Apartment residents told to take down U.S. flags

KATU.COM (Portland), 10/13/2009 by Melica Johnson and KATU Staff (Hat tip: Charles Nelson)

Oct. 15 UPDATE: Management got the message. All's well & flags are flying again!

ALBANY, Ore. - At the Oaks Apartments in Albany, the management can fly their own flag advertising one and two bedroom apartments - but residents have been told they can't fly any flags at all. ∴ Jim Clausen flies the American flag from the back of his motorcycle. He has a son in the military heading back to Iraq, and the flag - he said - is his way of showing support. ∴ "This flag stands for all those people," said Clausen, an Oaks Apartment resident. "It stands for the people that can no longer stand - who died in wars. That's why I fly this flag." ∴ But to Oaks Apartment management, Clausen said, the American flag symbolizes problems. ∴ He was told to remove the red, white and blue from both of his rides, or face eviction. ∴ "It floored me," he said. "I can't believe she was saying what she was saying."

Even long-time residents like Sharron White, who has flown a flag on her car for eight years, has been told to take it down. ∴ White said management told her that "someone might get offended."

"I just said to her 'They'll just have to get over it,'" White said.

Resident we talked to who had been approached to take down their flags all told us the same thing: that management told them the flags could be offensive because they live in a diverse community.

Attempts to find out for ourselves why management would ban flags were unsuccessful. KATU wanted to talk to management at Oaks Apartments, but no one has returned our calls. The woman we were told had made the decision said she was "not going to answer any questions."

The mother of one soldier fighting in Iraq put up a poster in her son's apartment window when she learned of the ban. Her son's roommate said he'll risk eviction to make sure it stays.

Another Oaks Apartment resident, Judith Sherer, doesn't have a car. Instead she carries an American flag around the complex to protest the ban, and wonders if the flag pin she wears is next to be "singled out."

"If I put it on and I walk outside, what's going to happen?" Sherer muses. "Am I going to be confronted by a manager about this?"

We're told the ban includes sports flags and even flag stickers on cars. Read More......

Get involved, be informed about new County expense

The Corvallis Gazette-times reported on Monday, September 14: County absorbs cost of saving butterfly. ARTICLE: Hefty permit fees are no longer part of a plan to protect the endangered Fender's blue. Pending grants should cover land costs, and the county will seek other revenue sources for administrative funds.

Benton County has chosen to involve itself extensively in enforcing the Endangered Species Act, even tho’ the US Forest Service is charged with the responsibility, thereby incurring large new expenses for the County. At the Benton County budget hearings a few months ago, department heads were reminded that the levy voters passed last year is the only reason that draconian cuts were not made in Department budgets, yet Commissioners are moving ahead on unnecessarily funding in the Prairie Species Habitat Conservation Plan. Funding will take a big piece of the Parks Department budget, and Commissioners “hope” that grants will be found to pay for unfunded costs.

Commissioners may have thought that their involvement would bring new development revenues to the County. However, because of massive public outcry, the Commissioners announced that they would drop plans for charging a fee to build a dwelling in the area where the Fender’s Blue Butterfly and half a dozen other species are found.

Public Meeting Sept. 16

A public meeting will be held at the Corvallis- Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Avenue in downtown Corvallis, on September 16th from 7-9 pm to provide information about the changes to the Benton County Prairie Species Habitat Conservation Plan since the last draft and to provide an opportunity for comments and questions. Please attend so you will have accurate information about the changes and comment on the County’s involvement in this plan.

The revised draft of the Benton County Prairie Species HCP is now available for a 30 day comment period ending on October 7th, 2009. The draft can be downloaded on the Benton County Natural Areas and Parks website http://www.co.benton.or.us/parks/hcp/documents/ and copies will be available for review at all Benton County Public Library Branches and at the Benton County Natural Areas & Parks Office. The draft Prairie Conservation Strategy will be included as an appendix to the HCP but can be downloaded separately. Comments may be emailed to the County at hcpinfo@co.benton.or.us or mailed to the Benton County Natural Areas & Parks Department at 360 SW Avery Ave, Corvallis, OR 97333. Read More......

Newsletter: Benton Co. Republicans, Aug. 15

If this doesn't send your pocket book screaming, nothing will. Out debt exceed our gross domestic product. Your personal share of the debt is over $191,000 each! WOW! See the Mother of all Clocks! If THIS doesn't shock the living day-lights out of you....I don't know what would! Be certain to read the comments at the very end...you must click on "about" (at the very bottom of the Clock page).

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Benton Co. Republicans have authorized a new activist group, “Protect the Republic.”
This group will cooperate with patriots who are concerned about issues and policies that pose a threat to our Constitution and our freedoms. If you’d like to learn more about “Protect the Republic” just reply to this e-mail and we’ll send you more information. Your support is needed!!

Following are opportunities for involvement:

PATRIOTS RESIST JOB KILLING TAXES!
Portland, Ore. – Friday August 14th – Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bob Tiernan called on all Oregonians to oppose the job-killing taxes that were passed this June by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature. He asked all voters who are registered to sign the petition to refer the two major taxes on the ballot.

"We are down to 41 days in which to gather signatures for our cause - it's up to each and everyone one of you who agree that we just can't afford more job-killing taxes to stand up, sign the petitions, and then call your friends and tell them why they should sign the tax petitions too," said Chairman Tiernan.

How can you get involved?

• You can call our local petition chair Linda Weimer at 740-1736 to learn how to circulate the petitions and for your copies of the petition; or...
• Call the Oregon Republican Party at 503-595-8881 to learn more about the issues and where you can pick up petitions
• Go to the ORP's website to watch the training videos for signature gathering
• Contact ORP Field Organizer Kevin Hoar by email or at 503-595-8881 about the Great Tax Rebellion Day on August 21st
• Download an e-petition from the ORP's website, print it, sign it and sent it in
• Forward the e-petition link to your friends and family and get them to sign as well!

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Benton County Unnecessarily Plans to Spend Your Resources to Enforce the Endangered Species Act and Take Over Private Property

On July 5, 2009, the Corvallis G-T ran a front page article inviting people to designate their property as a home for the Fender’s Blue Butterfly, which is on the Endangered Species List. People were invited to sign up throughout Benton County to plant lupine on their property as food for the butterfly which would encourage it to forage on new lands.

The Wren-Kings Valley area is the area where the lupine and the butterfly are currently found, and many of the land owners in this area are angry about being told what they can do on their land. A designated area becomes an area where the government dictates if there can be new development and of course no habitat can be disturbed without big government involvement.
Unnecessarily, Benton County is set to spend $800,000 to take over the job of enforcing the Endangered Species Act and to create conservation easements through purchase of land. Jerry Jackson, candidate for Benton County Commissioner, feels strongly that the county should not be a regulatory means for the Endangered Species Act.

