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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
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