The independent., July 20, 2011, Page Page 21, Image 21

The INDEPENDENT, July 20, 2011
Page 21
Letters
From page 20
There was plenty to tell council.
I have seen evidence where he
took steps to hide his involve-
ment while deceiving council.
He attempted to let the public
believe this was a joint decision
made with council’s approval.
I have nothing to hide and
no hidden agenda. There is no
room in our local government
for such things. At the start of
my term I believed the largest
threat to our way of life in Ver-
nonia lay in the sewer. Now I
see my statement in the voter
pamphlet, “It’s time for change
in Vernonia City Government”
is absolutely true. My intentions
are and have always been to
do my best for the citizens of
Vernonia.
“BRINGING PEOPLE TO-
GETHER TO GET THINGS
DONE…that’s my commit-
ment.”
Willow Burch
Vernonia
Nicks says problems
are Haack’s fault
To the Editor:
When running for City Coun-
cil I stated that I would work
hard, ask questions, research,
and learn what I needed to
learn. I have spent on average
40 hrs a week fulfilling that
statement. However I was not
new to the workings of the city.
I had spent several years being
a member of committees and
attending city functions and
meetings. Several days after
the November election I re-
ceived an email from Bill Haack
welcoming us with an invite to
meet for orientation within 30
days, sharing links to help edu-
cate us, a recommendation to
step out of leadership roles on
City Committees and a request
to not attend the Planning
Commission meetings. I also
received an invite and met with
Joann and Angie as well. I was
very optimistic and encouraged
to begin. We all knew we were
inheriting problems and had
huge issues facing us such as
hiring a permanent City Admin-
istrator, council training, and
goal setting to name a few.
Signs we had other issues be-
gan to unfold. In an effort to be-
come informed, an executive
session was requested to-
wards the end of January. Bill’s
response was that we didn’t
have an issue to bring to exec-
utive session. Again a request
was made for executive ses-
sion regarding any outstanding
investigation involving the City
of Vernonia and any past inves-
tigation related to the ongoing
investigation. Bill replied we
are not scheduling an execu-
tive session at this time as
there was no specific topic to
discuss. Once again, an execu-
tive session was requested. Al-
though we finally received one,
we were not fully informed of
many vital issues. It was much
later that we became aware of
Bill’s actions. It concerns me
that the K-9 contract was
brought before Council for ap-
proval with unresolved certifi-
cation issues. Three months af-
ter Bill’s invite, I finally met with
him on February 17th. During
that meeting was when he pro-
jected that water/sewer bills
would increase as much as
$85.00 a month. His apparent
lack of concern troubled me. At
that meeting, I also asked if he
was interested in the City Ad-
ministrator job. He was non-
committal. That’s one reason
why I voted for the League of
Oregon Cities process. The
other reasons were to be fair
and to give the City a wider
range of choices. From the be-
ginning of my term, it was diffi-
cult to get information from Bill,
such as the Brown & Caldwell
summary
concerning
the
wastewater treatment plant. I
was very concerned with the
deteriorating relationship, so, in
April, I proposed we call in a
mediator. With several options
for a mediator, Bill was to con-
tact them. A panel consisting of
Bill, a councilor (me) and a citi-
zen would set the scope. After
Bill contacted Jim Johnson, he
notified me that Jim would con-
tact me directly, and withdrew
from the process. At the May
2nd Council meeting, I did not
think it was appropriate for Bill
to disseminate anything other
than a press release when an
employee’s due process had
not taken place. It was stated
that the information was an up-
date, however, Council already
had the information. I believed
it to be a potential liability for
the City. It was not my intention
to withhold information from the
public. Although Bill may have
expertise in some areas, I do
not believe he is the appropri-
ate choice for City Administra-
tor. His idea of a treatment
plant that costs approximately
$10 million, with a $1 million
maintenance cost; increasing
the cost of a project manager
from $60,000 to $170,000 per
year; not putting $157,000 in
our loan reserve even though
the audit states that it’s neces-
sary; and a sewer fund that, in
two years, will be in the nega-
tive just to maintain the present
level of spending are some of
my reasons. I have not deliber-
ated as part of a quorum or
broken any public meeting
laws. All of my decisions were
made with the best interests of
the citizens of Vernonia in
mind. It deeply saddens me
that our town has become so
divided. It is my hope that we
can begin working together and
move forward. Please vote no
on the recall.
Marilyn Nicks
Vernonia City Councilor
Obituary
RACHELLE B. “SHELLY”
LAW
Rachelle Beverly “Shelly”
Law, 39, Vernonia, died June
23, 2011. Private interment has
been held.
Ms. Law was born June 18,
1972, in Portland, to David J.
and Gail B. (Rich) Law. She
graduated from Sunset High
School in 1992.
She won more than 52
medals in Special Olympics.
She enjoyed volleyball, basket-
ball, softball, and sprinting.
Survivors include her moth-
er of Vernonia; one son and
one daughter, both of Vernonia.
Tualatin Valley Funeral Al-
ternatives in Hillsboro was in
charge of arrangements.
FRAZIER HARLAN ROHM
Frazier Harlan Rohm, 79,
Vernonia, died July 2, 2011. A
celebration of lfe was held July
16.
Mr. Rohm was born Septem-
ber 23, 1931, in Chicago, Illi-
nois, to Zeta Mary Jarvis and
Frederick Harlan Rohm. He at-
tended Reed College, then re-
ceived a bachelor’s degree in
science from the University of
Frazier H. Rohm
Washington and a PhD in Inor-
ganic Chemistry from Washing-
ton State University. He worked
for many years at Tektronix in
their Analytical Lab.
His life mate for over 40
years was Katharine Denckla.
He was a generous man
with a wry, compelling sense of
humor. He held strong opinions
and loved to travel.
He was preceded in death
by his sister, Dorita J. Kerner.
Survivors include his life
mate; children, William Anton
Rohm, Michael Tigger and Su-
san Marie Rohm, Lisa Lee
Rohm, Mary Margaret Miller,
Karen Lee and Earl Davis, Jen-
nifer Anne and Martin Holm;
one sister, Deborah Balkis
Smith; 11 grandchildren; one
soon to be born great-grand-
daughter; one niece.
Remembrances are sug-
gested to the Vernonia Rural
Fire Department or Vernonia
Cares Food Bank.
JOSHUA G. “JOSH” WAT-
SON
Joshua Gayl “Josh” Watson,
34, Vernonia, died July 10,
2011 of injuries received in a
motor vehicle accident. Private
cremation rites have been held.
Joshua G. “Josh” Watson
He enjoyed hunting, fishing,
and his dog, Brody.
Survivors include his wife,
Natalie Watson; his daughter,
Kelsea J. Watson; his parents,
grandparents, aunts, uncles,
cousins, nieces and nephews.
Remembrances are sug-
gested to the Dale C.
Houck/Kelsea J. Watson Bene-
fit Memorial Fund at any Wells
Fargo Bank branch.
Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral
Home was in charge of
arrangements.
Mr. Watson was born March
29,1977, in McMinnville, to
Gaylon Patrick Watson and
Connie Lynn (Miller) Watson
Houck. He was raised in New-
berg. He moved to Vernonia in
2010.
In Loving Memory of
Linda Webster
November 15, 1950
July 21, 2008
Terry