Page 18
The INDEPENDENT, January 18, 2012
Out of My Mind…
WEATHER REPORT
DECEMBER 2011
From page 2
Face, in 1995. His web site
doesn’t mention what
his prior work experience has
been, nor have I seen that in-
formation elsewhere. He refers
to himself as a job creator, not-
ing that he has had 60 employ-
ees; presently, he has four full-
time and two part-time employ-
ees. In the past he ran afoul of
the IRS, which levied a tax lien
of $83,284 against Game Face
for not paying payroll withhold-
ing taxes for nine months, a
problem he blames on “an em-
ployee”. As a former small busi-
ness owner for 20 years, I can
only wonder if he actually ig-
nored his business’ fiscal re-
sponsibility for nine months,
and also whether he thinks that
blaming an employee some-
how negates his responsibility.
Neither approach demon-
strates responsible decision-
making.
PolitiFact Oregon, a fact-
checking feature of The Ore-
gonian, has chimed in on a few
claims of both candidates. In
their decisions as to the factual
basis of political statements by
the candidates, Bonamici re-
ceived two Trues and one
False. Cornilles earned one
True, one Mostly True, one
Mostly False, and one Pants on
Fire.
In his ads, Cornilles contin-
ues to use the Pants on Fire
claim about Bonamici’s votes
for taxes, even though it was
judged egregiously untrue (If
you are unfamiliar with it, the
Pants on Fire rating is derived
from a children’s rhyme of “Liar,
Liar, Pants on Fire”.), which
seems like another problem
with responsible decision-mak-
ing. Bonamici’s False claim
was about her own record, not
about Cornilles, and was a
one-time statement.
One clear difference be-
tween Bonamici and Cornilles
is abortion. Bonamici supports
women’s rights to make their
own health-care decisions;
Cornilles thinks abortion should
be illegal except in cases of
rape, incest or risk to the life of
the mother. Since I’m much
older than the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision making abor-
tion legal in Roe vs. Wade, I re-
member deaths and other hor-
rific results from illegal abor-
tions and won’t vote for a can-
didate who wants to put gov-
ernment in a woman’s uterus.
We each have a right to our
opinions, and I don’t question
Cornilles opinion on abortion; I
simply disagree with him. But I
must question his decision-
making ability, and feel that he
needs to get some experience
in an elective office that is not
From page 4
ers have tried to keep water
and sewer rates as low as pos-
sible. By focusing on only the
“hard” operating costs to craft
rates for users, our leaders
erred, neglecting the City’s re-
sponsibility to set aside re-
serves for replacement. Be-
cause we have in the past
been able to raise significant
capital through state and feder-
al grants, we have been able to
keep our system functioning
despite having effectively set
aside no meaningful reserves
for replacement from within our
rate structure.
Unfortunately, we can no
longer depend on this ap-
proach. For the last 20 years
state and federal grants for wa-
ter and sewer projects have
been diminishing and are now
virtually nonexistent. The best
we can hope for is reduced in-
terest rates rather than large
outright grants. Recognizing
this changing funding environ-
ment, the Public Works Com-
mittee and City Council have
concluded that it is in the best
interest of our ratepayers to be-
gin setting aside sufficient re-
serves for future replacements
of our water plant and distribu-
tion system. By raising the
monies needed for these proj-
ects over a long period of time,
we can best stabilize future
rates.
years ago. He was a lineman
for West Oregon Electric Coop-
erative until his retirement.
He enjoyed dancing, gar-
dening, fishing, hunting, the
beach and clam digging. He
was a very social person with a
great sense of humor.
He was preceded in death
by his wife; a son, Warren
Wayne Aldrich; and a grand-
daughter.
Survivors include his three
daughters, Sharon L. McKee of
Longview, Wash., Judy Lynn
McDonald of Vernonia; and
Betty Jo Hiler of Kelso, Wash.;
12 grandchildren, 22 great-
grandchildren, and 14 great-
great-grandchildren.
Remembrances are sug-
gested to Home Health & Hos-
pice in Longview, Wash.
