vernonia’s
voice
city news
march
2009
Vernonia Keeps Bobbing Up
By Mayor Sally Harrison
Sat down the other day with some ol’ friends to start planning our 50th Class Reunion Celebra-
tion. After congratulating ourselves on surviving so long, we got down to business. Jan got out the
“Memolog” annual (1959)-- the same year Oregon celebrated its 100th birthday... Two years after
Oregon America Mill shut down permanently and a cloud of uncertainty hung over our town.
I found the “Dedication” page among all the young faces especially relevant. It goes like this:
“The following is a quote from an article which appeared in the Nehalem Journal
(Vernonia’s first newspaper) of December 30, 1890. It stated: ‘A reason for the rapid
advancement of Vernonia is in the firm and unshaken confidence the people have in her
future. It is confidence well-placed and hope well-founded… it is just as hard to keep a
good town down as it is to suppress rebellion in Central America. It continues to bob up
serenely attaining a more altitudinous position with each successive bob.’
It is our belief that Vernonia is continuing to ‘bob up serenely’ and will keep on bob-
bing. That is why we dedicate this annual to the Spirit of the Old and New Vernonia.”
That same spirit lives today. I can’t express in words how excited and happy I am
about the opportunities coming our way! The good news I’m hearing didn’t just fall into
our laps. It is the culmination of over a year’s hard work by so many dedicated citizens,
some to the detriment of their own well-being.
Let’s start at the top and work our way down. We can’t thank Governor Kulongoski
enough for his continuing support of our community, specifically our schools, with Or-
egon Solutions and now being on the top of the Governor’s list for the stimulus money for
the rebuilding of our schools in a “Green” manner. Rep. Witt’s and Sen. Johnson’s help
was invaluable. Folks-- this is HUGE!!
In Washington, D.C., Senators Wyden and Merkley have our best interests at heart
and are working hard to facilitate our flood recovery. They are presently waiting for the
President’s signature on two appropriations. One for $450,000 for a WOEC sub-station
and another for $381,000 for new school equipment.
Closer to home, Commissioner Tony Hyde-- he has been working on so many levels,
so many committees and so many meetings. If you can catch him, thank him for his dedi-
cation. He is our driving force in Salem and beyond.
Locally, the Columbia County Flood Relief is finally seeing the fruit of their consider-
able labors. Grant moneys are finally finding their way to buy-outs and elevations. Dan
Brown and his staff have moved to new digs and pared down their staff, but they are still
working hard on our behalf.
Dr. Cox, the School Board, and Staff have been doing double time and double the work this
past year. We have come a long way and are finally closing in on our goal of safer, greener, new
schools. I can hardly wait for the day we break ground!
Simultaneously, the City has had its first meeting with the Corps of Engineers to work on mod-
eling for a permanent solution to flash flooding in the valley. Of course, budget is the concern.
The City is continuing its quest for a permanent sewer solution. Funds have been found to
start the formulation of different options for consideration. It will be a grand day when we can say,
“What sewer problem?” Along with the sewer, we will work on storm water control, safe drinking
water supply and a fair fee schedule for utilities.
The one thing the rest of us must remember is we have a pivotal role in all this coming to
fruition. It won’t be easy. I repeat, it won’t be easy. The short term sacrifices you will be asked
to make will garner so many long term benefits: great schools, infrastructure we can live with,
economic development, jobs, property value increases, and all still in our lovely valley.
The Vernonia spirit does still live on. We will continue to “keep bobbing up,” better, more
livable, more vibrant and more beautiful than ever before.
07
What’s the Plan Stan?
A Monthly Update on City
Planning
By Seth Lenaerts
First things first, I have to come clean. This is only the second article and already I
am not sticking to my word. I had intended on writing this article about GIS and the
planning commission’s goals for 2009, but that is going to have to wait. February
has been amazing and let me tell you why. It took me awhile to find, but community
planning is going on everywhere in Vernonia. For example, this past month I saw
members of the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot team present flood mitigation plans to
the city council. I met with Vernonia Hands On Art and was excited to hear about
their plans for First Friday. Even the parks committee is planning on ways to get the
community involved in our parks.
This community buzz had me thinking about an amazing road trip I went on in Au-
gust. I started in Portland and crossed the Cascades to Madras, then drove through
the long winding desert roads to Ontario. After that, I zoomed down to Lakeview,
spent a short but very memorable amount of time at Crater Lake and then cruised
back up the valley. I was taken aback by the beauty and astonished at the diversity
this state has to offer. There are obvious reasons to like living in Oregon-- the beauty,
summer, recreation opportunities, open spaces-- but how about the planning? Oregon
has some progressive planning policies that help to keep it beautiful and accessible
for all of us. One of my favorites, allowing public access to the entire beach! I am
not trying to say that the Oregon planning system is perfect, but it does some pretty
cool things. For example, the stress put on public input.
There are 19 statewide planning goals, including protecting agriculture and forest
lands, affordable housing, multi-modal transportation and mitigating natural disas-
ters. But above all, the number one state planning goal is citizen involvement.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a great example of this. The Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Ro-
bot team came to city council and presented a unique and innovative flood mitigation
plan. They presented a system that equips houses with a type of air pocket that allows
the house to rise with the flood water. It was great to see these young citizens present
their ideas and research. The best part is that they were using their time and skills to
improve our community. And, at the very same meeting a couple of VHS students
informed council that they were interested in doing a project to get an amphitheater
built in town.
The ideas are out there, but it takes a community to build them. Send me an email
and we can pass along information about events/projects, no matter what stage they
are in. Let’s use this article as an opportunity to discuss, talk about and share possible
community projects.
Until next time, you don’t have to be coy, Roy, just listen to me.
You can reach Seth Lenaerts by email at Seth@vernonia-or.gov
A New Place to Call HOME: Grant Funds Awarded
By Jill Hult
Community Action Team (CAT) applied for and re-
ceived HOME Grant funds through Oregon Housing and
Community Services (OHCS) to assist in the 2007 Flood
Recovery efforts. The HOME Grant must be used on a
development project, typically where the nonprofit devel-
oper buys homes or land, builds or rehabilitates homes and
offers those homes for purchase. In this case, CAT has
purchased a number of contiguous infill lots to build new
homes for flood-affected homeowners. All families must
meet the HOME program guidelines. CAT intends for this
project to address the need for replacement housing for ho-
meowners who opt to have their flooded homes purchased
by the City or County. This project is an example of CAT’s
Community Investment Department fulfilling its role as the
regional community development corporation. Although
CAT is coordinating with the City and County through the
Unmet Needs Committee, it has sole responsibility for the
project and is receiving no support from the Committee.
CAT has acquired 5 lots in Vernonia between 5th and
6th Avenues off of Bridge Street. One lot has an existing
home that will be substantially improved and the other 4
lots will have new homes based on house plans CAT uses in
its Self Help new housing program. CAT will be working
with volunteer labor provided by Christian Aid Ministries
(CAM) for part of the construction phase. They are expect-
ing to begin site work the first week of March 2009.
“These projects fit our policy of providing replacement
homes while not competing with the private market,” said
Jim Tierney, Deputy Director at Community Action Team.
When asked for specifics, he said, “I cannot share project
information that could be ‘reverse engineered’ to make
available confidential client information.” Tierney went
on to say, “It is our goal to help flooded homeowners to
continue being homeowners. At the same time, we hope
to help the City and County to clear at-risk homes from the
flood plain.”
CAT is planning to have all the projects in this first
group complete by this fall. They are assembling inter-
ested homeowners to form a second HOME flood relief
project in the area.
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