The INDEPENDENT, September 19, 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
Property dispute is
still unresolved
To the Editor:
It has been nearly two years
since the people voted to end
the .38 per thousand hospital
tax. Over one year has passed
since the prior hospital board,
county commissioners, and the
City of St. Helens jointly con-
spired behind closed doors to
defraud the taxpayers in the
hospital district out of millions.
The current board and their le-
gal counsel have offered to mit-
igate the issue at least two
times. Each time the usurper
trustees (county commission-
ers) have adamantly refused
mitigation and continue to pur-
Salem Scene
By Representative Brad Witt
Oregon District 31
As I mentioned in my
last newsletter, here is
an update on my second
series of town halls to be
held in the district on
September 21st and
22nd. The topic this time
is Coordinated Care Or-
ganizations, which re-
place the current man-
aged care organizations, mental health organi-
zations and dental care organizations serving
the Medicaid/OHP populations.
You may think, “I’m not in either organization,
so what does this have to do with me?” It affects
you because we all pay for these services, and
we should know what the plan is and how it is
going to be carried out. One of the biggest com-
plaints I hear about local, state and federal gov-
ernments is that people do not know how their
money is being spent. Here is a great way to find
out how we hope to reduce the cost of medical
care in Oregon.
So, to that end, I have invited a panel of ex-
perts to explain this new effort, which is up and
running in many locations throughout the state.
Here is the schedule:
Friday, September 21
• 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Rainier Senior Center
48 West 7th Street
Saturday, September 22
• 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Scappoose Senior
Center, 33342 Meadow Drive
• 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Linnton Community Center,
10614 NW St. Helens Road
• 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Bethany Presbyterian
Church, 15505 NW Springville Road,
Please see page 14
Bonamici Bulletin
By Representative Susanne Bonamici
1st Congressional District
After spending sever-
al weeks in Oregon, I am
back at the nation’s
Capitol. During my time
in Oregon I made sever-
al trips around the dis-
trict to meet with con-
stituents, talk with busi-
ness leaders, and tour
local businesses. These
interactions are important and provide me with
an opportunity to hear about critical issues di-
rectly from those I represent. Unfortunately, I
wasn’t able to meet with all of you, so here is a
brief update about the work I’ve been doing.
I. LEGISLATION
• WISE Investment Act: I’ve introduced legis-
lation to help connect local businesses with
workforce training and community college pro-
grams to help close the skills gap.
• Marine Debris Emergency Act: This biparti-
san bill, which I introduced just prior to the Au-
gust district work period, will help expedite funds
to clean up tsunami debris on the coast.
• Continuing Resolution: I voted in favor of a
resolution to provide funding for the first six
months of 2013.
II. TOWN HALL MEETINGS
In August I held five town hall meetings
across the district – in Hillsboro, St. Helen’s,
McMinnville, Beaverton, and Astoria. Questions
included concerns about growing the economy,
Social Security, Medicare, immigration, educa-
sue their original backroom
deal to give the property on Mil-
lard Road, valued in the mil-
lions, to the City of St. Helens
for free.
The current health district
board and their trustees have
legitimate offers on the proper-
ty but are unable to finalize the
sale because the county com-
missioners are doing every-
thing in their power to obstruct
the sale of the property and the
result is you, the taxpayers, be-
ing cheated out of tax money
that is rightfully yours. This is-
sue could end immediately if
the county commissioners
wished it to end; unfortunately
this is not the case. The current
board and their trustees want
to let the taxpayers know that
they are still determined and
are working diligently to make
sure the property is sold and
the taxpayers credited the
funds from the sale.
Tammy Maygra, Chairperson
Columbia Health District
Deer Island
Ed. Note: The letter writer is a can-
didate for County Commissioner
Position 3.
At least it’s an idea
tion, and the environment.
III. IN AND AROUND THE DISTRICT
Some of the events and meetings I attended
in the First District included:
• A roundtable discussion for high-tech entre-
preneurs with Leader Nancy Pelosi that I hosted
with Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
• The Newberg-Dundee Bypass groundbreak-
ing, a critical infrastructure project decades in
the making.
• The Tongue Point Job Corps Graduation in
Astoria, where I was honored to be the com-
mencement speaker.
• A ribbon-cutting at Vernonia’s new school,
reopened with all the dedicated students, teach-
ers, and community members who helped make
it happen.
IV. OUTLOOK FOR THE UPCOMING VOTES
This week and next I’ll be taking some impor-
tant votes on our nation’s budget. Because of
the Budget Control Act, passed before my time
in Congress, across the board cuts (called Se-
questration) are set to take effect if Congress
does not act. Many of my constituents have ex-
pressed significant concerns about the effect
these potential cuts will have on critical social
services, and I will be working hard with my col-
leagues on both sides of the aisle to find a bal-
anced and responsible approach that begins to
tackle the debt and deficit, but does so in a way
that does not impede economic growth or dis-
mantle the safety net.
Your input and questions are always wel-
come, and I look forward to continuing these im-
portant conversations when I return home.
To the Editor:
The people who are respon-
sible for the obscene raise in
water and sewer costs should
be required to provide rape
counseling to those affected.
Dee Stevens
Vernonia
Thanks for support
of UW Stuff the Bus
To the Editor:
The Vernonia Schools would
like to thank everyone who do-
nated and participated in the
recent United Way Stuff the
Bus campaign. Thanks to your
donations, over $1,700 worth
of school supplies will be dis-
tributed to Vernonia students.
Sponsors included Vernonia
Please see page 14
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.