The INDEPENDENT, May 2, 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 Suzanne
Bonamici, (Dem) OR District 1
620 SW Main, Suite 606
Portland, OR 97205
Phone: 503-326-2901
2338 Rayburn House Ofc. Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-0855
Website: http://bonamici.house.
gov
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
Writer implies that
commissioners lie
To the Editor:
I don’t know who first said
that politics is a dirty business
but I surely am getting an edu-
cation in this proverb.
In a public forum last week,
Tony Hyde stated that he did
not want to give the taxpayer
owned Millard Road property to
the City of St. Helens. Yet Mr.
Hyde and the other commis-
sioners are involved in a law-
suit as “usurper” trustees to do
just that. That property is now
held in trust by a warranty deed
by Brady Preheim and Joe Ca-
son, CHD trustees. Mr. Hyde
intimated that he wanted the
property used for “future med-
ical purposes”.
Mr. Fisher hid behind the
“executive session” argument
when asked about backroom
meetings which took place
when the commissioners and
the old CHD board did away
with over $500,000 and the
Gable Road property. They are
now attempting to add the 3.3
million Millard Road property to
this giveaway.
Mr. Fisher also blatantly
stated that they are using coun-
ty money to fight the lawsuits
brought against them even
though they were not sued as
commissioners – as much as
$20,000. Guess what, Mr. Fish-
er? You have no right to use
county money to fight a lawsuit
brought against you as “usurp-
er” trustees. You have SDAO
(special district attorneys) for
that. I, for one, would like a full
accounting of that $20,000 you
claim to have spent.
It is apparent that Hyde,
Fisher and Heimuller, our cur-
rent commissioners, fail to un-
derstand the outcome of Mea-
sure 5-209 in which the voters
repealed the tax to build a hos-
pital. They also fail to under-
stand that the initial measure
back in 2004 was to build a
hospital, not to support public
health. Public health is mandat-
ed by and paid for by the state
and federal government. I am
tired of making this argument
and I trust the voters are even
more so.
In another vein – I am the
campaign manager for Tammy
Maygra and Brady Preheim.
We have been fortunate in that
we have received enough do-
nations to blanket the county
with campaign signs. In Clat-
skanie, however, our signs
(and only our signs) have been
knocked down and have now
been stolen. This appears to
me to be a really bad decision
if someone wants to garner
votes. But again – politics is a
dirty business.
It is time for a change. If you
want honest and transparent
government, vote for Brady
Preheim and Tammy Maygra.
Nancy Whitney
St. Helens
County needs Tony
Hyde’s leadership
To the Editor:
I am writing this letter in
support of Tony Hyde for his re-
election as Columbia County
Commissioner.
I first met Tony in December
2007 when I had been hired to
work for Columbia County
Emergency Management after
the floods of 2007. In my posi-
tion I was the FEMA liaison in
charge of authoring the Colum-
bia County Debris Manage-
ment Plan and leading the
team for the Hazard Mitigation
Planning for Columbia County.
Previously, I had spent nine
months working as a project of-
ficer for FEMA in Louisiana af-
ter Hurricane Katrina.
It has been stated that Tony
spends a lot of time in Salem
and in Washington, DC. That is
true. That is part of his job. If he
did not spend the time in Salem
and Washington, DC, Colum-
bia County would not be able to
get the funding that helps us to
continue to have the quality of
life that we enjoy in Columbia
County. Tony has worked dili-
gently with FEMA to get addi-
tional funding for disaster relief
in our local communities.
And yes, we in Columbia
County are suffering very diffi-
cult economic times. Columbia
County has had mills and busi-
nesses close. That has cost
jobs. We do not have the tax
base that we had a few years
ago. Unemployment is high.
Living wage jobs are hard to
find. Foreclosures and bank-
ruptcies are at an all time high.
Most county government
employees still have their jobs.
Those employees have suf-
fered a loss of one day’s work
every two weeks. That hurt
them financially. That is not a
good thing. However, the Co-
lumbia County Commissioners
have insured that they are still
getting their full benefits. That
is a good thing. Yes, the county
government officers are closed
on Fridays. But it could have
been worse and would have
been worse without the leader-
ship of Tony.
I feel that during these diffi-
cult economic times we have
fared fairly well considering
everything that is going on in
Columbia County, the State of
Oregon and the Federal Gov-
ernment. The guidance that
Tony has provided has helped
us to be better off than many
other communities.
For Tony, his job as County
Commissioner is not an 8 to 5
job. He passionately serves
you, the people he was elected
to serve. He spends many
hours in planning what needs
to be done for Columbia Coun-
ty. Columbia County needs
him.
Tony has had to make many
difficult decisions for our coun-
ty and I know that he does not
make them lightly. I know Tony
to be an honorable and dedi-
cated servant to Columbia
County. That is why I am sup-
porting Tony Hyde for re-elec-
tion as Columbia County Com-
missioner and why I urge you
Please see page 17
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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.
Ike Says…
From page 2
only 1.28 gallons of water and also have two
flush modes which will get you down to .9 gal-
lons for when it isn’t necessary to use more wa-
ter. Depending on your household, you could
save around $50 a year with a new toilet, so it is
worth considering for the long term.
Clothes washing is the next big item for water
use in a home, so make sure you do full, large
loads each time you use the washer. In our
household, we have already invested in a new
High Efficiency washer and dryer, so we are
pretty much maxed out on what we can do to
conserve in this area.
Showering is the third largest consumer of
water in a household and, I must admit, is going
to be my hardest habit to break. I like a long hot
shower; I imagine a lot of local guys who work in
the woods, or hunters coming in after a long cold
and wet day afield, like a long hot shower. Well,
it will cost you now. The only thing you can do to
reduce your shower’s water consumption is to
make sure the showerhead is a low flow design,
and take a shorter shower. Of course you can
take one of the recommendations that came
from a council discussion in regards to this and
take a “navy shower”, wet down, turn the water
off, soap up, turn the water on and rinse. Yeah
that will be nice!
Faucets place fourth in household water con-
sumption. You can make sure you have low flow
diffusers in your bathrooms, but the kitchen sink
will require a higher flow diffuser. The biggest
thing I have found to do is turning the water off
while I brush my teeth. This can add up to a con-
siderable amount of water during a month.
In regards to outdoor usage of water, in the
Webb family, brown is the new “green”. It was
suggested to me that I should invest in rain bar-
rels to water my lawn with, but I thought it would
look kind of odd to have 250 rain barrels stacked
around my house and would probably be de-
clared a public nuisance. I am thinking about a
water trough, though, for capturing water to
wash the cars. Families that grow gardens will
need to pencil out whether or not the cost of wa-
ter for your garden will yield more than going to
the store and buying your produce. A drip irriga-
tion system will be the most water conservative
approach to watering a garden, it will be more la-
bor intensive though.
Izaak Walton League,
Nehalem Valley Chapter
meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday at 7:00
p.m. Call 503-429-7193 for location.