The city is asking citizens for input at a town hall meeting Tuesday August 4
6pm Cityhall
https://www.cityofwheeleror.gov/wheeler-funding-committee/page/town-hall
agenda
https://www.cityofwheeleror.gov/media/17401
this was posted on 8/2/26 Tillamook County Pioneer.
i have shortened, leaving the essential information, to make simpler messaging.
please share with others.
om peace namaste
lucy brook
WORDS OF WISDOM: Are You Registered To Vote?
Posted on August 2, 2026 by Editor
by Neal Lemery
Now is a good time to make sure your voice is heard, and that you are taking on a vital role in our community’s life and our civic affairs. Voting is an essential part of citizenship and being engaged in our community.
“The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.” – Dwight Eisenhower
“We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” – Thomas Jefferson
Being a registered voter allows you to have a role in who our leaders are. Our officials are elected by us, and govern in our name. Voters can sign petitions to pass new laws, repeal current laws, amend the Oregon Constitution, vote on local law changes (referendums and initiative petitions) and recall elected officials. Voters can sign petitions to put local and state candidates on the ballot. You are able to serve on juries in local and federal court cases.
Along with our free speech rights and the right to peacefully assemble and petition the government, our ability to be involved voters is a fundamental cornerstone of our democratic republic.
“Registering to vote in Oregon is quick and simple. Oregonians can register:
Online using My Vote.
By mail using a voter registration form.
In person at the county elections office or at certain state agencies like the DMV.
Tillamook County Clerk’s website.
Citizenship is a duty and a responsibility. Theodore Hesburgh, the late president of Notre Dame University, called voting a civil sacrament. Millions of Americans made great sacrifices to ensure we have our voting rights and that we continue to strengthen and grow our republican form of government and live up to our democratic principles. Regardless of our own particular viewpoints, we should ensure everyone’s rights to be heard and to be part of our national decision making. That’s part of our job as citizens.
It seems to be coming from the Sports Camp area and echo’s incredibly throughout the valley. The wildlife in the area has all but vanished: no more deer or elk in the woods, no owls. At this point it is beyond disturbing and getting scary.
The shots often cluster around weekends: Sunday late seems to be a favorite time; around 11:30pm. I don’t know exactly where they are but, again, it seems to be taking place near the wetland area just SW of Sports Camp.
I’ve be logging these incidence since May, but they started well into March. It was intermittent in May and June, but ramped up to multiple times a week after the 4th of July. August has been both Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday, August 2nd I was awoken to wonderful 4:10-4:30 am multiple session with a few different fire arms. I can’t understand what the objective is and a check of the Tillamook County Noise Ordinance may be in order. You can search it!
Maybe this person doesn’t realize how their hobby is effecting the larger area. I’m sure someone out there knows this person. Perhaps a gentle conversation about the fact that there are many people, and animals, living within their chosen range? I hope someone can reach out to them and advocate for the community at large. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
By Monica Tomosy
If Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Representatives Cliff Bentz and Janelle Bynum want to serve our communities, they must not support the Fix Our Forests Act.
I have over 30 years of federal service experience in U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey at field, regional, and national office levels. While working in the USFS national forest system in Oregon and Washington, I served on interdisciplinary land management teams. In USFS research and Development, I was immersed in climate change, fire, and fire management science. Working in the USFS, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I believe this Fix Our Forests Act would bring out the ugly. To make things worse, there is an attempt to attach the Fix Our Forests Act to the National Defense Authorization Act, wrapping America’s land management in with all the complexities of the Department of War.
FOFA ignores the science of wildfire risk reduction. For decades, natural resource scientists made tremendous progress in forest ecology science for applications to management, and it makes zero sense to ignore it. Massive logging projects do not lead to sustainable forests. Excessive thinning often leads to increased understory vegetation followed by accelerated moisture loss, increasing fire risks. Clearly the supporters of FOFA are not interested in creating a bill that uses the body of knowledge on how to reduce wildfire risk.
