The independent., June 06, 2012, Page Page 2, Image 2

Page 2
The
The INDEPENDENT, June 6, 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
Graduates have choices
This past weekend at Vernonia High School, 65
young men and women walked across the stage to
pick up their diplomas. This Friday, Banks High School
seniors will have their graduation ceremonies. From
that point on, they will find that life is full of choices.
Some of the grads will go to college to get a two year
degree, some will end up with Ph.Ds. Some will go
straight to work in a chosen field, some will just luck
into a job that suits them, some will have many jobs
before finding their niche in the working world. Some
will get married and raise families, some won’t.
Perhaps the most important assets we could hope
they have are inquiring, open minds. Life-long learning
is more interesting than T.V., really.
We hope every graduate makes choices that bring
them many true friends, loving families and satisfying
careers. And, we hope they’ll decide to give back to
their community by volunteerism. Join the boosters,
run for city council, the list could go on and on. The re-
wards of volunteerism are great, try it and see.
Some, unfortunately, will become involved in drugs
or crime and will be lost to their families and friends.
But, even those who go down really bad roads can find
their way back – as long as there is life, there is hope.
Here’s hoping that all the grads will stay safe while
they pursue whatever their dreams. Don’t drink and
drive, and don’t get in the car with any driver who has
been drinking or doing drugs. There are plenty of oth-
er ‘risky’ behaviors that are better avoided, too. To the
best of your ability, make good choices.
In Vernonia, the Class of 2012 has the distinction of
being the last class to graduate from the old high
school. The Class of 2013 will be the first class to grad-
uate from the new K-12 school.
Wherever the winds of fortune take the 2012 gradu-
ates, we wish them a happy, healthy life.
Sewer/water cost increases
Vernonia City Council approved a resolution (see re-
lated article on page 1) to raise the sewer loan fee by
$19.00, from $12.00 to $31.00. That means the mini-
mum bill for sewer and water (only 2,000 gallons) will
now be $122.00 per month. These rates are going to
hurt most of the population. Since these rates are driv-
en by government mandate, it’s time for our govern-
ment to stop making unfunded mandates. Perhaps in-
frastructure improvement projects should be the next
federal jobs program.
Ike Says…
By Dale Webb, member
Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League
Here is one last com-
ment about being green
before we get back to
hunting and fishing. Be-
ing green can be expen-
sive. Being that I did not
agree with how our wa-
ter rates were changed,
it has become a matter
of principle for me to re-
duce my usage, not only to save water, but also
to point out through financial means why the rate
structure is flawed. One of my conservation
measures was to install a rainwater car washing
system. I installed a 100-gallon stock tank, a
submersible pump, hose with nozzle and a new
extension core to power the pump. In doing the
math for the break-even point, I will have to
wash 3,494 cars at 15 gallons per car wash. I
would suggest that anybody going this route, get
used and free materials if you are going to make
it pay, otherwise it will be only about the principle
of the matter.
Let’s talk some hunting! Yes, the controlled
hunt draws are in the mail. There will be winners
and lots of losers this year. The ODF&W com-
missioners will be adopting some more reduc-
tions to tag numbers across the state, but noth-
ing drastic. Eastern Oregon for deer and elk will
be pretty much static in regards to tags issued.
Many of us find that a little hard to believe in light
of the continued decline in perceived animal
numbers, but time will tell. On the wet side of the
state we will see reduced antlerless deer oppor-
tunity, especially here in the Northwest corner of
the state. The commissioners are expected to
adopt the staff recommendation to reduce rifle
antlerless deer tag numbers from 100 to 20 in
the Saddle Mt. unit. Scappoose rifle antlerless
deer will drop from 50 to 20 and the same for the
Wilson unit. Archers will be restricted to bucks
only in the Saddle Mt., Wilson and Scappoose
units. Disabled hunters will also be restricted to
bucks only in the three above units. Youth antler-
less hunts will be unaffected and will remain at
50 tags in each of these units.
All I can say is that somebody in Salem is fi-
nally listening to the people who live in these
units. I know a concerned local sportsman called
me last year asking what he should do about the
low deer numbers and I suggested writing a let-
ter to the commissioners and not pulling any
punches, that must have been a great letter!
This person walks logging roads almost every-
day to stay in shape and, being that he is a great
outdoorsman, he is always keeping an eye on
the wildlife. Over the years, he has witnessed
the steady decline in our deer population and
has reached the point of being outraged about
the harvest of antlerless deer. B.H. good job!
I read an interesting article from Montana the
other day regarding wolves and cougars. Many
experts have predicted that wolves will reduce
cougar populations in the area that they occupy,
but that seems to come at a cost. The article de-
scribed a radio-collaring program that Mon-
tana is using to help monitor wolf packs, and
Please see page 17