The INDEPENDENT, May 19, 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
313 Hart 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
Appalled, shocked at
Council actions
To the Editor:
I have just returned home af-
ter attending City Council meet-
ing. I am appalled, stunned,
mortified, and shocked at the
unprecedented malicious be-
havior of three of our council
members - our city representa-
tives! I am ashamed to have
them represent our community.
A community that is in horrific
need of the services of our
present Interim City Administra-
tor. Bill Haack has stepped up
to the plate to help Vernonia re-
cover its equilibrium after the
previous City Administrator
lacked the ability to manage our
city.
How the three culpable
council members can turn city
meetings into a three-ring cir-
cus by manipulating and post-
poning important issues to slow
up city proceedings for their
own benefit and personal is-
sues is unconscionable.
Oregon Perspective
By Senator Jeff Merkley
For most families,
summer means little
league games, 4th of
July parades, and
backyard barbeques.
But in recent years,
America has added a
new, unwelcome sum-
mer tradition: rising gas
prices. Prices in Ore-
gon have jumped a dollar in the last year and po-
litical turmoil in the Middle East continues to
drive them even higher. Further turmoil, such as
a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina or a
man-made disaster like the BP gulf oil spill,
would push prices higher still.
Skyrocketing gas prices are like a tax on
working families. And it is the worst possible tax
in the sense that it ships our energy dollars over-
seas, enriching the Middle East while hurting job
creation here at home. We need to take concrete
steps both to lower costs at the pump now and to
gradually reduce the grip oil companies and
petro-dictators have on our economy.
We should tap into the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve during this period of uncertainty as we
did during the first Gulf War. We should use the
revenue raised when the government sells oil
from the Reserve to fund measures to reduce oil
demand. We should also crack down on Wall
Street speculators who are buying up oil to drive
prices higher and end massive subsidies to big
oil and gas companies that just announced bil-
lions in new profits. Big oil is doing just fine –
they don’t need extra help from taxpayers.
The key to keeping fuel costs down over the
longer term is to steer America toward oil inde-
pendence. We can reduce our need for foreign
oil by promoting the use of homegrown energy,
like the second-generation biofuels being devel-
oped from woody biomass here in Oregon; by in-
creasing fuel efficiency; by making homes and
businesses more energy efficient; by promoting
alternative modes of transportation, like rail,
mass transit, and cycling; and by investing in
new technologies like electric vehicles. And to
keep attention focused on the issue, we need to
create a National Energy Security Council.
These steps could eliminate our dependence
on non-North American oil in 20 years, not with
drastic changes to our lifestyle or by assuming
magic new technologies, but just by making
smart choices. Kicking our addiction to foreign oil
means lower fuel costs for families and busi-
nesses, cleaner air and water, and a more se-
cure nation. By counting on American ingenuity,
we will strengthen the economy and create jobs
right here in America.
Economic inequality
hurts core suppliers
Out of My Mind…
From page 2
• COUNCIL/COMMITTEES – goal setting, an-
nual budget process, roles and responsibilities
• PARKS – hire part time temp position/s, se-
cure new housing at airport, review each park
host’s job, coordinate with school district on
Spencer Park, update Parks master plan, secure
$25K park planning grant, write ODFW R&E
grant for docks
• BROWNFIELDS – review opportunities for
funding at OBDD, DEQ, EPA; implement EPA
Brownfield if awarded; coordinate with DEQ on
buyout properties that have soil contamination is-
sues
• OPEN SPACE – work with council to estab-
lish a open space policy
• FEMA COMPLIANCE – work with council to
establish a FEMA flood plain management and
code enforcement policy and hire a code en-
forcement official
That’s a long and complicated list of projects
that, with the exception of City Systems and
Council/Committees, all require the cooperation
and assistance, both technical and financial, of
other agencies. The lack of adequate local man-
I applaud Sharon Bernal for
being “The Voice of Reason” by
stating personal issues should
not enter city business. She
was patient, adult, and reason-
able in her presentation.
As it turned out, the three
city council people in question
chose not to listen to Sharon or
the audience for that matter.
One of our newest council peo-
ple stated she did not have time
to read the 300 page packet
nor could she walk across the
street to read the packet at City
Hall. Why is she continuing on
as a city council person if she
does not have the time????
These three council people
should not serve on council if
they let personal issues cloud
the greater picture. That picture
being the greater welfare of
Vernonia and its citizens.
After all, these council mem-
bers are supposed to be work-
ing for us! Our entire communi-
ty is going to suffer as a result
of their attitudes and decisions.
We voted them into office to
represent the populace of our
community - not themselves! If
anyone should be fired from
their jobs for non-performance,
it should be them and not Bill
Haack!
I suggest we begin the “Re-
call” process to rid City Council
of these three members.
Sincerely,
Janelle Thomas Cedergreen
Vernonia
agement has caused years of delay for the older
projects, and may well result in worse results for
many of the post-flood projects.
FEMA compliance, for instance, doesn’t
sound complicated; after all, the city passed the
required ordinances. The problem is that an ordi-
nance that isn’t enforced is hard to distinguish
from an ordinance that doesn’t exist.
Without a functional flood plain management
policy and enforcement, FEMA could well decide
that it would be a fiscal boondoggle to help us re-
locate our senior center, food bank and health
clinic. Time is running out, and we could lose all
federal assistance in any future floods, and even
lose flood insurance coverage.
Every one of those long-neglected projects in-
volves potentially serious financial ramifications.
But Kevin Hudson, Willow Burch and Marilyn
Nicks either never thought about that, or they
don’t care. Apparently they skipped that little bit
about council members serving the citizens of
Vernonia. They deserve to be recalled.
*Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition,
2011 revision.
To the Editor:
Economists have traditional-
ly listed what they refer to as
the “four factors of production,”
meaning Land, Labor, Capital
and Legal Underpinnings.
Primitive stages of economic
development are marked pri-
marily by “labor-intensive” ac-
tivity of the sort that tends
crops, raises livestock and digs
Please see page 22
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.