The focused efforts of FOFA are backward: Rather than directing USFS to manage in a way that protects and supports communities, it encourages logging functional ecosystems in the backcountry. If FOFA is enacted, ecosystems will become less resilient, less able to provide ecosystem services, and more fire prone. Losing the hydrological services (flood control, erosion control, water storage) would lead to devastating consequences. In FOFA there is no funding for the most effective action: Prescribed burning of floor fuels. FOFA is a “log baby, log” bill disguised as a wildfire risk reduction bill.
FOFA allows for 15 square miles of harvest to be administered through a categorical exclusion. It allows for the elimination of public disclosure, public input and judicial review. Its broad definition of “as determined by the responsible official” leaves the door open for line officers to administer harvest of nearly anything anywhere for any reason. There are zero safeguards for mature and old-growth forests, water storage, water quality, wildlife, and fish. It would deem the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act irrelevant.
The USFS cannot carry out its congressionally-mandated National Forest Management Act mission without responsible policies, proper staffing, and the use of available scientific information. Yet key staff have been forced to leave, first by Elon Musk and later by Russell Vought. With staff gutted in the federal natural resource agencies, the capacity to ensure the best science is utilized and the existing laws are followed is severely weakened.
What we would experience is landscape scale changes to hydrologic and microclimatic systems, destruction of very limited old growth and mature forest ecosystems, elimination of populations of plant and animal life, and very likely more wildfires, landslides, floods, and reduced water storage.
This administration is not the governing environment in which to drastically overhaul how forests are managed. FOFA was designed within the context of a chaotic and corrupt environment — an administration already looting our public natural resources. Who believes that this administration would not abuse any discretion Congress gives them? FOFA could be another step toward divestment and transfer of public lands to State and private interests. The laws that Congress passed and presidents signed, that have been in place to sustain our natural resources for the long term, would be deemed meaningless. Whether FOFA is tacked onto defense act or stands alone, please contact your senators and representative to say “No on FOFA” today.
— Monica Tomosy lives in Sisters.
Mr. Bean loves to be where the action is. He wants to be a part of whatever his humans are doing, especially at mealtime. So, watch your plate when you are eating lunch…Mr. Bean will likely be right there to help you eat it! Of course, a gentle correction will let him know that he has to be patient and wait for his own lunch. Not only does Mr. Bean share human eating habits, he also knows simple commands. Tap his bowl; Mr. Bean will come running. Tell him to sit; Mr. Bean will sit!! Fill up his bowl and Mr. Bean will wait for another “tap” before he dives in!! What a show off!!
Mr. Bean loves to play and will do so with whatever colorful or fuzzy objects are around. He especially loves wand toys, fuzzy balls, stuffed mice, and anything he can climb. Mr. Bean is also quite content to entertain himself if his humans are busy, or is as happy just to hang out and watch whatever you are doing. This fun, sweet, and busy boy has a huge heart and energy to match. His perfect forever home will be one that has room for a cat who wants to be more than just a pet…he wants to be part of the family in every way. And just like a favorite family member, he will be a loving and devoted companion.
To learn more, please visit unitedpaws.org or email unitedpawshelp@gmail.com to schedule a Meet & Greet.
The Peaceful Protesters involved with North County Resistance are still looking for answers to questions concerning incidents that happened months ago, weeks ago, and days ago. Questions about killings, detentions, coverups are answered with more killings, detentions, and coverups. I dare say as long as Trump is in office these incidents will continue.
Finally Chief Justice John Robers stood up to Trump saying his remedy against a judgement against him (Trump) was not the way the Constitution was written. It is probably too little and too late. The whole of the Supreme Court has well, “flushed the American people down the toilet”.
Is it too late to fight this? A question all must answer as individuals. If you can, come and join the North County Resistance on Saturdays, in Nehalem, from noon to 2 PM. Talk with us about how you feel. Tell us what you think we ought to be doing. Should we just let all of Trump’s antics slide, go home, watch TV, work in the garden, or whatever. Or should we be in Nehalem on Saturdays doing our protest, should we be writing letters with our complaints, should we be upset at all?
