial events for weary taxpayers By approving a $13 million bond issue last fall, Ver- nonia School District voters demonstrated tremendous faith in the district’s plans to raise the remaining $10-20 million needed to achieve the goal of, not just a new school, but an all new energy efficient campus using sustainable construction methods. One week ago district Superintendent Ken Cox told the crowd at a Town Hall meeting that NW Natural Gas is the project’s first corporate donor, with a gift of $100,000, and Anne Kilkenny gave $50,000 to become the first private donor. These two donations, and the continued, multi-faceted support from the State of Ore- gon, are indications that our faith is well-placed. The school district has also put up a new website, www.vernoniaschools.org, where up-to-date informa- tion will be frequently added and where questions can be asked. ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~ In one small part of the school district, the Mist- Birkenfeld Rural Fire Protection District received a grant of $210,000 that will go to the purchase of a new water tender, a vital, and expensive piece of equip- ment. It is difficult for Rural Fire Protection Districts to fund new equipment when local economic conditions make an increased tax load highly doubtful, and many in the M-BRFPD also voted for the school bond. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant is greatly appre- ciated. ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~ Many of the people who were flooded in December 2007 are still waiting for funds to raise their homes. Money used for the lifts that have been completed have been mostly from insurance proceeds and private funds. Constantly changing procedures and/or require- ments have frustrated flood victims and those who are trying to help them. There are hopes that the City of Vernonia Resolution 03-10, which was passed last Monday, will be of some help to flood victims. The resolution states that decks (not just stairs) add value to homes being elevated. This may seem obvious, but hopefully, it will help Un- met Needs Committee work through some rule issues that have arisen about the use of Community Develop- ment Block Grant funds for decks. Ike Says… By Dale Webb, member Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League How important is a sin- gle word? Well in the case of the words “may” and “shall”, pretty darn im- portant, especially if you are a sportsman in Ore- gon. During the 75th legisla- tive session, HB 3089 was introduced with the sup- port of the Oregon Hunt- ers Association (OHA). The bill made several significant changes to the amount of fines for il- legally taking wildlife, the length of time of li- cense suspensions and when those suspen- sions would be implemented. The bill passed through both the house and Senate and was signed into law…then somebody actually read it! For years, people who intentionally act illegal- ly and kill wildlife, have frustrated sportsmen, who are robbed of the opportunity to pursue these animals legally. The courts have many times handed down light sentences and fines, and repeat offenders were quite common. Most sportsmen find it unconceivable that a sports- man could make a mistake time after time; the truth was that these offenders were simply taking advantage of the lack of enforcement and low fines that were comparable to taking a trip out of state to hunt. OHA brought this frustration to the legislature and pushed for changes to help curb this boorish, illegal behavior. Like many well-in- tentioned efforts though, the key is in the word- ing and, somehow, somebody made a big mis- take. 497.415. (1) When any person is convicted of a vi- olation of law or any rule adopted pursuant thereto or otherwise fails to comply with the requirements of a citation in connection with such violation as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the court { – may – } { + shall + } order the State Fish and Wildlife Com- mission to revoke all licenses, tags and permits issued to that person pursuant to the wildlife laws. Revoca- tion of licenses, tags and permits is in addition to and not in lieu of other penalties provided by law. So do any of you see a problem with the above citation from HB3089? The word “shall” leaves no choice for a judge when a person is cited into court and, since the definition of a vio- lation of law in this section is defined as any of- fense where the fine is greater than $50 dollars, which includes all wildlife offenses, then every- body that would have been cited would have their license, tags and permits revoked. The Oregon State Police cite approximately 5,000 people a year in Oregon for fish and game of- fenses, that would have meant 5,000 people with a revoked license, tags and permits. In ad- dition, the revocation for a first offense is for three years! While there are some people who believe that every sportsman should follow the laws to the Please see page 3