july24 2012
V E R N O N I A’ S
reflecting the spirit of our community
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volume6 issue14
Firefighters Battle Keasey Wildfire Fleck to Compete at
By Scott Laird
said the wildfire was a little under five acres
National Junior Olympics
in size on non-industrial, private forest land.
Firefighters from the Vernonia Rural
Fire Protection District (VRFPD), with as-
sistance from several other area agencies,
were called to a fire on Keasey Road near
Boeck Road on Tuesday July 10, 2012.
Crews from the Oregon Department
of Forestry (ODF), Mist-Birkenfeld Rural
Fire Protection District and the Oregon De-
“It had been logged over already and had a
south facing slope which can heat up,” said
Simek.
Simek said the initial attack was
done by VRFPD, the ODF crew and Mist-
Birkenfeld personnel. It was decided to
bring in two, ten-man crews from the South
Fork Unit to assist; those crews worked to
Vernonia volunteers helped extinguish a wild fire near Boeck Rd. Photo courtesy of Ben Fousek.
partment of Corrections South Fork Forest
Camp, along with an ODF water helicopter,
worked together to contain and extinguish
the natural cover wildfire.
VRFPD Deputy Chief Dean Smith
led the initial local response at around 2:30
PM, with assistance from local volunteer
firefighters Tori Ellis, Kendrick Leverton,
Dan Hensen, and Alex Barber. A total of
eleven Vernonia firefighters were eventually
on scene to battle the blaze. Smith said his
crew was met almost immediately by a crew
from ODF who took Incident Command of
the scene. Together the two agencies devel-
oped a plan and began working to extinguish
the fire.
Mike Simek, Unit Forester for ODF,
inside
8
school
move
8
county
fair
9
soccer
camp
cut a perimeter line to contain the fire. Simek
said ODF also decided to bring in a medium
sized helicopter to do some water drops.
According to Smith the fire was
spreading fast when he arrived at the fire.
“The medics who were the very first on scene
said it was 100 feet by 500 feet,” explained
Smith. “I was two minutes behind them
and by the time I got there it was probably
75 yards wide by 160 yards long, so it was
growing pretty quick.” Smith said before
ODF arrived he witnessed twenty foot high
flames about fifty feet from the tree line.
Smith was pleased with the perfor-
mance of his Vernonia crew. “I have to give
them credit, the people I had out there did
a really good job,” said Smith. “A few of
continued on page 10
L o c a l
National meet by
Vernonia
runner,
qualifying in the
George
“Nathan”
Oregon Association
Fleck is heading to
meet at Willamette
the National Junior
University where he
Olympic Track and
finished third with a
Field
Champion-
time of 2:03. Fleck
ships at Morgan
then
traveled to
State University in
Bend, OR to com-
Baltimore, Mary-
pete in the Region
land.
13
meet against
Fleck will
runners from the
compete in the 800
entire Pacific North-
Meter Run begin-
west, where he fin-
ning on July 25th.
ished fourth with a
Fleck, a junior this
time of 2:10.24.
State Champion Nathan
past year at Verno- Fleck will run the 800 meters. Fleck, who won
nia High School, Photo courtesy of Tina Smith. his state title with a
was the 2A state champion in the time of 1:59.01, said he had trou-
800 this season. Fleck also won ble adjusting to the very hot and
a state championship in the 4x400 dry climate in Bend at the Regional
meter relay. He also ran the 1500 meet. “My mouth dried up in the
for the VHS track team and com- first 100 meters and then I was
peted for VHS in cross country.
just making sure I qualified,” said
“Nationals is a dream Fleck. The top five runners from
come true for each and every kid each of the sixteen regions are in-
that makes it there,” said Fleck’s vited to attend the National Junior
mother, Teresa Willard.
Olympics.
The National Junior Olym-
Fleck says he has been
pic meet is sponsored by USA training by doing interval work,
Track & Field, the national govern- running 200 and 400 meter sprints,
ing body for track and field in this some 800 meter runs and longer
country. USATF is responsible for distance runs. He says he alter-
establishing grassroots programs, nates with a hard workout, then an
such as the Junior Olympics, to easier workout every other day.
help develop future stars as well as
At the Junior Olympics
developing, selecting and leading Fleck says he expects there to be
Team USA at the Olympics, World two qualifying heats he would
Championships and more than need to advance through before he
twelve other international events reaches the finals.
each year. Roughly 700 athletes of
Vernonia’s Voice would
all ages wear a Team USA uniform like to wish Nathan Fleck good
in any given year.
luck as he represents Vernonia at
Fleck advanced to the the National Junior Olympics!
Vernonia Coffee Roasters is Back in Business
By Scott Laird
Vernonia Coffee Roasters,
a local, home-based business, has
found a way to stay open.
Tim and Jessica Davis have
been roasting their popular gourmet
coffee in their home and selling it lo-
cally for the past four years. When
their main coffee bean roaster broke
down this past spring the cost of re-
placing it was beyond the means of
this micro business and the Davis’s
were faced with some tough deci-
sions. Unable to find suitable fund-
ing, in early May the Davis’s formal-
ly announced they would be shutting
down their business.
“We explored everything—
we had meetings with County Com-
missioners, with economic develop-
ment people at the state level,” said
Tim Davis during a recent interview.
“So we had really looked at all of our
options.”
After announcing they would
be closing, Davis said he had numer-
With no other real viable op-
ous phone calls from customers ask-
ing them to try to find a way to keep tions, the Davis’s decided to give in
their business open. So they decided and try a thirty day, crowd funding
campaign. Vernonia Coffee Roasters
to try something different.
successfully com-
In mid-June
pleted their project
Vernonia
Coffee
in early July by rais-
Roasters announced
ing $5,810, far ex-
they were embark-
ceeding their goal of
ing on a crowd fund-
$4,900.
ing project through
“There are
Indiegogo.
“A bunch
really some gener-
ous people - people
of people were ask-
that just do things
ing us to try some-
thing like this,” said
from their heart,”
says Davis.
“As
Davis. “And I just
crazy as this world
wasn’t sure at first.
is, there are still a
I don’t like asking
Tim
and
Jessica
Davis
with
newly
lot of great people
people for help—I
arrived coffee beans.
like to do things my-
out there that really
care about what happens on the small
self. I really hesitated.”
Crowd funding is a some- scale.”
what new concept that allows fans,
The Davis’s have now made
supporters and customers to finan- a decision about which roaster to pur-
cially back artistic, business, disaster chase for their business and are start-
relief, and other endeavors by going ing to take orders again for their cof-
continued on page 12
online and pledging their support.