Jerry says that the current draft habitat conservation plan should become non-regulatory and have no authority to add to any additional species, restrictions and or to purchase private property to create conservation easements in the so-called “blue zones” (See the article in July 5 G-T).

During the semi-annual Benton County budget process, budget shortfalls were discussed and the Board of Commissioners publicly admitted that the county does not have enough money to operate in the future without spending down their reserves. You don't have to go any further than Starker Forests in western Benton County to see we have great stewards of the forest in place without wasting more than $800,000 on a study to regulate your lands.

The next Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Thursday, August 20th, 10am-Noon at the Corvallis-Benton County public library in downtown Corvallis. Here’s where you can do something to influence the progress of this encroachment on private property rights. CALL THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND ASK THAT THE MEETING BE MOVED FROM DAYTIME TO THE EVENING SO THAT MORE PEOPLE CAN ATTEND!!! Then proceed to learn all you can about this government encroachment on private property.

The August 20 meeting will be a work session to discuss the revised draft Benton County HCP. HCP Staff have been working to revise the document since the close of the 90-day draft HCP comment period in April of this year. The County plans to release the revised draft HCP, including the Prairie Conservation Strategy (an Appendix), for an additional 30 day comment period this September. The agenda will be posted on the Benton County HCP website soon at www.co.benton.or.us/parks/hcp/stakeholder.php.

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Important Events

• Monday, August 17, 11 a.m. - Picket the Service Employees International Union (S.E.I.U.) office at 606 S.W. 15th Street, Corvallis to protest Pres. Obama’s request for S.E.I.U. members to strongarm people at several Town Hall meetings across the nation.


• Tuesday, August 18, Carpooling: 7:30 a.m. - Be at Republican Headquarters, 1760 S.W. Third Street, Corvallis to ride as a group to the Town Hall meeting sponsored by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-U.S.Cong.Dist.4 from Oregon). There will be no August midvalley Town Hall meetings by any Congressman, and the closest meeting will be Rep. DeFazio’s Town Hall in Junction City’s city hall from 9 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug 18.
  If you can’t attend in the morning, Rep. DeFazio will hold two other Town Hall meetings on Tuesday: 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. at the Eugene Hilton and Convention Center, 66 East 6th Av., Eugene; and 7 to 8 p.m. in the Springfield City Council meeting room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOUR COUNTRY, STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!


• Thursday, August 20, 10 a.m. - Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Thursday, August 20th, 10am-Noon at the Corvallis-Benton County public library in downtown Corvallis.


• Thursday, August 20, 5 p.m. - Annual Republican Barbecue! This year it’s in the Beer Garden at The Philomath Frolic Rodeo Grounds, 502 S. 13th Street, Philomath. Come enjoy Sandy’s fabulous Tri-tip or chicken barbecue!! Bring the whole family for lots of fun, music, and word from the campaign trail. You’re invited to bring a dessert to share (no cream desserts, please). Call message line for tickets: (541) 754 9155 (Look for signs telling you to turn south on 11th Street for easy access, since there is road work on S. 13th St. After you cross Applegate, proceed on South 11th. Look for the gate, which will be open (the road will take a slight left angle as you proceed to the gate. Stay on the road, which will lead you to the Benton County Republican Barbecue! EASY!)

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This e-mail is sent to you by Benton County Republicans, P.O. Box 808, Corvallis OR 97339. Our office is located in the Millrace Center at 1760 S.W. Third Street, Corvallis. Our telephone number is 754 9155. Please visit our website at http://bentongop.blogspot.com.

If you would like to subscribe to our e-mails, please make your subscription request HERE. Thank you. J. Nelson Read More......

Newsletter: Benton Co. Republicans, July 31 - Obama's Popularity Plummets as Voters Learn the Truth

“Government’s first duty is protect the people, not run their lives.”--President Ronald Reagan, Republican, (1981-1989)

The latest polls reveal that voters are turning away from Pres. Obama and the Democrat Party. Non-aligned voters have especially lost confidence in Democrat leadership. Watch for a huge barrage of propaganda against the pharmaceutical companies during August, as Nancy Pelosi tries to bolster the Party image.

In this newsletter:

• Today’s Political Cartoon
• Obama Misleads Public, Does an End Run Around Congress
• Obama Lies about the details of his healthcare proposal
• $$$$ Billions of Stimulus Funds Disappear!
• Watchdog says TARP tab could hit $24 Trillion!!!

Political Cartoon (This cartoon was sent to us by Beth Ann Ryker. Thanks, Beth Ann!

Have You Heard Pres. Obama Describe His Healthcare Plan? Don’t Believe What he Says! Pres. Obama has been making misleading claims about his healthcare proposals. When Obama says his plan will keep “government out of healthcare decisions” and Americans will have “the option to keep your insurance if you’re happy with it,” he is not telling the truth!

Arizona Republican Rep. John Shadegg says, “The Democrat-backed health care plan “inserts the federal government and the federal bureaucrats in virtually every healthcare decision in America. And, under the clear terms of the bill, you will not be able to keep your current plan, whether you like it or not.”

Shadegg sees the House bill as a “massive takeover of every aspect of healthcare.” The legislation “empowers bureaucrats to make virtually every decision,” he says. “It creates a new healthcare advisory commission, a new healthcare benefits board. It creates a new commissioner who would have powers just short of the powers of the president.”

As for Obama’s claim that his plan allows Americans to keep their present insurance if they wish, “That simply again is flat false,” Shadegg says. The House bill sets forth standards that every insurance plan in America must meet regarding coverage, minimum benefits, plus more requirements are forthcoming. “No plan currently in existence in America could possibly meet those standards. Therefore, no plan today will continue to exist” under Obama’s healthcare. The statement that if you have a plan you like you can keep it “is simply wrong.”

Shadegg says that nationalizing health care will give Democrats their goal of making Americans dependent on the government. Obama and Pelosi say they can cover all Americans while bringing health care costs down. The Congressional Budget office has been very candid and straightforward in saying THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE. The CBO says that Obama’s health plan will increase the cost burden on the United States Government, on all insurance providers, and on every one of us!!!

The CBO also says that Obama’s health care spending will create a massive spike in the federal deficit!

Our legislators must read the whole bill and vote in a responsible manner! We don’t want Congress to pass legislation they haven’t read and then say, “Sorry, I didn’t read it before I voted for it, so of course you can’t hold me responsible because I didn’t know.”

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House Republicans Unveil $700B Healthcare Plan
“We are introducing this bill because we support health care reform, but in a way that empowers patients.” This bill gives GOP lawmakers a positive plan to point to when they go home for the congressional August break.

The GOP plan was drafted by Rep. Tom Price, R-GA, a physician. It avoids expanding the federal role in overseeing the health insurance industry. Unlike Dem proposals, it would not set up new federally regulated purchasing pools for individuals and small businesses. Instead, it would allow individuals to use the Internet to purchase lower-cost coverage available anywhere in the country.

