Page 10
The INDEPENDENT, June 20, 2012
Letters
From page 3
Our county and state offi-
cials are advocating for the
shipment of coal through our
county, both by rail and by
barge. The St. Helens Port
Commission, led by Robert
Keyser, initiated and signed
two agreements with Australia-
owned energy companies with
nothing but a sham of a public
meeting just minutes before the
agreements were signed. The
port was able to “get around”
the Oregon public meetings
laws by having the companies
meet with port members indi-
vidually in order to avoid a quo-
rum. If that isn’t backroom poli-
tics, I don’t know what is.
Commissioner Tony Hyde
said he would approve the
shipment of coal through our
county if five mayors would
give him the go ahead on this.
Five mayors should not be run-
ning our county and making
these huge decisions for thou-
sands of county residents.
Scappoose Mayor Scott Burge,
and his city council are the only
public officials who have re-
fused to sign an agreement for
these coal shipments. I ap-
plaud them for doing so.
I sincerely hope other politi-
cal “leaders” will begin to real-
ize that shipping our natural re-
sources to other nations is the
beginning of the United States
becoming a third-world country.
E NJOY
The few permanent jobs the
coal shipments would create
are not worth the damage to
our river, our county and our
people.
Nancy Whitney
St. Helens
Community gardens
growing in interest
To the Editor:
The Columbia Health Coali-
tion would like to thank repre-
sentatives from OSU Exten-
sion, Christ Episcopal Church,
Snoopeeland, and the Vernon-
ia Community Garden for pre-
senting at our “Community
Gardens in Action” event June
2nd. Community and school
gardens are of growing interest
in our county and have the po-
tential to improve nutrition, ed-
ucation, outdoor involvement,
the environment, and partici-
pant empowerment.
In addition to the rise in com-
munity and school garden ini-
tiatives, other policy and pro-
grammatic changes within our
county include an increase in
nutrition education due to ef-
forts by the Columbia Pacific
Food Bank and the Columbia
County OSU Extension Office,
the installation of an asphalt
walking trail at Clatskanie Ele-
mentary School to increase
physical activity for students
and the community, and nu-
THE
4 th
With
Jim’s Famous Bar-B-Que
11a.m - 6 p.m.
Fridays & Saturdays
660 So. Main, Banks
Open July 4 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
merous policy changes in Ver-
nonia focusing on wellness,
physical activity, and tobacco
use on school grounds.
Columbia County is a com-
munity that strives for multifac-
eted health improvements.
Though each community within
the county focuses on health
topics unique to their demo-
graphic, the collaboration of a
wide variety of groups county-
wide has strongly influenced
each of the positive health
changes and initiatives. With
thanks to the diligent communi-
ty agencies and individuals in-
volved, Columbia County has
many health achievements to
be proud of.
For information on the Co-
lumbia Health Coalition, or to
join, call Ashley Swanson at
503-397-4651 ext. 2007.
Sincerely,
Nicole Grondin
Columbia Health
Coalition Member
D-Day, 1944, still one
of greatest efforts
To the Editor:
D-Day, June 6, 1944: Sur-
vivors of that day, probably one
of if not the greatest military en-
deavor ever tried, are still
among us. Americans, Canadi-
ans, Brits, New Zealanders,
and Australians collectively
held their breath all day hud-
dled around radios for reports
on the invasion.
The defenses along the
shore were formidable. The
movie, “Saving Private Ryan”
gives the viewer a sense of the
horror that awaited Allied
troops.
No matter what side you
take regarding FDR’s Presi-
dency, the courage to execute
D-Day 1944 stands as one of
the greatest calls an American
President has ever made.
Owning the outcome, win or
lose, Roosevelt had the wis-
dom and humility to lead the
country in a 527 word prayer
starting with this sentence.
“Almighty God: Our sons,
pride of our nation, this day
have set upon a mighty en-
deavor, a struggle to preserve
our Republic, our religion, and
our civilization, and to set free
a suffering humanity.”
Miraculously, the tenacity
and grit of the invading Allied
Forces gained purchase on
those beaches that morning
culminating, ultimately, in the
overthrow of an able and ag-
gressive evil.
To our parents, our uncles
and aunts, our Grandparents:
Because you saw it through,
we’re here. The lights are still
on. Thank you.
Wayne Mayo
Scappoose
Jr. Salmon Auction a
tremendous success
To the Editor:
The 4th Annual Junior Sal-
mon Auction was a tremendous
success and, if you were there,
you know how exciting it was
for everyone involved.
We auctioned 50 pieces of
art, including 42 Jr. Salmon and
8 pieces of furniture, and raised
more than $2500! One of the
highlights of the evening was a
bid of $500 for one salmon art
work. It was so gratifying to see
the students appreciate and be
appreciated by members of the
community and the art work
was even better than in previ-
ous years. This was our best
year ever. As one community
member noted, “This is like go-
ing to State for the art stu-
dents!” and it was, it was a real
victory for these kids.
So if you know anyone that
took high school art this se-
mester, please congratulate
them for making great art, do-
nating it, and helping to pay it
forward for future art students.
All proceeds benefit the VHS
art department and Hands-On-
Art activities in Vernonia.
Thank you to everyone that
helped make this happen. It
truly takes a village to keep the
arts alive in schools these
days.
Thanks so much!
Linda Allen
Art Teacher
Vernonia School District
Stamp Out Hunger is
greatly appreciated
To the Editor:
Letter Carriers, Thank you
for running the Stamp Out
Hunger Food Drive on May 12,
2012. Thanks to your efforts
and the generosity of the Ver-
nonia people, 471 pounds of
food was delivered to this food
bank. Thank you so very much
for your organization, work and
generosity to make this event
happen. Special thanks for Pe-
ter O’Leary for taking the lead
for this project and to all the let-
ter carriers for picking up the
donations.
Currently, Vernonia Cares
Food Bank assists an average
of 400 people per month with
three days worth of emergency
groceries. We can only do this
through generous donations
like the food the Stamp Out
Hunger Food Drive brought in.
Gratefully,
Sandy Welch
Executive Director
Vernonia Cares Food Bank
Banks July 4
activities set
Banks will celebrate the 4th
of July with the traditional fire-
works display at Sunset
Speedway starting at 10:00
p.m. Many people picnic at
Banks Sunset Park beforehand
and stay to enjoy the fireworks.
Sunset Speedway racing
will begin at 5:00 p.m. Action
that night will include the Fire-
cracker 100 – DAA Extreme
Late Models vs. Dirt Car Super
Late Models, and 4-cylinder
bump-to-pass.