Did you hear Trump talk this week about the beautiful beaches in Cuba? Sounds like his family will be there soon scouting out these beaches for development-if they haven’t been already. Look for the dollars and this is where you will find the Trump family.
When looking up definitions of greed we find “excessive desire” and are told to look up “cupidity”. There I found “intense desire for possessions and wealth”. When is enough-enough, or not enough? And opposite of greed? I find this to be an interesting question. You can be generous. Generous with time, with compliments, with unselfishness and it will cost you nothing. You can also be generous by means of philanthropy, helping others with the monetary riches you have gotten from your life. A lot of this comes from a book I am reading, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. In my book, greed is not good quality. But it is not my job to judge. Keeping my own house in order can be a full-time job.
So, hope to see you in Nehalem, Saturday, August 1, from noon to 2 PM. Bring a chair or what you need to be comfortable. Come when you can and stay as long as you can. We have lots of American Flags and if you would like to borrow one for this demonstration, we would be happy to provide you with one.
Best,
Patty Rinehart
This one below arrived in my inbox today. It is about salmon hatcheries and funding ending in September of THIS YEAR. Oops, no more salmon?
Read on, all you who are related to the salmon industry in any way. Note especially the words I MADE INTO ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
om peace namaste
lucy brook
nehalem resident
Let’s Talk About Fish
Why a federal decision could change fishing on the Columbia River for years to come.
CYRUS JAVADI
JUL 28
Let’s talk about fish.
Not interested? Fair enough. But stick with me, even if your closest relationship with salmon may be ordering one at a restaurant.
Because this is not really a newsletter about fish. It is about how a bargain was struck between the US Government, the tribes, the fisherman, and all of us who live in coastal communities
And right now, that bargain is beginning to come apart.
The Bonneville Power Administration, better known as BPA, is ending its share of funding for the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement program, or SAFE, effective September 30, 2026. Without replacement funding, the program that raises and releases millions of hatchery salmon in the lower Columbia could begin to unravel.
Never heard of BPA or SAFE? You are not alone. Like most things in the legislature, I did not know much about either one until there was a problem.
So give me ten more minutes while you finish that coffee, and by the end of this newsletter you will know enough about salmon, dams, hatcheries, treaties, and federal power policy to sound remarkably informed around the office today.
You may even become the person who says, “Actually, the Northwest Power Act of 1980 requires the region to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife affected by the federal hydropower system.”
Your coworkers will either be impressed or stop inviting you to lunch. Either way, you will have learned something.
Salmon Are Extraordinary
It should come as no surprise that Salmon are extraordinary. They are also very strange.
They begin life in freshwater streams like the kind we have all over Tillamook, Clatsop, and Columbia counties.
Now once these little guys and gals hatch and grow a little, they head downstream toward the Pacific Ocean. Those fish that survive this epic journey through the man-made gauntlet created by dams, reservoirs, turbines, altered water flows, warmer temperatures, predators, and the many other hazards between a stream and the sea spend years in the Pacific growing larger while trying not to become lunch.
Then, for reasons written somewhere deep inside their biology, they turn around and go home. Not just to Oregon. Not just to the Columbia River. Many return toward the same tributary, creek, or stretch of water where their lives began.
And once salmon make it home, they spawn. Then they die.
That is the crazy miracle.
It sounds like an aquatic version of American Ninja Warrior. Except the contestant must complete the course twice, no one awards prize money, and the salmon dies after the final event.
So that is the salmon’s plan, and it’s important: Swim. Grow. Return. Spawn. Die. Then the next generation does it all over again.
The Last 200 years
Over the last 200 years, the number of salmon leaving and returning to the Columbia River has fallen.
Dramatically.
When Robert Gray crossed the Columbia River bar in 1792, somewhere between 10 million and 16 million salmon and steelhead may have returned to the Columbia Basin each year.
