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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, February 3, 2011 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 Response to tragedy was impressive To the Editor: Even cynics would have to be impressed by the rapid re- sponse to the recent tragic shooting of Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter. Within minutes of the 911 call(s) police units from Longview and Clatskanie were on scene to take control of an unknown situation; fol- lowed very shortly by Port- land’s Incident Command and Employee Assistant Program grief councilors, in addition to countless other responders, who were able to bring this tragedy to its quick and (unfor- tunately) best possible conclu- sion. As a Columbia County resi- dent and small business owner, I wish to convey my thanks to and admiration for these and all the other law enforcement and fire/rescue agencies from sur- rounding districts, especially – but not limited to – Portland and Multnomah and Washington Counties, for their assistance and support to the city of Rainier during this very rough time. These and others not only provided Honor Guard for Chief Painter while he lay in state in Rainier, they assumed enforce- ment and service positions throughout Columbia County on Friday, ensuring all officers and associated personnel with- in the county an opportunity to pay tribute to the Chief by join- ing the cortege from Kelso to Portland and attendant servic- es at UP’s Chiles Center. Not to be ignored are the of- ficers and fire/rescue personnel from far and wide who came to honor the Chief. Joining virtual- ly every Oregon law enforce- ment agency in his procession were representatives from at least British Columbia, Chica- go, and much of western Wash- ington. To all of these we must ex- press our thanks and gratitude, and our sorrow at their loss of a fellow officer. Jay T. White St. Helens Scappoose Muffler Scappoose Follow His light in times of darkness To the Editor: And, it is a Happy New Year! Having my oldest daughter walk away from being sub- merged and upside down in the roaring, over-flowing Nehalem (who stops for no one in its way, with its fierce, treacherous debris) this past Saturday. I thank the Lord for His mercy on me. My girls referred to me as such a “Holy Roller” before. Now after my daughter telling me how she finally got out was by “following the light” in the darkness of the muck – I praise God and cannot stop thanking Him. Never forget to thank the Lord for your life and the lives of those you love. Best wishes to all this year. Virginia Kepner Vernonia anticipated to make the transi- tion to the new partnership with Coastal Family Health Center. We also want to extend our thanks to the dedicated past and present staff for the quality service they have provided this community. Happy retirement and best wishes to you, Dr. Gilmore. Sincerely, Vernonia Health Center Board of Directors Carolyn Keasey, President Marie Krahn, Vice President Bob Wagner, Treasurer Wendy Sears, Secretary Ralph Keasey Darlene McLeod Phil Darrah Rebecca McGaugh Debbie Snook Barb Ervin Dr. Gilmore leaving, services to continue Still need help with To the Editor: tournament funds Many of you have heard around the community that Dr. Gilmore is retiring. The health board was notified by Provi- dence that her retirement date will be March 4, 2011. We would like to take this opportu- nity to thank her for her dedica- tion to this community, which was abundantly apparent dur- ing the flood of 2007, and the sacrifices she made to continue medical services during and af- ter that disaster. As stated in our previous let- ter, we were hoping to have in- formation by the end of 2010 on whether our new partnership was approved. Unfortunately, the Federal government has in- formed this board that the date of notification has been extend- ed to August of 2011. We are happy to inform you of a successful meeting with our new potential partner, Coastal Family Health Center, and our current partner, Provi- dence Health & Services, to en- sure continuity of care during this time of transition. An arrangement was agreed upon by all parties to ensure ade- quate staffing in continuing to provide this community quality services. You will probably notice some new faces at the medical center as the transition unfolds. There are currently positions available for local qualified ap- plicants that can be accessed at providence.org. Employees hired through this process are To the Editor: Hello, this is Payton Wolf and for those of you who don’t remember me, I am the girl who is fundraising for my tourna- ment softball team. I play for the Oregon Red Heat Fastpitch Softball team. I was and still am collecting cans or any other do- nation you may have. Since starting my fundraising in Octo- ber, I have raised almost $500! It has helped me so much and I am so thankful to all of you that called me and donated your cans. I also want to thank those of you that gave me money and a big thanks to Sara Wold who donated her time and profits from a Scentsy Party that she held for me. I still have a little over half my money that I need to raise. I will still be collecting cans through this spring, so you can call if you have any for me to pick-up. I have a couple of new fundraisers coming up and one of them is selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts by the dozen. They will cost $10 per dozen and I am taking orders anytime. They will be available for pick-up on Friday, February 4th, at NAPA Auto Parts from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. If this turns out to be a success- ful fundraiser, I am hoping to do this on the 1st Friday of every month. The 2nd fundraiser I am doing is selling tickets to a Bun- co Tournament. The tickets are $15 each and it will be held on Sunday, March 13th, from 3-6 p.m. in Beaverton. Childcare will be provided by the Red Heat team girls, including my- self. If you are interested in ei- ther of these fundraisers or just want to donate your cans, please call me or my parents, Steve and Amanda Wolf at 503-429-0457 or e-mail (aman- dawo@msn.com). Thanks so much for your support, Payton Wolf Vernonia Priorities for flood mitigation are wrong To the Editor: This letter is probably a little late, but my pot has been boil- ing for so long, it finally boiled over. I’m talking about the new school. I wanted a dam to be built, because then all of these homes in Vernonia would not have to be torn down or raised up. Look at the tax revenue we are going to lose. The people who are left here will be paying higher taxes for years to come. When they built the middle school, I said, “What are they doing? If we have another flood, I’ll get more water in my house,” and I did, seven more inches. What kind of planning was that? Now we are building a new school. I’m wondering about the planning about that, too. The old schools probably need- ed work done on them, but I’m sure they could have been fixed up. I live in an old house but I have to put on a new roof, paint it and make repairs every once in a while. I’ve probably got mold in my house also, but I’m 94 years old and I haven’t died yet. So, I’m very disappointed in the new school, it is costing way too much money. Eleanor Thompson Vernonia 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.
