Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, September 21, 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 ace pl 620 SW Main, Suite e 606 r Portland, OR 97205 o on Phone: 503-326-2901 – n lecti d e Ofc. Bldg. 2338 Rayburn l ne ti House g i Washington, s un DC 20515 e t Phone: R en 202-225-0855 Website: m 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 Learn about how to avoid foreclosure To the Editor: I would like to take a mo- ment and remind community members living in Columbia County that a valuable re- source is available to them in the form of Community Action Team, Inc. This agency not only serves low to moderate in- come households, but house- holds above the moderate in- come level. Recently a Foreclosure Pre- vention Resource meeting was held in St. Helens to provide county community members the opportunity to speak with HUD approved agency coun- selors about foreclosure pre- vention options and tools to help them avoid foreclosure. I was surprised to see the meet- ing poorly attended. We are all aware that deal- ing with banks and servicers regarding difficult situations such as foreclosure prevention can be an uphill battle in most cases. Community Action Team has trained foreclosure prevention counselors avail- able to ease some of the stress this process causes. And the service is free. It is hoped to have another of these meet- ings in a different part of Co- lumbia County in the near fu- ture. I remain the eternal opti- mist. If you would like to know more about these meetings or other services offered by Com- munity Action Team you can visit www. cat-team.org, call Cindy at 503-325-9215, ext. 2303, or e-mail Cindy at cind- kp@cat-team.org Cindy Peake Community Action Team, Inc. Astoria Airport expansion is a threat to rural area To the Editor: After a lengthy and expen- sive battle, the Land Use Board of Appeals allowed Apple valley Aviation to engage in aircraft operations under certain condi- tions. Primarily restricted to agricultural flights, it was a compromise that both sides could live with. Mr Applebee apparently has other plans. From the beginning, he has wanted to expand the original private airstrip into a full- fledged airport. The main im- pediment has been that most of his property is below the flood plain and cannot be built upon. So, that should be the end of it, right? Not necessarily so. Mr. Applebee hired an engineering firm and, Surprise!, 11 feet of flood elevation disappear. With this new information, he has applied to Washington County to continue his expansion with runway improvements, and ex- tension of an “existing” road for parking his big trucks. (Which looks very much like a future taxiway with turn-outs to even- tual hangars.) Washington County, in it’s continuing appeasement, has accepted the application and is considering approval. The flood plain designation was es- tablished long before most can remember and has generally been accepted by state and federal agencies. The Neighbors Against Appl- evalley Expansion (NAAVE) group has once again formed to stop this threat to our rural way of life. Our lawyers and en- gineers have questions about the validity of the findings in this report, especially with pho- tographic evidence of severe flooding in ‘56, ‘96 and 2006. We’ll show that the established line is correct, as it always has been and that our position will prevail. Unfortunately this will take money and we can’t do it alone. Through the generous con- tributions of our supporters in the past, we were able to pre- vent the unbridled expansion attempted last time. It’s unfor- tunate that we have to ask again, but once again the liv- ability of western Washington County is at stake. NAAVE will sponsor an information booth at the Banks Farmer’s Market on Fridays. You can also visit the website at NAAVE.org. Jeff Holmes Banks County man upset by lack of deputies To the Editor: On 9/14/11, Sheriff Dicker- son went public on Fox 12 News stating that effective Oc- tober 1st there will only be one Deputy to patrol the entire County. One deputy to respond to all 9-1-1 calls received daily. This Deputy will, at his or her discretion, choose what calls to respond to. They may not even respond at all! Sheriff Dicker- son was quoted, “If you have a firearm, get trained in the prop- er use of that firearm, and be willing to use it if you need to protect your family.” (Editor’s Note: Sheriff Dick- erson told The Independent his statement was, “If someone’s kicking your door in, a double aught load in your shotgun is a good deterrent.”) Sheriff Dickerson, you made a very powerful statement in telling the residents of Colum- bia County that they may need to be willing to use deadly force but you failed to tell them that if they don’t follow the letter of the law they will be the ones going to jail! I cringe knowing we are go- ing back to the days of calling 9-1-1 and being told by C-Com “sorry no one is on duty or available to respond, you can call back tomorrow or we will take a message and a Deputy will call you back when he or she can”. I expected more from you Sheriff Dickerson, that’s why I voted for you! I feel you are all about excuses and nothing about solutions. Are you pun- ishing the residents of this county for not passing the tax levy so you could spend the money as you saw fit? Where is the Sheriff’s Posse and your Reserve Program? Why don’t you hold the County Commis- sioners responsible for this? The same goes for our Com- missioners. Why are you not holding Sheriff Dickerson ac- countable for his budget that seemed to be adequate prior to the levy? When you focus on nothing but the problems, that is all you will get in return, more problems! In Columbia County, Ore- gon, with a population of 49,351 people we have three County Commissioners that are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the current state of this county. They are Tony Hyde, Earl Fish- er, and Henry Heimuller. I be- lieve it is time We the People start holding these three peo- ple responsible and account- able for our failing Sheriff’s Of- fice. If they cannot come up with a solution to this problem then why are we allowing them to represent the citizens of this County? They are supposed to represent the best interest of the people! If the County Commission- ers and the Sheriff cannot come up with a resolution to keep our Sheriff’s Office func- tioning to a satisfactory level of operations then at a minimum I feel that by October 1st, 2011, the Commissioners should have a County Ordinance in place that allows the citizens of this County the right to use deadly force in the defense and protection of personal property. The right to use deadly force to protect land, tangible, or move- able property. The right to use deadly force to prevent the im- minent commission of Arson, Burglary, Robbery, Aggravated Robbery, Theft during the nighttime, or Criminal Mischief during the nighttime. The right to use deadly force to prevent the criminal that is fleeing im- mediately after committing the crimes listed above or when it is reasonably believed the property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means. Right now in this county there is no other means of recovering or protecting property because the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) is non-existent and does not have the staff to investigate property crimes to recover stolen property. I know this first hand. Now let’s include the right to use deadly force in protection of a third person’s property with these guidelines. The third person has requested the protection and/or the third person is a family member. These are the same laws that are and have been in effect in Texas for quite some time. Now is the time to change the use of deadly force laws in Columbia County. The billboards have just been put up by Sheriff Dickerson welcoming every criminal in the Pacific NW to Columbia County. Change the laws allowing us to defend our property and you can bet that 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.