22
vernonia’s
voice in other words
september
2008
Voices In My Head:
The End of Summer
By P.J. O’Leary
Labor Day weekend is always an odd mixture of excitement and melancholy
for families with children. The school supplies have been purchased, and new
clothes are meticulously laid out in various combinations which kids hope will
make them look cool without their actually having intended to. It’s a wonderful,
delicate, heart-tugging dance which we all have done, and the tune never changes.
If I could offer young people any advice in the arena of “fitting in” it would be this:
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DONUTS.
You know what it’s like. A box of mixed donuts hits the table and everyone’s
all over the maple bars and the crème-filled. “Oooh, Bavarian crème, give me
one of those.” By the end of the day there’s always that one donut left over. It’s
the circular one with the vanilla frosting and the unnaturally colored sprinkles. It
might even sit in that box until the next day. But guess what? The next day some-
one is going to try that donut and really enjoy it. They’re going to kick themselves
for not having tried that donut on day one. So making friends, with apologies to
Forrest Gump, is like a box of donuts - if you hang in the box for a while, you’ll
find someone who thinks you’re just great.
Okay, now I’m having flashbacks and getting a little misty-eyed, so let’s
move on.
Labor Day weekend always inspires that jump-start reaction of “Holy crap,
summer’s almost over, and we haven’t done any great family things. Let’s go
camping.” For that one last weekend every state park in the state is crammed full
of families trying to salvage a memory or two from the blank canvas that was their
summer.
I’ve ridden this bus before, so let me describe the landscape to you. You arrive
on Thursday night, allowing you time to mark some territory and get a jump on all
those neophytes with their disposable Wal-mart tents. You know that by dark on
Friday the campsites will be packed tighter than a Tokyo subway, so you go about
the task of stringing clotheslines, badminton nets and dog runs in such a way that
your perceived parameters cannot be infiltrated. Having secured your area, you
position yourself for reconnaissance. You are now a homesteader, and anyone
who arrives after you is a Pilgrim who must be observed for signs of peculiar-
ity. Within hours of your arrival you will be addressing the camp host by his first
name, even as it becomes apparent that he has no interest in learning yours.
You had set your tent up before most people arrived, so nobody other than the
indifferent camp host witnessed your lame, curse-filled attempts at getting your
poles in the right slots. Now, observing newcomers from a webbed aluminum
throne, you silently scoff at their pathetic attempts to raise a camp which will with-
stand the rigors of three nights in an Oregon State Park. You chuckle to yourself
as the owners of thirty foot travel trailers make six or seven attempts before they
finally settle onto the asphalt. In short, you find yourself taking an abnormal, al-
most disturbing interest in the activities of people you don’t know and will never
see again.
At some point you try to redirect your attention toward your family. That’s
why you came, right? You go for bike rides, enjoy laughs around roaring camp-
fires and plan strategies for getting into the shower without waiting for an hour and
a half. Before you know it, it’s Monday. After your hour and a half wait to get
into the shower, you work up a good sweat getting all the stuff back into the car.
The welt on your neck from the flaming marshmallow Junior flung from a stick is
still tender, as is the rope burn caused by your unruly dog as he wrapped his leash
around your leg while charging the neighbor’s poodle. The weather was great
all weekend, but on the morning you leave you’ll be dowsed by an unexpected
shower. The tent is wet, the kids are wrestling in the dirt and the dog has found
something to roll in which will trigger your gag response for the whole ride home.
Still, you hate to leave because you know that moments after your departure the
scavengers will come and, like hyenas gnawing on a wildebeest as the lion sleeps,
take the four pieces of wood you didn’t have time to burn.
As you make your way home you feel at peace knowing that the summer
which you didn’t want to be over has mercifully come to an end.
EARL FISHER
Working TOGETHER to Get Things Done
Safety Matters
By Chief Mathew Workman
A quick reminder that the 2008-09 Vernonia school year is scheduled to begin on
September 2nd. This means that traffic will be getting very dense in and around
the school campuses as well as a drastic increase in the number of pedestrians
and bicyclists. The 20 MPH school zone speed limit will be in effect between
7:00AM and 5:00PM daily throughout the week, but I would urge everyone to
use caution before and after these times as there are always events occurring on
campus. Please be patient and vigilant as you drive through the area, especially
in the morning as the morning fog is becoming more frequent again.
I would like to thank everyone who came out to the 4th Annual Vernonia Night
Out braving the cold and rain on August 19th. Though the weather did not co-
operate this year, the crowd of participants was over 300 people which is tribute
to the true community spirit we have here in Vernonia, a spirit that can’t be
dampened by a little rain and cold. Once again this year attendees were treated
to a free
BBQ prepared by the Vernonia Lion’s Club, free ice cream donated by Vernonia
Sentry, great Police K9 demonstrations by the Vernonia K9 Unit with assistance
from the Fairview K9 Unit, free balloons from Balloon Company at VHS, a
prize wheel from MTC Works, and Child ID Kits from New York Life made by
the Rainier & Clatskanie Masonic Lodge volunteers.
There was also a free raffle full of prizes donated by many local businesses and
sponsors. Though this list is long I feel that everyone should know who donated
to the VNO so that we can tell them thanks and patronize their respective busi-
nesses. The 2008 VNO Sponsors are: City of Vernonia, Sentry Market, Vernonia
Lions Club, New York Life (Jim Presley), R & R Motors, Vernonia Dental, Ver-
nonia Volunteer Ambulance Association, Vernonia Fire Department, Black Bear
Coffee, Elite K9, Café 47, Wauna Federal Credit Union, Vernonia Hardware,
Bits and PC’s/Agalis, Vernonia Realty/Insurance, Vernonia True Value, Vernon-
ia NAPA, Old Sawmill Eatery, Triple S Saw Shop, Pampered Chef (Lee Anne
Krause), Columbia County Dairy Women, Pepsi Co., Vernonia’s Voice, Colum-
bia County Sheriff, The Independent, Vernonia CATV, Mike Seager, Cindy Ball,
Muffy’s Saddle Shoes, Metro West Ambulance, Creatures Pet Store & Flower
Shop, David Herr, Betsy Johnson, MTC Works, as well as several anonymous
donors. I apologize if I missed anyone and encourage you to let me know if I did.
My wife and I started the VNO in 2005; I feel everyone needs recognition as it
is a community effort that makes this event a success!
Go for the Gold
Certificate Special
Anyone in Clatsop
and Columbia
Counties Can
Join!
Offer is good on new money
until September 30, 2008!
EARL FISHER
FOR
County Commissioner
position #1
Democrat
Astoria
325.1044
1.800.773.3236
www.waunafcu.org
Call your Member Service Agent at:
Clatskanie
St Helens
Vernonia
728.4321
366.1334
429.8031
Warrenton
861.7526
*Member of WFCU only. Offer is good until September 30, 2008. Rate shown applies to
balances of $500 and greater. All rates are Annual Percentage Yields and are subject to
change. 5 month special certificate will automatically renew into a regular 6 month term certificate and 9
month special certificate will automatically renew into a regular 12 month certificate both at the regular rate
unless the credit union is otherwise notified. Penalties for early withdrawal apply. Federally Insured by
NCUA.