vernonia’s
voice community
november
09
2008
Scouts Announce Website Columbia 9-1-1 Initiates Registry
for Emergency Notification System
On behalf of the Vernonia Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Vernonia
Northern is announcing a website: www.vernoniascouts.org.
This site is open to the public, so girls and boys can look at the
web site and see the activities they could be involved in this
scouting year. The website gets updated regularly as events get
confirmed.
Parents will find useful contact information for the vari-
ous age groups.
Parents may also discover that many of the trips or events are
just as interesting to them as their scout.
Vernonia Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are sponsored by the Ver-
nonia Lions Club. Vernonia Northern (www.vernonianorthern.
com) sponsors the scouting web site.
World Famous Concert
Pianist to Perform in
Clatskanie
World famous Italian classical pianist Antonio Pompa-Bal-
di will perform on the piano that started it all for the Clats-
kanie Arts Commission at the Donavon Wooley Perform-
ing Arts Center – Clatskanie Mid-High School on Saturday,
November 15, 7:30 PM
Born and raised in Foggia, Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi first
came to the U.S. in 1999 to participate in the Cleveland In-
ternational Piano Competition. He won the First Prize, and,
while fulfilling all the engagements that came with it, he and
his wife, Italian pianist Emanuela Friscioni, decided to make
Cleveland their home. A top prize winner at the 1998 Mar-
guerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition of Paris, France,
Antonio Pompa-Baldi also won a silver medal at the 2001
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, as well as the
Award for the Best Performance of a New Work.
A passionate chamber musician, Antonio Pompa-Baldi is
a frequent guest at events like the Amelia Island Chamber
Music Festival, the Music in the Mountains Festival (Dur-
ango, CO), and the Fort Worth Chamber Music Society Se-
ries among others, collaborating with such ensembles as the
Avalon String Quartet, the Takacs String Quartet, and distin-
guished colleagues including violinist Elmar Oliveira.
A pianist virtuoso, Antonio Pompa-Baldi is offered at bar-
gain ticket prices of $10/Adult, $8/Senior Citizen & Stu-
dent and $5 for Children 12 and under. This program is
made possible through the sponsorship of the CAC in their
ongoing effort to make family fare available and affordable
in the Greater Lower Columbia Region that encompasses
their serving area.
Tickets for the show are now available at Hump’s Restaurant
in Clatskanie (who continue to offer a complimentary dessert
to ticket holders who dine at their establishment just prior to
the concert) or at the door with the CAC box-office opening
at 7:00 p.m. in the foyer of the auditorium on the evening of
the show. For more information about this and other CAC
offerings throughout the year, please call (503) 728-3403 or
visit them on the web at www.clatskaniearts.org.
Upon the request of public safety and emergency re-
sponse agencies based in Columbia County, Columbia
9-1-1 dispatchers activate a high speed telephone dial-
ing service to notify citizens and businesses of impor-
tant information such as: shelter in place, boil water
advisory, be on the lookout for a crime suspect, severe
weather advisory, situation is resolved, etc. This dial-
ing service is called “C.A.N.” which stands for the Co-
lumbia Alert Network. Notifications are delivered to
targeted geographic areas by a telephone call in which
a recorded message is delivered and the answering
party is prompted to have the message repeated or to
acknowledge receipt of the message.
Until now, only land-line telephone numbers have
been used in public notifications using the C.A.N. sys-
tem. However, many people use cellular phones, or
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services for their
primary phone communication and do not have land-
line telephone service at all.
For that reason, Columbia 9-1-1 has added a feature
to C.A.N. so that citizens & businesses in the commu-
nity can register their cell phone number, VoIP number
and/or other alternate telephone number information.
Notifications can also be made in text form to devices
capable of receiving text or email messages. The new
registry includes email/text addresses.
Contact information provided in the registry will be included
when a C.A.N. message is sent to an area that encompasses
the address registrants specify.
Please note: registry contact information will take up to 60
days to be incorporated into the notification data base. It is
the responsibility of the individual registrant to assure that
registry contact information is kept up to date.
