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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, July 20, 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 Thinks administrator not needed by city To the Editor: I am glad we no longer have a rubber stamp city council. Making good decisions takes time. Right now we have an intel- ligent mayor who is the acting city administrator. By not hav- ing a paid administrator the city is saving a lot of money, money that can be used, and is need- ed to maintain the city. I believe the city is being run as well as when we had a paid administrator. In fact I think it may be run better. When filling the vacant council position I would like someone voted in by the peo- ple of Vernonia. I believe we can wait to fill the vacant coun- cil position until November of 2012. It is time the people of Ver- nonia have a little more say in what is going on in Vernonia. Emil E. Rode Vernonia “Shelly” was loved by many people To the Editor: A celebration of life took place for Rachelle B. Law July 2, 2011. She preferred to be called “Shelly”. Shelly was born June 18, 1972, in Portland, attended Beaverton Special Ed., until 1984 when she entered Aloha Christian Academy for three years, then attended Banks Christian School for two years, then Forest Grove High School, where she entered Oregon Special Olympics. Shelly won over 52 medals; gold, bronze and silver, in all sports and equestrian. Shelly graduated, in 1992, from Sun- set High School Shelly was a Champion in life. Mo matter what came her way – she forgave and smiled. Shelly married Mathew in 2001. She gave birth to a baby girl, under much protest from society. However, God won out. Another baby, a boy, was born in February 2006. Shelly got diabetes, then Type II. Shelly moved to Vernonia in 2010. She enjoyed the city and especially Vernonia Senior Center and she volunteered at the Food Bank. Shelly loved the Seventh- day Adventist Church – where her celebration was held. A Mother’s Message: Dear- est Shelly, I didn’t get to say goodbye to you before Jesus took you home. Shelly dedicat- ed her life to Christ in April – Easter of 2011. Shelly never held a grudge and totally forgave all who hurt her. Shelly loved her family, no matter what. I am blessed to have had you in my life. I will miss you and I will never forget you. You will be in my heart till we meet again in Glory. God Speed and Love, Mom. Shelly’s service brought to- gether many who loved her and to support the family. Thank you, Pastor Dennis S.D.A., Foursquare Pastor Carl, As- sembly of God Pastor Wayne Marr, Christian Church Minister Sam Hough and Lance Hol- berg of Good Samaritan Min- istries in Portland. Shelly trusted the wrong people with her life. They re- fused medical care, wouldn’t call 9-1-1. There is a police in- vestigation. Gail B. Law Vernonia CEO Richard Whitehead said the ambulance was dispatched within 20 seconds, but had the aunt called 9-1-1 instead of her niece in the first place, help would have been on the way sooner. Thanks for helping pay for fireworks To the Editor: As the lead pyrotechnician for the Vernonia Fireworks Crew, I would like to say thank you to the following organiza- tions and individuals whose contributions allowed me to put on Vernonia’s 4th of July fire- works show. Vernonia Preven- tion Coalition, Vernonia Volun- teer Fire and Rescue Associa- tion, Vernonia Mini Mart, Ver- nonia Lions Club, Vernonia Boosters, Vernonia Volunteer Ambulance Association, Jack and Randal Harvey, Vernonia Hardware, Vernonia True Val- ue, Randy Carlton, Tobie Finzel, and all who put money in the buckets around town. Tom Ramsey Vernonia Great time had at 911 operator did not July’s First Friday To the Editor: satisfy this caller To the Editor: I called 911 on Tuesday June 28th for my Aunt. I had called from my place of work, because my Aunt had called me because she was having a difficult time talking and breath- ing. I gave them all the informa- tion that was needed, address, telephone, condition and so forth. The 911 operator pro- ceeded to tell me that I should- n’t have called for her that she should have called herself, I told her that she was having difficulty talking and breathing, the whole time I just wanted her to get the ambulance to her and get her help. When I got to the hospital to see her she told me that the 911 operator called her after I had talked with her and told her to call 911 for her- self from now on. I really took offense to this because what if the person was unconscious and couldn’t call for them- selves. I just thought that I needed to voice my concern about the attitude of this indi- vidual that works for 911. Tina Brewington Vernonia Editor’s Note: Columbia 9-1-1 July’s First Friday, at the Scout Cabin, featured a gor- geous summer evening of local crafts, original art works, and the magical Celtic music of Alexander Adams. Children painted stars and decorated cookies. Thank you to all the visitors who stopped by and to the Boy Scouts for a moving flag retirement ceremony. Thanks also go to Forest Wheeler for making balloon hats and cats for the kids, and to Sentry Market for donating cookies for decorating. First Friday supports Hands-on Art in Vernonia and it couldn’t hap- pen without the generous ef- forts of all the volunteers who set up, kept things running smoothly and cleaned up after- wards. Diana Peach Vernonia First Friday Burch says problems are Haack’s fault To the Editor: I am not a political person. I have no grand ideas what will save the world. And I don’t think it is realistic to believe our government has all of the an- swers. But I do believe people can get creative to solve their problems if they are open to communication. The situation in our town has shown what happens when communication breaks down. I was cautiously optimistic to be honored by the vote of con- fidence by the citizens of Ver- nonia. While I realize not every- one voted for me or even likes me I believed I could help bring the community together for the better of everyone. And the vote was overwhelming. I stated I wanted to see change in our government. And I wanted to address the prob- lem with irresponsible spend- ing Vernonia has suffered by our leaders. I wanted to see openness between the City Council, City Management and the people. To help us move in a positive direction. While deal- ing with the very real threats to the way of life here. What I walked into was a struggle to educate myself in the very thing I prided myself in, the ability to communicate. I was told by our Pro Tem City Administrator, Bill Haack, I could no longer attend the meetings I had been attending for years. I was presented with a confidentiality agreement from our cities [sic] attorney and was pressured to sign it. This ran right up against my beliefs and created a feeling of distrust from the city manage- ment. But I made up my mind I would do my best to help these people to trust me. This doesn’t mean I would just blindly do what they told me to but I would find a way to work this out and build trust. Our relationship deteriorated when I stepped into office with- out as much as a brief state- ment from our Pro Tem Admin- istrator. It rapidly went down hill when I was made aware of some serious spending on problems related to our police Please see page 20 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.