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The
The INDEPENDENT, May 2, 2012
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Wednesdays of each month
by The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St.,
Vernonia, OR 97064. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Deadline is noon the Friday before each issue.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Printed on recycled paper with vegetable based dyes
Opinion
Need a reason to vote?
The ballots have arrived at most homes by now. Are
you going to vote? That’s the only way to have any
control over the decisions that politicians make that af-
fect all of us.
If you’re upset that politicians are making the same
promises every year, are you voting for someone else
this time around?
Don’t like career politicians? You have absolute con-
trol over term limits, don’t vote for anyone who is not
still in tune with the needs of their incumbents.
On the other hand, if you support your elected offi-
cials, then say so. Don’t complain about all elected of-
ficials, be specific and make your vote count.
Don’t feel you know enough to vote? Or, do you al-
ways vote for the woman (or the man, or the familiar
name)? It can be difficult to become truly knowledge-
able on issues and candidates, but that’s the way to
make your vote be truly meaningful to your values.
There are resources, online or in newspapers and
magazines. Don’t rely on only one source, as you may
get biased or inadequate information. Work to find
sources of information you trust, and use them to help
you make your voting decisions.
Never registered to vote? Don’t believe you can
make a difference? It’s true, it sometimes seems like
voting one way, or the other, for one candidate doesn’t
have much impact in the long run. By not voting, you
have NO impact and aren’t even participating in the
form of government that many have given their lives to
gain and maintain.
If these words don’t persuade you to vote, and vote
responsibly, maybe the following quotes will:
Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not
vote.
– George Jean Nathan
Lower voter participation is a silent threat to our
democracy…it under-represents young people, the
poor, the disabled, those with little education, minori-
ties, and you and me.
– Nancy Neuman
Ike Says…
By Dale Webb, member
Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League
Let’s talk once more
about conserving water.
Whether it was intention-
al or not, the Vernonia
City Council enacted a
conservation water con-
sumption rate. At $4.25
per thousand gallons af-
ter your first two thou-
sand used, this is in the
range of consumption rates found only in se-
verely water restricted areas, like southern Cali-
fornia or the desert west. Using the national av-
erage indoor consumption rate of 6.8 thousand
gallons of water per month, Vernonia ($56.40)
will rank second to only San Diego, California
($71.43). Atlanta, Georgia ($49.50), is said to
have one of the highest rates in the nation, but
that is only when you add in their sewer charges,
which have been mandated by recent court rul-
ings. We will be far higher than Dallas, Texas
($21.89), or Las Vegas, Nevada ($19.48), even
though they have to support far more extensive
reservoir and pipeline projects.
Well, the decision has been made; time to
quit crying in our milk. So what can you, as a
consumer, do to keep your bill down to the low-
est it can be at $36? Conservation! The only way
to keep from paying the absorbent consumption
fee is to use no more than two thousand gallons
of water per month. So how do we do that? Let’s
look at where we use water in our lives. Indoors,
toilets are the number one user of water at
26.7%. Clothes washing is second at 21.7%,
showers are third at 16.8%, faucets are at 15.7%
and leaks are the last major component of use at
13.7%.
Toilets can use a lot of water, and they are
usually the major source of water leaks in a
household, as well. Most likely, your home will
have an older style toilet that consumes far more
water than is necessary to flush away wastes. I
started investigating my home’s toilets and
found this interesting fact. They are designed to
flush only 1.6 gallons of water, yet they have a
storage tank that holds up to six gallons of wa-
ter. Searching on the web, I found that, in 1992,
Congress passed a law that required all toilets to
meet the 1.6 gallon flush criteria by 1994. Well,
the manufacturers continued to make the large
capacity tanks, but used a different flapper (non-
buoyant) to close the flush valve off prematurely
so it used only 1.6 gallons of water. So, what do
you get when you go down to the local hardware
store to replace your flapper? A buoyant flapper,
and now your toilet is back to the 1980s stan-
dard of 4-7 gallons of water per flush. Both of my
toilets tested out at 4.5 gallons per flush. The fix
is to install a new water intake valve that is ad-
justable. My toilets are now at around 2.5 gal-
lons per flush. Make sure to do a dye test by
adding some food coloring into your reservoir
tank and see if the dyed water shows up in your
toilet bowl within a couple of hours, if so the flap-
per valve is leaking and needs to be cleaned or
replaced. If you really want to get serious about
your toilets, you can buy new ones that flush
Please see page 3