The INDEPENDENT, April 18, 2012
More from the candidates
From page 11
the North County who also
feels that way, people now feel
free to call me with those types
of concerns. They think the out-
lying areas are represented
well.
Luttrell – Try to open up com-
munication. I lived in Vernonia
for 3-1/2 years. Need to try to
get residents to share their
needs, or call and let us know.
Preheim – Vernonia is part of
the county and needs services
too. I know Clatskanie has the
same feeling. I’d like to have
meetings in these community
during hours when people can
attend. One thing that bothers
me is that the current county
commissioners only meet at 10
a.m. on Wednesdays while
86% of the county’s residents
commute. We want to have
meetings at night and move
them around.
7. What do you see as the
most important issue for
county commissioners at
this time?
Fisher – The biggest issue is fi-
nance, absolutely finance. We
have worked hard to get OR-
PET, PCC, Port Westward. But
when you have to cut $2 million
out of the budget – that’s peo-
ple, that’s services.
Luttrell – The budget. There is
less and less money and de-
mand for service isn’t going
down. I’m very concerned
about services for veterans and
seniors. You have to make a
priority list and do the best you
can with what you have. I have
been on the Port’s [Port of St.
Helens] budget committee and
the audit committee, so I have
knowledge in those areas.
Preheim – Resolving the hospi-
tal district problem. I hope that
gets resolved before the next
county commissioners take
their seats in January. Also, the
budget, the sheriff’s office,
jobs, the economy and tax
abatements to try to get jobs –
like PGE building a plant with
only two jobs but having a 15-
year, $33 million tax abate-
ment. $33 million for two jobs is
not a good idea. Also, there is a
$2 million budget shortfall and
there are problems with collect-
ing the mineral depletion
monies.
8. Why should Vernonians
vote for you?
Fisher – I’m the candidate most
qualified, both by background,
experience and temperament. I
think I’ve been responsive to
the community. I’ve talked to
Ken Cox, I’ve had calls from
past Vernonia Mayors and
have helped. I’ve made sure
that those [who live] 15 or more
miles out of St. Helens have
had my attention. We’re con-
cerned about all citizens, re-
gardless of where they live.
Luttrell – I have a heart for Ver-
nonia. I know what the flooding
is like. I have a soft spot for
Vernonia, having lived there.
Preheim – I think it’s time for
change. In particular, the per-
son from Vernonia has been
there 20 years. I’m dedicated to
doing things differently and
having an open door policy. If
you think the current county
commissioners have been do-
ing a good job, okay, but if not
it’s time for twoforchange.info.
9. Anything else you’d like to
tell our readers (plans, direc-
tions, etc.)?
Fisher – The key to making it
through the next 3-5 years –
state economists project 3-5
more years of difficult times – is
to get cooperation in order to
solve the problems that real
people have.
Luttrell – If elected, you can
count on me to be a man of
honesty, integrity and hard
work. I’ve worked in the woods
and I know what that’s like. I’d
appreciate Vernonians’ sup-
port.
Preheim – I’d like to see us try
to do something for small busi-
nesses. Small businesses are
the backbone of our county
economy, not big businesses.
One idea is to allow group poli-
cies through the chamber of
commerce. I’d like to see a
separate group (like in Lincoln
County) do this through a Shop
Local program.
About the Candidates
for Position 1:
Earl Fisher has been a
school teacher, principal and
then superintendent at Clatska-
nie before retiring in 2001. He
then started doing community
work. In 2008 he was elected
to Commissioner Position 1.
He lives in Clatskanie with his
wife of 43 years, Margaret.
Terry Luttrell grew up in St.
Helens and on a farm on Deer
Island. He has been a pastor
since 1979, a position that has
taken him to many parts of
Oregon. He has worked as a
school superintendent and for
many years as a journeyman
mechanic at Boise before retir-
ing in 1981. He returned to St.
Helens in 2002 to serve as
pastor at the Columbia Christ-
ian Center. He and his wife,
Susan, have three grown chil-
dren and two grandchildren. He
has served on the Port Com-
mission and is on the County
Planning Commission.
Brady Norman Preheim
grew up in Columbia County,
graduating from St. Helens
High School in 1982. He went
to OSU for a couple years, then
got a summer job in South Car-
olina, before getting a job at a
computer store in Washington,
D.C. in 1984, where he eventu-
ally started his own computer
business. He returned to Ore-
gon in 1997, worked for a while
at Intel, then opened Preheim
Computers which will celebrate
Page 13
15 years of operation on July 1.
DON’T MARK
YOUR BALLOTS YET!
The Columbia County
commissioner
candidates for
Position 3 will be
featured in the
May 2 issue.
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
We have Liftoff!
The long wait is finally
over and we have begun
work on two projects si-
multaneously. The under-
grounding and system
work for the new Vernonia
School and the new Sub-
station both started on the 9th of April.
It never ceases to amaze me the amount of
time, money, and effort it takes to do all of the
preliminary paperwork, go through all of the gov-
ernmental bureaucracies, and the many pro-
cesses to get something built. After more than a
year of work, we finally have all of the permits
and paperwork completed to begin construction
of the new main substation in Vernonia. The
new substation will take about six months to
complete and will entail building a new substa-
tion structure at our pole yard facility, which sits
well above the flood plain. The transformers for
the new substation were paid for by a federal
earmark of $475,000 that we received due to the
efforts of Senator Ron Wyden,
and then Senator Gordon
Smith and Representative
David Wu. The project will also
entail constructing new trans-
mission lines from Hwy 47 up
to the substation, and under-
grounding transmission lines
along Hwy 47 and down the
linear trail through Anderson
Park. It is the largest substa-
tion project in West Oregon
history and will provide for both
the current and future needs of
Vernonia and the surrounding
areas, and will increase sys-
tem reliability and longevity.
The new Vernonia School
project is at the stage of work-
ing on the roads, sidewalks,
and utility lines going to the
school. We will be under-
grounding lines to the new
school from the highway and
are coordinating efforts with
the construction crews, ODOT,
and other utilities to make this
happen on time for the school
to open this fall.
We have secured the lien
release from Rural Utility Ser-
vices (RUS) of the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture on our old facility and, once signatures from
Cooperative Finance Corporation are received,
we will have the documents recorded. Once
recorded, we will be completing the sale of the
facilities and property to FEMA, who will then
have 90 days to complete demolition of the
buildings. The property will then be turned over
to the City of Vernonia, which is restricted to use
it as a park, parking lot, or a community garden,
but the site can never be built on again as it is in
the flood plain. The proceeds of the sale of the
old facilities and property will be applied directly
to the loan for the new facilities. We will begin
work on the remainder of Cougar Street and
Rose Avenue, starting May 7th to complete the
new facilities project.
It is a busy time at WOEC, but then again, it
always seems to be a busy place here. Hopeful-
ly, the last of the winter storms are over and we
can get back to our regular projects and work.
We will be replacing some poles that our inspec-
tions have shown are marginal, continuing our
tree trimming program, and repairs to the sys-
tem, along with our regular maintenance work.
We are proud to serve the members of West
Oregon and appreciate the opportunity to do so.