vernonia’s
voice community news
april
09
2008
Local Receives
Real Estate Award
By Evangeline Doyle
Every year John L. Scott Realty presents a Rookie of the
Year award. This award is open to new agents doing
transactions in the state of Oregon and SW Washington.
The agent who has closed the most transactions in the
past eighteen months receives the award.
School District Considers Options (cont.)
Dr. Cox said, “New schools in a safe location will have a positive impact on the economic future of Vernonia.
We want to work with the city in determining the best location of those schools to provide for the future growth
for our community.”
The idea of relocating the campus was suggested almost immediately after the flood and is beginning to gain
momentum with members of the community. The district has received a concept plan for a new campus from
Dull Olson Weekes Architects (DOWA), an architectural and design firm which has previous experience design-
ing school campuses. The concept was created to give the district and board an idea how much space would be
required to site a new facility and is not a final plan. The design concept that has been developed shows a site
between thirty and forty acres with an estimated cost of between $35 and $50 million. The school district has
begun working with the Bridges Planning Group to include public input into design concept planning and site
location criteria.
“We want community input on what they would like best in a school site, then we can consider the different
sites in light of that information and determine which one best fits our needs.” Cox said.
The district has identified four locations as potential sites for a new facility: 1) on the south end of town at the
top of Bridge Street near the cemetery, 2) south of town behind the Storage Too property, 3) on OA Hill behind
Spencer Field, and 4) on the north end of town at Knott Street. These properties were identified as possible sites
based on their meeting initial basic criteria. The sites were then rated by the architectural firm on their potential
as actual sites. The board has authorized Dr. Cox to begin initial discussions with property owners to determine
actual availability.
Dr. Cox went on to explain, “We will be taking a more detailed look at some of these sites, and we are not
ruling out the possibility that there may be other sites out there. We do hope, however, to narrow the search to
only a couple of sites rather quickly.”
This brings us to the next big question, and in some community members’ minds their only real objection to
moving the schools, how will Vernonia pay for a project of this magnitude?
“I have been in nearly weekly conversations with legislative staff, both state and federal, about our situation.
We will leave no financial rock unturned as we work to get as much funding as possible for new schools. The
board has even authorized funding for a Capital Projects Funding Coordinator to head this effort for the district.”
Cox said. He also indicated that though federal and state funding may be limited, the district will also be seeking
foundation and private funding and are considering the possibility of a local bond for at least some portion of the
cost.
One thing is clear: there will be no easy answers to the questions Vernonia faces about what to do with its
schools. These are large financial decisions which will affect Vernonia and its citizens for years to come.
Vernonia Amateur Radio Operators Are Active
This year, Sharon Bernal, local business owner and Ver-
nonia native won the Rookie of the Year. Interestingly
enough, she has only been selling real estate for nine
months (not eighteen). Sharon closed a total of twenty-
eight transactions, twenty of which were in Vernonia.
While Sharon is new to the title of “agent,” she is not new
to the business of real estate. Sharon attributes her suc-
cess to a few key things, one of which is her thirty-two
years in the title and escrow industry. There she daily in-
teracted with real estate brokers, lenders and appraisers.
“The appraisal of a home is one of the most important
aspects of a real estate transaction,” said Sharon.
“When all is said and done,” says Sharon, “The house
you’re about to sell or buy must appraise-out, or a lender
won’t make the loan. The only escape from this scrutiny
is selling a home for cash -- but this is not the norm. Ap-
proximately ninety-five percent of residential real estate
transactions involve a lender.
“Buying and selling property is an emotional transaction
to begin with. I help the seller with setting a price based
on the facts (or comparables), not on emotion,” said Sha-
ron. This way we can count on a smooth transaction, one
the buyer, lender and seller are willing to enter into.”
Sharon attributes her other key to success to the relation-
ships she establishes with her buyers and sellers. From
working with buyers to find the perfect home, to helping
sellers market their property. “Buyers need
to be able to see themselves in the home…
not the seller,” that is critical says Sharon.
With a successful thirty-plus year career in
the title and escrow industry, why the change?
“When I first started out in the escrow and
title industry I loved it. I was meeting with
customers daily, there was people-time. But
over the years I went from closing twenty
transactions a month to closing eighty or
more…leaving little if any time for relation-
ships. I missed the people,” explained Sha-
ron “that’s my favorite part of real estate.”
Vernonia Emergency Radio Association (VERA)
would like to thank all the local amateur radio op-
erators for their time and expertise during the flood
of December 2007. They would also like to thank
the amateurs who came to Vernonia and helped from
outside our local area as well as Western Oregon Re-
lay Club (WORC) and Oregon Radio Relay Group
(ORRG) for allowing District 1, Washington County
ARES, and other responders to use their repeater sys-
tems for communications during our emergency and
recovery process.
to assist Vernonia Amateur Radio Communications
to interface with ODAN, the new digital system that
will be installed at all County EOC’s and at the State
Office of Emergency Management. This program al-
lows for easier use and quicker information transfer.
Once immediate emergency and priority traffic has
been handled, the same system can be used for Health
and Welfare messages. (Health and Welfare messages
are a way to get information out to your families any-
where in the world when the phone system is down to
let them know you are safe.)
For those that elect to donate to their favorite chari-
ties through United Way, VERA is now a participat-
ing recipient. Donations to VERA can assist with
improving radio equipment at the Emergency Opera-
tions Center (EOC) and ensuring the local repeater is
robust and reliable. Additionally, funds can be used
VERA would like to announce a new meeting time.
They will meet the second Tuesday of every month
at 7 pm at Mariolino’s and hope to see more Amateur
Radio Operators join them. For more information on
becoming an Amateur Operator please contact Dawn
Moss – KE7HHI, Secretary, at 503-608-2643.
Avamere - St. Helens Reopens After Flood
Avamere at St. Helens is a premier Independent, Assisted Living and Memory Care community scheduled
to “re-open” its doors to the public April 2008. Avamere at St. Helens was temporarily closed due to the
December 3, 2007 storm which affected much of Columbia County. Kevin Reed, Administrator at St.
Helens Avamere said “All 80 of our residents were safely evacuated the day of the flood which was of the
highest importance to us. We now have rebuilt what was damaged in the flood and have what looks like a
brand new building for our residents to come home to.”
Avamere at St Helens features four Independent Cottages, fifty-five Assisted Living apartments and a
fourteen-unit Memory Care wing. Other unique features include a library with computer, a therapy spa
room, beauty and barber shop, elegant living and dining areas, nutritional program brought to you by our
culinary team, full time on-site licensed nurse with twenty-four-hour caregiver assistance, assistance with
medication management and activities of daily living and interactive and creative activity programs.
The Buckhorn
restaurant &
General store
Family-style dining
Cozy fireplace seating
Lunch & dinner
Full bar
Gifts & UPS Shipping
503-429-3751, 934 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR
11am-9pm, Tues.-Sat. & 11am-6pm, Sunday
lottery games
mc/visa