The plan would offer tax deductions and tax credits to help make the purchase of health insurance more affordable for individuals. States, associations and small businesses would be allowed to pool together to offer less expensive insurance coverage. It would provide grants to states to help set up high-risk pools for people with medical problems who are denied coverage by commercial insurers. And it would allow employers to automatically sign workers up for the company’s coverage—similar to what’s done with 401 (k) retirement plans.

The GOP will would take on medical malpractice, limiting jury awards for pain and suffering and creating new health courts in which a specially trained judge would hear and decide cases involving medical negligence.

Republicans say their plan is fully paid for, but it hasn’t been assessed yet by the Congressional Budget Office, the official scorekeeper for the costs of legislation.

It’s unclear how far the plan would go in reducing the number of uninsured. Most independent analysts—and the insurance industry—say some sort of requirement to purchase insurance is needed to ensure coverage. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) said “we believe we can come up with a plan where every person in the uninsured has access to insurance.”

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President Does an End Run Around Congress!
In last year’s presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised us that he would not bypass Congress in his decision-making.

Truth: Obama has appointed an army of “czars”, each wholly unaccountable to Congress, and each spearheads major policy efforts for the White House, with authority second only to the President.

In his first six months, Obama has done an end run around the legislative branch by appointing many people who are not subjected to Senate confirmation and congressional oversight, and who have absolute authority in almost every aspect of our lives. Barack Obama poses a grave threat to our system of checks and balances!!

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Obama Already Breaking Tax Promises
By Grover Nyquist, Wednesday, July 29, Newsmax - On September 12, then-Senator Barack Obama made the American people a promise. We were told “no family, making less than $250,000 a year, will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax. Not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”

President Obama didn’t keep that promise. He broke it 16 days into his presidency when he signed the SCHIP bill, instituting a tax hike on smokers, a group with a median income of $36,000. And that’s about the last place his promise was even comprehensible.

Since then Obama has broken that promise while he and his mouthpieces have told America that the promise comes without caveats, that the president doesn’t draw lines in the sand, and that he has kept and will keep the promise. It sounds baffling in print – it’s even more confusing when you see and hear it.

But with healthcare and cap-and-tax – both loaded with tax hikes – potentially hitting the president’s desk in the next few months, IT IS VITAL THAT THE PRESIDENT BE REMINDED OF HIS PROMISE. American simply cannot afford any more twists and turns in this bizarre saga of Obama’s tax promises.

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Obama Fails to Shove Healthcare Through the House before Vacation
When Congress leaves Washington D.C. for a month of vacation, nationalized healthcare will still be waiting for a vote. And voters are anxious to tell their Congressional representatives during August about necessary changes in possible healthcare legislation. To counter voters, a massive propaganda campaign has begun, trying to make the pharmaceuticals, not the Democrats, the bad guys. Democrats will be painted as the saviors of the masses.

Obama admitted this week that the House will not vote on this bill before the end of September or the middle of October.

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Billions in Stimulus Disappears in States Without Oversight
Illinois, President Obama’s home state, is the worst in the nation when it comes to information available online about how federal stimulus money is being spent. Illinois also scored a zero in information about stimulus spending on highways.

The 50-state study by the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog Good Jobs First sought to assess how well states are living up to President Barack Obama’s pledge that the $787 billion federal stimulus bill would seek “an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability.”

To fulfill that and similar promises from governors, state web sites were supposed to play a central role as one-stop shops where watchdogs, reporters and citizens could go to track stimulus cash. On a scale of zero to 100, Illinois scored zero!

Most states also scored poorly, with an average rating of 28. Illinois is so tainted with political corruption that critics said it should try to be more transparent than any other state.

Maryland scored 80, Colorado was second with 68, and only 4 other states scored above 50. Oregon was not specifically named.

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Thanks, Paul Rentz, for calling our attention to an article on the front page of the G-T this week:

The folks that say Health Care Companies are greedy have NO competition compared to the Federal Government and the State Of Oregon- do the math!
According to an AP article that was on the front page of the Gazette Times (Corvallis’ morning paper) July 28th, 2009, Oregon lawmakers spent $176 MILLION dollars creating 113,260 hours of jobs (average job lasted 35 hours for 3,236 employees) or $1,554 PER HOUR! Is this part of the same government that is telling us that they can save us money in health care if we put them in charge?!? They think private sector health care is a rip off- oh my!

WE HAVE TO GET THE WORD OUT!
Paul Rentz

SPIN METER: 'Help Wanted' counting stimulus jobs
By RYAN KOST (AP) – 2 days ago
PORTLAND, Ore. — How much are politicians straining to convince people that the government is stimulating the economy? In Oregon, where lawmakers are spending $176 million to supplement the federal stimulus, Democrats are taking credit for a remarkable feat: creating 3,236 new jobs in the program's first three months.
But those jobs lasted on average only 35 hours, or about one work week. After that, those workers were effectively back unemployed, according to an Associated Press analysis of state spending and hiring data. By the state's accounting, a job is a job, whether it lasts three hours, three days, three months, or a lifetime. "Sometimes some work for an individual is better than no work," said Oregon's Senate president, Peter Courtney.

With the economy in tatters and unemployment rising, Oregon's inventive math underscores the urgency for politicians across the country to show that spending programs designed to stimulate the economy are working — even if that means stretching the facts.
At the federal level, President Barack Obama has said the federal stimulus has created 150,000 jobs, a number based on a misused formula and which is so murky it can't be verified.

At least 10 other states have launched their own miniature stimulus plans and nine others have proposed one, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many of them, like Oregon, have promised job creation as a result of the public spending.

Ohio, for instance, passed a nearly $1.6 billion stimulus package even before Congress was looking at a federal program. When Gov. Ted Strickland first pitched the idea last year, he estimated the program could create some 80,000 jobs.

In North Carolina, a panel authorized hundreds of millions of dollars in new debt to speed up $740 million in government building projects. According to one estimate, the move could hurry the creation of 25,000 jobs.

As the bills for these programs mount, so will the pressure to show results. But, as Oregon illustrates, job estimates can very wildly.

"At best you can say it's ambiguous, at worst you can say it's intentional deception," said economist Bruce Blonigen of the University of Oregon. "You have to normalize it into a benchmark that everybody can understand."

Oregon's accounting practices would not be allowed as part of the $787 billion federal stimulus. While the White House has made the unverifiable promise that 3.5 million jobs will be saved or created by the end of next year, when accountants actually begin taking head counts this fall, there are rules intended to guard against exactly what Oregon is doing.

The White House requires states to report numbers in terms of full-time, yearlong jobs. That means a part-time mechanic counts as half a job. A full-time construction worker who has a three-month paving contract counts as one-fourth of a job.

Using that method, the AP's analysis of figures in Oregon shows the program so far has created the equivalent of 215 full-time jobs that will last three months. Oregon's House speaker, Dave Hunt, called that measurement unfair, though nearly every other state that has passed a stimulus package already uses or plans to use it.

