november8  2011
V E R N O N I A’ S
reflecting the spirit of our community
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volume5    issue21
Forestry Program at Vernonia High School Takes Root
By Scott Laird
of a healthy watershed.
Schools, where successful forestry programs already

“This Forestry program is a key piece to the exist.

Vernonia is known as a logging community. Natural Resources curriculum because it obviously ties
Brown says he has been able to tailor his pro-
The logging industry is part of the community’s heri- in with our local economy,” says Aaron Miller, princi- gram based on the other successful high school pro-
tage and history. Logging was what brought people pal at Vernonia’s Washington Grade School who is also grams he surveyed. “There is a lot of variability among
to the region originally and what made this town fa- overseeing the programing aspect of the new curricu- the different forestry programs around the state,” ex-
mous in the past. The high school teams here are called lum for the District. “It ties in with the history of the plains Brown. “Our outline is based on what some of
town and how people have the other schools are doing, but there is so much that
survived and made a living we can kind of pick and choose what we think will be
and what built this place.” relevant to the kids we have in our program right now.”

The VHS Forestry
The early weeks of the program have focused
class currently has eigh- on science and biology—plant and animal identifica-
teen students enrolled; tion, forest measurements, compass and pacing, how
there was an additional to do regeneration surveys. Brown says the class has
waiting list of students already spent time in the field on Longview Timber
who were also interested lands, where students have done survey work on trees
in participating in the pro- that were replanted, taking sample plots and estimating
gram. Right now the two the health of the trees, how many trees per acre, and
credit class is considered how old the trees are. The class will be working with
an elective—there is hope Mark Dreyer, a private forester from Rainier who will
that in the future students spend a day each week working with the class out on
can count the class towards field work. The class recently had a demonstration on
required science credit.
chain saw safety and will get a chance to work cutting

Brown is a good fit fire wood in the field soon.
as the instructor for a For-
The program continues to be a work in prog-
estry class; he was part ress and will be adjusted to fit the needs and interests
of the Dislocated Worker of the students. Brown says if enough students want
Vernonia High School has a new Forestry class where students learn
program several years ago to continue with the program next year, it could be
about working in the woods.
and retrained to become a expanded to include a Forestry II class. “This is a
the “Loggers” and logging continues to be this com- teacher. Previously he worked as a logger in the woods program that is in evolution,” says Brown. “There are
munity’s legacy, even after mills have closed, jobs as a rigging slinger or hook tender; he spent twenty limitations because we haven’t done this here before
have disappeared and outfits have gone out of business. years working around Coos Bay, the south coast of Or- and there are limitation of what I am capable of teach-
Vernonia continues to be famous for its axemen; now egon and southeast Alaska.
ing. I think most teachers will tell you, the first time
even the high school has a program to teach local stu-
The VHS Forestry program is being developed around with anything, there will be some adjustments.
dents about working in the woods.
as a partnership between several entities including the There will be some experimentation as we see what
continued on page 9

This fall Vernonia High School (VHS) began its OSU Extension Service, Bighorn Logging,
own Forestry program as part of the Natural Resources Mark Standley with Logsafe, Inc., Hancock
curriculum the school district is promoting. The new Timber Management, Longview Timber, the
Forestry class is being taught by Byron Brown, who City of Vernonia, and the Upper Nehalem Wa-
teaches Social Sciences—history, government, modern tershed Council (UNWC). “These are all part-
problems. Now Brown is also teaching plant identifi- ners we are working with closely to put this

Columbia County there will be an opportunity
cation, chain saw safety, and how to recognize the signs together and to implement it,” says Miller. “
Sheriff Jeff Dickerson will for citizens to express their
I believe these will be valuable and long term
hold a Town Hall meeting concerns as well as ask
partnerships that will be lasting—they are lo-
on November 15, 2011 questions. Citizens will also
cal people and local groups that are interested
from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at be able to sign up for a tour
in having schools be a part of what they do.”
the St. Helens High School of the county jail facility.

Miller says Brown has done an ex-
For
more
Auditorium, 2375 Gable
cellent job putting together the class curricu-
Road. Dickerson will make information contact the
lum, putting in a lot of extra hours of his own
a short presentation about Columbia County Sheriff’s
time this past summer. Brown talked with in-
recent loss of services and Office at 503-366-4611
structors at both Knappa and Philomath High
Sheriff Dickerson to Hold
Town Hall in St. Helens
inside
10
occupy
the gorge
12
vhs
sports
19
trick
or treat
November 9 – This is a TEST!

On Wednesday, November
9 at 11:00 AM Oregonians will
hear on their radios and see on their
televisions a test of the emergency
alert system (EAS). The test will
last approximately thirty seconds.
Normal programming will return
following the test. This is a
nationwide test organized by the
FCC and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA).

This test will be different
than those we have had in the past.
The November 9 test will utilize
a “live” national alert code, i.e., a
coded message that will present
itself as an actual emergency
announcement, not a test. This
is necessary in order to allow
FCC and FEMA to test the actual
working order reliability of legacy
EAS equipment and the state of
readiness of EAS operators and
participants. Television stations
are being encouraged to run a
scroll at the bottom of the screen
throughout the test stating that it is
just a test.

Oregon
Office
of
Emergency Management (OEM),
FEMA, Broadcasters, NOAA and
many other agencies are diligently
trying to get the word to people that
this is, in fact, a test. Often, citizens
who are unsure of whether the alert
is real or a test, place calls to 911
which tie up the phone lines for
legitimate emergencies.

If anyone has questions
about the test, please do NOT call
911. Please tell your neighbors
and friends about this test so
that Oregonians will be the most
informed of all the states and will
not be caught off guard by this
unusual test of the EAS equipment.

More information can
be found at www.fema.gov/
emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm