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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2009)
22 vernonia’s voice in other words may 2009 Voices In My Head: The Hills Have... Legs? By P.J. O’Leary In last month’s issue, I promised you a report on the return of Vernonia’s feral chickens. While those of us who were here for the ‘96’ flood remember well the havoc they created in its aftermath, perhaps some background is required for more recent Vernonia transplants. It all began, sadly, with the rise of the water at the confluence of the Nehalem River and Rock Creek on a rain-soaked day in February, 1996. As the water crept steadily, ominously, over the banks and into the town which we call home, many hundreds of people were at least temporarily displaced, and many of their animals were unfortunately left to fend for themselves. Among these animals were the chickens, a species of fowl which has not historically been known for making sound rational decisions in stressful situations. The rain continued, the snow pack melted like mascara at a wedding, and only those chickens which were gifted with a keen sense of survival pooled their considerably limited intellectual resources and made their way for the hills. They were the survivors, the crafty, high-functioning chosen few, and they would come to be known as the “Feral Chickens of Vernonia.” In the days following their exodus, most of the chickens did not realize that the flood waters had receded and that they could have easily returned to their homes to resume life as they had known it. By this time, the sur- vivors had established a group dynamic, a “pecking order” if you will. The domi- nant rooster would be known as the “Allah King,” while the primary hen would be referred to as the “Fricassee.” Over time, there was in-fighting, particularly between the Fricassee and the “would-be” Fricassees. This caused an insoluble rift which resulted in the movement of a large band of chickens to another home- stead in the hills. By the spring of 1998, two distinct com- munities of feral chick- ens had emerged. Those like me who have traced their societal patterns, refer to them as the Corey Hill Cryps and the Pebble Creek Pollos. These chickens are not so much free range as they are free form. The Cryps began their reign of terror by gingerly approaching shoes which had been left outside of homes and painstakingly un- tying the laces. It was the summer of 2000 before the Cryps and Pollos ventured back into the city of Vernonia. They had by then learned to successfully forage in the forests and mountain meadows surrounding the city. They lived and raised their families in intricate little stick-built houses much like the “Fairy Houses” featured in magazines one might see meticulously arranged on the coffee tables of rich people who want visitors to know that they are sophisticated and intelligent. The return of the chickens did not spring from need, but from a twisted little desire for revenge which they themselves did not completely understand. Revenge, not being a motive which comes naturally to poultry, was exacted in ways most of us would consider fairly harmless. The Cryps began their reign of terror by gingerly approaching shoes which had been left outside of homes and painstakingly untying the laces. Upon completing their deed, they would cackle uncontrollably and scatter back to the hills. The Pollos took great pleasure in pecking the eyes out of garden gnomes. In time, both gangs began pecking at the air valves on tires, leaving many disgruntled commuters slightly under-inflated. There were those occasions when both gangs were seeking mischief at the same location. Like the Jets and the Sharks, they would threaten each other with sharp objects and inexplicably break into tightly-cho- reographed dance routines. The feral roosters attracted domesticated hens in the same way that the mov- ies bikers of the 60’s and 70’s exposed the wild side of otherwise good small-town girls. It is commonly known as the James Dean effect, and it only encouraged them. Unlike farm bred chickens, feral chickens do not have nuggets, so they are always looking for little ways to compensate. Many of the roosters began wearing little pirate patches as an affectation, but the fad ended when the wearers realized that it made them walk in circles. As dreadful as the flood of December, ‘07’ was, it did provide a respite from the scourge of the feral chick- ens, forcing them back into their hillside retreats. Recently, however, I have noticed unsettling signs of their return. Please be wary. If you should notice an egg which has been gently laid in your garden, please do not think of it as a gift or a precursor of truce. The feral chickens are mocking you and they are watching for signs of weakness. They’re always watching.... On The Shelves: What’s Happening At Vernonia Library By Nancy Burch By the conclusion of Vernonia’s version of Read Across Oregon, library patrons will have traveled approximately thirty-three hundred miles-- around the state and then across it five times. Taking place during the months of February, March and April, this event was in celebration of Oregon’s 150th anniversary as a state. Prizes for reading the most books during this period go to Briana Moloney (young reader), Victoria Coleman (adult reader), and the Gross family (com- bined family readers). During this time frame, a total of twenty-eight people read the three books that were recom- mended by the Oregon Library Association. Twenty-two read Stubborn Twig, the true story of three generations of the Yasui family from the early 1900s to World War II internment camps and after. For those who would like to learn more about the period in America when Japanese living here were interred, the library has a DVD entitled, Unfinished Business, and two well-written non-fiction books (Only What we Carry and Looking Like the Enemy). Works of fiction on the subject include Tall Grass by Sandra Dallas, Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, and Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. Published in January, 2009, Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is the library’s newest novel portraying the sentiments that pervaded the years just prior to and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The hotel is real (the Panama Hotel in Seattle), as is the basis for the novel (the discovery of belongings left behind by the Japanese-Americans who were herded off to the relocation camps), but the storyline is original and many-layered. It’s the story of Henry Lee (a Chinese-American), his life, and his memories in the early 1940’s and the 1980’s. The book describes the complex relationships Henry had with his parents, his son, and his friend and first love. Not only is it a love story, it is a guide to understanding those difficult times in history, especially during wartime. This story really is bitter and sweet—Bit- tersweet. The after-school program will conclude at the end of May and will not resume until October. Summer Reading will begin in late June with complete schedules available soon. May library dates to remember: Thursday, May 28 @ 7 p.m.