Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current, June 26, 2012, Image 1

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    june26 2012
V E R N O N I A’ S
reflecting the spirit of our community
Meet Your Police: The Veteran,
Shawn Carnahan
 
The Vernonia Police Department
has gone through several changes over the
last few years. With two new officers and
a new Chief, Vernonia’s  Voice  decided
to sit down with each of the officers at the
VPD and bring our readers and the public
they serve a profile of each of these “men
in blue.” We started our series back in our
March 27 issue with a profile of Chief Mike
Conner. This month we give you a chance to
meet Officer Shawn Carnahan.
Vernonia  Police  Officer  Shawn 
Carnahan has been working for the Vernonia 
Police Department for over three years.  With 
two brand new officers--Brent Thompson and 
Matt  Brady--that  makes  Officer  Carnahan, 
after Chief Conner, the veteran of the force. 
 
Shawn  Carnahan  comes  from  a 
family  that  values  public  service.    His 
grandmother  was  a  registered  nurse.    His 
grandfather  was  an  Oregon  State  Trooper, 
then the Chief of Police in Junction City and 
then  a  Resident  Deputy  in  Monroe  for  the 
Benton County Sheriff’s Office.  Carnahan’s 
father  is  a  Paramedic  in  Florence,  where 
he  is  a  supervisor  with  Western  Lane 
Ambulance  and  also  a  battalion  chief  with 
the fire department.  “Public service runs in 
the family,” says Carnahan.
 
Carnahan  himself  started  as  a 
Reserve  Officer  with  the  Scappoose  Police 
Department  after  attending  the  Multnomah 
County  Sheriff’s  Office  Reserve Academy-
where  he  graduated  and  received  the  top 
overall  reserve  award.  He  worked  with 
the  Scappoose  PD  for  five  years  until  the 
reserve  program  was  disbanded  in  2005.  
Carnahan was hired by the Scappoose Police 
Department  in  May  of  2008  as  a  full  time 
Police Officer and later joined the Vernonia 
Police  Department  as  a  Reserve  Officer  in 
late  2008  and  was  hired  in  January  2009.  
inside
12
living
on a lake
13
goodbye!
19
summer
meals
free
He completed Police Academy in the spring/
summer of 2009, where he graduated as the 
Top Shooter.  
 
Carnahan  says  he  enjoys  working 
in  a  small  town.    “I  love  the  small  town 
atmosphere.    Everybody  knows  each  other 
and the job is more community oriented, as 
opposed to a bigger agency where you can be 
just a number.  Here in Vernonia everybody 
knows you, everybody waves at you.” 
 
With the addition of two officers who 
are just finishing Police academy, the work 
load is finally starting to lighten for Carnahan 
and Chief Conner.  As the only two officers 
on  the  force  for  almost  fourteen  months, 
both  Carnahan and  Conner  have  constantly 
been  either  on  duty  or  on  call  for  over  a 
year.    Carnahan  was  recently  recognized 
with  a  Certificate  of  Appreciation  by  the 
Vernonia City Council for   his outstanding 
performance,  dedication  and  commitment 
and for going beyond the call of duty during 
the  long  stretch  when  the  department  was 
shorthanded.
continued on page 5
“Great
American
Bash” July 4 th
 
Vernonia  will  once  again 
celebrate the 4 th  of July with a parade, 
concert and fireworks.
 
The  annual  4 th   of  July  Parade 
begins  at  5:00  PM  and  starts  at  City 
Hall, heading north on Bridge Street.  
 
“The  Great  American  Bash 
Concert” featuring Jesse Cain begins at 
7:30 PM at the Vernonia Sports Fields.  
Gates open at 4:30 PM.  The Vernonia 
Boosters will open the Snack Shack and 
sell hot dogs and hamburgers.  Tickets 
are $2 per person or $5 per family.
 
A fireworks show, provided by 
the  Vernonia  Rural  Fire  Department 
will follow the concert at dusk.
 
The  2012  Great  American 
Bash  Concert  is  sponsored  by  the 
Vernonia Prevention Coalition and the 
Vernonia  Rural  Fire  Department  and 
is  a  Alcohol,  Tobacco  and  Drug  Free 
event.    All  proceeds  go  to  Vernonia 
Youth Programs.
volume6  issue12
Look Who’s 5!
 
This 
month 
Vernonia’s Voice  is 
pleased to be celebrating 
our  fifth  anniversary.  
That’s  right,  we  have 
now  been  around  for 
five whole years!
 
In  celebration, 
we  took  a  look  back 
and  have  published,  
on  pages  10  and  11, 
some  of  our  favorite 
photos,  from  some  of 
our  favorite  and  most 
important  stories  from 
the last five years.
 
We  hope  you 
enjoy  this  look  back  at 
our town and the people 
who live here.    
 
We 
look 
forward  to  continuing 
to bring you stories and 
photos  that  reflect  the 
spirit of our community.
Mario Leonetti: Serving
Vernonia for Over 40 Years
 
If  you  have  
been  to  Mariolino’s  
restaurant  in  Verno-
nia recently,  you may 
have  noticed  some 
changes.    New  menu 
items,  more  freshly 
prepared  food,  and  a 
change  in  the  atmo-
sphere  are  just  a  few 
of  the  adjustments 
that  Mario  and  new 
General 
Manager 
Letha  Tunstall  are 
implementing.      And 
more  changes  are  on 
Mario Leonetti and restaurant manager
the way. 
Letha Tunstall at Mariolino’s.
 
Tunstall brings 
rant  business  is  like  taking  a  trip 
a family restaurant  background to 
through recent Vernonia history. He 
Mariolino’s  and is looking to add a 
has  been serving meals here since  
more home cooked  style to the es-
1970, in a variety of forms and lo-
tablishment.  “I know how to cook 
cations,  never  staying  still  for  too 
and I come from a family of chefs 
long. 
and    family  members  who  owned 
 
  Leonetti  was  the  owner 
restaurants, so I learned a lot,” says 
of  the Timber Tavern before mov-
Tunstall.    “Now  we’re  doing  a  lot 
ing  to Vernonia  in  1969.    He  says 
more ourselves—we make our own 
he  originally  bought  the  buildings 
salad  dressings,  BBQ  sauce,  and 
that  now  makes  up  the  Cedarside 
salsa.  We’re making our own bake 
Tavern  on  Bridge  Street.    “It  was 
goods like corn bread, biscuits and 
the  Card  Room,  The  Squeeze  In 
muffins  and  sometimes  cakes  or 
Cafe and something else,” Leonetti 
pies.” 
remembers.  Leonetti  originally 
 
Tunstall  is  really  looking 
opened  it    as  a  take-out  pizza  res-
to  upgrade  the  menu  and  make 
taurant, “It was just Mario’s Pizza, 
Mariolino’s  more of a family res-
nothing  else,”  he  explains.    He 
taurant.  She features New England 
then  expanded  to  a  few  tables  for 
Clam  Chowder  as  the  house  soup 
sit down in what had been the The 
everyday along with a second soup  
Squeeze In  and eventually opened 
weekly and makes her own potato, 
the whole building in July of 1970 
macaroni  and  pasta    salads.    She 
as  a  full  restaurant.    “There  was 
has also added breakfast or dinner 
plenty of  dining area and half the 
specials like Strawberry Waffles or 
room was for kids with pool tables 
BBQ Ribs or Lasagna.     
and game machines.  We were open 
 
Sitting  down  to  talk  with 
more  or  less  twenty-four  hours  a 
Mario  Leonetti  about  his  restau-
continued on page 7