"This stimulus plan was intentionally designed for short-term projects to pump needed jobs and income into families, businesses and communities struggling to get by," Hunt said in a statement. "No one ever said these would be full-time jobs for months at a time."

Still, critics say counting jobs, without any consideration of their duration, isn't good enough.

"You can't let them say, 'Well, we never said it was going to be full-time,'" said Steve Buckstein, a policy analyst for the Cascade Policy Institute, a free-market think tank. For the price of Oregon's $176 million, lawmakers could have provided all 3 million state residents with a one-hour job paying about $60, he said.

"By their definition, that's 3 million jobs," Buckstein said. "Is anybody gonna buy that?"

Oregon's 12.4 percent unemployment rate surpasses the national average of 9.4 percent. To supplement the federal stimulus, the state sold bonds to pay for everything from replacing light bulbs to installing carpet and finishing construction of a school in the farming community of Tillamook.

The "Go Oregon" program is still new. According to its latest progress report, 8 percent of the money has been spent and hundreds of projects have yet to be completed. More paychecks are bound to be written as construction continues.
If Oregon's dollars-to-jobs ratio remains steady, the program will create about 688 full-time, yearlong jobs. So far, it's generated only enough hours to employ 54 people full-time for a year.

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This e-mail is sent to you by Benton County Republicans, P.O. Box 808, Corvallis OR 97339. Our office is located in the Millrace Center at 1760 S.W. Third Street, Corvallis. Our telephone number is 754 9155. Please visit our website at bentongop.blogspot.com.

If you would like to subscribe to our e-mails, please make your subscription request HERE. Thank you. Read More......

Benton County Draft Prairie Habitat Plan

OREGON REPUBLICAN BLOG, 6/20/2009 by Jerry J. Jackson, Sr. - "It is time to be very aware of the Power our County is trying to Obtain!" Read more at the Oregon Republican Blog... Read More......

Newsletter: Benton Co. Republicans, June 29

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.” …Thomas Paine (1737-1809) U.S. Patriot & political philosopher
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Multiple articles.
Independence Day, July 4

8 to 11 a.m. Start Independence Day at our annual Benton County Republican Breakfast! We’re in our new Headquarters at 1760 S.W. Third Street in the Millrace Center. Bring your friends!

You’ll love our ham and eggs, hot off the griddle and cooked just like you like ‘em. Top your beautiful fresh pancakes with butter and maple syrup, or get creative and make them Red, White and Blue beautiful with strawberries, blueberries, and maybe a dollop of whipped topping. Of course, there’s OJ, coffee and tea, too. The price is $6.00 for everyone 12 and older. Children 4-11 eat for $4.00, and those aged 1-3 get breakfast for just $1.00. Say “hello” to our Republican elected officials, who are winding down the 2009 legislature and who will be serving breakfast. Remember our new address: 1760 S.W. Third Street in the Millrace Center. And bring the sign you’ll be carrying at the Tea Party later in the day.

4 to 6 p.m. Americans, Let Your Voices Be Heard at the Independence Day Tea Party in Corvallis in front of the Courthouse, 120 N.W. 4th Street. It’s your opportunity to voice your concerns about government. So stand up and speak up for freedom!

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On YOUTUBE: From the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) speaks out against what’s happening to government today in the United States. Learn how Pres. Obama and his czars are bypassing Congress and forcing their policies on our nation, Gangster Style! It doesn’t matter what party you belong to. You’ll find this unbelievable and very eye-opening. Copy and paste this in your browser address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thR-1VuztIY

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A report has surfaced that the Environmental Protection Agency is suppressing an internal study that undermines the administration's position on global warming.

As the EPA wraps up its proposed rule-making process that seeks to label carbon dioxide as a pollutant harmful to human life, Sam Kazman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute says the federal agency has suppressed a critical internal report.

"One of their career analysts who's been there for nearly 40 years did a study criticizing the agency's approach. His boss told him that study would be kept concealed because it would only shake things up," he explains. "Namely, the administration had decided what direction to take; namely that carbon dioxide would be regulated, and this report would only cause trouble for the agency and for that office."

Kazman says his organization was able to examine a draft of the study and basically concluded that in looking at the real-world data, warming has stopped in the last eight years. It added that in the past, ocean cycles have had greater influence on climate change than have carbon dioxide emissions.

He finds it ironic that the Obama administration has pledged to be open and transparent, yet sits on a report such as this.

AND WHERE’S THE MEDIA WHILE THIS DECEPTION IS GOING ON?

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Andy and Bev Caron selected this cartoon as the Cartoon of the Year…
Maybe even the Cartoon of the Century. They note that ABC isn’t named, but, since it always follows along with the rest of the mainstream media, it belongs there, too.

(Click image for larger view)


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June 29th’s Gazette-Times story on page B6 reports that President Obama scored a major victory last Friday after the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill designed to “curb global warming.” The bill passed 219 – 212 in the House and will substantially raise energy costs for every family in America if it passes the Senate.
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A Reader Speaks Out….
In response to an email from Benton County Republicans:
I had requested e mails from the Benton County Republican Party. I am a registered Republican and support my party....However I am extremely disappointed in the e mail I received in regards to measure 57..Billions of dollars have been poured into the Measure 11 measure at great expense to our state. It was termed a Fiscal Folly years ago. A nonsustainable measure. I have written legislative people and no one was willing to come against this measure, although admitting it was expensive. We voted for it years ago as it was presented as a bill for continued offenders. That made sense.This however is not the way it works... With the Mandatory Minimums a hickey is the same as rape and gets 75 months.

There is no time off for good behavior. No look back. While incarcerated you can finish your high school education, get a certificate in welding learn to play guitar proficiently, be in the worship band, work in the cafeteria, drive the food carts, make fences for home depot and mentor young people who have been incarcerated and not adjusting well..When you are released you have to register as a sex offender. A fifteen year old is released when they are 22 and the last learning experience is prison. Oregon just believes in locking them up and forgetting about them.

We pay approx 40,000 per year to lock up a young person. This measure is destructive, unconstitutional and wrong. We did not vote for this to happen. We voted for it because of repeat offenders, and not to see a young person a first time offender be a victim of this.

I set through a court session involving this kind of injustice. I have had several years to think it through, and see statistics.

You will never know the hurt and anguish of knowing a country you love and was born in would turn its back on you. A person has to have incredible character to survive this kind of injustice, be locked up for 75 months and be able to try to pick up the pieces of their lives.

I am aware that people are truly aware of dollars and cents..As a Senior Services worker I see that all of this monies could have been used to assure Senior and Disabled persons adequate care as they try to remain in their homes. The OPI program is the best program we have ever had, and is forever on the chopping block. Every one should know by now it is cost effective and with just a few hours a week a person can be cared for and remain in their home.

