Donations were given by: Ad Specialties of Oregon, Erickson Tire Factory, Bodyworks for Women, Jodi’s Hair & Nails, Hi-School Pharmacy, Dutch Bros. Coffee, Face Realities, The Grooming Barn, Blockbuster, Cutting Edge Fitness, Mia’s Sandwich Shop, Papa Murphy’s, Video HQ, Carquest, JB Glass, Union Mills Feed Store, Cindy’s Cafe, Molalla Discount Tire, Molalla Figaro’s Pizza, Fox Clinic, Meadowbrook Grocery, Cascade Drilling, Doubletrees Land and Timber, Molalla Medical Clinic, Molalla Communications, Colton Telephone, Colton Fire District, Hobart Oil Company, Safeway, Harvest Market, Camp Adams, Bentley Feed, West Coast Bank and Molalla Dental Clinic.

Because of all the help we have received, the class of 2009 had a safe and sober graduation night, making this a night for the class of 2009 to remember. The class motto is “2009 until the end of time.”

Rhonda Rodriguez

Colton

Reader grateful for recent surprise retirement party

Thank you, thank you to all my children and grandchildren for my surprise retirement party.

Also thanks to all who attended and sent cards and gifts. The friends I meet on the streets or in stores give me a hug or just say they’ll miss me and wish me well.

Thanks again.

Ina Mae Lucht

Molalla

Thanks to Molalla Masonic Lodge for supporting students

I would like to tell you how much we appreciate Molalla Masonic Lodge.

On June 12 we were allowed to have an 8th grade graduation party and dance for students of 2013. We had Joe Gibson, Trent Beaver and Pete Delbridge play music and DJ for these kids.

I was told by several students it was the best party they had ever had. I thank all the parents who helped volunteer to make it a very successful party. thanks for supporting the students in Molalla.

Bonnie Dunn

Molalla

Reader disagrees about what happened at recent planning comission meeting

I would like to comment on the letters to the editor in the June 24 edition of the Molalla Pioneer written by both Pat Ross and Susan Hansen regarding the last Molalla Planning Commission Meeting.

I sat in on the meeting with my wife Danna Jacober who is a city councilor. Sitting where I was sitting I had a clear view of the others attending. After Jim Gilbert made his comments and started to walk away, the planning commission chair, Dick Miller called him back and asked him a question.

Mr. Gilbert tried to answer with a question and argued with Mr. Miller until he waved him off ending the conversation. Perhaps if Mr. Gilbert would have answered Mr. Miller’s question he would have received an answer to his.

But due to Mr. Gilbert’s actions we won’t know. Pat Ross noted in her letter that Mr. Miller, “very timely constrained the time on speakers who disagreed with the city’s approach to planning ...” And she also said she noticed a lot of negative reaction from the audience about Mr. Miller’s conduct.

There were only three people that I recall had any opposition. Susan Hansen who gave her speech and was not asked any questions by the commission, another citizen who lives outside the city and had some concerns and asked questions that she was given answers to, and another citizen who was 45 minutes late to the meeting who briefly commented to the commission.

It’s interesting that out of 20 or so people there, the only negative reaction I noticed was from Pat Ross, Susan Hansen, and another lady sitting at my table who said regarding Jim Gilbert,

“And he wonders why he was not elected.” By the way, Susan, my wife did not make that comment. I also question how Pat Ross timed each person who was commenting to the commission when she was not wearing a watch and was holding a note pad up in front of her face with her left hand and had a pen in her right hand and was writing on it.

As for Susan Hansen’s comment that the local citizens were “aghast” at my wife thanking the commission for their work, I guess she was asleep when Jim Gilbert did the same at the start of his comments as well as others who also made comments, before my wife even said anything.

I think that’s known as selective hearing. But, Susan Hansen did leave before the meeting ended so I guess she just didn’t have all the facts.

Dan Jacober

Molalla

Having the kids home for summer break doesn’t have to be torture

The summer has just begun yet many of us are already longing for the fall. Why is that? The kids are home from school!

They seem to eat all day long, the noise is louder and there are piles of stuff everywhere. Demand for our attention is constant, especially in large families.

