The INDEPENDENT, November 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
Thanks to all; please
don’t neglect issues
To the Editor:
I would like to thank all those
who supported me in my run for
mayor. I would also like to con-
gratulate Josette Mitchell for
winning the office.
There are a couple of issues
I would like to see addressed:
First – our water bill is over
double that of the people living
in Beaverton.
Second – Hwy 47 has few
passing spots and few turnoffs.
I would like to see the City of
Vernonia work with ODOT to
provide more turnoff places. I
have hit two deer and have
come close to hitting many oth-
ers so I drive quite slow on this
hwy. I know that annoys other
drivers who are not afraid of hit-
ting a deer.
Emil Rode
Vernonia
Congratulations to all
voters; good choices
To the Editor:
I would first like to thank
everyone who went out and
voted on November 2nd and
made a difference in the future
of Vernonia, Oregon, and the
USA. I would also like to thank
all of you in Vernonia that felt I
could help to lead this commu-
nity to recovery and cast your
votes for me.
When I first decided to run
for city council it was because I
felt that we (Vernonia) needed
some new blood and a change
of direction. I knew there were
going to be some tough deci-
sions that would need to be
made, and I wanted to make
sure we had the people in place
who were willing to make those
decisions. Once I went down
and registered to run for coun-
cil and then later saw who was
running and the number of peo-
ple running, I felt much better
about everything. I believe that
for the first time in a long time,
the people of Vernonia had
more than the “same old, same
old” to choose from and that
meant nothing but good things
for the community.
Now I would be lying if I said
that I wasn’t a little disappoint-
ed that I didn’t win, I mean it’s
human nature to want to win,
and when you have spent a
good deal of your life as a com-
petitor and winner, you don’t
like the taste of defeat. BUT, I
really like the choices the peo-
ple of Vernonia made. I think
we have a new Mayor who can
effectively lead the council, and
I think the young ladies who
were elected to the council
seats will do a great job. I had
an opportunity to speak to both
of them before the elections,
and I wanted to vote for both of
them. I think they both have the
backbone to stand up for their
beliefs, and I think they both
have nothing but what’s best
for our community at heart. I
also believe they know there
are still tough times ahead and
know there will be tough choic-
es to be made and are willing to
take the heat for making those
choices.
It is my belief Vernonia is
turning the page and starting a
new chapter and I am very ex-
cited to see what’s in store. At
the time I am writing this letter,
it is still too early to tell who will
be leading our state, but it is my
hope Oregonians will remem-
ber what happened in the past
and why they changed leader-
ship before, and will move in
the new direction. We have
seen across the nation that
people do not like what is hap-
pening, and I think the new
faces that will be in Washington
don’t want any of the old crap
that has been dished out by ei-
ther of the parties, and will lead
us in a direction that is about
the people and the constitution.
I didn’t mean to get on a
soap box, I was only writing to
say thank you to all my support-
ers and if in the future I see a
need for someone to step up, I
will do so knowing I have many
friends and supporters in the
community who believe in me.
Thank you once again and con-
gratulations to Mayor Josette
Mitchell, Councilor Willow
Burch, and Councilor Marilyn
Nicks.
Ernie Smith
Vernonia
Voters confirm: No
hospital in county
To the Editor:
The People Have Spoken –
In a resounding three to one
voice the voters in the Colum-
bia Health District have made it
very clear through initiative 5-
209 on a 10,065 yes to 3,824
no, they do not want the health
board to precede any further in
their quest to build a hospital on
Millard Road.
After many years of misman-
agement by the Columbia
Health District it is time for them
to stop and in my humble opin-
ion tender their resignations im-
mediately. If and when the
board decides to continue to
appeal and challenge the will of
the people, they will find that
the people will hold them ac-
countable. I realize the State
and or the Oregon Supreme
Court may well get involved in
this debacle, however the ball
could and should fall directly on
the elected County Commis-
sioners in Columbia County.
They have the power to stop
the insanity by a rouge special
district and dissolve the special
district completely. In the words
of the Columbia Health District
and I quote: “The overwhelm-
ing voters’ approval of the initia-
tive speaks for itself” may very
well fall on deaf ears now that
these words have come back to
haunt them. This whole situa-
tion has become bigger than a
few hurt egos in this county and
may have consequences for
the Columbia County Commis-
sioners themselves. I hope the
Commissioners do not lose the
trust of the voters as the Co-
lumbia Health District has.
Now that the voters have
taken the ball from the Colum-
bia Health District, we now
throw it onto the court of the
County Commissioners. They
must decide now if they are
with the Columbia Health Dis-
trict or with the people, choose
well because your future politi-
cal aspirations my well be de-
cided on the decisions you
make on this issue.
Jamie L. Maygra
Deer Island
Is Chanukkah also a
Christian holiday?
To the Editor:
Could Chanukkah be a
Christian holiday? What does
December 25th mean? To most
Americans, it means Christ-
mas. To most Christians, it
means the birth of the Messiah.
But literally it means the 25th
day of the tenth month. Sep-
tember means 7th; October
means 8th; November means
9th; and December means
10th. The 9th, 10th, 11th and
12th months of our Gregor-
ian/Roman
calendar (G/R)
roughly correspond to the 7th,
8th, 9th and 10th months of the
Biblical calendar (B/C). The
correlation is very rough be-
cause our G/R calendar is
based on the earth’s yearly ro-
tation around the sun, whereas
the Biblical calendar is based
on the moon’s monthly rotation
around the earth. Each new
month starts as the first sliver of
the new moon is viewed, right
at sundown. The first month of
the Biblical year is determined
by the ripeness of the barley
harvest in Jerusalem. Why bar-
ley? I don’t know. The Bible
says this is God’s system.
Many Biblical scholars be-
lieve that the Messiah was ac-
tually born in the fall, probably
during the Feast of Taberna-
cles. “The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us.” (John
1:14a) Tabernacles is a Latin
word that means the same as
the Hebrew word Sukkoth. In
English, it means tents. The
Feast of Tabernacles occurs in
the 7th month (B/C) for eight
days. This year it occurred
September 25th through Octo-
ber 2nd (G/R).
I was surprised to find out
that our own Pilgrims were ac-
tually celebrating this Feast of
Tabernacles at the first Thanks-
giving and it lasted eight days.
Now that would put a few inch-
es on your waistlines! Presi-
dent Lincoln decided that the
United States would celebrate
Thanksgiving on the last Thurs-
day of November. Canada also
celebrates Thanksgiving, but in
October.
The Messiah’s birth during
the Feast of Tabernacles
makes sense to me. Joseph
and Mary could take care of
two requirements in one trip:
God’s requirement for all Jew-
ish men to make their harvest
offering in Jerusalem and Cae-
sar’s requirement to register at
the town of their birth, Bethle-
hem. Bethlehem is the birth
place of those Jews in the royal
line of King David, and it is only
Please see page 10
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.