Today, the number is closer to 1 million to 2 million. Still a lot of fish, obviously. But not nearly enough fish to support everything we were asking them to do.
We wanted salmon populations to recover, sure. And we wanted tribes to be able to exercise fishing rights guaranteed by treaty, AND WE WANTED COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN TO KEEP FISHING, AND WE WANTED RECREATIONAL FISHERMEN TO KEEP FISHING, AND WE WANTED PROCESSORS, CHARTER BOATS, RESTAURANTS, BAIT SHOPS, SPORTING-GOODS STORES AND ENTIRE RIVER COMMUNITIES TO KEEP MAKING A LIVING.
This presented something of a math problem. If the number of fish kept falling, there were really only two choices.
Catch fewer fish. Or create more fish.
Now, the first option sounds simple. Just shut down fishing. Except it was not simple.
For one thing, the federal government had signed treaties with Northwest tribes guaranteeing the right to fish. The government could not build dams, damage salmon runs, and then announce one random Friday that everyone was simply done fishing.
That would be quite a deal for the government, but treaties do not work that way. And even apart from treaty rights, SHUTTING DOWN FISHING WOULD HAVE MEANT SHUTTING DOWN JOBS, BUSINESSES, TRADITIONS, AND A WAY OF LIFE that had existed along the Columbia River for generations.
So simply ending fishing was neither realistic nor right. That left the other option—create more fish.
And this was the basic idea behind hatcheries. Adult salmon were collected. Their eggs were fertilized. The young fish were raised under human care and then released into the river system by the millions.
After that, nature took over.
These hatchery fish could then be caught by tribal, commercial, and recreational fishermen without putting quite as much pressure on the wild salmon trying to reach their natural spawning grounds.
Was this a perfect solution? Of course not. If it were perfect, we would not still be arguing about salmon.
Hatchery fish compete with wild fish. They stray into natural spawning areas. They cost money to raise. And fishing for hatchery salmon can still result in wild salmon being caught by accident.
Despite all of that, hatcheries did something important. They produced fish people could catch. In other words, they helped keep one enormous problem from becoming several enormous problems at the same time.
But hatcheries created a new problem—who is going to pay for all of these new fish? It turns out, giving life to 7 million salmon each year doesn’t come cheap. And if the dams helped create the problem, Congress decided the power system should help pay for the solution.
Meet the BPA
By 1980, Congress had reached one of those rare moments of sweeping ambition when it looked at a giant regional problem and decided to solve all of it at once. The official name was the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act—sensibly shortened that to the Northwest Power Act.
The law was supposed to make sure the Northwest had enough electricity. Not just enough electricity, but electricity that was adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable. It was supposed to involve tribes, utilities, state agencies, local governments, power customers, fishermen, environmental groups, and the public. And it was supposed to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife harmed by the Columbia River hydropower system.
It was an ambitious little piece of legislation. But the important point is that the law was never only about saving endangered fish. In fact, many of today’s endangered-species listings came years later.
The law itself said salmon and other migratory fish were important to the “social and economic well-being” of the Pacific Northwest.
That wording matters.
Congress was not merely worried about fish as biological objects swimming around in water. It was worried about what fish meant to people. THINK TREATY RIGHTS, COMMERCIAL FISHING, RECREATIONAL FISHING, FOOD, JOBS, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITIES.
The law was meant to protect the fish and preserve the human benefits that depended on the fish.
It was trying to do both. Yes, the dams would remain, which mean the electricity would keep flowing. But fish and wildlife were no longer supposed to be treated as an afterthought.
And Congress was fairly specific about who should pay: Bonneville Power Administration.
The law directed BPA to use money to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife harmed by Columbia River hydropower.
That money ultimately comes from the sale of federal electricity. So the basic arrangement was not terribly complicated. The dams produce electricity. BPA sells the electricity. Power customers benefit from the dams. And some of the money is used to offset the harm the dams caused.