Busy parents can become frazzled easily. It is difficult to stop what we are doing and listen carefully to everything our kids tell us.

Do you find yourself saying “I’m busy” or “Not now” or “Leave me alone”? How about “Get out of here” or “Just go away!”

As parents we must remember that we are the primary examples for our children. They really learn more from us than anyone else.

Keeping in mind a few simple rules of life should help to reduce tension that builds up in the family. Think before speaking Help others; act kindly; never give up kisses and hugs; smile; encourage your children and yourself with thanks.

Spend time together doing things. Go for walks at the river or a park, read out loud or play table games. Toss a ball around in the backyard.

Even watching birds and bugs can be entertaining for everyone. Hey, this is Oregon and we need to enjoy the summer while we can!

Amber Guillen

Molalla

Rep. Schrader is letting us down to serve his own ambitions

Today,. June 26, 2009, will go down in history as the worst day for American public ever. With the passing in the House of Representatives on the Cap and Trade bill, American is marching down the road to higher energy prices and less job creation.

These two important items are the engines to American coming out of the recession (soon to be Depression).

Energy is the engine to job creation and with the Cap and Trade bill we will be shipping more jobs overseas and it will be hard to get them back.

Do you think India and China will care about Cap and Trade? How can our representatives be so blind as to think this bill will help the environment as much as it will hurt the job seeking Americans.

As of today we have about four major volcanoes going off some were on this earth and how are they going to cap their emissions.

The fools who are backing this destructive bill that will destroy our economy will have to pay at the polls in 2010.

I mention my representative, Kurt Schrader; yes the puppet of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Any time my representative signs onto a bill without reading it (The stimulus bill Feb 2009) and that bill puts my children and grandchildren in debt for many years and then signs onto the Cap and Trade bill, that will keep them from getting jobs in today’s economy, it tells me his only interested is in climbing the ladder of the Democratic party and not protecting the folks in his district.

Shame, shame on you Rep. Schrader. When our electric rates go from 8 cents per kilowatt hour to 16 cents per kilowatt hour will you be around to help the average folks to pay for this?

How about when gas goes up to $5 per gallon? Will you help them work it out in their budget?

With great hope many people voted for you Rep. Schrader to give us workable change not for you to be a puppet with Nancy Pelosi pulling the strings

George Abbott

Molalla

Local Molallans help out stranded Californians

On Friday, June 26, we were stuck in our motor home at the entrance to the Safeway Gas Station in Molalla, unable to start it.

A retired electrician and his wife stopped and offered us assistance. My husband was working on it and needed a tool.

One of the fellows pumping gas generously lent us his tool set to use, left it with us when he went off duty and asked us to leave it at the station.

Others working there helped us get phone numbers and info about the area. We called your local Chevy dealership and Bret, the technician, came out to our location to check things out for us. Although he could not get us going and the dealership was not equipped to work on motor homes, he went back to work and had someone call us who might be able to help us.

Andy, from PeeVee Enterprises called us and said he would stop by after work and try to help. He spent an hour with us in the parking lot and then took my husband back to his shop to show us where we could be towed and that he would come in on Saturday, his day off, to try to fix it.

Even though we have Good Sam Roadside Assistance it took them eight hours to provide a tow.

This letter is to thank all those who were so kind and helpful. We so appreciate their willingness to help us on our way home to Southern California.

Chuck and Barbara Zimmerman

San Bernardino, Calif.

People need to wake up before it’s too late for our country

Citizens of Molalla are each currently carrying a federal debt burden of about $200,000 as their share of the $56 trillion national debt.

Most of it is unfunded, not on the books, but commitments that have been made by the federal government.

The numbers come from the non-partisan General Accountability Office (GAO) and other top former government officials, who have no ax to grind other than a genuine concern for the country.

They represent all facets of the political spectrum.

The real problem rests with you — the public. Although aware of this for years, I became intimately aware of this problem about a year ago, with the release of the movie “I.O.U.S.A.”

My background is in the free enterprise private sector; a retired chief financial officer of a 1,300-employee high-tech, international, publicly held company, and a retired certified public accountant and MBA, I am 76 and without immortality.

