july12 2011
V E R N O N I A’ S
reflecting the spirit of our community
School Walls Go Up!
The new Vernonia K-12 school campus took a giant step forward with a community
ceremony on June 27, 2011 to commemorate the raising of the first wall. Work is
quickly progressing at the site with a goal of opening the school to students in the fall
of 2012. For more photos on the progress of the project, see page 19.
inside
8-9
soccer
camp
19
july 4th
parade
19
walls
up
volume5 issue13
New Welcome Sign Installed
The welcome sign at the corner of Bridge Street and Rose Avenue has received a much
needed face lift. See story on page 5.
Council Terminates Kay
After meeting for over four hours
in a Special Executive Session on June 27,
2011 the Vernonia City Council returned to
regular session and voted 4-0 to terminate
the employment of Vernonia Police Officer
Michael Kay.
The Executive Session was pursu-
ant to ORS 192.660(2)(a)(b) to consider
“Employment of Public Officers, Employ-
ees, and Agents” and “Discipline of Public
Employees and Officers.”
After returning to Open Session,
Councilor Randy Parrow made the motion
to terminate Kay’s employment; it took
Councilor Marilyn Nicks almost fifteen sec-
onds of silence before she made a second to
free
the motion. Councilor Willow Burch sat on
the dais with her face in her hands the entire
time, even while voting in favor of the mo-
tion. There was no deliberation or discus-
sion. Nicks immediately left the chamber in
tears.
Because the City is without a per-
manent City Administrator, the responsibil-
ity of hiring and firing employees currently
falls to the City Council.
The termination was effective the
following day. The City has not released
any further official statement concerning
Kay’s termination.
Recall Filed for Burch and
Nicks
Signatures were certified by
the Columbia County Elections Of-
ficial on July 7, 2011 for the recall of
Vernonia City Councilors Marilyn
Nicks and Willow Burch.
According to City officials,
each Councilor has 5 days starting
July 8th to either submit a written
letter of resignation or submit a writ-
ten Statement of Justification that
does not exceed 200 words explain-
ing the public officer’s record in of-
fice. The last day for submission is
to be delivered to the City Recorder/
Elections Official at Vernonia City
Hall by July 12, 2011, 5:00 PM.
Depending on each Councilors deci-
sion a special election may be held
in early August.
Recall petitioner Sharon
Bernal needed to gather 119 valid
signatures of registered Vernonia
voters to force the recall; she said
she collected 180 signatures for each
in one day. In the recall election for
Kevin Hudson in May, 2011, 668 to-
tal votes were counted.
Lights...Camera...Action! It’s Time For
the Columbia County Fair and Rodeo
The 96 th Annual Columbia
County Fair and Rodeo is ready to
hit the stage starting Wednesday July
13 th and running through Sunday
July 17 th .
This year the Fair takes on a
movie theme and this is your chance
to get your big break! On Saturday
July 17 th Ridgeback Ranch Pictures
will be on hand, filming a scene from
the movie “Country Girl.” Extras
are needed to be in the audience or a
battle of the bands scene—show up
before 5:00 PM and sign in so you
can be part of the act and listed in the
credits.
A new event premiers this
year at the Fair--Pig Races. The
All-Alaska Racing Pigs--a traveling
team of pigs who race around a 100
foot, sawdust covered, flat track with
hurdles--take to the track every day.
There are four rounds of racing each
time before the final and loads of op-
portunity for crowd participation.
You can even get your photo taken
with a pig after the races! The races
happen on the South Grounds every
few hours all week long. Stop by
and watch these racers bring home
the bacon!
Also taking center stage as
a premier event this year—Peddle
Tractor Pulls for kids. For ages
4-12, pedal tractor competitor’s
race side-by-side down a thirty foot
track, pedaling a genuine, converted,
John Deer tractor. Attached behind
is a custom sled that is loaded with
weight—the older the kid, the more
weight they start with. If
you “pull-out,” going the
full thirty feet, you earn an-
other run in the next round
with double the weight. Ev-
eryone keeps going until the
weight brings them all to a
halt. Every competitor wins
a ribbon, and this is a great
photo opportunity for par-
ents. Kid’s Peddle Tractor
Pulls happen everyday, sev-
eral times each day, at the
South Grounds.
Of course, this
year’s Fair includes all the
usual activities. Wednesday
is Senior Citizen Day and
includes the My Fair Lady Court;
the pageant starts at 1:00 PM. On
Wednesday Seniors can receive
a free ride to and from the Fair on
continued on page 6
