Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2012)
march27 2012 V E R N O N I A’ S reflecting the spirit of our community volume6 issue6 New Vernonia School Site Wears Green Thanks to PCC Landscape Architecture Class Vernonia School District Columbia County Commissioner Tony wonderful students for helping to get students and staff worked with Portland Hyde and Vernonia Mayor Josette this landscaping in place,” said Dr. Ken Community College students and Mitchell were also on hand to celebrate Cox, Vernonia Schools Superintendent. community leaders on Saturday March the work of the students and PCC’s “This school represents the hard work 17, 2011 to plant new landscaping partnership with the school district. of so many people and organizations, plants in the front of the new and I hope these students come K-12 school and community back and see the school once it center in Vernonia. This event is open this fall.” culminated a partnership The plants were donated as supporting the new K-12 part of another partnership school in Vernonia, and between the Vernonia School provided a new meaning for District and the U.S. Bureau wearing green for St. Patrick’s of Land Management. Several Day. Roughly 40 PCC firms on the project helped landscape design students to prepare the site in advance completed design elements of of the landscaping project. the exterior grounds adjacent “I would like to thank Teufel to the new schools as part of a Landscaping and Crestview class assignment. These PCC Construction for adjusting students worked with Vernonia their schedules to help make Middle School students to this possible,” Dr. Cox said. install the winning design. “I County Commissioner Tony Hyde and Vernonia Middle Commissioner Tony Hyde feel so honored and excited to summed up the celebration: School staff and students help with landscaping. be part of this schools project,” “This new school will be the said PCC student Jen Harrison, whose “There is something truly inspirational site of decades of natural resource- design was selected to be used as in watching these community college based education and jobs training for part of the campus landscaping. “The students dive into the mud and make the students of Vernonia and many school’s approach to the landscaping is a difference in the lives of the children other communities. It is entirely a perfect match for my own values and of Vernonia,” shared Senator Johnson, appropriate that we celebrate the work the way I want to design projects in the adding “Since the floods, partners from and contributions of these landscape future.” across the state have rolled up their architecture students as they move Rock Creek President David sleeves to help a neighbor in need. toward their future careers.” Rule stated, “PCC is proud to help this Today is a remarkable example of the Donations to the new community move closer to opening kind of caring and compassion that Vernonia school can be made at www. their new schools, and we can also make me so proud to be an Oregonian.” vernoniaschools.org. The website also provide hands-on, valuable experience “We couldn’t be more pleased features construction progress updates, to our own students.” with the opportunity to work with including a live webcam of the site. State Senator Betsy Johnson, PCC Rock Creek, and we thank these For more photos see page 8 inside vhs senior projects 10 loggerbots 15 st. patty’s day parade City Council Approves Water Rate Increase The Vernonia City Council recommended approval of an alternative water rate schedule at the March 19, 2012 City Council meeting. Their approval directs City staff and the Oregon Association of Water Utilities (OAWU) to prepare a final report to the City Council that incorporates the selected rate schedule as approved following a Public Hearing prior to the regular City Council Meeting. At the Public Hearing on March 19, Council heard a presentation by Tim Tice of OAWU and heard testimony from several citizens. Tice has been working with the Vernonia Public Works Committee and the City Council to develop the new rate structure. Following the close of the Public Hearing, Council voted 4-1 to approve the recommended changes to the rates, with Councilor Donna Webb voting against the proposed changes. The “new” water rate calculates water utility fees using a variable base rate structure based on the water meter size installed to serve each customers dwelling or business. This is referred to as a meter multiplier rate structure. The “new rate increases the Base Rate for the majority of residential customers from $35 to $36 and increases the Consumption Rate from $1.25 to $4.25/thousand gallons. The City water distribution system can provide water meters to seven discrete classes based on meter size. (The City currently has no customer using a one inch continued on page 5 Meet Your Police: Vernonia Police Chief Michael Conner By Scott Laird 9 free The Vernonia Police De- partment has gone through several changes over the last few years. With a new Chief and three officers—vet- eran Shawn Carnahan and new of- ficers Brent Thompson and Matt Brady--Vernonia’s Voice decided to sit down for a chat with each of the officers at the VPD. Over the next several months we will profile each of the four officers and let you, our readers, and the public these officers serve, get to know them a little better. We start this series with new- ly appointed Chief, Michael Conner, who discussed his early career in law enforcement, as well as some policy issues at the VPD and some of his goals as the new Chief. Michael Conner has been an officer with the Vernonia Police De- partment since 2005. On January 1, 2012 he was promoted to Chief. Conner was born and raised in Madras, OR. He took a somewhat long and circuitous path before be- ginning his career in law enforce- ment. Before entering his chosen field Conner says he worked as a dish washer and restaurant cook, as a mill worker, worked doing chrome plating in Salem, OR, moved to Ne- vada and worked as a blackjack deal- er and managed a bar, moved back to Madras and finally found his way into school to study law enforcement. “I always wanted to be in law enforcement,” says Conner. “It was a goal, I just didn’t quite know how to get there.” Conner enrolled at Central Oregon Community College in the Criminal Justice program and was accepted with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department as a volunteer Reserve Officer in 2000. “I learned very quickly that a vast majority of a law enforcement officer’s job is in the office doing paper work and documenting inci- dents,” explains Conner. “There is also a lot of administrative work that is involved in case reports and man- aging the files and the flow of infor- mation between different jurisdic- tions.” Conner was eventually hired as a seasonal Marine Deputy in Jef- ferson County. “That was probably the best law enforcement position continued on page 3