When I leave this world, I would like to know that my talents were applied to making a significant positive contribution to the future well-being of our country.

What the federal government is doing is “cooking the books,” which is illegal and immoral in the private sector and is also totally misleading the public.

Recently, one major network news anchor said, “with advances in medical care, we could live to be an average of 100 or more.” Oops! We are deep in the hole on Social Security and Medicare now and are sinking further due to the baby boomer tsunami.

This tsunami has already started, with an average individual longevity of 75 years. How is the country going to afford another 25 years for more than 84 million retirees at more than $30,000 current dollars per retiree, per year?

At current dollars, that comes out to more than two trillion dollars more per year. The numbers are sobering and staggering. This, of course, was never mentioned — only the good news was.

For the last few months, I have been trying to get several local leaders to view the movie “I.O.U.S.A.,” which has been produced by some of the best financial minds in the country. It is not political.

It chastises both parties equally. The numbers and the situation are real — not hypothetical or conjecturable. If you are concerned about our economic future, it is sobering.

Despite my assurances, I have been chastised and accused of all sorts of things in a case of “ignore the message; shoot the messenger.” It’s obvious that local leaders are in a state of denial and distraction, and they apparently don’t have the maturity or whatever to come to grips with tough pending problems.

The typical responses are ones of denial, such as, “I’m too busy,” “It doesn’t concern me” or “It’s political.” I’m paying the initial expenses for this local effort out of my pocket, so the materials and any movie viewing are free. The only thing required from leaders is a couple hours of their time and an objective evaluation. I do need a viewing site.

Molalla is not isolated. It is a stateroom on the giant ship Gigantic.

Long ago, the Gigantic hit a “debt-berg,” which has ripped a large hole in the Gigantic’s economic hull. It is leaking dollars and seriously taking on water, most of which goes unreported.

It’s called unfunded or unreported liabilities. The captain, crew and potential replacements won’t tell you, the passengers, about this.

They are terrified you won’t hire or rehire (vote for) them.

In the meantime, the situation gradually worsens, while the trailing sharks, some friendly, some not, are agonizing and salivating over a potential sinking.

The key question becomes, “How much debt load can the Gigantic take on before it slips beneath the waves?” These are relatively calm waters. What happens when the waters really get turbulent, due to major unforeseen acts of God or humankind?

In the 1930s while the isolationists were hiding behind the Atlantic and Pacific, Hitler and Tojo were plotting our demise and servitude in their dreams of world conquest.

How are their replacements now contemplating collecting our growing IOUs that they currently hold? Our next generations are going to have to provide the answers.

Again, I have no political agenda, nor do I seek any monetary gains from anybody.

Mel McBurney

Mulino

Keep watch or your personal property might not be yours any more

It is ludicrous that Rep. Vic Gilliam is writing unctuous op-eds about his “work” for us.

I recently participated in hearings in Salem on several energy transmission related land use bills. The most glaring example of Gilliam’s disregard for us is his House vote in favor of HB 3058.

HB 3058 is a murky, anti-private property rights bill that would allow “linear utility projects” (like the Palomar pipeline) to apply for state permits before property owners give permission and before eminent domain is obtained.

HB 3058 was requested by the Bradwood Landing Texas LNG shills to “speed up” the process.

Gilliam has accepted copious amounts of money from special interest energy speculators like NW Natural Gas and unions — they have given Gilliam over $17,000 (PAC# 5690).

Gilliam heard agonized testimonies from impacted Oregonians — yet he voted yes to further erode our rights in the face of noxious eminent domain projects.

When Gilliam votes in Salem, preserving his “big winner” special interest money handouts takes precedence over protecting the private property/ privacy rights of citizens in his district.

Eminent domain rears its ugly head in the form of pipelines, roads, and power lines. Our experience here proves that these projects are unpredictable and life changing.

Current law sensibly requires that corporations and government must wait until full legal rights are obtained before the permitting application process can begin.

Eminent domain can strike anywhere, anytime. Please take a moment to tell State Senator Fred Girod (503-986-1709 or “sen.fredgirod@state.or.us”) to vote NO on HB 3058 before your private property/privacy rights are stolen.

Susan Hansen

Molalla