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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, October 5, 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 Good warning about dogs and salmon To the Editor: Being a lover of all animals and especially dogs, I was so happy to see your article on salmon poisoning and potential death for dogs! I live on Fish- hawk Lake and several years ago, came within a hair’s breadth of losing our beloved Golden Retriever, Jenna, be- cause she ate salmon that spawn up there in the creeks every year. I took her into the vet’s office in Hillsboro, who misdiagnosed her initially (we’ve changed vets since). This is why I am writing this, because the symptoms can easily present as any number of OTHER diagnoses…and time is of the essence in saving our pets after they’ve eaten salmon, and MUST be correct- ly diagnosed quickly. If a veteri- narian doesn’t often see this, or is not aware of the travelling someone has done near a river or other waters during salmon spawning season (as an exam- ple), then you, as the dog own- er have to be their advocate and let them know that it could be from eating salmon! I list and sell real estate at Fishhawk Lake and tell all of my clients who have dogs about this hazard and have an article of my own about it on one of my websites, too. You have to also be especially aware of puppies doing the same thing (my young Golden Retriever pup got into salmon during a long spawning season and I’m thankful to Dr. Goza’s office and the Vernonia Phar- macy for having the antibiotics readily handy for me to get ahold of quickly and thus sav- ing his life). Time is of the essence in saving your dog’s life. I would recommend that this article be resurrected every year as salmon spawning be- gins. Thank you! Gayle C. Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Note: We, at The Independent, are dog owners and advocates, and run this article every year. Young athlete works to earn tourney fund To the Editor: Hello to all; my name is Pay- ton Wolf and for those of you who don’t remember me, I play tournament Softball. I am in the 7th grade now and am playing for a new team, Blaze~Ohana, out of Beaverton. I switched teams to get a little more com- petitive and because I wanted to be able to go to Colorado for Western Nationals. We will be going to Colorado at the end of June 2012, and I am responsi- ble for paying my way to get there. Last year I fundraised and earned the whole amount of money I needed to play on my Softball team. That is my plan again this year and I am so thankful for all of you who sup- ported me and participated in my fundraisers. I have a new fundraiser I am doing which is selling Christmas Wreaths. I have three different styles and from those styles you can choose what size you’d like. There is the regular round Salem Scene By Representative Brad Witt Oregon District 31 I’m writing this on September 22 from Salem as we are in the midst of our quarterly “Legislative Days.” It is our opportunity to hold informational meetings in anticipation of the full session in February 2012. We also circle back with the agencies to make sure that legis- lation already passed is being implemented properly. Since our legislature is not full-time, we need these opportunities to collect data, discuss options for possible solutions and draft appropri- ate legislation. A case in point is the current difficulty being experienced by participants in the Senior Tax Deferral Program. Under the program, the state pays the property taxes for qualified applicants, and then the state is paid back when the proper- ty is sold or the person dies and their estate pays the deferred property taxes plus interest. This program is designed to be self-funding, but the current housing crisis has created havoc with the process and it is now $19 million in the hole. In order to protect the long-term viability of the program, the legislature passed HB 2453 last session, which requires reapplication every two years, imposes a house value “test,” and discon- tinues participation by those who hold a reverse mortgage. The House Revenue Committee has asked the Department of Revenue to prepare a full report on this issue including who was de- nied, why they were denied and what options are available to the Legislature when we recon- vene in February. It is my opinion that we need to do everything that we can to protect the abili- ty of senior citizens to stay in their homes. Another point of discussion during these leg- islative days is the September Revenue Fore- cast that we received at the end of August. There are many in our state that are still suffer- ing greatly from this recession however, com- pared to the national economy, Oregon’s econo- my seems to be showing some preliminary signs of improvement. Our job rate increase is in the top 25% in the nation, and we have added private sector jobs every quarter since the beginning of the year. The investments we made in the Jobs and Transportation Act, capital construction projects and healthy kids in 2009 have all helped spur job increases in important sectors of our economy. On the budget side, we have enough in re- serves to cover the current revenue decline. So for the time being, our best course of action is “steady as we go.” We continue to emphasize fiscal prudence and we join the Governor in urg- ing all agencies to be cautious with their spend- ing. This global recession has been longer and deeper than anyone could have predicted. Let’s hope we see the end of this soon… It’s been a terrific summer with lots of in-dis- trict events, county fairs and city festivals. It’s a great opportunity to meet constituents face-to- face and listen to your concerns. Please be as- sured that my staff and I continue to be available by email, letter or phone, so don’t hesitate to contact us. wreath, swag or candy cane shaped wreath. They range anywhere from $15-$36 de- pending on the size you want. I am also still collecting cans and bottles or any other donation you may have. If you are interested in pur- chasing a wreath or just want to donate your cans, please call me or my parents, Steve and Amanda Wolf, at 503-429- 0457 or e-mail (amandawo@ msn.com). Thanks so much for your support, Payton Wolf Vernonia Help needed for trip to Washington, D.C. To the Editor: My name is Bradley Ely, and I am 13 and an 8th grade stu- dent at Vernonia Middle School this year. I have been accepted into the Leadership class and I am going on a Close-Up trip with them to Washington D.C., but I first have to raise about $2,000. To help with this I would like to ask you to call when you have any spare cans and bottles that are lying around that you would like picked up and I can return for money. It will be appreciated very much and will help me get closer to my goal! The class is also holding drives for you to drop off cans and bottles where we will all split the money on November 19th, January 7th, and March 17th. Our leader- ship class is also selling poin- settias that you can order from any one of us. I am leaving in April so you can call me at any time be- tween now and then. If you would like to reach me, you can call 503-429-5709. I also do bake sales at Sentry on Oct. 22, Nov. 18 and Jan. 20. Those also help me earn money, so you can buy jams, jellies and fresh baked goods there if you Please see page 10 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.