4
community bulletin board/letters to the editor
october25
2011
Columbia County is a
Medically Underserved Area
Thursday October 27, 6-7:30 PM at
the Vernonia Community Learning Center
there will be a Community Healthcare Town
Hall, to discuss the future for health care in
Columbia County. The event will be hosted
by Columbia Community Mental Health and
Coastal Family Health Center
Although
Columbia
County
has excellent medical providers, the US
Department of Health and Human Services
has designated the residents of Columbia
County a medically underserved population.
What does that mean? It means there are not
enough Primary Care Physicians, Physician
Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners to
provide Columbia County residents with the
health care they need. It also means that the
residents of Columbia County may benefit
from developing a Federally Qualified
Health Center (FQHC).
FQHCs are located in high need
areas.
They are designed to provide
comprehensive primary care, dental, mental
health, and addiction services to all residents
of the county regardless of their ability to
pay. FQHCs are governed by a community
board comprised of 51% patients.
Roland Migchielsen, Executive
Director of Columbia Community Mental
Health, is hosting these information sharing
meetings in 5 cities throughout Columbia
County to present the option of developing
an FQHC.
How do I access medical services in Vernonia?
If you are having a medical
emergency you should call 911. Non
emergency dispatch numbers are, 503-397-
1521 or 800-696-7795 for Police, Fire and
Medical.
If you choose to seek emergency
services on your own, the closest facilities are:
Tuality Hospital, Forest Grove at 503 359-6180
or Providence St. Vincent Hospital, Beaverton
at 503 216-1234.
If you have an Urgent need and
cannot schedule with your Primary Care
Physician or do not have a Primary Care
Physician, the closest Urgent Care Facilities
are: Legacy Urgent Care, St. Helens at 503
397-7119 or Concentra Urgent Care, Hillsboro
at 503 726-1021 or PMG Urgent Care,
Hillsboro at 503 216-9360 or Geneva Health
Center, Forest Grove at 503 992-0288.
If you are looking for a new Primary
Care Physician our local Physician Dr. Carole
McIntyre is open to new clients and is working
to be credentialed through most major
insurance carriers including OHP. Her contact
information is: 503 429-4096.
Other Primary Care Services are:
Scappoose Family Clinic 503 543-3181 or
Virginia Garcia Health Center, Hillsboro at 503
601-7400 - Cornelius at 503 352-8610 or PMG
Orenco Station, Hillsboro at 503 216-1600 or
Geneva Health Center, Forest Grove at 503
992-0288.
If you are experiencing * Chest pain
* Severe abdominal pain * Difficulty breathing
or shortness of breath * Sudden dizziness,
weakness or loss of coordination or balance *
Sudden blurred vision * Numbness in the face,
arm or leg * Sudden, severe headache * Deep
cuts or bleeding that won’t stop * Coughing up
or vomiting blood * Severe burns * Seizures
ALWAYS CALL 911.
Please keep these numbers readily
accessible for your convenience.
Vernonia Volunteer Ambulance Association
Annual Pie Sale 2011
Please support the VVAA through
their Annual Pie Sale. Order forms are
requested to be submitted by November
11th at 5 PM. Pick up will be available
November 22nd & 23rd between 10
AM-8 PM
9inch Pie $8.00 Pumpkin, Cherry,
Apple, Low Sugar Cherry & No sugar
Apple Pies
Bread /Loafs $5.00 Banana, Zucchini,
Pumpkin & Orange/Cranberry
One Pound Fudge Blocks $10.00 Milk
Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate Peanut
Butter & White Chocolate Mint
To place an order please : Email:
Vernoniamwa@yahoo.com or Call 503-
429-4600 or drop by the Fire Station
M-F 8 AM-4 PM
Readers Lend Their Voices...
professionally. What I do know is that,
at the time the flood recovery effort
was desperate for a volunteer with
To the volunteers of the year.