CHARLES D. COMSTOCK
Charles D. Comstock, 83,
Bellevue, Washington, died
December 27, 2011. A celebra-
tion of life was held January 13
at
Newport
Presbyterian
Church in Bellevue, Wash.
Mr. Comstock was born De-
cember 20, 1928, in Longview,
Wash., to George and Viola
Comstock. His father was a
power station operator in
Keasey. In 1941, after his fa-
ther’s death, the family moved
to Tacoma, where he graduat-
ed from Lincoln High School in
1947. He attended Washington
State College majoring in hotel
and restaurant administration,
while working as a bellhop at
Seattle’s Olympic Hotel. He
worked for Westin Hotels and
Resorts for 30 years, then for
Hotel Systems International in
Los Angeles.
In 1962, he married June
Marie Johnson.
He received an award, in
2007, from WSU’s School of
Hospitality Business Manage-
ment for his contributions to the
industry and the school.
Survivors include his wife; a
son, Charles Mark Comstock of
Studio City, California; a
daughter, Tracy Marie Jones
Morris of Athens, Alabama; a
sister, Jane Garl Avera of Van-
couver, Wash.; and four grand-
children.
Remembrances are sug-
gested to WSU School of Hos-
pitality Business Management.
as pressure-filled as the U.S.
House of Representatives.
Bonamici has learned how
to work in pressure-filled situa-
tions, and has demonstrated
her ability to make thoughtful
decisions in a bipartisan state
House of Representatives. She
is the best choice to effectively
represent the people of Ore-
gon’s first district.
Water rates reviewed by committee
DATE
TEMPERATURE
HI
LO
PRECIP.
AMT.
1
47
28
--
2
46
31
--
3
47
25
--
4
44
30
--
5
41
25
--
6
42
25
.02
7
44
27
--
8
44
23
--
9
44
24
--
10
52
21
.04
11
38
31
--
12
41
19
--
13
41
16
--
14
41
22
.03
15
40
32
T
16
45
29
--
17
51
28
--
18
51
26
.02
19
45
35
--
20
44
30
--
21
43
28
--
22
42
18
--
23
44
26
--
24
48
33
--
25
50
30
.22
26
44
28
.03
27
47
34
.63
28
51
45
.75
29
53
39
1.59
30
49
42
.14
31
44
29
T
Temperature and precipitation
amounts are from the official U.S.
weather station at the Vernonia wa-
ter plant. Measurable precipitation
in December totalled 3.46 inches.
Obituary
WARREN F. ALDRICH
Warren Franklin Aldrich, 95,
Longview, Washington, died
January 7, 2012. A celebration
of life will be held January 21,
at 12:30 p.m., at the Vernonia
Senior Center. Interment was
at Neer City Cemetery in
Rainier.
Mr. Aldrich was born Janu-
ary 14, 1916, in Middle River,
Minnesota, to Ralph M. and
Mary J. (Peterson) Aldrich. The
family moved to Vernonia when
he was eight years old. He
graduated from Vernonia High
School.
In 1936, he married Violet
Ilene Ennis. They made their
home in Vernonia until he
moved to Longview, Wash. 11
DAVID RAY MCCOY
David Ray McCoy, 54, For-
est Grove, died January 1,
2012.
Mr. McCoy was born May
14, 1957, in St. Helens, to
David A. and Rosie McCoy. He
attended elementary school in
Vernonia and Castle Rock,
Washington. During his teen
years he lived in Montana. He
served in the U.S. Marine
Corps. In 1991, he worked at
BIAMP Systems as a mechani-
cal engineer.
He enjoyed fishing, rock
hounding, classic cars and
traveling in Oregon.
Survivors include his wife
Sue Ann; his father of Montana;
his mother of Vernonia; a broth-
er, Pat of Kalispell, Mont.; a sis-
ter Margaret Gilbertson of
Miles City, Mont.; two aunts,
Penny Dean of Vernonia and
Peggy Helvie of Albuquerque,
New Mexico; and two cousins,
Tina Brewington and Richard
Myers, both of Vernonia.
Remembrances are sug-
gested to the American Cancer
Society or a charity of choice.
Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral
Home was in charge of
arrangements.