18
vernonia’s
voice
march
community
2009
Vernonia Youth Basketball Hosts Tournament
A total of 14 teams-- eight girls’ teams and six boys’
teams-- took part in a regional youth basketball tourna-
ment in Vernonia in February. The tournament was or-
ganized by Jerry Butcher and had a total of about 140
kids participating from Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside, and
Vernonia. Results of the tournament were as follows:
By Dede Webb
Vernonians seem to have a love affair with their dogs. You see
them everywhere, not just little household pets, but great big
ones-- and not just one, but several. I recently saw four large dogs
pulling a man along the street. Now, dogs can be great-- after all,
they are man’s best friend-- but the problem with a dog is they pee
and poop everywhere they take a notion.
Seaside 6th grade girls-- 1st place
Seaside 5th grade girls-- 2nd place
Vernonia 5th & 6th grade girls-- 3rd place
There is a gentleman who walks his dog by our house most morn-
ings, and I observe him through my kitchen window. One morn-
ing, I told my husband, “Here comes that man with his dog. Oh,
there he goes peeing on my shrubs.” Another ten feet and he goes
again, getting the first light pole, at which point he crosses the
street and takes a poop in the neighbor’s yard. Now, I’ve heard of
being full of piss and vinegar, but 3 times in 75 feet?
Seaside 6th grade boys-- 1st place
Warrenton 5th grade boys-- 2nd place
Warrenton 3rd & 4th grade boys-- 3rd place
Butcher expressed thanks to all the volunteers who
helped make the 1st annual tournament a great success
and to all the coaches and referees that made the day go
so smoothly. He also extended a special thanks to Mr.
Jarmen, Mr. Cox, Mr. Miller, Mr. Underwood, Mrs.
Fetch, and Grant Williams, for use of local gyms.
The tournament was the first opportunity for the Ver-
nonia youth players to play in front of a home crowd,
as they have been playing as part of a league in Forest
Grove, and have had to travel each week to compete.
I mentioned to my husband, “How come it’s okay for a dog to
relieve themselves whenever and wherever, but we can’t?”
The Vernonia 5th and 6th grade girls show off their 3rd place trophy from the
First Annual Vernonia Youth Basketball Tournament, which featured teams
from Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside and Vernonia.
Oregon Solutions
(continued from page 1)
Johnson reiterated that the final decision on site selection
rests with the school board but noted that the school board
would need to request from the city and county that the site
be brought into the urban growth boundary and annexed
into the city limits. Johnson stated that that process would
probably involve bringing together the Columbia County
Commissioners and County Planning Commission, and the
Vernonia City Council and Planning Commission for a joint
meeting. “One night, one hearing, all in a room together,”
said Johnson. “That’s called fast-tracking it.”
The Boot Site was studied, along with a site at the top of
Bridge Street, called the Northwest Corner Site, as well as
rebuilding on the current site. The TGM study took into ac-
count costs for acquisition of property, installation of roads
and utilities, building design and construction, flood proof-
ing and insurance, and the land use process.
Brown expressed thanks for the approximately $225, 000
in grants from the Oregon Department of Land Conserva-
tion and Development (DLCD) that allowed the study of
the three sites to be conducted. “This was a really critical
part of the foundation, which will allow the rest of the work
to proceed,” said Brown. “The assistance with funding,
staff time and cooperation from DLCD was so important
in helping us make an educated decision about the sites we
were considering.”
Getting a new school project shovel-ready, and eligible for
stimulus funding will have to happen very quickly, which
was mentioned often and prominently during the Oregon
Solutions meeting. “This has to happen immediately,” said
Hyde. “From the beginning, we have had a very aggres-
sive timeline in terms of getting our kids into new schools,
and that timeline now becomes paramount. It becomes not
only a wish but a requirement of meeting the terms of this
stimulus package.”
Governor’s Short List of
Projects (continued from page 1)
“This means the full weight of the Governor’s office is being
put behind these projects in Vernonia. I believe the Gov-
ernor wants to use Vernonia as a demonstration project for
green construction and an example of how to revitalize ru-
ral Oregon communities.” Hyde said that in addition to the
Vernonia Schools Project, which is already designated by
Kulongoski as an Oregon Solutions Project-- and in which
Hyde is a co-convener-- that updated wastewater treatment
facilities and a bio-mass production facility are being con-
sidered as possible projects that could receive federal fund-
ing assistance for Vernonia. “The Governor named a pre-
ferred list of three projects for stimulus package funds, and
Vernonia was one of those three,” said Hyde. “I am very
optimistic about what this means.”
State agencies competing for a federal grant under the Amer-
ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRP) will notify the
Governor, who may advance the proposal to the Oregon Way
Advisory Group for advice and assistance on developing the
proposal. The Governor will then advance signature propos-
als to the appropriate federal agency for consideration.
The Oregon Way Group will also work to identify signature
projects across the state that will showcase Oregon’s green
expertise to the nation, which will help create jobs in the
long term as others look to Oregon to tap this knowledge
base. Signature projects will be innovative, meet a real com-
munity need and create economic opportunity through both
the supply side as well as job creation.
D
DM
an
rm
ue
Dr
.
s
er
h
to p
M
When we would go camping, and we had a vintage camper from
before bathrooms and holding tanks, we couldn’t even drain the
sink water on the ground-- it had to drain in a sealed container. It
seemed we always camp in the far end of the park, leaving me
with a half-mile hike to the nearest bathroom. As you know, this
can be a challenge the first thing in the morning, but no trouble for
the two big dogs in the next camp spot. They are out there peeing
and pooping and didn’t even have to leave their campsite. The
only problem comes when they leave and the next camper that
pulls into that spot has a couple of little kids. I knew right away
what was coming, and, sure enough, it wasn’t long before I heard,
“Mom, I just stepped in some dog poop!”
Here in Vernonia, we haven’t designated Hawkins Park as a dog
park, but it seems that is where a lot of people like to take their
dogs to run and play, because you see a lot of sticks they have
thrown for them to fetch, and, of course, there is a lot of poop.
Now, if you want to win the grand prize on America’s Funniest Vid-
eos, just bring your camera to the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt. Those
little kids can hardly stand up, they are slipping and sliding and falling
down all over the place and then there is the occasional one that you
see that takes a flying leap and just jumps over a mess.
Sometimes that poop can work to your advantage, such as the
time I was watching one of the baseball games, and a kid was
stealing second base, hit a pile of poop, and slid an extra five feet.
He just whizzed by the kid that was trying to tag him out.
If people had equal rights with dogs, look at the money we could
save. We wouldn’t have to provide public bathrooms and our
sewer lagoons would last another ten years.
So the next time you walk the lake, do as the dogs do-- just step
to the side or even right there on the trail, and do your thing. If
you’re uptown and the urge overtakes you, the best place to go is
in the bark around the trees because that’s where the dogs go and
we can blame it on them.
I think it is time we stand up for our rights and march on the
White House. We need to let Obama know he has another serious
problem on his hands-- this country really is “going to the dogs.”
In all seriousness, it is not the dogs’ fault, but their inconsiderate
owners who don’t clean up after their dogs. Easter and baseball
season will soon be here. Let’s see if we can’t do a better job of
keeping our parks, streets and paths POOP FREE!
Vernonia
Dental
ri
h
C
Watch Where You
Step, Vernonia!
ch
S
.
e
622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064
phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881