WHY YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

If you ever think that just one vote in a sea of millions cannot make much of a difference, consider some of the closest elections in U.S. history.

In 2000, Al Gore narrowly lost the Electoral College vote to George W. Bush. The election came down to a recount in Florida, where Bush had won the popular vote by such a small margin that it triggered an automatic recount and a Supreme Court case (Bush v. Gore). In the end, Bush won Florida by 0.009 percent of the votes cast in the state, or 537 votes. Had 600 more pro-Gore voters gone to the polls in Florida that November, there may have been an entirely different president from 2000–2008.

More recently, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 by securing a close Electoral College win. Although the election did not come down to a handful of votes in one state, Trump’s votes in the Electoral College decided a tight race. Clinton had won the national popular vote by nearly three million votes, but the concentration of Trump voters in key districts in “swing” states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan helped seal enough electoral votes to win the presidency.

Your vote may not directly elect the president, but if your vote joins enough others in your voting district or county, your vote undoubtedly matters when it comes to electoral results. Most states have a “winner take all” system where the popular vote winner gets the state’s electoral votes. There are also local and state elections to consider. While presidential or other national elections usually get a significant voter turnout, local elections are typically decided by a much smaller group of voters.

~ Information from National Geographic Society

Nikki Paulson was planning to attend the Portland women’s march, but with Covid cases surging, she was a bit nervous about that.

A couple days ago, her daughter came into her sewing room as she was making the sash for her costume. Her daughter got very excited and wanted her own sash. So Nikki decided to stick around town, make her daughter a sash, recruit her partner and son and do a little family march thru town this morning. They made a stop at the RACC ballot box to drop their ballots, then walked thru town, down to the waterfront then back to their house.

They got a few honks and lots of waves. Her daughter thought it was so fun!

Nikki says she’s been doing her best to model public service for her children, and this was one more way. Since Covid started, she’s made and donated over 1800 masks to local healthcare and essential workers as well as the Navajo Nation and Warm Springs reservation. She’s also written over 300 postcards to voters and they’ve helped with stamps.

Now that’s a worthwhile political statement!

Does your home lack a United States flag? The Ridgefield Lions Club can help you out! On Saturday, November 7th, just in time for Veterans Day, the Ridgefield Lions will be installing flags. The Lions offered this service in June, and it was very popular. It is just $20 for both the installation and the kit. There is a limited number of flag kits, so get your request in soon! This is a great deal and you can support the Lions! Click the link to order your kit today:

https://ridgefieldlions.square.site/product/flag-installation/21?cs=true

City of Ridgefield is offering utility rebates on your water bills for local receipts. You could earn a credit on your utility bill by buying and eating locally made food and beverages, or by purchasing a gift card from your favorite downtown store. Spend $25 at a local business or restaurant (you can combine receipts) – the receipt must have the date (between 9/14/2020 and 10/31/2020) and business name. Write your name (as it appears on your utility statement), phone number, and utility account number on the receipt(s). Upload the receipt(s) in the form below OR Scan and email the receipt(s) to utilities@ci.ridgefield.wa.us or drop off the receipt(s) in a sealed envelope at the gray dropbox in front of City Hall at 230 Pioneer St by Sunday, November 15th. The City of Ridgefield will credit $15 towards your utility bill. You can earn up to 5 credits per account with a maximum credit of $75 per account.

After I posted information about my stolen Biden/Harris sign, a friend offered to donate her sign, so we’ve replaced the missing sign and added another – see above. This is so typical of the way people in Ridgefield support each other. This is a unique town – I hope all our new residents understand that and keep it that way.

It’s sad that someone would steal a political sign, but it’s a sign of the times, with the leader of the United States setting such a poor example. A new administration will bring back honesty and transparency to our government.

Ballots will be mailed October 16 – this is your chance to change things. Your vote counts just as much as everyone else’s. VOTE!

To the thief who stole the Biden-Harris sign that was displayed at Pioneer and 4th, you missed the sign in front of my house. You should probably sneak back tonight and get it too.

If you took the sign because you wanted to display it in front of your house, just put $20 under the mat on my front porch and I’ll go to the Clark County Democratic office and buy another one.

If you took the sign because you’re a Trump supporter – I feel sorry for you. You can’t stand to have an honest politician running, can you? Wonder what your kids will believe in now? Certainly not fairness and being open-minded. Are you keeping America Great?

Honesty is the best policy.

The December issue of “Ridgefield Life” will feature an ugly Christmas sweater article since there likely won’t be the annual ugly sweater run. They are looking for couples or families who want to don their ugly Christmas sweaters to be featured in the December holiday issue. If you are interested you can either just send Chris Bidleman (cbphotography1@gmail.com) existing photos from your archives or he can come to your house and  take a photo outside or inside, maintaining social distance. There is a tight deadline to get this done before Oct 15 so let Chris know as soon as you can or just email your photos to him. Make sure to include all names of the people in the photo so they get the caption correct.

