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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2009)
16 community november 2009 The House the Roberts Family Built themselves-- hauling the cement stones for the retaining walls by hand and building the garden beds, stone stair- way, and back yard. On that first visit, Janelle had to leave after our tour of the yard. But Tera seemed anxious to show off the inside of the house, so I took the tour that Tera offered, getting to see and hear about an equally impressive story-- the renovation Tera and her children have done over the last four years. I decided to return and do a feature story on Tera, her chil- dren and the home they are creat- ing for themselves. Tera Roberts and her husband moved to Vernonia in 1995 with four children and a fifth on the way. The 100-year-old house they bought had a finished 950 square The Roberts family L to R: Gavin 18, Dezi 14, Tera, Odessa 8, foot upstairs with three bedrooms Sierra 17, Jocie 12, Mason 15, Brittanie 20 and Gabe 9. and one bathroom and a full day- businesses who exemplify pride in our community by light basement. Three more children were added to the fam- showing extra special care in how they tend their yards and gardens. Janelle Thomas Cedergreen, who chooses ily, including Gabriel, who was born with a congenital the winners each month, and I met at the home of Tera heart defect, and now lives with a pacemaker. In 2003, the house showed signs of slipping off the hill. Roberts on Bridge Street, to look over Tera received a grant from Community Action her garden, which Janelle had chosen Team to stabilize the foundation, remove the as Runner-up for the month of August. east side of the home and add 600 square feet Tera showed us her gardens at the front to the house. Work began in 2004-- the house of the house and then took us around was gutted, the foundation work completed, the side, down a steep stone stairway, and the addition framed, though the house was with terraced gardens and Oregon Flag- not insulated or sheetrocked by the fall of 2004. stone walkways, to a grassy backyard In October 0f 2004, Tera and her hus- with retaining walls and more terraced band separated and went through a difficult di- beds. Janelle was shocked! Because the vorce that lasted two years. house is built into a steep hill, she had Tera found herself a single mother of not even noticed the beautiful side gar- eight young children-- having to find a way to den and back yard from the street when she first noticed the Roberts property. In fact, Janelle was take care of her family and complete the home renova- so impressed that she named Tera Roberts the Yard of the tions. She decided to go back to school to earn a nursing degree, starting at Portland Community College in Janu- Month winner for September. Tera explained to Janelle and me that she and her ary of 2005. Due to Gabriel’s medical condition, he quali- children, all eight of them, had done all the landscaping fied for Social Security and a grant from the Fairhaven Recently I went went out for a photo shoot for Yard of the Month, an award that is given by Vernonia Pride to recognize exceptional landscaping in our com- munity. The awards are given monthly to residents and Trust Fund, which was used to purchase sheetrock and retaining block to help stabilize the backyard dirt. Tera took loans and grants to get started in school. She also applied for and received significant grants from the Soroptimist International Organization, which sup- ports women as heads of households and the Ford Family Foundation, which has a restart scholar- ship program for heads of households wishing to return to college. In 2006, Tera was accepted into the OHSU Nurs- ing program, one of twenty-four people chosen from 924 applicants, and with the various grant funding was able to contin- ue fixing the family home. With occasional help from knowledge- able friends, Tera and the children in- stalled sheetrock and finished walls, laid tile, installed appliances and fixtures, built cement countertops, and completely landscaped the yard. They have added and finished two bedrooms and a bath- room in the basement. Tera graduated from OHSU Magna Cum Laude and recently started the graduate program there to earn a Doctor of Nursing. Her two oldest children, Brittanie and Gavin, have graduated from Vernonia High School and are attending PSU and PCC on scholarships. Tera Roberts and her family have stuck together through some tough times, have kept a positive attitude, even when things have been really hard, and have built a home that is comfortable and beautiful. It’s virtually silent. It uses less water. And it cleans better. Still think all dishwashers are created equal? Miele dishwashers are quieter, use less water and provide brilliant cleaning results, guaranteed, or your money back. (1) Created equal? We think not. Upcoming Meetings First Wednesday of each month at the Vernonia Community Learning Center at 9:00 AM. Open to the public, input is welcome. November 4th December 2nd Be a piece of the puzzle. Coming in December: “Conducting Underage Drinking Investigations” Featuring Travis Bruyer, nationally recognized for his efforts in addressing the issue of underage drinking. (1) See miele.com for complete details. Special Financing for 12 months! No Down... No Interest! Store Hours Monday - Saturday 9:00am - 6:00pm 512 SE Baseline HILLSBORO 503-648-2813 This course provides an informative “how to” approach to conducting illegal alcohol use investigations. Cost: $95.00 December 9th, 2009. 8:00AM-5:00PM To register email us at: Sponsored by the www.accjt.org or call 406-241-6150 Vernonia Police Dept. For more information contact: DeAnna Pearl, VPC Director 503-369-7370