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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, March 18, 2010 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 Most Americans do want health reform To the Editor: I was both disappointed and surprised to see a political car- toon in the March 4th edition of The Independent that indicates your willingness to pass on ex- tremist political disinformation. The cartoon I refer to is of a mother bird feeding her hatch- lings (more or less a good thing one would think) but captioned, “Jam it down their throats; they’ll just have to swallow it”. The “it”, as captioned, is “Health Reform”. This implies the editorialist thinks most of us baby birds don’t want health re- form. Well, we do; and have at least since the presidential election of 2008! Almost any poll one could cite (except maybe one sponsored by the Far Right) acknowledges this fact. An article in the March edi- tion of the AARP bulletin says that between 60% and 73% of those polled, depending on how the question was asked, WANT healthcare reform. And further, that many that are against the current bill before Congress are against it be- cause it doesn’t go far enough! That is, a very sizable portion of us Americans want as good a healthcare program as almost any other western industrial- ized nation in the world. Cana- da, all western European na- tions, and many “developing” nations as well, already have some form of a single payer system, like Medicare for all, and have found it pays for itself. But after a year of trying to rea- son with obstructionist Republi- cans and Right Wing extrem- ists, it’s pretty clear this com- promise is about the best we can do for now. Any progress on any front, under current po- litical circumstances, requires strong public support. Some day, when we as a nation be- come more unified, we might be able to do as well as other nations. And to assure the ar- rival of that day, we absolutely depend on the continued wis- dom and credibility of our Fourth Estate (that’s you, oh ye editorial cartoonist currently of deceptive intent) to help edu- cate and maintain an informed electorate. Words (and car- toons) are a powerful thing! Don’t use them carelessly. Nick Galaday Vernonia Editors Note: We do not cen- sor our cartoonist, columnists or writers of Letters to the Edi- tor. Their opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board. John Day stands up against hate group To the Editor: Congratulations to the citi- zens of John Day in Grant Co. for standing up to the Idaho Salem Scene By Representative Brad Witt Oregon District 31 Now that the Special Session is over, I thought I would do a quick summa- ry of our accomplish- ments. Our primary goals were to help struggling families, provide incen- tives for both business and labor to put Oregoni- ans back to work, protect the level of funding for our education system, and bolster emerging green technology. I am genuinely pleased with the focus of our efforts and the level of success attained during such a short time frame. Here is a snapshot of the ses- sion: Strengthening the Job Market… I hear time and time again that the biggest ob- stacle small businesses face to creating jobs is a lack of access to working capital. That’s why we voted to provide capital and other resources for small businesses that create new, full-time jobs in Oregon. Key bills include: • HB 3698 – BOOST: Establishes a fund to provide loans and grants to help small business- es that create new jobs and hire Oregonians. • SB 1017 – Accessing Business Capital: Makes it easier for businesses to access funds from the Oregon Business Development Fund. • HB 3644 – Economic Gardening: Creates a task force and establishes a fund to support fast- growth industries to be funded solely from grants, donations and gifts. • HB 3627 – Allows a tax credit of up to $500,000 for the investment of severance pay into a new or existing business (Small Business Investment Act). • HB 3646 - Adjusts existing state bonding statutes to allow for the new federal Build Amer- ica Bonds process by allowing federal rebates to be deposited into the state’s debt service funds. Helping Struggling Families… Too many Oregonians are unemployed and struggling to find jobs. Unemployment benefits will run out for 12,000 over the next few months, and about 1,000 unemployed workers will lose their benefits each additional week. We voted to extend unemployment benefits for these fami- lies. We also worked to ensure that families are protected from foreclosure and unfair lending practices. Key bills include: • HB 3655 – Unemployment Benefits Ex- tension: Extends unemployment benefits for nearly 19,000 Oregonians whose benefits have run out or will soon expire. • HB 3656 – Mortgage Protection: Protects families who lose their homes to foreclosure from also being sued by lenders on remaining deficiencies on certain loans. • SB 1045 – Prohibits the use of credit histo- ries in the hiring process unless a credit history would be job related, and its use must be dis- closed to the applicant. Investing in the Future… Oregon is fast becoming a center for the growing alternative energy industry and we need to continue to encourage these high-skills, high- wage jobs. That’s why we voted to encourage these types of industries to locate in Oregon. Key bills include: • HB 3649 – Hydropower: Provides stability and growth potential for low-impact hydropower facilities throughout the state. See Salem Scene on Page 14 Aryan Nations. Mayor Bob Quinton spoke against their at- tempt to purchase property in John Day and the community responded. Letters, signs, ral- lies and a large showing at pub- lic meetings made it clear that they would not tolerate hate groups in their town. Former white supremacists have said that hate groups “test” a community by taking action and then seeing if any- one in the community re- sponds. If they don’t, they set up shop. This could happen any- where, so let’s make sure com- munities all over the state stay alert and be ready to challenge any such groups. Just because we are rural does not mean that we would tolerate racist hate activity. Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity - CCCHD Invitation to join with Christian gathering To the Editor: We envision the Pioneer Baptist Fellowship to be a gath- ering of families where God is worshiped, the Bible is taught, the truth of Scripture is applied, all peoples are discipled and lovingly embraced, and the Gospel is intentionally pro- claimed to the ends of the earth. I, John Cahill, am the Pastor, and my wife, Lynda, is the mu- sician, helper, inspiration and whatever else God calls on her to do. If you have been helped by the Police, Fire, or Ambu- lance, you will recognize me, as I have been their chaplain for the last 30 years. I retired from the First Baptist Church two years ago but am now re- fired for the Lord. Our first service on Sunday, March 7, was well attended. We invite you to attend this brand new work and help us with all the tasks it takes to See Letters on Page 14 Policy on Letters The INDEPENDENT will not publish letters with per- sonal attacks on private citi- zens. Preference will be giv- en to brief letters, 300 words or less. All letters must be signed and include a verifiable ad- dress or phone number.