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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2010)
Page 20 The INDEPENDENT, October 7, 2010 Candidate interviews provided to help voters decide who to elect From page 15 the final analysis, that will draw industries that will create new and better employment oppor- tunities and a better quality of life for us all. 7. Anything else you’d like to tell our readers (plans, direc- tions, etc.)? Ball – I will continue to encour- age citizens to come to city council meetings to see what council does and express opin- ions on issues facing Vernonia. Experiencing the processes the city must follow to make a deci- sion may provide understand- ing of: Why decisions take so long to make; what the reasons for a decision are, and that your opinion isn’t the only one that must be taken into considera- tion. Burch – I’d like to see people get education on the issues and the candidates and vote. Helmer – I have had a wonder- ful time serving on council, so far, and I’ve learned more than I thought I would. It’s made me want to sit up there longer and learn more about our wonderful city and it’s citizens. Johnson, E. – We need positive change and positive attitudes. The public has the right to know what their council is doing and the council should work for the citizens. If elected, that’s what I will do. Johnson, S. – I want to apolo- gize for missing the forum. I was at the high school on a panel as a community resource person for people with disabili- ties. Nicks – I’d like to see our city on the cutting edge, not always a day late and a dollar short. I’m a hard worker and I’m going to work real hard to make things better for the people of Vernonia. My plan is to work for them. I don’t have an agenda. A platform, yes, but not an agen- da. Smith – I believe we are a long way from recovery right now and it’s going to take everybody to bring it about. Everyone’s got to run for office or volunteer or somehow take a part. My run- ning for office is my part to try to make things better. Tschache – We have a great deal of intelligent, creative, artistic people here in Vernonia. The promotion of our artistic side has brought many new people into town. We need a larger presence on the Internet, one that will open a whole new audience to the diverse, artistic endeavors contained in Ver- nonia, maybe even make a few more bucks for the city. In a similar manner, I’d like to see some sort of venue where we can regularly get together, share ideas and have fun creat- ing a new Vernonia. From the Candidates: Cindy Ball has lived in Ver- nonia since just after the flood in February 2006. She works at Intel Corporation as a Senior Administrative Assistant. She has been on council or served as mayor most of the time she’s lived here. She has also been involved with the Upper Ne- halem Watershed Council, the Vernonia Museum, the VCLC and is a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member. She and her husband, Dan, have two grown daugh- ters. Willow Burch moved here from Rainier nine years ago with her partner, Jay. They own and operate Vernonia Hard- ware. Burch was a commercial fisher out of Clatskanie for 20 years, has worked as a Waste- water treatment plant operator, and as an OSHA Certified Safety Coordinator. She is cur- rently a Chamber of Commerce member, is on the city Public Works Committee and is a member of the Downtown As- sociation. Catherine Helmer is an Ad- ministrative Secretary for the Beaverton School District. She was appointed to city council on July 17, 2010. She’s been See Candidate on page 21 Willow Burch Vernonia City Council As a local business owner I believe involving the community keeps information and ideas flowing both ways to make effective decisions that benefit our community. Bringing People together to get things done… That’s my commitment. Paid for by Willow Burch