Letter Carriers Drive to Stamp Out Hunger Saturday

Local letter carriers and postal service employees in Toledo, Lincoln City and Newport will participate again this year in the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, now in its 20th year. On Saturday, May 12th letter carriers will collect nonperishable food donations along their routes for delivery to the Newport, Toledo, and Lincoln City Food Pantries. It is the largest one-day food drive in the nation. Letter carriers ask you to place a food donation by your mailbox Saturday before your mail is delivered. Donations will also be accepted in the lobby of your local post office. In 2011, letter carriers collected more than 70.2 million pounds of food nationally. Toledo letter carrier Matt Gallo said Toledo “has truly backed our efforts enthusiastically. We have consistently brought in nearly four thousand pounds of food for about the last ten years.” Gallo said businesses that have helped in the effort include J.C. Thriftway Market, Dairy Queen, Georgia-Pacific, Newport Rental and many others. Lincoln County postal carriers’ efforts in 2011 yielded approximately 20,000 pounds of food. All donations remain local.

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SNAP Incentive Program Coming to Toledo, Lincoln City

The Lincoln City Farmer’s Market has become the latest to accept federal food benefits. Adults and families enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) can use their Oregon Trail card at the Lincoln City Farmer’s Market to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, plant starts, meat, dairy and bread. Through Ten Rivers Food Web’s “That’s My Farmer” SNAP Incentive Program, people who spend at least $6 of their SNAP benefits at the market get an extra $6 in market tokens redeemable for fresh foods.

In Lincoln County, more than nine thousand people rely on SNAP monthly, bringing in an estimated $15 million into the local economy each year. 33% of Lincoln County children are on SNAP, far outpacing the national average. Ten Rivers Food Web spokeswoman Chloe Rico said the Newport Farmer’s Market saw a 102% growth in SNAP transactions in 2011 from 2010 after the program was started there. SNAP clients spent almost $5 thousand of their benefits on local food in Newport last year. The Toledo Street Market will also participate in the program this year. For more information call 541-602-7278, or email.

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Letter to the Editor: On Racial Profiling

End Racial Profiling Week came to a close April 20, and both Houses of Congress have started deliberations on the End Racial Profiling Act legislation before them. Racial profiling is investigation and subsequent action based on stereotypes and assumptions; not on facts and the evidence at hand. It burdens the innocent more than the guilty. Profiling places government in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

On behalf of the Information Immigration Response Team (IIRT) of Lincoln County, I urge all citizens to contact each of their State and National legislators and urge them to support this necessary legislation. This legislation complements legislation now in effect prohibiting public discrimination based on age, gender, national origin. race, religion or sexual orientation, but is necessary to end a practice that is regularly apparent.

We at IIRT urge everyone to take a stand for the elimination of notable prejudice that dominates our country and diminishes concern for human dignity, justice and equality.

Don Searcy, Newport

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Letter to the Editor from Debby Miller

I have lived in Lincoln County for more than 15 years. Bill Hall was one of the very first people I met when the Lincoln County School District hired me to be Communications Coordinator. Bill was a radio reporter and I was “the voice” for LCSD.

Bill’s reporting was fair to all sides, honest, and he always wanted me to explain things in terms so that his listeners could understand the complexities of the issues. He was proud of the work he produced on behalf of his employer.

As County Commissioner, Bill Hall is still fair to all sides, honest, and strives to help his constituents understand the complexities of government issues. He should be proud of the work he produces on behalf of his employer (the citizens of Lincoln County.)

He has represented Lincoln County at the state and federal levels seeking better support for battered women, our animal shelter, education (from elementary to OCCC), and most recently for those rebuilding their lives after the recent storms.

Bill Hall knows Lincoln County. He knows the struggles of getting the attention of state and federal agencies to help our rural communities. Bill Hall has developed an understanding about government that takes years to grasp. He uses that knowledge to help our county every single day. He has earned the right to continue representing all of Lincoln County.

We can’t let his knowledge and integrity slip away. I voted for Bill Hall in 2004 and 2008. Please join me in voting for Bill Hall in 2012.

Debby Miller, Newport

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Sewer Rates Recommended to Rise

Toledo City Council members were handed a bitter pill about utility rates at their April 10 work session when City Manager Michelle Amberg recommended a 22% increase in sewer rates. Although the sewer rate went up 10% in 2011, the city realized only a 4% revenue gain, due to conservation. Because sewer revenues are backed by bonds, the city is required by law to keep a minimum $150 thousand in a reserve account as collateral. Current rates are not keeping that fund at the required level, and would look bad during an audit. “Because conservation is having such a strong effect on revenue collection,” Amberg said, “the only way to counteract that is to increase the base rate.” She proposed the council approve a new base rate of $11.05 (up from the current $9.00), and increase the flat rate (per thousand gallons) to $14.65, from the current $11.95. The average family bill would increase about $14 a month as a result.

The hard reality is that even a 22% increase, if approved, would do nothing more than re-establish the appropriate reserve and provide nothing for emergencies or contingencies. “We have had so many emergency repairs this (last) year, our contingency funds are depleted,” Amberg said. Some council members expressed frustration that the public seems not to understand that utility revenues go into specific accounts that can only be used for utility work. Sewer bill revenue can only be spent on the sewer system, water charges only spent on the water system and so on. Several council members said Tuesday they have had people complain who think utility rates are somehow tied to recent pay increases given to some city employees. Councilor Terri Strom said “a lot of people think it’s all going to salaries and benefit, even people who should know better.”

Read more about Toledo’s Water Future.

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