As the fight continues over the coal proposal at Port Westward, the battle is just heating up.
We have three county commissioners who are supposed to be the individuals who the voters have elected to be their voice, their representative, and do as the majority of the voters in Columbia County want. Needless to say we have three county commissioners who do exactly as they want or exactly what their corporate friends want. And exactly what state senator Betsy Johnson who is their benefactor and political boss wants.

We must not leave out state representative Brad Witt who like the three county commissioners is nothing more than another one of Betsy Johnsons handpicked puppets. Brad Witt owes his allegiance to his constituents and not to those of his other job as political coordinator of local 555 (grocery workers) Witt understandably wants to further his career in the unions as that can be quite prosperous for retirement pensions and other retirement benefits. So Witt must push for any opportunity that might accomplishment his goal of obtaining union jobs no matter how few or how detrimental it is to the community or the environment. Of course cost to the general public is not ever considered when political coordinators are set to their tasks.

I personally heard Henry Heimuller state at a public meeting that the coal proposal will bring in 150 family wage full time jobs. I would certainly like to see the list of these 150 workers positions and duties along with their wage and benefit package. But now the 150 job offer has been reduced to 5 jobs from each town of the county but that statement has not been fully explained if the jobs are from the entire county or from the towns which the trains pass through. Again propaganda. Heimuller has accused the anti-coal people as extremists who are trying to scare the rest of the population.
Shame on you commissioner Heimuller for making such an ignorant and supercilious remark to a member of the community.

I have also heard that the county will be charging the coal company transportation/depletion fees on the coal at 10 cents per ton. WOW! Isn't that great the commissioners are finally agreeing that coal falls under the natural resource depletion fee and transportation fee ordinance something that I have been arguing for decades.  BUT! The depletion fee is 15 cents per ton not 10 cents per ton once again the county commissioners are giving away funds that belong to the tax payers if the coal proposal goes through. I wonder what is in it for the commissioners. Maybe free lodging at a big company's beach house at Long Beach.

On page 6 under the Port Westward paragraph is says: "Overall revenues increased by 27% from this site; due to the addition of the option agreements with Kinder Morgan and Pacific Transloading, LLC."  

Tony Hyde (county commissioner) He said if the deals fall through, it needs to be paid back. Robert Keyser assured an individual a couple weeks ago that he made sure the money was set aside and not spent.
We certainly want to believe Robert Keyser who has in the past been such a law abiding and up right citizen. Ya right! Remember he is the grown man who resorted to juvenile tactics during the election last year by stealing and vandalizing campaign signs of two people who are against coal and who were running for county commissioner. Keyser stayed quiet about what he had done  until there was a $500 reward posted only then did Keyser come clean about his dastardly deed. The law suit against Keyser is still in process.

Needless to say the people who are against coal are fighting a good fight with facts and not by cronyism, mistruths and downright lies. These people are not politicians but are informed, educated and community orientated folks who are trying to keep Columbia County, and Oregon a livable and healthy place. They understand the importance of a clean healthy environment and they also understand that America should not be exporting their natural resources out from the country. And they also understand that the earth is a global environment so what China does detrimental to the environment by burning coal will ultimately come back to defile the rest of the world.