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.