april2009
free
V E R N O N I A’ S
reflecting the spirit of our community
volume2 issue11
vernonia
visitors
guide
Page 13
School Board Approves Site Selection Schaumburg House Progressing
Architect Also Chosen for New School Campus Design
In what appeared to be
almost a formality, the
Vernonia School Board
approved a choice for
a site for a new school
campus at its regular
meeting on March 12,
2009.
By Scott Laird
The Schaumburg House-- the house that community members are pitching in and helping build for Dean,
Kendra and Sylas Schaumburg-- has broken ground and is moving forward quickly this year.
According to Casey Mitchell, who is co-managing the project with Bruce Holtz, the project was given a shot in
the arm by Christian Aid Ministries, who were in town to help with flood relief, and put their construction skills
to use to frame the house.
Voting six-to-one in
favor of what is being
called the “Boot Site,”
which was the site rec-
ommended by the Or-
egon Solutions Team,
the School Board
paved the way for Su-
Vernonia Superintendent Ken Cox and School Board President Kim Wallace
perintendent Ken Cox
during discussions about site selection for a new school campus.
to begin negotiations
for specific properties. The lone dissenting vote came from board member Ernie Smith.
Board member Jim Krahn made the motion to choose the Boot Site as the first choice for the new school
campus and then spoke about the site selection process during the discussion. “The Oregon Solution process
is a very open, extensive and collaborative process,” said Krahn. He then went on to state, “I think we do a dis-
service if we don’t respect the people-- the community, the folks who have put a tremendous amount of time
and effort into this process, and, most of all, the students of our community. We need to move forward with this,
and we need to move forward with it now.”
The project had been held
up through the winter with
financing issues, but the
signing of a small construc-
tion loan with Wauna Fed-
eral Credit Union gave the
go-ahead to begin building.
The project has received
numerous donations, in-
cluding donated lumber
from Olympic Forest
Products that was used to
frame the house and used
to construct the trusses; Parr Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 290 donate time to help with the Schaumburg House.
Lumber, who has given the
project great deals on supplies; The Truss Company, who built the trusses from the donated lumber; and Travis
Argue and the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local Union 290-- who worked outside on a cold, snowy Saturday in
March, and, according to Mitchell, when they were finished, asked if they could come back.
Construction of the project is being overseen by local general contractor Jim Pripich.
Dean Schaumburg was injured in a log-
ging accident in the summer of 2007,and
has been recovering and doing intensive
rehabilitation since returning home in early
2008. The rental where the family was liv-
ing was severely flooded in December,
2007, just days before Dean was sched-
uled to come home.
The Board also approved the selection of BOORA Architects, Inc., of Portland, to create the design for the new
campus. The District received ten responses to a solicitation for proposals. ,A team comprised of members of
the facility committee, staff, and a facility professional from Beaverton School District reviewed the proposals
and scored them as outlined in the RFP. ,This review team, based on scoring, determined a short list of three
firms to be interviewed. ,Those firms were Dull Olsen Weekes Architects (DOWA), Portland, OR; Soderstrom
Architects, Portland, OR; and BOORA Architects, Portland, OR. ,All three firms are highly qualified to perform
the desired services and have extensive experience in K-12 educational facilities.
On March 11, 2009, interviews were conducted with the three firms by Superintendent Cox; Dawn Plews,
Business Manager; and John Hartsock, Project Manager, Beaverton School District. ,The interview panel
scored the presentations and responses to specific questions developed for the interviews. ,The interview team
recommended the BOORA firm as the best choice for the District.
,That decision was made final at the March 12 meeting.
Superintendent Cox said that the BOORA team appeared “...enthusiastic and excited to be part of the project.”
inside
11
18
23
meet
lori
grimmett
Christian Aid Ministries Workers helped frame the home be-
ing built for Dean and Kendra Schaumburg.
Mike Pihl donated a 5,000 square foot lot
that is out of the flood plain, for the new
construction.
If you would like to support the Schaumburg House Project, please contact Casey Mitchell at 503-369-3133;
or send donations to the Schaumburg Building Fund at PO Box 174, Vernonia, OR 97064.
Vernonia’s Voice Wins Rural More Than Just An Ax
Award for Excellence
Man:An Interview With
Vernonia’s Voice and Editor/Publisher, Scott Laird, were the recipients of the
Rural Oregon Award for Excellence for Community Leadership at this year’s Mike Pihl
Regards to Rural Conference. The conference was held in Salem on Friday
and Saturday, March 20 and 21, and was organized by Rural Development
Initiatives (RDI). Laird accepted the Award during an Awards Luncheon on
Saturday and was accompanied by Vernonians Tobie Finzel and Mayor Sally
Harrison. The Community Leadership Award is given each year to a graduate
of an RDI-facilitated leadership training program who has used their leadership
tools and skills to increase capacity and add value in their community.
empty
bowls
st. partick’s
day parade
Vernonia’s Voice Editor/Publisher Scott Laird at the Rural Oregon Award
For Excellence Luncheon with Rural Development Initiatives Kathy Jawor-
ski and Craig Smith
Vernonia’s Biggest Celebrity is More
Than Just a Logger
Last year, Vernonia became famous, not just as the town that
flooded, but because of the world-wide popularity of a television
show “Ax Men.” The show featured local logging outfit, Mike
Pihl Logging, whose crew became internationally recognized.
This year, the History Channel has returned to Vernonia
for a second season and is once again featuring Mike Pihl
Logging. But Pihl
is more than just a
logger. He has been
very vocal about the
need for new schools
in Vernonia, and is
putting together a
large housing de-
velopment in town.
Vernonia’s Voice sat
down to talk with
Mike Pihl about
being an Ax Man,
about the logging industry, about new schools, and about the
future of Vernonia.
(continued on page 18)