Don’t be tempted to think of this as charity. It is not a grant BPA hands out because it is feeling generous. It is mitigation (DEFINITION: the act of reducing how harmful, unpleasant, or bad something is). And over the following years, that legal bargain produced a large collection of fish and wildlife programs to accomplish that goal.
One of those programs was SAFE.
So What Is SAFE?
Select Area Fisheries Enhancement began in the 1990s as an attempt to make the hatchery bargain work better and to offer a solution for BPA to use to meet its Congressional mandate to protect, mitigate and enhance the fishery.
One of the problems that came because of the hatcheries was that hatchery fish and wild fish often traveled through the same parts of the Columbia River at the same time. Meaning that fishermen who might be trying to catch abundant hatchery salmon, might also be catching the vulnerable wild salmon who did not receive the memo.
So SAFE created a more selective fishery—or areas off the main stem of the Columbia where the wild salmon are more likely to be.
To do this, young hatchery salmon were released from places like Youngs Bay, Tongue Point, Blind Slough, and Deep River near the mouth of the Columbia.
Remember the salmon’s ability to find its way home? SAFE used that to their advantage.
After spending years in the Pacific, many of the surviving fish returned to those same bays and side channels. Fishermen could then target the hatchery salmon there instead of chasing them in the main stem of the Columbia, where they were more likely to encounter wild fish heading upriver.
Think of the Columbia River as Interstate 5 for salmon.
Wild and hatchery fish are all traveling on the same highway. SAFE gives the hatchery fish their own exit ramp.
Not every fish takes the correct exit. Salmon remain stubbornly unwilling to follow government instructions with complete precision.
But enough do that the program has supported productive commercial and recreational fisheries while reducing the effect of fishing on weak wild runs. BPA itself has described SAFE’s purpose as providing harvest opportunities while minimizing harm to naturally produced salmon and steelhead protected by the Endangered Species Act.
SAFE was never supposed to restore the Columbia River to 1792.
It was supposed to do something more practical—produce fish people could catch, move some of that fishing away from vulnerable wild runs, support treaty, commercial, and recreational fisheries, and help the federal power system meet the mitigation duties Congress gave it in 1980.
For more than 30 years, BPA helped fund that arrangement.
Then, in 2026, it decided to stop.
Why Is the Funding Stopping?
With barely three months’ notice, it announced that its funding would end on September 30, 2026.
Why?
Because BPA argues that SAFE has not demonstrated enough benefit to weak or endangered wild fish. In BPA’s view, the program mostly produces hatchery salmon for people to catch. And BPA now says money intended for fish mitigation should be spent rebuilding wild fish above Bonneville Dam, not supporting fisheries below it.
That is not a frivolous argument.
Hatchery fish are not wild fish. Producing more fish for harvest is not the same thing as restoring a naturally spawning salmon run. And there is a legitimate debate over how much hatchery production helps or harms long-term recovery.
But the Northwest Power Act did not say the only people who mattered were biologists counting wild fish above Bonneville Dam. IT SAID SALMON MATTERED TO THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF THE REGION.
Again, SAFE was designed to protect weak wild runs by moving fishing into select areas while still producing fish for tribal, commercial, and recreational harvest. In fact, BPA’s own recent environmental review described the program as mitigation for the federal hydropower system and said its purposes included greater protection for weak, naturally produced salmon and steelhead.
So BPA’s new position appears to be this: Protecting fish is mitigation. Protecting fisheries is not.
That is a very convenient distinction if your goal is to stop writing the check. And let us talk about the size of that check. BPA has contributed roughly $1.6 million per year to SAFE. The sudden withdrawal leaves a total estimated gap of about $2.4 million among Oregon, Washington, and Clatsop County.
Now, $1.6 million is real money. I would be delighted to find it beneath the cushions of my couch. But for BPA, an agency with ROUGHLY 4.37 BILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUE, roughly, it is about 0.037 percent.
BPA is not withdrawing because SAFE threatens its financial survival. It is withdrawing because the agency has decided the program is no longer its responsibility.
And that is the heart of the disagreement.
What Can Be Done?
Well, that is the hard part.
