Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, September 5, 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 Volunteers thankful for people’s support To the Editor: We would like to take this opportunity to thank the citi- zens of Vernonia for their sup- port during Jamboree. Our snow cone booth raised $500 to be used locally toward the education of new EMTs. Spe- cial thanks to the Festival com- mittee for an outstanding job in organizing, and to Vernonia Sentry and Bridge Street Mini Mart. Special thanks to Holly and Wayne Vaughn for their support and the use of their freezer. Our booth was a suc- cess because of everyone’s continued support to the Volun- teer Ambulance Association. We will have our annual fudge and bread fundraiser at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thank you, Vernonia, for your continued support!! Trish Smith, EMT Vernonia Volunteer Ambulance Association Answers not enough for WOEC member To the Editor: Stuck…in a Catch 22! How is that, electrically speaking? Well, pick up a copy of the lat- est Ruralite, or The Indepen- dent newspaper and Marc Farmer is explaining, again, why his hands are tied because of BPA rate increases; natural disasters; rising costs and, above all, “his new building has nothing to do with the increas- es.” The Catch 22 is this: when a WOEC Member has an “itch”, attends a meeting, stands up and has a say, the same worn out treads of explanation are rolled out and life goes on. Nothing happens. However, if a Member(s) persists, resist- ance, noticeably, builds up a tad. The member is told “they are appreciated” or as in the last Board Meeting, “their finan- cial, physical pain and stress from rising rates are felt”…but since the Member does not possess the experience, tech- nical knowledge or manage- ment skills required to run WOEC, they don’t know of what they are criticizing or ask- ing about. If one presses past this line-in-the-sand, they are accused of causing trouble without evidence and not being aware of all the selfless hard work done. If that doesn’t do it, as in one incident, they are shouted at. So “what’s the problem?” Well, for one rea- son, in the last 6 months, we know the cost for BPA electrici- ty was $1,313,341. By the time it passed through our meters, the total was $5,106,022.93. That is a chunk of change. There are a lot of members who would like to know about how that was spent other than a repeated mantra of explana- tion about natural disasters of which he is the biggest one. If clarifying data is request- ed, in a meeting or at the main office, some is given and some is withheld, even if presented at a meeting open to the member- ship, e.g. a Board Meeting. Since the By-Laws (available at the main office) permit such in- formation to be given to Mem- bers (Article V, Section 7; and Section 9), the question arises, what is so secret? And why? It is this type of resistance by Marc Farmer and the Board, to Members questions, that makes it hard to trust what is being said in explanation of constantly rising rates. In other words, what is the real “skin- ny”? It bears looking into. Jack Phillips Vernonia Citizen wants federal charges vacated To the Editor: I question the US Justice Department’s behavior of late. Starting with their unwilling- ness to prosecute bullies (on video) wielding pipes at the polls in 2008 and extending to the lawsuits challenging voter ID requirements and immigra- tion enforcement practices in Florida, Texas and Arizona I’ve concluded that Eric Holder, US Attorney General, is, well…one complicated guy. But there’s more reason to be alarmed. According to an ar- ticle by the WSJ Aug. 20, 2012 (Gibson is off the hook. Who’s next?) the feds just won a judg- ment and a promise not to talk about the case beyond the form 302 report; the “Statement of Fact”, from Gibson Guitar. Though Gibson denied their culpability in the charge of im- porting restricted wood from Madagascar in an earlier op-ed piece, they agreed to pay out $350k and accept the fed’s ver- sion of reality rather then fight a multi-million dollar court case. The writer, Harvey Silver- glate, goes on to explain that when interviewing suspects, the feds don’t tape the inter- view like states and counties do. Two interview; one asks the questions, the other writes down the answers. This gives the feds complete latitude to edit the “Statement of Fact” in a narrative that favors the prose- cutors. Should the suspect de- part from the narrative at a lat- er time in open court, he will be charged with making a false statement to a federal official, a 5 year prison offense. Outrageous. “Form 302” should be a video. Throw out the gag or- ders. Allow explanations in pur- suit of the truth. Vacate charges against Gibson. Wayne Mayo Scappoose 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. Salem Scene By Representative Brad Witt Oregon District 31 I received some very nice comments about my series of town halls on the new Foreclosure Mediation legislation that passed last session. I especially want to thank the experts who took the time to travel the district with me. They were: • Angela Martin, Economic Fairness Oregon • Jermaine Brown, Department of Jus- tice • Cindy Peake and Beverly Danner, Community Action Team • Carlos Garcia, Hacienda Community Development Corp • Ricci Sohn, Open Door Counseling Center I also want to thank those who attended. I know that several people were able to sign up for assistance right then and there. I learned a few things myself that I would like to pass along. Below are a few gems that I hope you will share with anyone that you think will benefit. For those who are unemployed and struggling to make their house payment, there is the Mortgage Payment Assistance Unemployment (MPAU) program. The program provides up to $20,000 or 12 months of mortgage payments (whichever comes first) to the first 2,000 homeowners across the state who are found to be eligible. It is 5-year forgivable loan – if you stay in your house a minimum of 5 years, the loan is forgiven! Learn more at www.oregon homeownerhelp.org. Another program described at this same website is the Loan Preservation Assistance (LPA) program, available as of August 29th in both Clatsop and Columbia Counties. This program also provides $20,000 for up to 2,000 eligible homeowners whose loan servicers have enrolled in the program. A servicer is the lender to whom you send your house payment. Some people have had more than one over the term of their loan. For those who have already been foreclosed, there may be the possibility that you qualify for a payment of up to $1800. These funds, and the funds described above were made possible by the class action suit brought against the “big five” lenders by 21 states, Oregon being one of them. Oregon received $29 mil- lion to establish a fund to help homeowners who were directly im- pacted by the housing crisis. Finally, for those who are still trying to negotiate a loan Please see page 18