The INDEPENDENT, April 21, 2011
Page 5
ODJ’s new Top 10 complaint list Come learn how to Larger Open Air Market approved
Oregon Attorney General can be found at https:// refinish furniture
At the April 18 Vernonia City cil:
John Kroger, in mid-March, rec-
ognized National Consumer
Protection Week by announc-
ing the Oregon Department of
Justice’s Top 10 Consumer
Complaint List for 2010.
“Scammers and crooked
companies continue to target
seniors, people who have lost
their homes and other vulnera-
ble Oregon consumers,” Attor-
ney General Kroger said. “We
will continue to aggressively
pursue malefactors in and out
of court.”
The Top 10 Consumer Com-
plaints include telecommunica-
tions, international money
transfer schemes, homeowner-
ship issues, collection agen-
cies, financial institutions, mo-
tor vehicle sales, health prod-
ucts, internet retailers, telemar-
keters and construction con-
tractors.
Attorney General Kroger
also announced enhancements
to Be InfORmed, the Oregon
Department of Justice’s Con-
sumer Complaint search fea-
ture introduced last year. Be In-
fORmed now allows users to
conduct searches by zip code
or geographical area, so they
can search for complaints
against businesses in their
neighborhood. Be InfORmed
justice.oregon.gov/complaints/.
The raw data from Be In-
formed has also been made
available at http://data.oregon.
gov/ in a format that private
sector software developers can
use to create applications,
mashups and visualizations.
Oregon has one of the most
innovative consumer protection
programs in the country. The
program operates exclusively
on funds recovered from com-
panies that break the law. DOJ
in 2010 recovered more than
$22 million for Oregon workers,
consumers and investors with-
out spending a single taxpayer
dollar.
The Attorney General’s Con-
sumer Hotline, at 1-877-877-
9392, is staffed by a team of
volunteers who fielded 33,529
calls in 2010. The Department
of Justice last year also re-
ceived 12,963 written com-
plaints.
Attorney General John
Kroger leads the Oregon De-
partment of Justice. The De-
partment’s mission is to fight
crime and fraud, protect the en-
vironment, improve child wel-
fare, promote a positive busi-
ness climate and defend the
rights of all Oregonians.
ARRA funds Courthouse upgrades
Energy-efficient retrofitting is
set to start on two projects
awarded a total of $758,073 in
federal funds by the Oregon
Department of Energy. The Co-
lumbia County Courthouse and
the Columbia County Rider
Transit Facility received funding
for installation of new energy
efficient heating and ventilation
systems and weatherization.
The projects are funded by the
American Recovery and Rein-
vestment Act (ARRA) and
awarded through the State En-
ergy Program (SEP) and Ener-
gy Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grant Program. These
funds are designated for ener-
gy efficiency and renewable en-
ergy projects in public build-
ings. The U.S. Department of
Energy administers the funds,
approves the projects and re-
views the state’s progress.
Expected annual energy
savings for each facility from
the energy efficiency improve-
ments are:
• Columbia County Court-
house: $57,000
• Columbia County Rider
Transit Facility: $1,000
Tony Hyde, Chair of the Co-
lumbia County Board of Com-
missioners commented, “As a
county, we are facing signifi-
cant revenue shortfalls. The en-
ergy savings from these effi-
ciency improvements will not
only help us mitigate some of
the shortfall, but provide long
term savings.”
“We are pleased to have
made these awards to the Co-
lumbia County Courthouse and
Rider Transit Center,” said Paul
Egbert, manager of the Oregon
Department of Energy ARRA
team. “These facilities have
high public use, and these im-
provements will save energy
each month and provide a more
comfortable environment for
occupants.”
The Oregon Department of
Energy received more than
1,100 letters of interest, repre-
senting requests of over $2 bil-
lion in Recovery Act funding.
Spring finally has arrived and
so has Murphy Furniture’s free
finishing clinic. Join owner Mary
Murphy-Holub on Saturday,
April 30, at 10:00 a.m. for two
fun filled hours, as she demon-
strates the latest in do-it-your-
self finishing and restoring tech-
niques. If you have a refinishing
adventure you’ve been hesitant
to tackle, Mary is just the cheer-
leader you’ve needed to con-
quer that perplexing project.
First time finishers will dis-
cover easy to use finishes with
low VOC (Volatile Organic
Compounds) and quick dry
time. Mary will show the ease of
working with glaze effects, milk
paints and other decorative fin-
ishes. Also to be demonstrated
is a simple wipe on, wipe off
product called Restore A Finish.
Many finished wood surfaces
that seem to need a complete
refinishing job can be restored
in a few minutes, instead of be-
ing stripped and refinished. All
clinic attendees will receive
special values on everything
needed to complete their task.
If you are unable to make the
clinic, stop by Murphy’s any
time for expert advice on com-
mon stripping and staining
questions.
To reserve a spot at the clin-
ic, call Murphy’s Furniture at
503-640-1124,
email
mary@murphysfurniture.net or
stop by the store at 2962 Base-
line (T.V Highway) in Cornelius.
Bridge work set
on Highway 26
The Oregon Department of
Transportation is currently re-
moving and replacing the
Volmer Creek and Johnson
Creek Bridges on U.S. 26 just
east of U.S. 101.
There is 24-hour flagging
between midnight on Sundays
and 3:00 p.m. on Fridays at
Milepost 2 and 3, with single
lane alternating traffic during
the demolition of the existing
bridges and construction of the
new bridges. Delays are not an-
ticipated to be over 20 minutes.
The majority of the work is
anticipated to occur in the
months of April through July,
with completion expected in
October of this year.
For more information on the t
project, visit our web site at
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/
HWY/REGION2/US26_Volmer
andJohn sonCreek.shtml.
Council meeting, Mayor Josette
Mitchell reported that League of
Oregon Cities Member Ser-
vices Director Jennie Messmer
is working through the applica-
tions received for the city ad-
ministrator position and has
asked for a meeting with coun-
cil in two weeks. Council
agreed to a special meeting on
May 9 for this purpose.
Council heard, and ap-
proved, a request to expand the
Open Air Market this year. The
Open Air Market is being
moved to Saturday (from Friday
evening) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00
p.m., and will run from June 4
through October 1. The market
will continue using space in the
Vernonia Community Learning
Center courtyard, but will also
use part Madison Avenue, from
Bridge Street to the driveway of
Grey Dawn Gallery (with the
street closed to traffic).
In other business, the coun-
• Heard a presentation on
rave parties, given by DeAnna
Pearl of the Vernonia Preven-
tion Coalition;
• approved, and the Mayor
appointed, Mitch Seibert to the
Vernonia Economic Develop-
ment Committee;
• approved an agreement
with Columbia 9-1-1 Communi-
cations District for operation
and maintenance of the radio
site on Corey Hill;
• agreed that Councilor Mar-
ilyn Nicks and Interim City Ad-
ministrator Bill Haack should
act as an Ad Hoc committee on
the scope of a project on “im-
proving communications” that
was requested by Nicks;
• approved resolutions 12-11
and 13-11 for the next two flood
acquisition projects.
The next regularly scheduled
council meeting will be May 2,
at 7:00 p.m. in city hall.