Whether you have a land-line phone, or not, you may add or
update your cell or alternate phone numbers and email ad-
dress using the processes described below. There is no need
to use the registry for landline phones based in Columbia
County, notifications will continue to those landline phone
numbers in the target area without registry. This registry
is only for cell phone numbers, alternate phone numbers or
email.
By internet: click on the following link, or, enter the follow-
ing URL into your internet browser, complete the form and
submit.
http://www.citywatchonline.com/csbsignup/communitysign-
upcolumbia.asp
Questions? Call Sue Reedy at 503 397-7255 ext. 2224 or
email at Sue at sreedy@columbia911.com
Homeowners and Renters Need To Insure Now
It’s a good time for homeowners and renters to ensure
their property against flooding as the fall and winter
storm season nears. Not doing so could prove costly as
there is a 30 day waiting period before policies take effect
after purchase.
Heavy rains and snow runoff can cause river flooding
that is common in this area. Flooding in Oregon causes
millions of dollars in damage almost yearly and the only
way renters and homeowners can insure their property
against such losses is with flood insurance.
“The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is one of
the best ways to avoid major losses,” said Ken Murphy,
Oregon Emergency Management Director. “Even a few
inches of water can mean thousands of dollars in repair
and restoration costs,” Murphy said. “Most homeowner’s
insurance policies do not cover floods so you need flood
insurance to protect against these losses.”
“It is important to buy an NFIP policy now because cov-
erage will not take effect until 30 days after purchase”,
said Dennis Sigrist, Oregon Emergency Management
Mitigation Specialist. “Flood insurance will cover eli-
gible losses regardless of whether the event is declared a federal
disaster or not. We often see flooding situations where stream
or urban runoff impacts a few homes and therefore does not
qualify for any government disaster aid. In those situations,
an NFIP policy can save a homeowner or renter considerable
financial losses.”
Twenty five percent of all claims paid by NFIP are for homes
and apartments located outside of mapped high-risk flood zones.
Homeowners can insure a home structure up to $250,000 and its
contents up to $100,000. These are two separate policies.
Renters can cover belongings up to $100,000. Non-residen-
tial property owners can insure buildings and contents up to
$500,000.
The average yearly cost of a NFIP policy is around $400, which
is less expensive in many cases than one month’s car payment.
Policies can be purchased from your local insurance agent if
your county is a participant in the National Flood Insurance
Program. Call your insurance agent for details.
More information on the National Flood Insurance program and
your home’s flood risk can be found at www.floodsmart.gov.
“Undie Sunday” in Columbia County
In October, the Columbia County churches in
partnership with the Columbia County Commission
on Children & Families sponsored “Undie Sunday”.
The goal was to gather underwear and socks for the
children of Columbia County from birth through
high school.
Local church, community members, and the Depart-
ment of Human Services staff donated items and money.
Over 3,000 items were collected including diapers, un-
derwear and socks of all sizes. This is more then doubled
from last year’s collection of 1,435 items.
We would like to thank all of those who participated
in this effort.
We especially want to thank our top
donor this year, the Church of Christ
Denomination. This generous organi-
zation literally gave tons of clothing
to Vernonia flood victims last year.
The items not claimed by flood vic-
tims were then made available for dis-
tribution through the “Undie Sunday”
program.
The Columbia County Commission
on Children & Families would also
like to thank the Yankton Community
Fellowship for heading up this noble
effort. “Undie Sunday” is part of the
Commission on Children & Families’
Advocacy for Children agenda and is
DVDs Available at the Museum
an annual event.
The underwear and socks are being
Proceeds to
delivered by the Northwest Regional
Vernonia
Education Service District to Colum-
Pioneer
bia County schools who will give them
Museum
to students in need.
2007 Vernonia Flood
DVD, $10
Vernonia
Dance Center
BREWERY, FINE WINES,
AND A WORLD
OF DELIGHTS!
OPEN 10 AM - 8 PM
TUESDAY - SUNDAY
(503) 429-4350
62467 N. Hwy 47 Vernonia, OR
Starting in January ‘09
“Mommy and Me Class”
Wednesdays 10-11am
Tuition $35/month
Call for more details
Jessica Davis (503) 429~0850
BY DONNA WEBB
Old Grad’s Picnic DVD
$5
BY BOB NEW