I believe it is time to change/rearrange our thinking regarding these issues. It is in our power to alleviate suffering, promote fairness, and put monies where it is needed.
Sincerely,
Marva Barnes, Philomath, Oregon

Ed. Thanks, Marva, for raising our awareness of flaws and deficiencies in the bills our legislature passes.

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This e-mail is sent to you by Benton County Republicans, P.O. Box 808, Corvallis OR 97339. Our office is located in the Millrace Center at 1760 S.W. Third Street, Corvallis. Our telephone number is 754 9155. Please visit our website at bentongop.blogspot.com.
If you would like to subscribe to our e-mails, please Contact us with your request. Thank you. Read More......

Editorial: Corvallis needs to start sustaining jobs (June 4)

CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES, 6/4/2009 (Hat tip: Jeff Kubler) - This week’s news that Nypro is closing its plant in Corvallis, with a loss of some 60 jobs, underlines some increasingly urgent facts about Benton County’s economy. ∴ First, the size of the county’s private work force actually has shrunk over the last decade: According to numbers from the state, Benton County has shed about 3 percent of the private-sector jobs it had in 2001. (The state says the county had 24,840 private-sector nonfarm jobs in April, down from 25,560 in 2001.) ∴ Although some segments of our economy have boomed (health care in particular employs 24 percent more people than it did in 2001), we’ve been unable to completely replace the manufacturing jobs that have been lost in the county, most notably at the Hewlett-Packard plant. (The loss of the Nypro jobs will make that particular hole a little deeper.) Read more at the G-T... Read More......

LETTER: On buying local

Corvallis Gazette-Times: Letters to the Editor, 6/17/2009 by John Detweiler

Buying local is not always the best deal for Corvallis (June 17) - The Corvallis City Council seems to be discussing sustainability a great deal these days. However, before the council forces costly programs or regulations on the voter, the council may wish to find out what the voters actually think before doing so. ∴ I suggest that spin-free questions be asked in the next citizen attitude survey that addresses the benefits and costs to individual voters of specific actions in the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition (CSC) action plan.

One of the CSC goals is to encourage people to buy from local firms. However, if local firms cannot compete with non-local firms, the voter will incur additional costs if they buy locally.

If Oregon State University is forced to buy from local firms at higher prices, someone will pay those extra costs. A question should address the marginal costs a voter is willing to incur for the marginal benefits of buying locally.

Another CSC goal is to revive Corvallis watersheds to conditions that provide healthy habit supporting reproducing populations of cold-water native fish.

A question should address the costs of providing that habitat. Will the taxpayer, or the people living next to these streams, be willing to incur the costs of improving the streams?

It appears to me that the council is assuming that the CSC speaks for all the voters in Corvallis. We need to find out if that is true.

John H. Detweiler
Corvallis Read More......

Benton County: Jackson presents positive budget changes at hearing

Jerry J. Jackson, Sr., (Republican) is currently a member of the Philomath City Council and has announced his candidacy for the 2010 race for Benton County Commissioner, position 1 [corrected: formerly shown as position 3].

BUDGET REVIEW
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jerry J. Jackson, Sr.
May 20, 2009

The linked information (pdf) was presented by me during the public comment time at the Benton County Budget Hearing on May 18, 2009. It is my hope the Commissioners will follow up on my presentation, as it reflects positive changes they need to make in order to prevent future financial problems.

I find it interesting that the county is relying on renewing levies to operate the county in the future. It is time to become lean and move to a basic budget now. The commissioners are trying to make Benton County responsible for everything from Linn County Health Clinics to the Federal Wildlife's regulatory position on endangered species. When you have to borrow money to operate, you must look at what you are doing wrong. Consolidating and cutting unnecessary positions are the first steps in creating a balanced budget.

Hewlett Packard is offering to lease the county office space on their campus. The lease will include janitorial service, building maintenance, furniture, ample parking, and bus service from Albany and Corvallis, and more. With a full service lease, it will be easy for commissioners to account to the tax payers how their funds are being spent.

The plan to build downtown is not fiscally responsible and needs to be cut out of the commissioners' plans. Moving to the H-P campus is the right move at this time. The county is presently leasing considerable office space, and their leases expire in 2010. Please encourage Benton County Commissioners to begin immediately to negotiate a new lease that brings Benton County offices all under one roof.

UPDATE
Write To: bocinfo@co.benton.or.us. Tell them that you support the recommendation presented by Jerry J. Jackson, Sr. at the Benton County Budget hearing on May 18, 2009. As Bob [Kish] said, this proposal is filled with common sense plans to reduce costs and continue growth into the next decade. So please read Jackson’s proposal again and write our Commissioners today. Thank you! Read More......

Letter: Approving urban renewal district would lead to raiding school fund (May 8)

CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES: OPINION 5/8/2009 Letter by John H. Detweiler - The money that will be accumulated to fund Measure 02-68, the Corvallis downtown urban renewal district (URD), is not “free money.” It is revenue foregone by governments that will not be available for other uses, such as police and fire departments. Reduced tax revenue may well result in local governments raising taxes to cover emerging requirements.

Yes, the state back-fills the money that comes out of school districts’ budgets due to urban renewal. However, that back-fill comes out of the money appropriated for all school districts. Therefore, less money will be available for all school districts. If this measure passes, Corvallis will just be the latest local government to raid the school system for urban renewal funds.

An estimate of the revenue foregone is shown in table four of “Report on the Downtown Corvallis Urban Renewal Plan,” which I have not been able to find on the Corvallis Web site. If you can’t find the report, ask your city councilor for a copy or check my Web site, http://www.peak.org/~detweij, for my analysis of the financial consequences of approving the urban renewal district, which includes table four.

It is not prudent to tie up tax revenue for long periods in good times, let alone in bad times, because we may need money for something else that is more important than urban renewal. If we want to fund projects, we can fund them individually when the details and need have been clearly stated. Vote NO on Measure 02-68.

John H. Detweiler, Corvallis Read More......

ASOSU: Gun resolution involving concealed carry not approved

Important request for letters/emails from the President of the OSU College Republicans!

Hi everyone,
Well, last night [4/28/2009] we had a decision in the ASOSU Senate (student government here at Oregon State), and in a 14 for, 15 against, 12 abstain vote, the motion to pass Resolution 2 failed. First it tied, and then the Chair voted no on it, saying that Resolution 1 already covered what I was trying to say in Resolution 2. Resolution 1, as a reminder, recommended that the University abide by all state law. Resolution 2 went further, suggesting that the University abide by ORS 166.170, which states that the Legislative Assembly is the sole entity which can regulate the use and possession of firearms in the state of Oregon.

Absolutely no evidence was provided by the dissenters, and I am strongly confident that they voted the way they did because of their political bias. They voted to uphold an illegal and unjust university rule, and their votes were not derived from any evidence whatsoever. One even complained how nobody provided evidence against my case, and then voted no anyways (Senator Kleiber).