construction experience, Mark showed
Vernonia Salmon Festival: I very much
up and stayed for nearly three years. At
appreciate the work you put into this William Scheuerman
least a third of that time, Mark was an
festival. I loved the new things they Age 11, Vernonia
unpaid volunteer.
brought this year especially the tractor
At a time long before key flood
ride.
recovery grant funds were available,
This was our best year yet, To the Editor
Mark assumed the role of our senior
almost everyone went to the festival so
We were saddened by the construction staff. Part of Mark’s job
if you bring something new next year news that Mark Drexel passed away was to assure others that promised
it will bring more people to the festival on October 9th. It’s hard to think about funding would eventually get here. He
Mark’s passing without resorting to also had the task of trying to assemble
next year hopefully.
The fishing this year was the clichés. “He was too young” certainly fully “cooked” construction projects
best I had, so thank you to the volunteers comes to mind.
so that they could be approved by our
I really only knew Mark funders. In the meantime, Mark helped
who put your time in to helping us this
us coordinate volunteers and
donations to complete as
HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
many projects as we could
Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and requests your thoughts, opinions and ideas. without public funding. It
Please include your name, address and phone number, limit your letters to 300 was a time of maximum
words or less. Vernonia’s Voice reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for stress and minimum certainty.
a response to letters submitted. We will print letters, space permitting. Deadline During all this time Mark
is the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. Email: scott@vernoniasvoice.com or came to work each day and
delivered a sense of solidity
mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064.
and stability to the clients,
PAYROLL PLUS LLC
Edi Sheldon
503-429-1819
edisheldon@gmail.com
Income Tax Preparation
(Individual & Small Business)
Bookkeeping
QuickBooks Assistance
Full Service Payroll
LTC#29629-C
Upcoming
Events
Health Care Town Hall, October
27, 6:00-7:30 PM-- at the Verno-
nia Learning Center to discuss
improving access for all to medi-
cal, dental, mental health and ad-
diction care for the residents of
Columbia County.
Halloween in Vernonia, October
31—Costume Sidewalk Parade,
open to kids up to 10 years old, a
safe way to trick-or-treat. Line up
begins at City Hall at 4 PM; pa-
rade begins at 4:30 PM sharp. Any
businesses, or organizations are
welcome to join the fun. Church
Trick or Treat, start Hallow-
een at the Vernonia Community
Church with free hot dogs, chips
and drinks from 5:30-7 PM. Fall
Carnival, this is the 25th anniver-
sary for this event at the Vernonia
Christian Church, 410 North St. A
safe Halloween alternative from
7-8:30 PM. Games, prizes, good-
ies and more—free family fun for
everyone.
Spirit of Christmas in Verno-
nia, December 3-- Celebrate a
traditional, old-fashioned, small
town holiday. Highlights include
a holiday parade, live nativity,
jungle dance, bake off, Victorian
carolers, pottery show, fruit cake
fling, story telling and more.
our projects and the office staff.
Eventually, CAT was able to find
some funding to pay Mark for his work.
It was less than half the salary he could
have demanded anywhere else. Almost
despite personal circumstance, Mark’s
commitment to helping the victims of
the 2007 flood never wavered. In all,
Mark helped at least fifty homeowners
plan and execute their recovery.
Mark’s commitment to help
others came from within and it was
able to withstand contractor business
failures,
client
complaints
and
misunderstandings within our hectic
office environment.
In the end, at a loss for better
words, a final cliché sums it up for
me: The World is diminished because
of Mark’s passing. We have all lost a
comrade and a friend.
Jim Tierney
Executive Director
Community Action Team, and
Director of Columbia County Flood
Relief
Need
body
work?
Vernonia
Veterinary Clinic
Time to call
Meyer’s
Auto Body
Now Open
Meyer’s Auto Body 493 Bridge Street, Vernonia. 503-429-0248
Small and Large Animals
Mon, Wed & Saturday
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Call for Appointments
(503) 429-1612
Or 24 hr. Emergency Number (503) 397-6470
700 Weed Ave. Vernonia, OR
