Vernonia's voice., January 10, 2012, Image 1

january10 2012
V E R N O N I A’ S
reflecting the spirit of our community
Conner Promoted to Chief

The City of Vernonia has
promoted Interim Police Chief
Michael Conner to formally serve
the City of Vernonia as Police Chief
as of January 1, 2012. The Oath of
Office was affirmed as a part of the
in capacities of Reserve Officer,
Marine Deputy, School Resource
Officer, and Patrol Officer.

Chief Conner has served
the City twice over the past two
years as an Interim Chief of Police
Mayor Josette Mitchell reads the oath of office to new Vernonia Police Chief
Michael Conner. Conner had been serving as Interim Chief for Vernonia.
City Council meeting on January
3, 2012. Connor’s family was on
hand for the ceremony and his wife
Katrina assisted by pinning on his
badge.

Chief Conner has served
the community of Vernonia since
September 1, 2005. He came to the
City with experience from Jefferson
County Sherriff’s office in Madras
Oregon, the Warm-Springs Police
Department in Warm-Springs
Oregon, and the Toledo Police
Department in Toledo Oregon
where he served as a Police
officer. Chief Conner has served
– initially from September 2010
to May 2011, and again from July
2011 through December 2011.

Under Chief Conner’s
most recent period of service, the
City hired two additional Police
Officers – Matt Brady and Brent
Thompson, and with Officer Shawn
Carnahan, Chief Conner manages a
fully staffed police department.

Chief Conner makes his
home in North Plains with his
wife and three daughters, Shayla,
Chelsea and Amber.
inside
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kaptans
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volume6    issue 1
Medical Clinic to Reopen in Vernonia

The Vernonia Health Board has will be working over the next few weeks to
reached a verbal agreement with a health finalize the details of the agreement.
care provider to operate a health care clinic
“We are going forward with this,”
in Vernonia.
says Sara Miller. “We have invested lots of

The Vernonia
Health Board has
received a Letter
of Intent from Dr.
Bryan Miller and
his staff at Verdura
Family
Wellness,
Inc. indicating that
they have accepted
an
invitation
to
assume professional
management
and
staffing of the Vernonia
Health Center. Verdura
Family
Wellness Dr. Bryan Miller and the staff from Verdura Family Wellness are
will operate from
preparing to open a medical clinic in Vernonia in February.
the building owned
by the Vernonia Health Board, previously time and capital to get this clinic open and
occupied by Providence Health Services functioning. There were some uncertainties
at 510 Bridge Street. The clinic is hoping about whether we could make it feasible.
to be open for operations by the middle of But this is happening.”
February.

Verdura Family Wellness currently

Providence Health Services ceased operates a primary care family practice
operations in Vernonia at the end of 2011.
located in Hillsboro and has been serving

Sara Miller, is the Practice Manager Washington County since 2004. They
for Verdura “We have sent a Letter of Intent accept most major insurance plans as well
to Providence and to the [Vernonia Health] as Medicare, Medicaid and private pay
Board about what we intend to do here,” patients.
says Miller. “But there been nothing set in
Bryan Miller is a a Doctor of
ink as of yet.”
Osteopathy-- a medical doctor who has

Bob Wagner, a member of the specialized in Osteopathy, which is an
Vernonia Health Board says all the members approach to medicine that uses common
of the Board are very excited about this medical procedures, but also places a
opportunity to continue to provide health greater emphasis on holistic treatment. To
care in Vernonia. Wagner says the Board
continued on page 5
Mason’s Creations: Watercolors and
Glass Art
By Scott Laird

This past fall I noticed a
man sitting at the corner of Madison
Avenue and Bridge Street in Vernonia
with a sketch pad, working to draw
a street scene of Vernonia. I noticed
him early in the day and again early
the same evening. I stopped to look
over his shoulder at his work, but
didn’t want to interrupt him, as he
seemed very intent on his project.
He was there for two days and
apparently I wasn’t the only one who
took notice of his work. Last month
I was contacted by some locals who
were purchasing a print of the sketch
the artist had produced and wanted to
know if I would like to meet him.

It turns out that Mason
Parker is quite an accomplished
artist in several different formats.
Not only does he paint the ink and
watercolors I saw him working
on-- his “regional art” streetscapes
of towns, neighborhoods, homes,
landmarks and businesses, like
Mason Parker creates watercolor streetscape scenes including this scene of
Bridge Street in Vernonia.
“Bridge Street, Vernonia,” he also
does beautiful glass art, including
huge garden art pieces. He calls his
work “Mason’s Creations” and his
website of that same name is filled
with images of his work.

Originally
from
Massachusetts, Parker graduated
from the University of Massachusetts
at Amhurst with a BS in Art. He
lived and worked across the border
in Vermont where he started creating
his art in 1990. He moved to Oregon
in 2007. He decided to come to
Vernonia to draw just by picking it
from a map. “ I just saw this small,
little town on the map and thought,
continued on page 15