Evidence I provided: live testimony from Senator Brian Boquist, a statement from Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson, a Legislative Council Ruling, a petition signed by ~170 individuals, a signed statement from Representative Jim Thompson, wording of the actual law that was being broken, and more.

As far as I'm concerned, ASOSU is a joke. Apparently the 2nd Amendment isn't important to ASOSU. Here are all the names of the Senators that voted against Resolution 2:
-----------------------------------
25 + Senator- Roberta Bryan
Business Senator- Josh Harbolt
Engineering Senators- Kari Varin, Matt Baumgartner, Brice Plouse
HHS Senator- Courtney Clark, Sarah Ballini, D'Anna Piro
Liberal Arts Senator- Michael Miller
Science Senator- Alia Beyer
Graduate Senator- Douglas Van Bossuyt, Kandice Kleiber
Panhellenic- Cristin Childress
Women's Center Representative- Heather Nicole Christian
ASOSU Senate Chairman- Jerred Taylor
------------------------------------

Please, feel free to email them with your opinions. When I say feel free, I really mean 'please do this for me'! But please, keep it couth. The last thing we need is to look crazy and angry - crazy angry people and guns don't mix, so don't provide them 'ammo'. At the end of this email I provided a list of their emails, just copy-paste and send to all at once :-). I suggest saying something like 'I am extremely disappointed that you voted against ASOSU Resolution 2. Not only are you supporting an illegal rule, and thus, lawlessness, but you are supporting an unjust rule that is a violation of my civil rights.'

To those of you who are not students, I ask you to participate as well - because it is us, students in Oregon, who are the future of this state and this nation, and we cannot let my colleagues get away with injustice and lawlessness now, for if we do, they shall learn that they can get away with injustice and lawlessness in the future. "Where law ends, tyranny begins" (John Locke).

Thanks everyone,

RJ Friedman
President, OSUCR
818 585 9685

kleiberk@onid.orst.edu, bryanro@onid.orst.edu, harboltj@onid.orst.edu,
varink@onid.orst.edu, baumgarm@onid.orst.edu, plouseb@onid.orst.edu,
clarkcou@onid.orst.edu, ballinis@onid.orst.edu, pirod@onid.orst.edu,
millermic@onid.orst.edu, beyera@onid.orst.edu, vanbossd@onid.orst.edu,
childrcr@onid.orst.edu, christih@onid.orst.edu, tayljerr@onid.orst.edu

See article in THE BAROMETER, 4/29/09 Section: News by Shanna Woodruff: Censure, gun issues on ASOSU Senate's plate (p.2)
Censure tabled regarding sexual assault/harassment; gun resolution involving concealed carry not approved. Read More......

TEA Party News!

A patriots quote, the Tea Party & Napolitano's shame
From J. Nelson, Benton County Republicans 4/17/2009 Email - Thanks to patriot Patricia Anderson for the following quotation:

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen. --Samuel Adams, August 1, 1776, from a speech at the Philadelphia State House

The TEA Party was a tremendous success all across America!

Locally, our newspaper said that about 350 persons turned out to demonstrate at the Corvallis post office and in front of the Benton County courthouse. However, a friend, at about 5:40 p.m., counted 375 in front of the courthouse, and many people had already demonstrated and left. The organizers are estimating that about 450 people attended.

And what a party it was! There were many, many wonderful signs demonstrating deep concern for our nation. My favorite was P.J. Hunter’s. It showed Barney Frank and Chris Dodd looking through a set of handcuffs and said, “the Chris and Barney show. Doing all they can to bring down America.” The spirit of enthusiasm was very high. Hundreds put their names on a contact list and asked that the organizers to bring everyone together again!

A couple of days before the Tea Parties, Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security issued a "rightwing" threat assessment to warn of the "current economic and political climate fueling resurgence in radicalization and recruitment" for "rightwing extremism."

Who are these extremists? According to the report, adherents are primarily "hate-oriented" or "antigovernment" but also include "individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," as well as veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Potential terrorists, all of us.

Predictably, the same mean-mouthed critics, who for the past 8 years have fed the gullible public hate for President Bush and criticism of everything Republican and a moral America, were on the editorial page of the G-T today, misstating fact and spewing venom toward those who speak out against infringement against our Constitution and back-breaking debt for our nation.

We are not cowed or deterred from our purpose to speak out against corruption and poor government actions. We will continue to band together and speak out for justice, liberty and a free America for ourselves and for our children.

GOD BLESS AMERICA! Read More......

George Taylor reflects on Fred Decker, a friend

Retired prof’s wisdom will be greatly missed
By George Taylor

Fred Decker was a friend of mine.

Fred W. Decker, 91, died April 3 in Corvallis, nine days after his wife of 66 years, Charlotte. Born July 5, 1917, in Portland, he was the son of John William and Emma Sophia Schlickaiser Decker. Fred graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School and received the Associate in Engineering degree at Multnomah College in Portland. He held a B.S. degree in physics from Oregon State University, an M.S. degree in meteorology from New York University and a Ph.D. in physics, meteorology and mathematics from Oregon State University.

And I was proud to call him a friend. I met Fred shortly after moving here in 1989. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of this outspoken but highly intelligent man. He began dropping by my office on a regular basis. We would chat about the weather, politics and other subjects, and he would tell stories. My goodness! The man could tell stories! He would often begin with “George, have I ever told you about … ” and I would usually say “No, Fred, tell me.”

Often Fred’s visits would coincide with a busy time in my day, and I would sometimes be a bit brusque and tell him I was too busy to visit. He never seemed to get offended, but would simply promise to return another time. And he would.

Fred was quite a sight in the 1990s. He usually rode his bicycle to campus. Mostly he wore a dark overcoat and a black bicycle helmet. And he would often keep his helmet on, even when inside the building.

In many ways, he was a prototypical “absent- minded professor.”

And a diligent and brilliant one at that.

He joined the OSU faculty in 1946 and served until 1981. He taught courses in engineering physics, astronomy, climatology and theoretical and applied meteorology. He directed a teaching and research program that led to the establishment of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at OSU. Fred wrote more than 80 papers, reports and articles plus books including “The Weather Workbook,” “Weather Map Study” and “Science Travel Guide.” After retiring, he taught meteorological courses by correspondence for OSU. He frequently appeared in court as an expert witness as a forensic meteorologist.

Fred spent four years in Washington as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education, from 1981-85, playing a leading role in management and policy of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

Fred was definitely “old school.” This caused him to be ignored or belittled by some “modern” scientists, but I greatly respected and admired the qualities he embodied: hard work, integrity, seeking after truth, respecting others, and encouraging young people. Fred, to me, embodied the word “gentleman.”