There is no bill sitting in the Oregon Legislature that I can vote on. There is no ballot measure. There is no committee hearing where the public gets three minutes at the microphone.
This decision belongs to BPA.
BPA controls the money. BPA decides which fish programs qualify as mitigation. And BPA has decided that SAFE no longer does.
So the question now is not whether SAFE works exactly as intended or whether the program could be improved. Of course it could.
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER ENOUGH PEOPLE CAN PERSUADE BPA TO CHANGE ITS MIND BEFORE THE FUNDING STOPS.
That means pressure from Oregon and Washington. It means pressure from tribes, fishermen, local governments, members of Congress, state legislators, businesses, and the communities that will live with the consequences long after the people making this decision have moved on to something else.
And it means the public needs to know what is happening.
That is the reason I wrote about this issue this week.
Because decisions like this are much easier to make when almost no one knows the program exists. SAFE is a small line in a very large budget. The fishermen, processors, charter operators, restaurants, and communities that depend on it are easier to overlook when they are reduced to numbers on a spreadsheet.
But if BPA does not change course, those numbers become real.
The effect will not be immediate. Salmon released in previous years will still return. Boats will still leave the dock. Restaurants will still serve fish. For a while, everything may look normal.
Then the missing fish begin to show up.
Not as dead salmon floating in the river. As salmon that were never raised and therefore never return.
THERE WILL BE FEWER FISH TO CATCH, LESS RELIABLE SEASONS, AND LESS WORK FOR THE BUSINESSES BUILT AROUND THEM. Fishing pressure may shift back toward places where hatchery fish and vulnerable wild fish are more mixed. And there will be fewer salmon in the ocean and river for predators, including endangered Southern Resident killer whales.
That is the strange thing about this decision. BPA can stop paying in September. The full consequences may not appear for years.
By then, restarting the program will not bring those missing fish back.
So now we make the case. We call. We write. We lobby. We ask our federal delegation, state leaders, local governments, tribes, fishermen, businesses, and anyone else with influence to push BPA to reconsider.
Because the decision may belong to BPA. But BPA should not get to make it quietly.
And now you are ready to head to work, or school, the bar, or your knitting club and impress your coworkers and friends with everything you know about salmon, hatcheries, dams, and federal power policy.
Whether they asked or not.
Ken Erickson
North County Resistance hopes you will join us on Saturday, July 25, from noon to 2 PM for a peaceful protest on what is going on with our government. Please read the statement below and decide for yourself who “he” is in the present day.
Best,
Patty Rinehart
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
I though his following question was EXCELLENT
“Can we build a community where compassion is never rationed, justice is applied equally, and every person’s dignity is respected?”
Do you have ideas about how to answer that question? Please email me at barbaraandchuck@nehalemtel.net
Are you an artist? Consider participating in the “You May Say I’m a Dreamer” art show in October at NCRD.
You May Say I’m a Dreamer…
Join Us
Creating something new starts with imagination. We invite you
to use yours and your heart felt energy to share your dreams
of what our country/community could look like,
where prosperity, health and happiness for ALL resides.
Submit your intention by Sept 15 to telaskinner@gmail.com
Art will be hung Oct 2
Are you a writer? The Art Opening on Oct 10 from 2-5 will include spoken word.
Barbara McLaughlin
Nehalem
With his luxuriously soft fur, a perfect white triangle framing his drop-dead gorgeous face, light green eyes showing off his unique black teardrops, BeMo is a classic tuxedo in every way.
A volunteer with United Paws found BeMo wandering alone and afraid in a remote part of Tillamook County. He was in bad shape and it appeared he was abandoned. Once BeMo received some loving care, good food, and a warm bed, he began to relax. It did not take long for BeMo’s true affectionate and playful nature to shine. And boy, does he shine!! When he is not clamoring for chin scratches and back rubs, he loves to chase and bat around toys of every kind. He is fascinated by feathers – especially if they are attached to a wand toy. BeMo loves to climb and perch up high where he can often be found taking a nap in a sunny spot. He especially loves to catch his human friends in the act of bending over, and BAM, he hops on for a nice, warm perch.
