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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2011)
Page 2 The The INDEPENDENT, July 6, 2011 INDEPENDENT Published on the first and third Wednesdays of each month by The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410. Deadline is noon the Friday before each issue. Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net Printed on recycled paper with vegetable based dyes Opinion How did Vernonia get here? Recently, Vernonia City Council came to a standstill while trying to choose someone to replace voter re- called Kevin Hudson’s council position. Councilor Par- row and Mayor Mitchell refused to budge on their choice of former City Councilor Brett Costley. Coun- cilors Nicks and Burch also refused to budge on their choice, Victoria Peters. We interviewed Peters when she ran for Mayor. She seems to be intelligent and with good general knowl- edge of how to get things done in meetings. We wish we could say the same about Costley. Mitchell and Parrow said they chose Costley be- cause he has previous experience as a City Councilor. Costley’s experience is part of the reason the City has the problems it is faced with today. He went right along with the other councilors while they made poor choic- es and ignored facts. At one meeting when council was complaining about coverage in The Independent, Edi- tor Rebecca McGaugh told them, “Don’t shoot the messenger.” Costley vehemently shouted, “If the the messenger lies he deserves to be shot!” Costley di- verted blame and made accusations without proof, then when it looked like he might be voted out of office, he resigned. Costley is not part of the solution, he’s part of the problem. Another recall has started When three members of Vernonia’s city council decid- ed to terminate Bill Haack’s contract as interim city ad- ministrator they started a chain reaction that is still ac- tive. One of those councilors, Kevin Hudson, was re- called in May. On July 5, recalls were started on the oth- er two councilors, Willow Burch and Marilyn Nicks. We hope, when the dust settles and a new council is seated, that they listen to the community and not just special in- terests. A great 4th of July this year Another great 4th of July has come and gone. The parade in Vernonia, while perhaps not as long as some years, certainly showed the red, white, and blue with plenty of enthusiasm (and candy). The Vernonia Booster burgers (with grilled onions) were as good as ever, too. Thanks for keeping it small town, Vernonia. Ike Says… By Dale Webb, member Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League Once again I have been told that the local trout fishery was a suc- cess this year. I have seen quite a bit of activi- ty on the Nehalem River this year, with many campers at Big Eddy Park and lots of rafts and boats tied onto vehicles. The higher than average stream flows, so far this year, probably have something to do with this. Dad and I made our customary trip to the Snake River the first week in June. Like last year, there was a lot of water moving through the reservoirs, and this had a negative effect on the fishery. We had to search a little harder for the right combination of jig to get the crappie to bite, but once we nailed it we were rewarded with nice size crappie, averaging around a foot long. Most people were having a hard time catching any amount of crappie. I feel this was due to the Please see page 10