The INDEPENDENT, July 18, 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
Thanks to Terry’s Gym
To the Editor:
I would like to commend Ter-
ry’s Gym for the courtesy and
respect that the young men ex-
tend to the older patrons. They
are pleasant and helpful.
Thanks to you all for making
the gym experience a pleasant
one.
Lulu and Art Lamping
Vernonia
Don’t let coal money
ruin our water & air
To the Editor:
Those of us who have spent
most of our lives in and around
Columbia County pretty much
have spent a great deal of that
time in and around county wa-
terways. Think about it – a
large share of the county fol-
lows the course of the Colum-
bia River and nearly every
creek in the county flows into
the river.
I joined some dear friends
last Sunday on the Nehalem
River out of Vernonia. We
packed some sandwiches and
soft drinks and spent three
hours walking up and down an
area in the river. When I say “in
the river” that is what I mean.
We walked in water that some-
times reached chest high look-
ing for treasures – crawdads
and bright colored rocks. I had
a wonderful day. The water
was clear and the woods
spelled clean and fresh.
My husband and I spent un-
told hours on the Columbia in
our various boats when our
children were still at home. One
incident remains in my mind
and changed the way we felt
about the river. Our daughter
was water skiing behind the
boat. She was an excellent ski-
er and seldom ever fell. This
time, however, she did fall and
she fell right at the confluence
of the Columbia River and the
Willamette Slough – right near
where the paper mill dumped
their black liquor into the river.
We pulled her out of the river
and she was dripping with
greasy slime which could only
be washed off with warm water
and soap.
Needless to say, our boat
outings no longer involved the
Columbia River. We instead
traveled to the lakes in Oregon
and Washington.
I do not know how much the
beautiful Columbia River has
been cleaned up since that
time but I still hear warnings
about overflow from sewage
lines in Portland being dumped
into the Willamette and thus
into the Columbia and when I
walk along the river, it still does
not smell good.
Now another black slime
could contaminate our water-
ways and our lands. Two coal
companies, owned by people
on another continent, want to
fill barges and rail cars with
coal and drag them through our
county and down our river so
that they can make money.
The few jobs created by this
fiasco are not worth the dam-
age to our environment. If you
have never gotten involved in
something in your life, now is
the time to do it. Stand up to
your political leaders and to
these billion dollar companies
and tell them a resounding
“NO”. Stop this back room
dealing now. It has gone on for
far too many years and it needs
to end.
Nancy Whitney
St. Helens
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.
Foreclosure mediation program law now in effect
Since Senate Bill 1552 took
effect July 12, homeowners
threatened with foreclosure
now have the right to meet with
their mortgage servicer face-to-
face in mediation before final
foreclosure decisions are
made. The new law also ad-
dresses a common complaint
known as “dual-tracking.” Mort-
gage servicers will no longer be
permitted to foreclose while ne-
gotiations are ongoing for loan
modifications or other foreclo-
sure avoidance measures.
“This important piece of leg-
islation will hold loan servicers
accountable and ensure that
Oregonians have every oppor-
tunity to stay in their homes,”
said Senate Majority Leader
Diane Rosenbaum. Delivering
meaningful foreclosure assis-
tance was one of the key ac-
complishments of the 2012
Session and we are eager to
begin helping more Oregon
families keep a roof over their
head.”
As of July 11, homeowners
who receive a notice of default
will receive information on free
foreclosure counseling and
low-cost mediation services.
Mediation services will be pro-
vided to homeowners at a sub-
sidized rate of no more than
$200. Funding for the program
comes from mortgage ser-
vicers and from funds allocated
by the Legislature from a na-
tional settlement with five large
banks. Homeowners who are
at risk of foreclosure, but not in
default, can also schedule me-
diation. During mediation ses-
sions homeowners will be able
to explore alternatives to fore-
closure including loan modifi-
cations, refinancing, short
sales and other options.
“By sitting down with their
servicer, and a neutral media-
tor we’re ensuring homeown-
ers will be well informed, and
that they will be heard by
banks,” said Representative
Betty Komp. “We’ve passed a
landmark bill that will give Ore-
gon homeowners an important
tool to help them remain in their
homes. I’m excited that today
middle class families and at-
risk seniors can begin access-
ing this program.”
To implement this statewide
mediation program, the Depart-
ment of Justice convened a 15-
member work group to develop
program rules. The Depart-
ment of Justice contracted with
a mediation service provider,
Collins Center for Public Policy
http://collinscenter.org to man-
age the mediation program.
Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum praised the group’s
efforts. “A tremendous amount
of work has been done by com-
munity advocates, mortgage
servicers and state agencies to
get this important program
ready on time, and within budg-
et. We’re glad that this new tool
is available to homeowners
and hope the program helps to
turn around the foreclosure cri-
sis that has held our state in
such a tight grip for the last few
years.”
The Department of Justice
coordinated efforts with other
state agencies, including Ore-
gon Housing and Community
Services. OHCS is leading the
effort to ensure that trained
housing counselors are avail-
able statewide to work with
homeowners before and during
mediation sessions. OHCS Di-
rector Margaret Van Vliet said,
“Our agency is hard at work
with nonprofit organizations
across the state developing in-
novative ways for homeowners
to work with a counselor to pre-
pare for mediation, regardless
of where they live. Counselors
will serve all areas of the state,
and services will be provided
as efficiently and effectively as
possible. We know that Orego-
nians will be counting on these
services, and are looking for-
ward to having all of the new
counselors on board.”
Homeowners who want to
participate in the mediation
program should go to http://ww
w.foreclosuremediationor.org/
or call 855-658-6733.
Homeowners can find a
HUD Certified counselor and
learn more about foreclosure
prevention by visiting www.fore
closurehelp.oregon.gov or call-
ing 1-800-SAFENET (1-800-
723-3638).