—Mature Movie Night: The Bad News Bears Saturday, May 30 @ 6 p.m.—Family Movie Night: Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch Interview with Tony Hyde (continued from the front page) So we’re already into this for $50,000 for the first round, in addition to the $150,000 for the studies that were done (for the new school site). And people in Portland and the state have put a lot of money on the table for this city. I don’t think people realize how much has been expended already. But back to your original question: This first Vernonia Schools project is clos- ing out, but we are looking to start a new one, so we’re looking for another $50,000. So, where they’re at right now is at a juncture where they’re clos- ing out a clearly defined project-- to find a location to build the school, and to start looking for funding sources. And they’ve done that. So we think we’re at a point now where the project needs to be broadened, just because of the whole Oregon Way program. So we’re planning to close out the project, and then we’ll start a new project. The same day, at the same table, with the same momentum. Because we want to expand it and we want to get everyone re-energized. Because now we’re talking about wastewater treatment, power production, bio-diesel. It’s Main Street improvements; it’s the project at the end of Weed Avenue where we could build a senior center and food bank-- a Community Service Center. So that’s the expanded project, all of these dif- ferent components to the tune of somewhere around $90-$150 million. That’s our new charge. VV: The Oregon Way Team has received three projects concepts, includ- ing Rebuild Vernonia. Is there some kind of a timeline for their recom- mendations back to the Governor on the Vernonia project? T.H.: They were not in a decision-making mode at that Governor’s kickoff meeting in early April. It was a far bigger event than I had anticipated. It was standing room only. I made the presentation with a guy by the name of Dan Haggerty. Dan is a principal from David Evans and Associates. The Governor’s office had brought in some experts to look at the potential initial projects that they wanted to embrace. And Dan Haggerty was one of the consultants that they brought in. And he immediately fell in love with Vernonia. And he has stayed totally engaged ever since. He wants to make sure Vernonia stays in the mix. Because, as you might suspect, now everybody is piling on. You know what happens when you see free hats at a logging show. There are two thousand people trying to get that hat! They may never wear it, but it doesn’t even matter. It’s free! So our goal now is to keep this project’s momentum, keep it in front of the state and potential funders. But we don’t have a timeline. We just need to make double the effort to make sure we stay ahead of the pack. VV: The conversation is starting about a bond to build new schools. Why do you think it is so important to take advantage of this opportunity to build new schools right now? T.H.: One thing I didn’t realize until Oregon Solutions took a look, is that the average age of a resident of Vernonia is thirty-one. That is very low! It’s unbelievable. That is a number that is extremely low. It means this is a young community. So when it comes to the school, you can only begin to imagine the implications of that. These folks are either going to have a school and raise their families here or they are going to be gone. And this town will dry up. It is also an indication that it is difficult to be a senior citizen in this town, because the costs are high. But one of the redeeming factors is our livability. That’s what makes this town so attractive. And livability includes your education system. And if we don’t have a reliable education system, quite frankly, this town will cease to exist. I am totally convinced of that. People will walk away. So, when you consider that the bulk of people’s wealth is tied up in their property, clearly this is a burden that this community can ill afford. But it can ill afford even more, losing the value of their most important asset. Which is what will happen if this town has an out-migration. There is no other way to put it. It’s just simple economics-- if we don’t build a school, we’re dead. And the truth of the matter is, no one is going to help us if we’re not willing to help ourselves. I’m pretty convinced that there is a large philanthropic community out there that will step up to the plate and help this town. And there are some state and federal folks that will step up and help. They already have. The momentum is there. There’s a clear indicator. But we’ve always had as a grass-roots fundamental premise that we’re going to run a bond. And we’re going to tax ourselves to make this hap- pen. And I think we need to do it now. It has always been the goal of the Oregon Solutions team to have students in at least part of a new school by November of 2010. That is an extremely aggressive timeline. But that’s what we’re after. So we have to pass that bond right away. VV: The Rebuild Vernonia Concept Plan calls for a fully self-sustaining electricity system using bio-mass. Is that really possible? T.H.: Sure it is. Whether this will get legs, I don’t know. But it’s really excit- ing. One of the ways we have a head start here is we have the tree stock, and it’s not tied up in federal ownership. We have 450,000 acres of privately-held timber land in four ownerships in this county, compared to 17,000 of publicly- held land. So it’s very attractive to people outside who are looking for wood sources. And an ancillary advantage to us is people here go to work! So it’s an exciting thing. VV: Tell us about the Community Service Center project? TH: That is the chunk of property on the other side of where the FEMA Hous- ing is. It goes all the way to the Linear Trail. It was originally designated to be a parking trailhead for the Banks-Vernonia Trail. And we knew we were going to need that property to use for flood mitigation after December 2007, so we’ve been working on it. And we now have a verbal agreement with the state to get that property for the city, and that just has to be put together, and that’s being done. It will have to stay in public hands. The idea is to keep some portion of it as a revenue producer for the city. So we’re talking about the Senior Center, the Food Bank and, hopefully, the Medical Center all on that site as a community center. So there’s a lot of synergy there, and that’s what the discussion is right now.