Fred was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Charlotte. He is survived by his daughter, Jane, of Tucson, Ariz., son and daughter in law Bill and Janet Decker of Sunnyvale, Calif., daughter- and son-in-law Rainy and Gene Takalo of Damascus, four granddaughters, one grandson, two great grandsons, sister-in-law, one niece and one nephew.

He will be missed. I will miss his phone calls especially, and remember how our calls would end. Rather than saying “goodbye,” Fred would say “God bless.”

God bless YOU, Fred! You enriched my life.

George Taylor retired as Oregon State University Climatologist last year and now operates Applied Climate Services of Corvallis. He can be reached at taylorgh@comcast.net. Read More......

GT: Banking on stem cells

It was terrific seeing Dylan's story on the front page of the Sunday, 3/29, Corvallis Gazette-Times. Do you think we can garner some help for this wonderful family? Dylan's upcoming treatment is very expensive. See Dylan's Journey here.

Photo by Casey Campbell/Gazette-Times
Dylan Cain, 4, uses a towel bar attached to a massage table to help him stand while his father, Mark, is ready to assist. Dylan, who has cerebral palsy, is set to receive stem cell treatment at Duke University. Story by Alex Paul follows.

By Alex Paul
Corvallis Gazette-Times

Wearing a New York Yankees T-shirt, 4-year-old Dylan Cain hurls a rubber ball across the living room of his parents’ Corvallis home with amazing punch for a 52-pound lefty.

If stem cell infusion at the Duke University School of Medicine in coming weeks is successful, it’s possible that Dylan, who has cerebral palsy, will someday be able to show off his pitching prowess on a real baseball diamond.

That scenario is well beyond the dreams of his parents, Mark and Jinger Cain. They will be ecstatic if the stem cell project — which will use stem cells collected from Dylan’s umbilical cord at birth — provides him with better sight and — miracle of miracles — the ability to walk.

Dylan was oxygen-deprived at birth and later was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Although he has some peripheral vision, he is legally blind, cannot walk on his own and has a vocabulary of fewer than a dozen words.

But what Dylan lacks in physical ability, he makes up for with a beaming smile and deep belly laugh that would warm the coldest heart. He also has the support of two loving parents who have been devoted to improving their son’s life since his birth on Dec. 16, 2004.

The living room of their duplex is filled with tables where they and volunteers work with Dylan every day, training his brain to remember tasks and stimulating learning. A recent cause to celebrate was the day Dylan used a towel bar his father attached to the side of a massage table to pull himself to his feet and grab some toys. It was, his mother said, a major breakthrough in a world filled with progress that is measured in tiny increments.

A decision made at Dylan’s birth may be a major turning point for the family, Jinger Cain said.

“We decided to bank Dylan’s umbilical cord blood,” she said. “The stem cells from that blood now have the potential to change Dylan’s life or, potentially, even for one of us down the road.”

Jinger was working at Hewlett-Packard when she and her husband decided to spend the $2,000. She now sells real estate, and Mark works part-time at Linn-Benton Community College. Medical costs have hit their financial resources hard, but they continue to seek the best for their son, often with the help of community fundraising projects.

“We had heard about banking cord blood, and we saw it as an insurance policy,” Mark said. “We were willing to take the chance.”

Dylan’s blood was stored with a company called ViaCord, based in Cambridge, Mass. In January, the family received a letter from ViaCord informing them that Duke University was willing to consider Dylan as part of its pediatric study based on stem cells.

“We almost put it in the shredder. It came in a plain envelope,” Jinger said. “I read it about 1 a.m. and cried. We had been looking into taking Dylan to China, where they have had tremendous success with stem cell cases.”

Jinger said because the stem cells come from Dylan’s own umbilical cord blood, they will be an exact match. There have been numerous stories worldwide of improvements in medical conditions even from partially matched cell infusions.

Jinger emphasized that the stem cells that will be used to treat Dylan are not embryonic; they are his own. No embryos were destroyed to collect the stem cells. In Germany, there have been successful tests using stem cells taken from bone marrow, Jinger said.

“The stem cells know where to go to attach themselves to damaged cells,” Jinger said. “Some people report seeing improvement in just days or a few weeks. There are stories about children who could not see when they went for treatment but could see lights when they flew home.”

Beike Biotechnology in China claims it has completed more than 13,000 stem cell transplants since 2001, with nearly 80 percent of its patients showing signs of improvement — some of them making remarkable progress.

The Cains haven’t been given an official timeline for their trip to North Carolina, but they expect it will be in late April or early May. They will travel on a weekend. Dylan will receive an evaluation on Monday and a cell infusion — which takes about one hour — on Tuesday. He will meet with a neurologist on Wednesday, and the family will return to Oregon.

At home, they will continue Dylan’s intense physical therapy and a wholesome, all-natural nutrition program in hopes of boosting the stem cell healing process.

The cost of their travel, the stem cell infusion and follow-up meetings is estimated to be about $19,000, which they don’t have, Jinger said. Over the past four years, they have spent every dime they had trying to help their son.

The Cains are realistic about their expectations and hopes for Dylan.

“We will take anything, no matter how little,” Jinger said. “Our hope is that he will get better vision, better body and muscle control. We would take any or all three. I originally thought his toughest challenge was going to be his blindness, but now I think it may be his inability to walk.”

Jinger has started a blog where she can share information with other parents of children with special medical needs.

“This isn’t just our journey,” Jinger said. “Other parents can gain from our experiences.”

To learn more about Dylan, or to donate, see www.help4dylan.com.

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526. Read More......

Charlotte Decker passes away

Charlotte Eleanor Decker
Sept. 23, 1914 ­- March 25, 2009

Charlotte E. Decker, 94, died peacefully Wednesday at Corvallis Manor in Corvallis. Born Sept. 23, 1914, in Oakland, Calif., she was the daughter of Earle L. Menker and Charlotte Anne Manhire Menker. Charlotte studied at Mills College and received her Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Stanford University in 1936. She worked as a clinical laboratory technician at Stanford Clinic in San Francisco and at Providence Hospital in Oakland, Calif. She married Fred W. Decker in New York City on Oct. 3, 1942, where Fred was called for active duty in the Army Air Corps to teach meteorology to Air Force pilots during World War II. In the fall of 1946 the family came to Corvallis, where Fred worked as a professor in the physics and atmospheric sciences departments of Oregon State University. The couple has three children, Charlotte “Jane,” William “Bill,” and Lorraine “Rainy.”

Charlotte served as a teacher at Oakland’s Chinese Methodist Church Sunday School and later at the United Methodist Church in Corvallis. She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church for more than 40 years. She was an active volunteer in PTA, Camp Fire Girls, 4-H, Boy Scout Mother’s Club and OSU Folk Club. After Fred’s retirement from OSU, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education under President Reagan and she enjoyed all of the embassy parties.