This beautiful stained glass window could provide a stunning addition as a focal point in your home or business.

It is estimated to be 150 years old. Measures 3’x8′ and is in good condition, but needs a new frame.

Asking $500. The owner will donate the money to the Ridgefield Library Building Fund.

Call 360-887-2160 if you’re interested.

The City of Ridgefield is offering a temporary emergency program to assist small, locally owned Ridgefield-based businesses to survive the COVID-19 crisis, to minimize disruption to workers and maintain availability of local goods and services in Ridgefield.

• Application Deadline: October 31, 2020
• Grant Amount: $1,000 to $3,000
• Business must be a private for-profit business.
• Business must have a physical storefront within Ridgefield’s city limits.
• Eligible expenses must be incurred between March 1 and October 31, 2020.
• Businesses must have 25 or fewer employees.

Additional eligibility requirements online at RidgefieldWa.us/Small-Business-Grant

Boar’s Head Meats are now providing sandwiches in brown paper bags with a cellophane insert rather than the plastic clamshells we are used to. Think of the amount of plastic that could be saved each year if every vendor did this.

Thank you Boar’s Head and Fred Meyer for helping to mend our planet.

Least Water Usage: 1st place – Christopher Dudley, honorable mentions – Bill Baumann, Cassandra Stone and Tara Nathan

Most Visually Stunning: 1st place – Maureen O’Reilly, 2nd place – Phyllis & Frank Vidin, honorable mentions – Jan Haig, Chris Bidleman, Marie Edwards, Melissa Terrell

Best Garden in Which to be a Kid: 1st place -Tiffany Ketterman, 2nd place -Amanda Ronstadt, 3rd place – Cassandra Stone

Most Biodiversity: 1st Place – Marie Edwards, 2nd place – Melissa Merrell, 3rd place -Curt Pemberton, honorable mentions – Maureen O’Reilly, Cassandra Stone

Most Improved: 1st place – Angie Prue, 2nd place – Jan Haig, 3rd place – Maureen O’Reilly

Best Use of a Small Space: 1st place – Angie Prue, 2nd place – Tara Nathan, 3rd place – Curt Pemberton, honorable mentions – Marie Edwards, Jan Haig, Amanda Ronstadt

Food Theme: 1st place – Cassandra Stone, 2nd place – Melissa Merrell, honorable mentions – Bill Baumann, Tara Nathan, Marie Edwards, Amanda Ronstadt

Greatest Food Production: 1st place – Bill Baumann, 2nd place –  Cassandra Stone, 3rd place – Jan Haig, honorable mention – Amanda Ronstadt

Best Youth Garden: 1st place – Cassandra Stone, 2nd place – Curt Pemberton, 3rd place – Amanda Ronstadt, honorable mention – Tiffany Ketterman and Chris Dudley

People’s Choice: 1st place – Angie Prue, 2nd place – Amanda Ronstadt, 3rd place – Maureen O’Reilly

Thanks so much to all who participated and big thanks to our awesome judges- City Councilor Sandra Day, Ridgefield Resource Center Director Christine Poppert, Ridgefield Forward Volunteer Tracy Ceravolo and Lava Java owner Phuong Tran.

Hello Gleaner members, donors, supporters and community organizations,

First, a thank you to all who have donated. I don’t have emails for all and want to mention the Community Garden Members who have donated – please pass on thanks to our Community Gardeners who you may know.

We have collected 600 pounds of produce in the past two weeks which is amazing even in this peak gardening season. And there is much more to come. We noticed at the last delivery to the Family Resource Center that essentially all the produce of the last two weeks had been distributed so there is still need.

Later this week or early next we have an opportunity to pick numerous apple trees South of 199th and in a couple weeks, apple trees on Pioneer. Seems like we are getting into prime apple, pear and plum season. If you see fruit going unpicked on neighborhood trees, and would feel comfortable asking, please mention the Gleaners and the chance to contribute food to our local teams (Ridgefield Family Resource Center and Neighbor’s Helping Neighbors) who provide vital assistance to food challenged families in our community.

Norman Farrell

Email Norman if you’d like more information: designedforlife@me.com

The Indivisible Greater Vancouver group paid for this first 50 of these signs, which are being delivered to residents of Ridgefield who request them. Call Elizabeth Madrigal if you would like one for your yard: 360-281-1615.

The goal is to get Ridgefield, the county and the state Department of Transportation to create mega-signage that counter-acts the message the confederate flag located along the freeway near the Ridgefield exit erroneously presents of our community.  Sometimes the citizens have to lead the elected officials forward.

Today (Friday) at 2:00 a group of people will install a sign across from the Confederate flag. The address is 24204 NW Maplecrest Road if you want to attend. Sorry for the late notice.