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
