opinions/letters to the editor An Opinion: 2009 5 Oakridge and Vernonia-- Similar Towns; Similar Stories-- Almost By Scott Laird A front page story in the Opinion section of the October 11, 2009, Sunday Oregonian told an interest- ing story. A small, rural Oregon town, with a popu- lation of a few thousand, formerly dependent on the timber industry for its livelihood, has struggled through tough economic times, but is finding ways to reinvent itself. A re-emerging historic downtown corridor with a slew of new businesses establishing themselves in recent years, affordable real estate with mountain and and river views, reasonable property taxes. Sound familiar? How about this? A new ethnic restaurant in downtown and a new brewpub. Neighbors who look out for each other and step up when members of the community need help. A forty-five minute drive to the nearest hospital. Still sound familiar? For those of you from around these parts, you might think that article was about Vernonia. But it wasn’t our town the Oregonian was talking about. That’s right, the small, rural Oregon town fea- tured in that opinion piece was Oakridge, Oregon, lo- cated about forty miles southeast of Eugene. Popula- tion 3,745. Formerly a mill town whose last mill closed in 1984. Largest employer is the Oakridge School District. Looking for funding for wastewater and wa- ter treatment facilities. A struggling economy. Hav- ing to lay off city employees because of tight budget constraints. When asked why people still want to live there, a local business owner answers, “Why wouldn’t they? In so many ways this is a wonderful town.” At first glance, the parallels between Oakridge and Vernonia are extraordinary. But really it’s not such an unusual story in rural Oregon. A slumping economy that was dependent on the timber industry. Aging infra- structure that needs expensive updates. Historic down- towns looking to re-invent themselves. You wouldn’t have to look very far to find that same story all around this state. But I still can’t not be amazed by the similari- ties between Vernonia and Oakridge. Even the name of the City Administrator in Oakridge is familiar to Ver- nonians-- Gordon Zimmerman. Zimmerman was the City Administrator here in Vernonia in 1997, right after the flood. “It was a tough time,” said Zimmerman in a recent phone conversation. Zimmerman says he also sees similarities be- tween the two communities: Tremendously engaged volunteer base; schools that are the center of the com- munity; a diminishing resource based economy; sur- rounded by forests-- these are some of the ways Zim- merman sees Oakridge and Vernonia as alike. But one thing is very different about Oakridge and Vernonia. Oakridge has fully embraced recreation- al tourism and especially mountain biking as ways to boost their economy. Oakridge has given itself these two slogans: “The Center of Oregon Recreation” and “Mountain Biking Capital of the Northwest.” Oakridge is especially proud of their local festival, “Mountain Bike Oregon” which draws hundreds of visitors in July and again in August to ride local trails, camp in city parks, and spend money locally. “That’s the resource we have, and that’s what we’re trying to develop,” says Zimmerman. Zimmerman notes that when 300-400 visitors come to Oakridge, burn a whole bunch of calories rid- ing their bikes all day, and stay for weekends, they tend to eat in local restaurants. And they eat a lot! Zim- merman notes that the 350-400 miles of single track mountain bike trails within 50 miles of the town are a big draw. “People who spend three to four thousand dollars on a bike don’t have a problem spending money to get here,” says Zimmerman. He also notes the de- velopment of a kids’ and and adults’ “Mountain Bike Skills Area “ as a big draw. Oakridge has other recreational activities they promote as well. “We have our biking in the summer, but we also have hunting and fishing in the fall and ski- ing in the winter,” he says. He also mentioned birding, kayaking, and quad trails as popular. Zimmerman stated that the city has actively sought grants to develop and enhance biking facilities and trails, and he notes that local businesses are finding ways to take advantage of this new economic opportu- nity. Would it make sense for Vernonia to try to mir- ror Oakridge’s success? In Oakridge, the ability to cultivate entrepre- neurial endeavors was fortified by a city staff person whose job was “enterprise facilitator” and who assisted twenty-one new business start-ups during the last three Readers Lend Their Voices... Dear Vernonians, Thanks to the generous gardeners of Vernonia who have contributed fresh produce from their gardens to the clients of Vernonia Cares Food Bank. These fresh vegetables and fruits add a healthy food to the menus of our families. There’s noth- ing like crunchy, fresh veggies! Thanks for sharing! Just a reminder, too, that the food bank will not be giving out Thanksgiving food boxes. Because this type of project is so expensive, we concentrate on supply- ing Christmas meal food boxes only. We will begin accepting applications for the Christmas boxes on November 3, to al- low us time to order groceries. Let’s hope the weather cooperates this year so we can successfully disperse these boxes about a week before Christmas. I’ll be publish- ing more on how you can donate to this project and the dispersal date (in Decem- ber) in the next publication. Please call the food bank (503- 429-1414), if you have any questions. We are located within the Legion Hall at 627 Adams Avenue and open Tuesday and Thursday, from 10:00 to 2:00 PM. Our mailing address is PO Box 126, Vernonia, OR 97064. Vernonia Cares Food Banks assists about 400 people every month with emergency groceries. Thanks to gen- erous