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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2011)
welcome november22 2011 from the editor This is the time of year when we start to reflect and look back on the past year. This last year has certainly been difficult here in Vernonia. At the City level we have suffered through the re- call and replacement of three City Coun- cilors, the firing and then rehiring of a City Administrator, and the termination of a police officer. On a personal level several long-time families have suffered tragedy or received extremely bad news, notably and recently the Baska and Titus families. It has been a trying and often difficult year—and yet, as we start to heal from the political upheaval we went through and continue to support fami- lies in need, I am also reminded that, as we have suffered through these hard- ships and sadness’s, we continue to be a community that cares. Time and time again we have seen that Vernonia is a community that will rally around itself and try to make a bad situation better. Whether its choosing sides in a political or city personnel matter or showing sup- port for a family or friend in need, the citizens of this community care, and they show it with their energy, their actions and their spirit. They show up when they are needed and step up, sometimes even when they are not asked. The people in this community really and truly care, and that caring makes a difference. And for me, that caring is worth celebrating. As I look over the last year I see much that is wor- thy of our praise, I see much worth being thankful for and much that we should celebrate. This is a community that cares about its children. Whether we do as much as is needed or as much as we can, we have made our children a priority. We voted to tax ourselves to fund new schools. We have groups and organiza- tions that focus on children—like the coaches, volunteers and other supporters of the Vernonia Boosters who make sure our youth have structured activities to engage in. The Vernonia Kiwanis have children as their focus and the Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters provide gifts for children in need. The Vernonia Preven- tion Coalition has also focused on chil- dren and helps provide the tools to so they have the opportunity to grow up and be healthy and productive citizens and adults. Vernonia Cares Food Bank Director Sandy Welch, along with her Board of Directors and volunteers con- tinue to provide support for families in our community with food and other necessities. Their holiday food boxes bring joy at the time of year when every- one should be able to celebrate. The Vernonia Lions Club just donated $2,000 to help Vernonia Cares fill those holiday boxes; that is just one example of the huge amount of support the Lions Club provides throughout our community. The friends of Kari Titus orga- nized and held a fundraising dinner a few weeks ago to help the Titus family with medical expenses as Kari battles cancer. Employees at the Vernonia Schools are supporting their co-worker Roxanna Heath-Sherman as she also battles can- cer. Friends of the Baska family have worked to raise funds to honor Scott Baska after his tragic death and help support his family. Dean Schaumburg, injured in a logging accident four years ago just moved into a home specially de- signed and built for his wheelchair--built in a large part with donations of funds, labor and materials. Members of the Pioneer Bap- tist Church and the Vernonia Commu- nity Church are hosting a Community Thanksgiving Dinner on November 24th—what a great collaboration! and certainly worth celebrating. The lo- cal Downtown Association, along with other business owners, organizations and citizens have also come together to organize the second “Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia” on December 3 rd . Last year the event was a great success—this year looks like it will again be a great way to celebrate the holidays and small town life. Apparently we are setting a good example for our youth--at Vernonia High School, students in the Leadership Class produced a video that they took to a leadership conference and showed to other student leaders from around the state of Oregon. The video was for a fundraising campaign to raise money for the new Vernonia School. In the video students encourage other students to “donate a dollar, build a school, save a town.” The seniors who worked on this project won’t even get to spend a day of class in the new school, yet they cared enough to put time and energy into im- proving this community. I could continue to talk about the people and organizations worth cel- ebrating in Vernonia, but hopefully you understand my point. As Vernonians we care about our community and about what happens here. We care about each Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Contributors Chip Bubl Sonia Spackman Photography Scott Laird Susan Pederson Want to advertise? Have an article? Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com One year subscriptions (24 issues) $35 Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. Vernonia’s Voice, LLC PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 www.VernoniasVoice.com other and we take it seriously when we see a need. And that is worth celebrat- ing. Scott Laird Editor and Publisher Building Buyers Beware The City of Vernonia provides this WARNING to people making a decision to purchase a home or commercial building within the city limits: PLEASE! Physically inspect the building yourself or hire a professional to assess whether the building was flooded AND meet with City staff to make sure that the building is not subject to floodplain management rules. These rules may restrict a purchaser’s ability to modify the building if it is located in the floodway. In some cases where the building was flooded, the building may be required to be elevated at the owner’s expense within a certain time period. If you purchase a building that has this requirement associated with it you will be required to fill out a flood plain development permit prior to having the city utilities turned on at the subject building. And if you fail to elevate the house in that time period, local Ordinance No. 851 allows for a daily fine of up to $500 per day to be levied. If you have any questions, please contact the City staff at (503) 429-5291. 3 Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7 Lady’s Night Wed 5-12 “STILL BIKER FRIENDLY” LIVE MUSIC Friday, Dec. 2nd Country Backroads Friday, Dec. 16th Dusty Trails • Specialty hamburgers • Draft beer & mixed drinks • Pool tables & satelite TV • Special live music events • Free Wi-fi Gift certificates available Sun - Thurs 11 AM - Midnight • 733 Bridge St, Vernonia Fri - Sat 11 AM - 2:30 AM • 503-429-9999 VERNONIA PHARMACY Better Service, Less Wait, Same Co-Pay We take Pride in our Quality, Personal service Your LOCAL property management company Joni Jackson Come on in for your flu shot Owner/Principal Broker Real Estate Sales • Residential • Commercial • Vacant Land Property Management • Residential • Commercial • Vacation Rentals See classified section for current rental listings Real Estate Service with a plan of ACTION! 503-956-0445 Joni@RelianceRES.com 859 Bridge Street • Vernonia, OR 97064 www.RelianceRES.com Sat, 11/26 Sat, 12/3 Sat, 12/10 Sat, 12/17 “Step Child” Classic Rock “Lock Stock & Barrel” Outlaw Country $3/$5 cover “Megan James Band” Country Rock “Ware-wolves of London” Classic British Rock Monday 10am-6pm Cafe Closed • Tue-Wed 10am-6pm, Cafe 10am-5pm Thr-Fri 10am-7pm, Cafe 10am-6pm • Sat 10am-11pm, Cafe 10am-10pm Sunday 10am-2pm, Cafe 10am-2pm (or call) 11139 Highway 202 (503) 755-2722 Call now to Transfer Your Prescriptions! 503-429-0591 Check out our website: www.vernoniarx.com *ONLINE PRESCRIPTION REFILL *PERSONALIZED E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS *DRUG ALERTS AND INFORMATION *AND MUCH MORE Hours of Operation: Mon.-Fri. 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Saturday 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. Closed Sunday
