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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, February 17, 2011 Page 5 Business Notes TenderCare ® Dental Center now open in Banks TenderCare ® Dental Center is now open in Banks. Dr. An- drew Thompson, D.M.D., has had an office in North Plains since April 2002, and opened the Banks office on January 4, 2011. Dr. Thompson’s history with Banks goes back to his high school days, when his fa- ther, Dr. Robert Thompson, opened a dental office in Banks in the building most recently used by Benson Realty. The elder Dr. Thompson had son Andrew dig under the building to work on the foundation. The elder Dr. Thompson also opened the dental office in the current location in Vernon- ia, before selling out to his brother, Dr. Ernie Thompson, who then sold the practice to Dr. Scott VanDyken. But, back to Banks. Dr. An- drew Thompson looked at space beside Jim’s Thriftway about 10 years ago, but wasn’t able to get the right amount of space for the right amount of money at that time. About a year and a half ago, he stopped in again and found that now the right space was available. Why Banks? Dr. Thompson did some investigation and found that Banks was the only incor- porated Oregon city of its size without a dentist. “That’s really interesting,” he said to himself. Looking further, he looked at the number of children in the school district and decided, “I felt there was a need and they’d appreciate having me here.” Dr. Thompson is part of a family of dentists. His wife is a dentist, in the Bethany area, as are his father, his uncle, his cousin and his sister’s hus- band. So far, none of his three children; Halle (age 10), Kyle (age 8) or Heath (age 3) have declared an intention to follow the family profession, but there’s still time. TenderCare ® Dental Center in Banks serves adults and chil- dren and also provides some orthodontic care. They are open on alternating Wednes- days and Thursdays, with five chairs available. Between North Plains and Banks, the phones are set to transfer auto- matically, so patients can al- ways reach them. They are lo- cated at 664 S. Main St. in Banks, beside Jim’s Thriftway. TenderCare ® Dental Center’s goal is, “Quality dentistry deliv- ered tenderly.” Call 503-747- 3409 for an appointment, or go to www.tendercaredentist.com for more information. Nominees sought for Congressional Medal of Honor Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merk- ley announced, on February 3, that the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation is now ac- cepting nominations for the Cit- izen Service Before Self Hon- ors, which recognize and honor extraordinary Americans who have acted with courage and selflessness. Citizen Honors are exceptional because they are presented to unsung he- roes by our nation’s most hon- ored heroes – the fewer than 90 living Medal of Honor Recip- ients. “In communities across Ore- gon, there are exceptional indi- viduals who make sacrifices for others and routinely go the ex- tra mile to care for their neigh- bors and fellow Americans,” Merkley said. “I encourage Oregonians to nominate indi- viduals who have demonstrat- ed exceptional commitment to their community and country.” Citizen Service Before Self Honor recipients represent the values of courage, sacrifice and selfless service. Senator Merkley and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society en- courage individuals to nomi- nate any United States civilian who has clearly demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice for others, whether it has been through a single act of extraor- dinary heroism at risk to one’s life or through a prolonged se- ries of selfless acts. The nomi- nee’s actions must epitomize the concept of “service before self” and must be performed “above and beyond” one’s pro- fessional or vocational area of responsibility or conduct. Citizens may submit an eligi- ble nominee by completing the nomination form online via the Citizen Service Before Self web site at http://citizenservicebe foreselfhonors.org. The dead- line for nominations is Friday, February 18, 2011. A panel of judges, to include Medal of Honor recipients, will consider all nominations and select a finalist from every state, plus the District of Co- lumbia. From among the state finalists, three individuals will be selected to receive Citizen Honors and recognized at a ceremony on Friday, March 25, 2011, in conjunction with Na- tional Medal of Honor Day. The ceremony will be held in the shadow of the Tomb of the Un- knowns at Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Volunteer urges others to get active in community From page 1 too. Attending the Vernonia Area Chamber of Commerce meet- ings on behalf of Vernonia Pride got her started with the Chamber. Webb said her goal at the chamber was, “To get Vernonia on the map. I think the flood may have helped that more than I, but I am pretty sure I had a good hand in it. I know I tried hard enough.” Webb served the Chamber for about six years, leaving the po- sition of President earlier this year. Webb also volunteered as a host parent for foreign ex- change students, with Vernonia First Friday, Jamboree, Salmon Fest, Riverfest (now defunct), the Grange, Study Club, as Cy- cle Oregon coordinator, and worked getting signatures to take to Salem to get local call- ing service here. Now Webb has cut back on her volunteer hours to enjoy family, including new grandchil- dren. Her final comment was, “The only thing I will say is THANK YOU, Vernonia resi- dents and friends. I have loved serving my community. I love Vernonia.” Just goes to show that a per- son can work full-time and still be involved in the community. Webb hopes her story acts as a challenge, so more community members get out and volunteer. Dr. Andrew Thompson, D.M.D. Watch state legislature floor sessions, more, live on-line Oregon’s legislative pro- ceedings can be viewed on-line with coverage of all committee hearings, Senate and House floor sessions and news con- ferences available over the Legislature’s website (www.ore gon legislature.gov). The website offers live video and audio streams from each of the Capitol’s two chambers, 11 hearing rooms, and from news conferences held in the Capitol press room and Gover- nor’s Ceremonial Office. The Legislature’s website also of- fers 24/7 access to archived audio recordings of all legisla- tive proceedings going back to the 1999 session. For more in- formation on how to access the audio/video resources on the website, contact the Legislative Information Services Help Desk at 503-986-1914. Legislative Administration also recently decided not to ex- tend the pilot project called the Oregon Channel, which is car- ried by only six cable public ac- cess channels at limited times each day, compared with 24/7 access of all legislative pro- ceedings available to Oregoni- ans via the Legislature’s web- site. The Oregon Channel pilot was launched during the 2007 legislative session, in partner- ship with Oregon Public Broad- casting and Southern Oregon Public Television. The Oregon Channel will be discontinued on July 1, 2011, following the conclusion of the current Leg- islative session. “We are working to provide cost-effective and easy access to audio and video for the most number of Oregon citizens. The Legislature’s website is an ex- cellent resource for Oregoni- ans to follow a wide range of legislative proceedings from floor sessions to committee hearings to news conferences,” said Legislative Media Ser- vices Manager Bill Gross.