The ideal adopter will be someone who can be patient with BeMo while he gets used to his new surroundings so that he can feel safe and know he is in his forever home. Timid at first, he absolutely craves human companionship and is extremely affectionate. He gets along well with other cats and kittens but can be the only cat in the home. He will probably do very well with a gentle dog with a proper introduction. BeMo will do best with friendly, older children and adults in the home.
BeMo would love a home of his own to relax, play, and will give so much love in return. You will fall head over heels with this sweetheart as soon as you meet him. Visit unitedpaws.org to learn more and email unitedpawshelp@gmail.com to schedule a Meet and Greet.
However the hoodwinking of the American People at this time is on steroids. And even though according to latest PEW research which shows that the majority of Americans do not want undocumented persons voting in their elections, and even though the League of Woman Voters do believe that undocumented persons shouldn’t vote, they are against the SAVE act, because it makes it HARDER to vote. I believe this country is GREAT because it has more freedoms than any other country, It has a fantastic constitution. But it is TOO HARD to put out the effort to register and/or go to the poles???????
So we can have it easy and corrupt, or harder but verified.
REAL DEMOCRACY RELIES ON ACCURATE VOTING BY CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY. It has been compromised and we need to get back to SECURE elections. American citizens have gotten so soft – they want to vote without putting in effort – Going to the poles – too much effort!- I’m too busy- We are so soft. Too much trouble to get required documents – I also have to send for my birth certificate! But it is sure worth the price when you consider the benefits of living in this country.
But for the LWV, the quiet days are now over, they are a casualty of the volatile political climate of the last few years. They are no longer non partisan.
Question? Is it possible for this country to get back to balance and truth in the political arena? Is it possible for some organization or entity to demonstrate to the citizens what balance in the political arena looks like, like the LWV used to? I wish there was.
This is outside and unlocked area, therefore it’s your responsibility to properly lock up your equipment. I assume no responsibility for loss or damage for equipment or vehicles left on the property.
This is a for “storage parking” spots ‘ONLY’ ! NO ‘living’ in while parked and being stored. I would also consider $25 a week for shorter stays.
I own the property and live here full-time. The street and neighborhood is crime free. All immediate neighbors have cctv cameras around their premises.
Thank you to the thirty-three people who came to Nehalem last Saturday to protest with the North County Resistance. This thank you also includes you who were there in spirit! We know not everybody can make these protests. This protest is what unites us. It has been a long slog, but we see people who are not giving up. We are sure this is the case for people across our country who are not giving up.
This past week we have had more than four deaths due to our government policies. Johan Guerrero of Maine, Lorenzo Arayjo of Texas, 1st. Lt. Tyler Feehan of Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Texas. Information about the 5th death has yet to be released. We send condolences to all the families.
We need the leaders of this and other countries around the world to turn down and stop the violence generated by their negative remarks. Politicians should not be in the entertainment industry-they should be representing the people who voted for them, they should be thinking about ways to bring peace rather than perpetuating war.
Please continue to send your opinions to the House and Senate. Find out who is either in these positions or is running in the midterms. If you can, bring these names and addresses to our next protest in Nehalem and we will work to distribute them. Washington D.C. is another world away from us and we need to find ways to puncture and let the air out of the way they think. They are thinking only of themselves and their own bottom line rather than the people who elected them. This must stop and we cannot give up.
See you on Saturday, July 25-in Nehalem, from noon to 2 PM. There were thirty-three of us this past weekend-let us run that number up to 50 this next week. It was hot and we all appreciated it when the wind kicked in. Come when you can and stay as long as possible physically. We will have bottled water if you need it. Again, thank you all who are there in person and in spirit.
