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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2009)
welcome from the editor... In case you hadn’t heard, on Election Day, Verno- nians voted with a resounding “YES” on School Bond Mea- sure 5-197, and took the first big step towards new schools. First, I want to say congratulations to the Vernonia School Board for the successful passage of this Bond. I for one am looking forward to the day those new schools become reality, and the Board did a great job of getting us on the road towards that goal. I also want to say thank you to all of the School Bond Committee members who volunteered their time and their efforts to run such a successful campaign. It was a huge endeavor and you accomplished it with creativ- ity, professionalism and nerve-- and had fun in the process. A special thank you to Sharon Bernal for chairing the com- mittee. A great job by all-- you have much to be proud of. We have some other big news here at Vernonia’s Voice. Starting in January, 2010, we will begin publishing twice a month. For a long time now, readers, advertisers and other supporters have been asking when we could start print- ing more often. Well, that time has finally arrived! Look for our next edition on Tuesday, January 5th, then a second edition on Tuesday, January 26th. Thereafter, we will pub- lish and distribute Vernonia’s Voice on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. We hope this means we can be more timely with news, more relevant with information about upcoming events, activities and community gatherings, and provide a more efficient outlet for our advertisers and supporters. We also plan to continue to bring you stories of interest about our community, continue to support local businesses with articles about them, continue to build our relationship with Vernonia schools, continue to report from all your favorite local events, and continue to bring you most of the columns from our local writers. In other words, we plan to continue to reflect the spirit of our community. 2009 3 Once again, I want to say thank you to all of you who have encouraged and supported the birth and growth of Vernonia’s Voice, and hope you will continue to support us as we move forward in this next phase of our journey. As in most cases, when there’s good news, it’s usu- ally accompanied by some bad news, as is the case here. It is with deep regret that I have to inform our readers that P.J. O’Leary, author of the column “Voices In My Head”-- what has turned out to be our most popular feature each month, is taking a leave of absence. Or a sabbatical. Or an extended vacation. No, this is not a cost-cutting furlough. No, we’re not shutting him down for his inappropriate use of bodily functions as comic material. And no, P.J. is not checking himself into the sanitarium for some much needed R and R. Apparently those voices in his head that help supply him with so much of his material each month have just plain clammed up. P.J. has been with us since our inception and has been enjoyed by most of you. One of the highlights for me each month is when P.J.’s new column shows up in my in- box, and I get a chance to laugh out loud as I read it for the first time. This month will be P.J.’s last column, at least for now. He has said that, if in the future he feels inspired, he will dust off that keyboard and send his thoughts our way again. Until then, we may try to fill in with other local writ- ers who wish to share their random thoughts and musings about life in Vernonia, or just life in general. But I’m sure I can speak for many of you when I tell P.J. he will definitely be missed. Thanks for the laughs and the insights, P.J.-- it just won’t be the same around here without you. Scott Laird Editor and Publisher Correction: In our September 2009 Issue we published a photo on page 27 of the Lawn Mower Races that were held during the 2009 Vernonia Friendship Jamboree. The photo was of a spectacular crash that was captured by Vernonia photographer Justin Larson. Regretably, we published Mr. Larson’s photo and did not give him credit. Vernonia’s Voice would like to apologize to Justin Larson for this error. Come Celebrate... Christmas in Vernonia December 5th-6th Christmas in the Country Bazaar Sat & Sun, December 5th & 6th Vernonia Middle School Lighted Christmas Parade Saturday, December 5th Starts at State Ave., 6:00PM Christmas Tree Lighting Saturday, December 5th Following the Parade, City Hall Musical Concert, December 5th 204th Army Band Holiday Songs & Marches V.H.S. Auditorium, 7PM december Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com News Editor Scott Laird Copy Editor Dennis Nicks Photography Ilene Grady Scott Laird Contributors April Bamburg Nancy Burch Kim Camarda Dawn Carr Ben Fousek Heather Lewis PJ O’Leary Erika Paleck DeAnna Pearl Sonia Spackman Burt Tschache Want to advertise? Contact: ads@vernoniasvoice.com Have an article? Contact: news@vernoniasvoice.com PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 www.VernoniasVoice.com