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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, June 20, 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 Young teen looking for summer work To the Editor: My name is Hayden Cielo- ha. I am 13. I am going into the 8th grade next year. I am look- ing for work to earn some mon- ey over the summer. I know how to mow lawns, operate a weed wacker and operate a leaf blower. I am also willing to do small jobs like move fire- wood, rake leaves, wash cars/crummies. If you’re inter- ested then call 503-429-0745 or 503-688-8103. Hayden Cieloha Vernonia Thanks for helping seniors’ plant sale To the Editor: The Vernonia Senior Center would like to say “Thank You” to all its members who helped with the “Annual Plant Sale”. We also had help from two Master Gardeners who jumped in at the last second to help sort, price and sell, so a “Thank You” goes out to Leticia Soma and Pat Stacklie. A “Thank You” to Noni Andersen for volunteer- ing as cashier on Saturday. Also, a big “Thank You” to May at “Jim Dandy’s” and Tammy at “Woodstock Nursery” for the wonderful garden plants. A big “Thank You” to Trader Joe’s and Linda Tellef and her Man- ager, Klea, at Joe’s, for the weeks of plants we were able to pre-sell. Plus, the many many plants Linda gave from her own garden, “Thank You”. We were able to raise about $1,200! Good Job, Vernonia. Thank you all for making the Annual Plant Sale a huge suc- cess. Hope to see everyone next year! Jack Harvey Vernonia Senior Center We all lose without local businesses To the Editor: I am not happy that Vernon- ia Pharmacy is no longer here! Come on people! As a busi- ness owner in Vernonia for 18 years, I have struggled to feed my family so that I could stay in a community where I thought people cared about each other. I have struggled so that I could raise my children with the morals I wanted to instill, and be there for them. It has not been easy. I hear many say, “I can get it cheaper at Walmart or Winco.” Well, does Walmart donate to your kids sporting events? Does Walmart make sure you have a gallon of milk at 8:30 at night so your kids can have breakfast? Does any- one at Winco even say “Hi” to you when you walk in the door? No, no and no! If I needed a prescription and had questions, Phillip was there to answer my questions. He made time to make phone calls and get my prescriptions when I ran out even though it was my own fault. He had a face, and a fam- ily to feed. Now he is gone be- cause so many felt it was easi- er to use the internet or mail or- der prescriptions. It might have saved you some money but what happens when you run out and you have forgotten to order? Now you have to take the time and gas to drive, not such a big savings now…Do you think those insurance com- panies who are taking your money from one pocket and putting it in another really care about you? NO, they care about your money! You are nothing but a number to them, a $ sign! If small businesses leave Vernonia, the town looks de- serted, no one wants to live here, the utilities and property taxes are divided between few- er people and those who stay struggle more! Do you not see that? Sure Sentry is more ex- pensive, they don’t get the dis- counts by buying in huge bulk that Winco and Walmart do, they also have more cost of overhead here in the highest utility area in who knows where. My electric bill in April was $900! I can’t even imagine how much Randy and Sharon pay! Sure gas at Minimart is more expensive. How much does it cost to drive to another gas station? More than .20 cents/gallon. It costs you a gal- lon of gas just to get there to save…And, did that gas station give money to your kids’ all night grad party? NO, but Matt did and look how many people are working at these stores and feeding their families. Do we only show compassion when we lose someone or should we be more considerate to our community and want to keep it together by doing a little shop- ping here in town daily instead of handing our hard earned money over to those who really don’t know us, don’t care about us and only see us as a dollar bill. Thank you to all who sup- port Vernonia Florist and all other local businesses. We care about your families, we do our best to contribute to all fundraising events, and we do our best to help when we can. Please consider the same and shop local before it’s too late. Sincerely concerned about Vernonia, Lisa Edgar Vernonia Florist Vernonia Look at alternatives to higher utility rates To the Editor: The thought of the water/ sewer bill increasing about $20 per month, is just too much, and bad for town morale. People will be grumpy. We’ve already had a substan- tial increase, from $89 to $103. Four years ago I was told the $89 would decrease as a loan ended, but now a loan just gets bigger. I’ve read the informa- tion presented by authorities, which is stretched over decades, and we must consid- er alternatives. Preventing large increases in basic servic- es should be a top priority. 1. It would be great to have water billed like other utilities, by quantity used. It’s always seemed strange to me to bill $103 for 2000 gallons, but it’s only a few bucks more per 1000 more gallons. I often use less than 2000 gallons, but pay nearly the same amount as someone who uses 4000 gal- lons. Twice as much for almost the same price! It seems there could be a more fair pricing schedule, and make more eco- nomic sense for our budget. 2. The town is lit up all night long while we’re asleep. We all turn off lights when we go to bed. Maybe Vernonia should too. I have a bright street light over my property that I find much more annoying than helpful. It ruins much of my landscape. I always think of money wasted looking at it. 3. The police budget is very high and maybe that should be reduced. Perhaps a basic white police car versus the custom paint job it has. 4. When riding our great bike trail, I look at the “bicycle skills park.” I guess that’s what it is, the grassy land adjacent to the bike path. It’s been unfin- ished, and sometimes flooded, for some time. Is this really go- ing to generate any serious in- come for the town? How much has been invested? I think low- er utility bills are a much higher priority for Vernonians. 5. Is NPDES compliance that critical? How close are we? Is it worth the time and money? 6. Can we work something out with the state? Because the proposed increase is just too much. 7. We could face more delin- quent, unpaid bills because of the large increase. The high sewer rates are tough to swallow, especially in an era where banks make mis- takes, and get bailed out. I hope we can find creative, smart solutions to this problem. Peter Nelson Vernonia We, too, can become third-world country To the Editor: I went shopping for sheets yesterday – just plain, ordinary queen size sheets. I did, how- ever, want a large choice of material and color so I went to Washington Square where I could shop at Penneys and Macys, two large, nationwide department stores. Imagine my dismay when every set of sheets was made in either China or India (and, with the rare exception, in Por- tugal). Of course, that set me to thinking about all the out-sourc- ing of natural resources and jobs which is happening in the Untied States. We have acres of logs setting in Rainier and across the river in Longview waiting to be shipped to other nations so that those nations can produce products to send back to our country for us to purchase. Please see page 10 Policy on Letters 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.