Best,
Patty
link below.
om peace namaste
lucy brook
substack.com/@neednewprez/note/c-291197010?utm_source=notes-share-action
Like Fauci said, trust the science:
zeroeth.substack.com/p/virus-mrna-and-covid-the-gateway?r=24v546&triedRedirect=true
Although they are two peas in a pod, Benny and Jet have their own likes and dislikes. For example, Benny cannot get enough attention!! He loves humans and other cats…he is a walking purr machine. If you look in his direction, the purr machine starts to whir. He also loves to climb, chase, and play, especially with dog toys!! If the dog toy squeaks…all the better! He is also quite crafty in getting what he wants…especially if cheese is involved. When you aren’t looking, he might just open up a kitchen cabinet to see what is inside!! He also loves to jump into the bathtub to splash around in any leftover pools of water! Benny is quite the snuggler and will find any open and available lap. For a special human, he might also jump up on a shoulder for a ride around the home. Benny always wants to be a part of the action and will show up to see what everyone is doing. He is fascinated by noises coming from the phone or computer. If he could, he would lend his chatty voice to the mix, making funny chirping and murping noises to let you know what is on his mind!!
Jet, on the other hand, is a watcher with his large round eyes peering out like an owl. In fact, perching by a window and watching the birds outside is his favorite thing to do. Jet is very mellow around other cats and dogs. His best friend is the foster family’s pit bull where they share frequent head butts. He also likes the foster’s cat and the two are often tangled in a wrestling match! Jet often follows Benny’s lead, but he definitely has his own special preferences. For example, if you have any sort of fish treat, he will follow you forever. Not surprisingly, if you have some catnip…both Benny and Jet will be onboard! Jet loves to play with anything that moves such as a wand toy, laser or wiggly thing. He especially loves to watch, stealthily hidden, and then jump out to get the toy!! When he is not playing or bird watching, Jet will find a cozy secluded place for a nap. If you are still and quiet, he will come and snuggle up next to you. When he wants you to know he is interested in something, Jet has an adorable trill to get your attention.
Their foster describes both Benny and Jet as “adaptable.” They are good climbers, good eaters and they always use their litter boxes. Jet will sometimes startle with sudden noises but so long as he has a quiet place to retreat, he feels safe.
All in all, this very loving, playful, bonded pair of black beauties would love to find their forever home. They will reward you with their sweet, affectionate personalities with purrs, trills, chirps and murps.
To learn more, please visit unitedpaws.org or email unitedpawshelp@gmail.com to schedule a Meet & Greet.
I’ve been asked to post the following information about a vigil at St. Catherine’s Church this Saturday for the two men, Lorenzo and Johan, killed recently by ICE. This information is followed with details about the protest in Nehalem on Saturday.
Join Katie Moss and Indivisible Tillamook County for a silent candlelight vigil in Bayside Gardens this Sunday at 9pm-10pm in the St. Catherine’s church parking lot facing Hwy 101, to remember and grieve the violent killing of two innocent men by ICE this month. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed last week by an ICE agent in Houston while driving a work van with his crew. This week ICE fatally shot 26-year-old Johan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine — his wife and toddler forced to witness the violent act. Both men were beloved members of their communities, killed on their way to work and both were carelessly mistaken for the wrong person, ICE admits. Join us for a vigil to grieve these tragedies, to demand justice for Lorenzo and for Johan and an end to the terrible fear of ICE in our own community.
North County Resistance will be holding its weekly protest in Nehalem this Saturday, July 18, from noon to 2 PM. All are invited to protest the way our country is being torn apart by our current government. Our direction needs to change. We can’t keep killing people in our country and countries around the world. See you in Nehalem.
Thanks,
Patty
Lines
The wind is rising as clouds gather
above the coastal village of Celestun.
Resting in a simple plaza,
the Zocalo where they often linger,
the hub and heart of things here,
I am observing the old ones, faces full
of changing light. I see them move
tendering fragile bones. I do not know
grandmother sitting on the sandy plaza
steps, but I recognize life in the deep
lines of her kind face. In silence
she is smiling, offering what all her years
have shown: Turning away only builds
a wall; Be where joy lives and has lived
all along.