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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, October 21, 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 It’s time for change of city leadership To the Editor: We urge you to vote for Josette Mitchell for Mayor. Change is good, and it’s time for a change in Vernonia. Many changes are coming in the next few years and Josette Mitchell is the one to lead us through those changes. Josette Mitchell was an ex- tremely competent team leader of the Ford Family Co-hort 2 project to build the Courtyard next to the Learning Center. She propped us up when we got discouraged and kept the project going through to the end. She researched each step and knew how and why we were doing things and made sure they were done correctly. Josette Mitchell volunteered for the City Budget Committee – a thankless job. She had the confidence to make hard deci- sions and was willing to stand behind all the decisions she made. Again, she researched, investigated and knew what she was talking about. Josette Mitchell has been a leader in keeping the Vernonia Learning Center open. She has donated countless volunteer ef- forts to the community. Josette lives in Vernonia with her hus- band, Casey, and daughter, Sailor. As a family they volun- teer for many community proj- ects. We urge you to vote for Josette Mitchell for Mayor of Vernonia. She’s a leader you can count on to get the job done. Carol Davis, Tobie Finzel, Kathy Larsen, Vernonia Heimuller is right for Columbia County To the Editor: Please vote Henry Heimuller for County Commissioner Posi- tion 2. I have known Henry per- sonally for many years, and served with him on the RSVP Advisory Council. I respect him and I think he is the best choice for County Commissioner. Henry has lived in Columbia County all his life, and he has served on many different boards and committees. I espe- cially appreciate his commit- ment to our senior citizens. As County Commissioner, he’ll make sure they have trans- portation options, and bolster the senior advocate programs at local senior centers, and call on seniors to continue to con- tribute their time and talents to our community. His kind of sup- port and encouragement for our seniors is a win-win situa- tion that improves life for every- one in the county. I will be honored to vote for Henry Heimuller for County Commissioner, and I encour- age you to vote for him too. Cheryl A Welter St. Helens Candidate states her mayoral priorities To the Editor: Citizens of Vernonia: My name is Josette Mitchell. I am running for Mayor of Vernonia. I moved to Vernonia in 1999 and worked in the Vernonia School District from 1999-2003 as an elementary school teacher. My participation in community or- ganizations started in 2000 when I joined the Board of Di- rectors for Vernonia Cares Food Bank, and currently I serve as Board Treasurer. In 2005, I was asked to be a part of the committee for the soon- to-be Vernonia Community Learning Center (VCLC); cur- rently I am the Chair of the VCLC Committee. In 2008 I was appointed to the City Bud- get committee, and this year I became Budget Committee Chair. Other community in- volvement includes Vernonia Salmon Festival, Ford Family Cohort 2, Hands-On Art, First Friday, and Open Air Market. The City of Vernonia needs focused attention. I already have a solid understanding of the city budget. In order to sur- vive, Vernonia must live within its means. The City Council is responsible for steering proj- ects forward, being attentive to what is before them, and doing what is in the best interest for the greatest good of Vernonia. As mayor, I will initiate a return to formal council sessions, and use action lists for tracking and following up on council deci- sions so issues don’t fall through the cracks. I will hold both City Council and myself to a high standard of due dili- gence, accountability, trans- parency, and clear unbiased communication of council deci- sions with our fellow citizens. I am the motivated and produc- tive leader Vernonia needs. Please vote for me, Josette Mitchell, for City of Vernonia Mayor. Sincerely, Josette Mitchell Vernonia Homecoming help is greatly appreciated To the Editor: The Leadership class of Ver- nonia High School would like to thank the following people for their help during our 2010 Homecoming Week. We had a great week and couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you: Tom Ramsey and the Vernonia Fire Dept., Mark Brown, Barb Carr, Ms. Bell, Mr. Ward, Carol Senn, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Delemos, Ms. Safier, Mrs. Willard, Mr. White- man, Lisa Edgar, Julie Ramsey, Kathi Fetsch, James Brookins, Mr. Fellas, Mike Fetch, Deanna Pearl, Randy Parrow, Ginger Westlake, Julie Benes, Mr. Lower, John Steward, and for anyone we missed…once again we thank you! Jackson Miller PR Representative VHS Leadership Class Area citizen urges voting for Mitchell To the Editor: I don’t get to vote for the next Vernonia Mayor. I live South of town. But, I’ve got much more than a Post Office box invest- ment in the city. I’m the District 5 board member at WOEC and Erika, my wife, spends weeks each year with Vernonia Hands-On Art, arranging and promoting each First Friday and working with the High School art program. We more than care. We invest our abili- ties and talents for Vernonia. More than ever, circum- stances demand a strong may- or with leadership stamina through the foreseeable future. So I’m asking you to elect Josette Mitchell as Vernonia’s next Mayor. I have witnessed her in action and you have ob- served and enjoyed the results of Josette’s uncompromising personal drive, exceptional managerial skills and inex- haustible efforts to improve the lives of 97064 citizens. Personal, local and munici- pal budgets have no expecta- tion of imminent improvement - Josette’s the one who took pre- cise action to identify and acted firmly to resolve fiscal uncer- tainty before the city overspent. Recognized over the long haul - Vernonia’s Citizen of Year for 2009. More than a presence at meetings – physically led the Salmon Festival group and team that built VCLC’s new courtyard. Clarity of achievable goals, vision to adapt to circum- stances and outstanding moti- vator of people working with her, Josette Mitchell is the es- tablished capable leader will- ing, ready and able to lead Ver- nonia through continuing diffi- cult times. I’d vote for her know- Please see page 21 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. Out of My Mind… From page 2 capital gains, but he thinks working people should understand that they need to shoulder more of the burden! Few Oregonians earn their living from capital gains and few have big businesses. Most of us work for a living – or would if those tax breaks for the wealthy were used to create jobs here, instead of in China. We, in the Vernonia School District, should be concerned if Dudley is elected. Even though we passed a $13 million school bond, what will happen to the support we are getting from Salem? Kitzhaber wants to reduce capital gains taxes, though only for Oregon investments. But he also began the “solutions group” ap- proach for small communities, like Vernonia, with problems that are too big for us to solve alone. Without continued support from Salem, will we be able to complete our new school? Or will we have to use some mods on the new site?