The INDEPENDENT, January 4, 2012
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
Loss of credit is why
businesses decline
To the Editor:
“Thanks for the Laugh”.
In reference to your Decem-
ber 21, 2011 article on why
small businesses are not thriv-
ing, I have to say thank you for
the laughs. As a business own-
er when I first saw the article on
why small businesses are not
thriving I thought maybe some-
one is finally going to shed
some real light on this. But,
what I read was a bunch of
governmental statistical politi-
cal garbage!
Uncertainty? What the heck
is that? As a business owner I
will tell you first hand that from
conveyor belt manufacturing,
construction, or gun manufac-
turing, the main and foremost
reason small businesses are
not thriving is because of the
thieving banks in this country.
They got their billions of dollars
in bailouts and then they bailed
on every small business in this
country leaving them high and
dry! There is no longer such a
thing as a business line of
credit, construction loans, or
SBA loans for any small busi-
ness. When you take away
working capital from a business
it will not thrive!
The only uncertainty I have
experienced in the small busi-
ness world is wondering how
are we going to make payroll,
finance projects, advertise
more, or expand into new mar-
kets that are available to us
when we cannot even borrow
ten lousy cents from any bank
in the U.S? I have the work to
create many good paying jobs
with benefits but I don’t have
the working capital any more to
fund it so I have to turn it down.
How wrong is that? It takes
money to make money, and
when the banks take away your
cash flow for no reason, small
Vernonia 2011 Year in Review
From page 2
revoked for life. Kay appeals.
Aug. 4 – City councilors Nicks and Burch recalled by
over 73% and removed from office on Aug. 5.
Aug. 5-7 – 55th Friendship Jamboree.
Aug. 8 – Work begins on new 7-acre wetland at old
mill site.
Aug. 20 – New West Oregon Electric Cooperative
building dedicated.
Aug. 21 – Old Grad picnic.
Aug 29 – City council appoints new councilors Bruce
McNair, Kim Tierney and Donna Webb.
Brent Thompson sworn in as police officer.
Sept. 1 – First day of school
Sept. 6 – City council hires Bill Haack for City Admin
istrator.
Sept. 7 – Community Garage Sale.
Sept. 15 – Camrin Eyrrick appointed to school board.
Sept. 16-18 – St. Mary’s Quilt Fair.
Oct. 1 – Salmon Festival.
Nov. 4 – Mike Kay files letter of intent to sue city for
“high six figures”.
Nov. 21 – Matthew Brady sworn in as police officer.
Dec. 3-4 – Christmas in the Country Bazaar.
Dec. 6 – Vernonia school town hall announces plans
for New Spencer Park.
Dec. 11 – Vernonian Mackenzie Carr named 2012
Miss Rodeo America.
Dec. 13 – Loren Loomis, Dan Hanson, and Jesse Har
bour promoted to lieutenants of Vernonia Rur-
al Fire Protection District.
businesses will fail.
Banks too big to fail and too
fat on tax payers bailout money
that could care less about em-
ploying the people of this coun-
try is the only reason small
businesses are failing in Amer-
ica! Fortunately for us we have
a lot of perseverance and a few
good contracts to make a come
back without the help of our
current banking systems.
Michael Botchie
Rainier
every single one of us. Only to
inspire to educate for the well
being of the human race, to be
nice and be humble and God
will have mercy on you.
“Yes, Virginia, there is a
Santa Claus and he lives with-
in you and me.” Thanking Him
for all my blessings.
Happiness prevails,
Virginia Kepner
Vernonia
Wishing happiness
to all in the new year
Policy on Letters
To the Editor:
Happiest of New Year’s to
All. Through all my trials and
difficulties, I’ve conquered with
ambition, only to recover with
highest hopes, happiness and
justice for all.
Wishing everyone, PEACE
in this world, not just the white,
black, or red, but each and
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.
City Update
Haack gives update on the waste-
water treatment project
by Bill Haack, Administrator
City of Vernonia
On Tuesday December 27,
2011, the City of Vernonia se-
lection review committee met
to review and rate the two re-
sponses to the Requests for
Qualifications to provide design
and final engineering services
for the Wastewater Treatment
Plant Improvement Project.
Curran-McLoed, Inc. Con-
sulting Engineers (CM) and
Tetra Tech Engineering and Ar-
chitecture Services (TT) sub-
mitted responses to the RFQ
by the 2:00 p.m. Thursday De-
cember 22, 2011, deadline,
therefore becoming the eligible
pool of candidates.
The selection committee
met as a group and provided
their rated assessments to the
City Recorder. The City Re-
corder entered the rating and
calculated the rank of each
firm. TT was rated superior to
CM by a ratio of about 3:2.
The selection committee’s
results were provided to the
Public Works Committee at
their meeting December 27,
2012. The PWC recommended
TT to the City Council as the
preferred selection for the de-
sign engineering services for
the Wastewater Treatment
Plant Improvement Project.
I will provide the City Coun-
cil with a recommendation from
the Public Works Committee
authorizing the negotiations on
a pricing contract for the scope
of work described in the RFQ.
Ike Says…
From page 2
there has always been a Coho
run that comes in late Decem-
ber. I had it from a very reliable
source that there were fresh
fish in the lower Nehalem just
before the last storms. Pebble
Creek is one of the streams
where this late run seems to
show up strong. I might just
have to take a walk and see
what this year brought us.
Have a Happy New Year!
Izaak Walton League,
Nehalem Valley Chapter
meets monthly on the 3rd
Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Call
503-429-7193 for location.