welcome
from the editor
On March 1st through the 3rd
the community of Vernonia experienced
their own version of March Madness
as the Vernonia High School boys
basketball team took part in the final
eight of the State Championships in
Pendleton. It had been seventeen years
since the Logger Boys had qualified
for the State finals and the town rallied
behind the team, fundraising to send
the team and the school pep band, and
traveling in large numbers to be there in
person to support their Loggers.
It was just another example
of Vernonia Spirit—people working
together to support one another and
make good things happen.
At the double elimination
tournament the Loggers suffered what
could have been a crushing defeat in
their first game, a heartbreaking 38-36
loss to Regis. It was a game in which
the Loggers led by as many as 10 points
late in the second half. No one would
have been surprised the next morning
when the Logger took the court against
Central Linn if the boys hadn’t come
out flat, rolled over and gave up. And
that’s almost what happened.
Down by nine points near the
end of the third quarter, and certainly not
playing as well as they knew they were
capable, the Loggers gave themselves
a gut check, decided they weren’t done
yet and came roaring back, led by an
unusual suspect.
This time it wasn’t flashy
Paul Jiranek, or sharp shooting Craig
Weller, or big men Austin Cutright or
Austin Edgar who took charge. It was
defensive specialist Byron Weller--the
guy you often overlook on the court,
the guy who does all the dirty work
but usually isn’t the star—who stepped
up and scored seven straight huge,
important, game changing points for the
Loggers. “Byron’s energy carried us,”
said Logger head coach David Weller
after the tournament.
No, the Loggers weren’t done
yet.
This team, and the fans who
were there to support them, showed
true Logger Pride and Vernonia Spirit.
That never say die, never give up, never
quit spirit, that most Vernonians I’ve
march13
2012
come to know over the years possess.
That pride that has carried this town
through several floods, bad economies
and countless other tragedies and tough
times.
Apparently that pride and spirit
is rubbing off.
The boys fought back in that
game and won it in the final minute.
They went on to win their final game
of the tournament, and the season, and
celebrate by bringing home the fourth
place trophy. They didn’t give up, they
found a way to come out on top and
they made themselves, and the rest of
us, proud to be Loggers. They did it
through hard work and by believing in
themselves. And when it looked like
they might be out of options, the spark
that brought them back to life came
from an unlikely source.
“They showed they still had
some fight left in them,” said coach
Weller.
They showed true Logger Pride
and Vernonia Spirit.
Scott Laird
Editor and Publisher
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
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An Opinion: For Vernonia City Council the Process is Working
By Scott Laird
About this time last year the
Vernonia City Council was headed
towards trouble—trouble that lasted
until August and ended with three new
City Councilors being selected and
appointed to serve the citizens of our
community.
2011 was a trying year for
those of us who watch and are involved
with city politics here. But with the
appointment of the new council members
and the return of City Administrator Bill
Haack, things at the Vernonia City Hall
appear to have calmed down quite a
bit. The City Council, City Committees
and city staff are working through some
fairly complicated and important issues
and are moving forward, sometimes
slowly and not always so surely, but
forward none-the-less.
It’s a process and sometimes
following the process is laborious.
At the March 5, 2011 City
Council meeting, Council was presented
with a recommendation from the
Vernonia Public Works Committee for
a new model for water rates in the city.
This is a project that has been in progress
for quite some time. The Public Works
Committee has been meeting regularly to
discuss the information gathered during
a Water Rate Study and to develop a plan
they could send to the City Council. The
Council and Public Works Committee
have also met together several times over
the last few months in work sessions to
hammer out the details of this proposal.
It has been a slow and arduous process
with disagreements and different points
of view. In the end not everyone agreed
with the final product that Council
was presented, and the Council ended
up reworking the proposal, sending it
back to staff for more information and
planning to meet in another special
meeting before the already announced
Public Hearing on March 20.
But that is the work of
government and that is the process and
that is what this City Council is working
their way through in order to reach an
end result that they believe will be best
for the citizens they represent.
At the March 5 th meeting
the Councilors discussion was long
and lively, sometimes heated, mostly
intelligent and eventually led to
consensus—that they needed more
information and another meeting. Yep,
that’s the process at work.
The Vernonia City Council
also recently worked together to pass
an Ordinance to create a uniformed
structure for their City Committees.
This has been a goal and a high priority
for Mayor Josette Mitchell since she
took office in January of 2011. Again,
it wasn’t easy and there was some
disagreement among the City Council
about the details, but in the end, they got
the ordinance passed.
The members of this Council
are showing that they are willing to put
in a lot of time, energy and hard work
in order to comprehend the details of the
issues they are being asked to debate.
City Administrator Haack is doing a good
job of shepherding the Council through
a long list of projects and the work they
need to accomplish, scheduling work
sessions and providing background
information when it’s requested. The
Councilors are asking a lot of questions
and the discussions can sometimes be
agonizingly long, but in the end they are
accomplishing the work of the City.
Next up is the City Budget.
Council will meet again this year with
the City Budget Committee over several
weeks to hash out their differences and
reach an agreement to approve a budget
for the upcoming fiscal year. With funds
still tight, this Council may have some
tough decisions to make. The public
budget process is scheduled to officially
begin on April 3 with the presentation
of the Budget Message. This will be
3
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another test for this City Council as they
continue their work on behalf of the
citizens of Vernonia.
So far the process is working.
Vernonia
Veterinary Clinic
Small and Large Animals
Now Open
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
Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7
Lady’s Night Wed 5-12
“STILL BIKER FRIENDLY”
LIVE MUSIC
March 17th
Sat, 3/17
Sat, 3/24
Fri, 3/30
Fri, 4/6
“The Insensitives” 80’s & 90’s Rock
“Megan James Band” Rockin’ Country
“Facho & Friends”
“Steve Rodin Songwriter Showcase”
Now featuring Astoria Brewing beers on site with six tap handles
Growlers To Go
Introducing Smoke House Ribs
11139 Highway 202
(503) 755-2722
1 Yr. Anniversary Party
with Global FM
• Specialty hamburgers
• Draft beer & mixed drinks
• Pool tables & satelite TV
• Special live music events
• Free Wi-fi
Sun - Thurs 11 AM - Midnight •
733 Bridge St, Vernonia
March 24th
Dusty Trails
March 31st
Spin Cycle
Gift certificates available
Fri - Sat 11 AM - 2:30 AM
• 503-429-9999