Charlotte was a devoted wife and homemaker, tending a productive home fruit and vegetable garden that was shared by many friends. However, her roses were her pride. Her love of travel began while her father was an executive with Southern Pacific Railroad and enhanced by Fred’s sabbaticals. She relished her connection with her British cousins, Fred’s Swiss relatives and international students, cultivating an appreciation of other cultures.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Homer “Bill” Menker; Charlotte is survived by her husband of 66 years, Fred; her daughter, Jane, of Tucson, Ariz.; son and daughter-in-law Bill and Janet Decker of Sunnyvale, Calif.; daughter and son-in-law Rainy and Gene Takalo of Damascus; four granddaughters; two great-grandsons; one sister-in-law; one niece; and one nephew.

The family requests memorial donations in Charlotte’s name be directed to the Grace Center for Adult Day Care, Benton County Historical Society and Museum or Eternal Perspective Ministry in care of McHenry Funeral Home, 206 N.W. Fifth St., Corvallis, OR 97330.

A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 29, at McHenry Funeral Home. Online condolences can be made via www.mchenryfuneralhome.com.

(H/t: Jeff Kubler) Read More......

Oregon House honors Jean Mater (1916-2008)

On Thursday, March 26, 2009, Representative Sara Gelser (D-Dist. 16) presented a House Concurrent Resolution (HCR-1) in tribute to Jean Mater's great life and work in front of the Oregon House of Representatives. James Mater and Catherine Mater were introduced and watched from the gallery as the resolution was presented, discussed and adopted. View the Resolution: HCR-1.

Benton County Republican Women wish to thank Rep. Gelser for her thoughtful notification that this tribute was taking place and extending an invitation. Jean Nelson, Stella Guenther and PJ Hunter attended as did Reece Hrizuk. Read More......

LETTER: Consider urban renewal district in the long term

CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES, 3/3/2009 by John Detweiler - In May, Corvallis is going to vote on establishing an urban renewal district in downtown Corvallis and paying for it with tax incremental financing.

Those who are for the urban renewal district tell us that this financing will not increase our taxes. However, money will be diverted away from financing general government to financing the renewal district over a 20-year period, which may well result in local governments raising taxes to make up for this lost revenue.

Urban renewal districts in other cities have cost the Corvallis School District over nine teachers so far. If we vote in our URD, Corvallis will lose a fraction of another teacher each year for a period of 20 years.

And, our other local taxing bodies will lose $23.4 million dollars over this 20-year period.

Readers can refer to http://www.peak.org/~detweij for the details on how I computed these numbers.

If we enact the URD, we will have committed over $23 million for the next 20 years at a time when Oregon’s economy and government finances are in complete disarray. Is this a prudent thing to do? Will our local governments try to raise taxes to cover important requirements that we can only guess at now?

John H. Detweiler, Corvallis

See also: CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES OPINION - Editorial: Morse right to seek Rainy Day Fund refill Read More......

Corvallis Council gets sustainability plan

Some balk at land use revisions

Gazette-Times, by Matt Neznanski, reporter - Although the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition received a standing ovation from some people at the noon meeting of the City Council, councilors were a little cooler toward the group’s final body of work. Councilors chose to “receive and accept” a report that reflected the work of hundreds of volunteers and contained initiatives and ideas for tackling specific topics such as energy use, transportation, education and housing citywide.

“There’s a lot of work yet to be done,” Ward 9 Councilor Hal Brauner said. “As I look through this plan, a lot of things I can agree with and a lot of things I don’t. I think a lot of people feel that way.”

In the report, the coalition outlined goals and recommendations including the reduction per-capita energy consumption by 50 percent, encouraging half of residents, organizations, government and business to buy local first and creation of compact, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use neighborhoods over 80 percent of the city’s area.

Ward 2 Councilor Patricia Daniels tried to strengthen the Council’s action to a flat-out acceptance of the plan, but that was voted down 5 to 3.

“Accepting this plan does not mean we are adopting everything in it without discussion and refinement,” she said.

But the idea of tweaking the city’s land-use laws caused enough hesitation for the majority of the Council that its support was a bit muted.

“I’m trying to avoid giving the impression to future councils and the public that this is something we’ve adopted,” said Ward 6 Councilor Stewart Wershow. “There are certain items that will fall away either because the people we represent do not support them or because we do not have the money.”

Coalition town hall meetings drew as many as 650 people to Oregon State University’s CH2M Hill Alumni Center.

The coalition is a network of more than 130 organizations and individuals in Benton County dedicated to creating a community in which resources are renewed at the same rate as they are used. Partner organizations include nonprofits, businesses, churches, schools and local government.

City leaders invested $30,000 in the town hall meetings and promised to use the plan when crafting city policies promoting sustainability next year.

Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or by email.

Copyright © 2008 Corvallis Gazette Times, A Lee Enterprises subsidiary Read More......

Contributions tax credit a great idea

Letters to the Editor, Corvallis Gazette-Times (Dec. 8) - For all of the troubles that we have in Oregon, at least the Oregon Political Contributions Tax Credit gives us a way to make a difference, regardless of our political affiliations.

This law allows individuals to contribute $50, and couples to contribute $100, to the political party of their choice and get that amount back on their Oregon tax return.

Now, I am not a tax professional, but to me at least, this means that my wife and I can donate $100 to the political party of our choice, and then get every penny of that back, which is nice. For more information, see www.oregontaxcredit.com.

I don’t know of any other states that have this type of tax credit, and I believe that many, many Oregonians do not take advantage of the credit.

So, say for example that you are a Republican here in Benton County, and you want to continue to support your candidates and the “Get Out The Vote” efforts. The credit allows you to help out, and, when you get your tax refund, it ends up not costing you a cent. Sweet!

Whatever your political affiliation — Republican, Democrat, Whig or Federalist — the Oregon Political Contributions Tax Credit is a smokin’ deal.

Jeff Limón, Oregon Read More......

Start worrying about cooling

Letters to the Editor, Corvallis Gazette-Times, Dec. 7, 3008
George H. Taylor, renowned Oregon climatologist, has a cool head and excellent scientific understanding. Taylor consistently relies on facts, rather than political and emotional pressure, to keep Oregonians informed about variations in local and worldwide climate.

On Sunday, Nov. 23, the Sunday paper published Taylor’s column, “NASA error may have had huge influence,” exposing worldwide temperature reporting errors by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies Director James Hansen.

It appears that, early on, Hansen jumped on the global warming bandwagon. Ego may have led him to repeatedly doctor statistics so that in 2008 it would appear that his predictions of global warming were right — the world is headed toward global warming catastrophe.

Actually, true statistics show that the highest worldwide temperatures of the century were in the 1930s and that 2008 had only the 70th warmest October in 114 years.

Both President-elect Obama and Oregon’s Gov. Kulongoski are on the global warming bandwagon.

But Oregon’s cyclic temperatures are falling and our snowpack last winter was above average. Maybe we should concern ourselves more with cooling, which would reduce our ability to produce enough food.

Jean Nelson, Corvallis Read More......