welcome
from the editor
Last weekend at our house we
made what I would consider an “Or-
egon Harvest” dinner, which reminded
me how much I enjoy living in the Pa-
cific Northwest and how much I appre-
ciate this time of year.
We made a pre-dinner snack
of roasted pumpkin seeds, salvaged
from the pumpkin carving booth at the
Vernonia Salmon Festival. Next we
cooked up some corn-on-the-cob and
sliced some tomatoes, freshly grown
just down the road at Dairy Creek Farm.
We sautéed chanterelle mushrooms we
gathered locally in the forest that after-
noon and served them over mashed po-
tatoes. For dessert—apple/strawberry
crisp, with apples from our back yard
and strawberries from our garden, fro-
zen earlier this season.
It was a fresh, tasty and locally
grown treat—and a real joy to be able
to put all these foods together and enjoy
them in the same meal.
I know people do this kind of
thing all the time—grow, harvest and
serve their own food. But in this day
and age it is becoming less common. I
grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia
and my family didn’t have a vegetable
garden in the summer. We could stop at
farm stands and buy fresh produce and
some of my fondest memories are of
cookouts with platters of ears of corn—
pretty much all you could eat. That was
when corn was twelve for a dollar—the
good old days! And my grandfather
grew some of the tastiest tomatoes, and
lots of them, so we always had those.
But I love it here in the north-
west, even though the corn and toma-
toes don’t really arrive until sometime
in August. I love gathering fresh berries
all summer and walking in the woods
and gathering mushrooms in the fall. I
Vernonia Council
Schedules Work
Sessions
october11
2011
love making a meal from items mostly
from within a few miles of my home.
I love knowing where my food came
from—it makes it just a little more en-
joyable—and I think it tastes better.
***
***
Here in Vernonia three new City
Councilors just took office last month,
replacing three City Councilors who
were recalled this past summer. While
chatting with one of the new Council-
ors I was reminded of some comments I
made when three new Council members
took office in January 2011. In part, my
message at that time was that growing
into an effective and productive gov-
erning team takes time. I noted that, as
a community, we would need to have
some patience and allow a new Coun-
cil, with three new members, some time
as they all figure out their roles and re-
sponsibilities, get familiar with the de-
tails of current projects and issues and
learn the nuances of how a city govern-
ment functions. I said it would take
time for the group as a whole to come
together, learn each other’s styles, per-
sonalities and triggers and learn to work
together as a team. I also mentioned that
the new Council would need to build a
working and trusting relationship with
staff.
Much of that never happened
with the last Council—they chose to
jumped in head first and the result was
the recall of three members.
What this new Council needs
to remember as they start their work to-
gether is that they are on the same team
and have a common purpose—oversee-
ing the operations of the City of Verno-
nia . At their October 3 rd meeting the
Council scheduled two workshops—
one to develop a list of their top priori-
ties for City Administrator Bill Haack
and one to set goals for themselves as
a Council. This is encouraging and a
very positive early step for this group.
Establishing their priorities and devel-
oping a plan for how they will approach
the myriad of issues in front of them
will set a good base for their upcoming
work together.
This Council will need to de-
velop a long term vision and do what
is best for Vernonia. They need to see
the big picture. They need to develop
trust—in themselves, in each other, and
in their staff. They need to recognize
that all of this will take time.
*** ***
Many of you may have already
seen the feature article about Vernonia
in the October 2011 issue of Oregon
Business Magazine. “Build a School,
Save a Town—Reinventing the future
of Vernonia” was the cover story and
included eleven pages of photos and
an depth discussion about the relation-
ship between building a new, high tech
school campus and the potential impact
on economic development in our com-
munity. I felt like the article was a very
real and true portrayal of the challenges
we have faced since December 2007,
our attempts to create change within our
community, the possibility of Vernonia
becoming a model of a sustainable,
rural Oregon community, and even
some of our failures as we have waded
through all the muck, red tape, and con-
fusion while trying to rebuild after a di-
saster.
It is an excellent read—you can
find it online at www.oregonbusiness.
com/features.
3
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Lynn Berry
Kimberly Brandt
Mackenzie Carr
Gayle Rich-Boxman
Dr. Chris Scheuerman
Michal Smith
Don Webb
Photography
Krystina Fields
Scott Laird
Gayle Rich-Boxman
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Scott Laird
Editor and Publisher
Need more room?
The Vernonia City Council has scheduled
several Study Sessions, including a session on
October 17 at 6:00 PM to review the Water Rate
Study; October 21 at 5:00 PM to set priorities for the
City Administrator; November 9 at 6:30 PM to set
City Council Goals; November 18 at 5:00 PM for a
GIS Work Session.
In addition a Public Hearing has tentatively
been scheduled for Monday November 7, at 6:00 PM
on the Water Rate Study. Also, the Vernonia Planning
Commission will hold a Public Hearing on October
13, at 7:00 PM to consider a request by the Vernonia
School District to change a Condition of Approval that
required underground utilities on Missouri Avenue.
What: The Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity
(CCCHD), the Rural Organizing Project (ROP), Working
Families, MoveOn.org, and Rebuild the Dream will host a
nonpartisan candidate forum for the candidates vying to fill
the open congressional seat in Oregon’s 1st Congressional
District.
Who: The following candidates have confirmed their at-
tendance for this event
• Brad Avakian
• Suzanne Bonamici
• Brad Witt
• Delinda Morgan
When: Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 at 6:00pm
Where: St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church
51555 SW Old Portland Rd.
Scappoose, OR 97056
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Monday 10am-6pm Cafe Closed • Tue-Wed 10am-6pm, Cafe 10am-5pm
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