donors, we are your hands extended to the hungry within our community. Sandy Welch, Director Vernonia Cares Food Bank november Do you have plastic or glass bottles & alu- minum cans stacked up in your garage?? Well you could donate them to a worthy cause! You can help me; Bridger Steward earn money for my 8th grade CloseUp trip to Washington DC April 18 – April 23, 2010. I need to raise approximately $1800.00 for this to happen--right now I am a little over ¼ of the way to reach- ing my goal. If you would like to support me with your donations please contact my Mom; Kinnell at 503-819 0143 or my Dad; Jon at 503-819-2656. We would be happy to pick up your bottle/can donation from you. Thank you. Bridger Steward Vernonia Thank you from the family of Myra Baska for your prayers, cards and flowers. Thank you also for the food for the luncheon. Vernonians are always there for you and we are very thankful to live in this caring community. A special thank you to the ladies who did such a great job of taking care of the luncheon. Fran Fletcher Vernonia To the Vernonia Community- I would like to personally thank the Vernonia Community Church for host- ing the benefit concert for Darrold Mush- att. And all the artists and people who years-- helping jump start that downtown revitaliza- tion. But that position was cut this year because of budget constraints. In Vernonia, the Bicycle Skills Park, a fa- cility that is intended to bring visitors to the area and provide activities for local residents, has been slowed by the Flood of 2007, but is looking to regain traction throughout this next year. Fishing at Vernonia Lake has become a real draw and is helping the city park system become more self-sufficient. City officials are eyeing development of a Disc Golf Course, a sport whose popularity is soaring. Sport Haus, a new Bed and Breakfast/Lodge north of town caters to outdoor enthusiasts and has featured Yoga retreats. Right now, Vernonia has a number of interesting restaurants, a lo- cal inn and two bed and breakfasts right in town, and a couple of city campgrounds. Are there other ways local entrepreneurs can tap into this growing tourism market? Are there more ways the city can find to attract visitors? The local Chamber of Commerce is hard at work looking for ways to be effective and support their members. An Economic Development Committee has been started. A small industrial park is in the planning stages out by the Vernonia Airport. Small business development seems to be the wave of the future for Vernonia. There is one last piece to the puzzle. A qual- ity school system could be expected to attract young families. Those same families could be drawn to a re- gion that encourages an active, outdoor life style with opportunities for hiking, camping, fishing and biking. Drawn to a community with a vibrant and active down- town-- to a town that encourages business, the arts and innovation. A new school campus would be a great start towards that quality school system. It will attract fami- lies, quality staff, and resources. But a new building is not all it will take. To create a quality school system, a new emphasis needs to be placed on programs, on edu- cational standards, on assisting the students who aren’t succeeding, on providing alternatives. Vernonia has a chance to re-invent itself, just like Oakridge is doing. It doesn’t mean all our troubles will go away. But it could mean more opportunities for more people in this community to find ways to thrive. And that sounds like a proactive approach. helped make it a wonderful evening and Larry and I, along with the Ver- success. Vernonia, you are AWESOME! nonia Lions Club, would like to say thank you to everyone who donated to the Fish- Mark Brown ing Fund for Vernonia Lake this past sum- Vernonia mer. We would especially like to thank the Vernonia Parks Committee and the To the Cast and Others who City of Vernonia for their donation of helped put on the Melodrama at this years $400 for this project to help stock the Salmon Festival. Thank You! Lake. Even with illnesses, surgeries, Larry and I would also like to accidents and difficult work schedules, thank everyone involved with clearing the you all maintained an attitude of “The debris and trees from around the entrance Show Must Go On” and indeed it did. I area to Vernonia Lake. Special thanks to was so very proud of the wonderful job the City Public Works crew, the Vernonia done with my meager words. You made Fire Department and our “coffee club” the whole process so much fun. The audi- folks--they helped make some real im- ence seemed to really enjoy our efforts, provements to this site. too. Lastly, we would like to say And, so bouquets of violets to thanak you to everyone who supported you beautiful ladies, Sharon, Helen, Mari- the Old Saw Mill Eatery and fishing at lyn, DeAnna, Coral Dawn and of course Vernonia Lake this season. We look for- the incomparable Bonnie. ward to seeing all of you again next year. Bravo to you stalwart men, Sam, Ron, Kevin, Zack, Bob and Burt. Gail and Larry Snethen To you lovely painted ladies, Vernonia Sharon, Rebecca and Allison, hubba, hub- ba! continued on page 18 My dearest wish is to have the honor and priv- ilege of work- HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ing with you again soon. Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and requests your thoughts, opin- Love you All, Sally ions and ideas. Please include your name, address and phone number, limit your letters to 300 words or less. Vernonia’s Voice reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted. We will print letters, space permitting. Dead- line is the 20th of the month. Email to: news@vernoniasvoice. com or mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064.