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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2012)
4 community bulletin board august14 2012 United Way of Columbia County is proud to announce their Seventh “Stuff the Bus” school supply drive, all donations collected in Vernonia stay in Vernonia!!! “Help United Way Stuff the Bus” Donations of school supplies will be accepted from: August 15 through August 31, 2012 at the following Vernonia donation sites: Vernonia School District Office Community Lunch Program Wauna Federal Credit Union Vernonia True Value Hardware Look for the “Stuff the Bus” yers and help us gather school supplies so our children can begin school ready to learn. School Supply Wish List: #2 Pencils Colored Pencils Erasers Pocket Folders Glue Sticks Back Packs Blunt scissors Composition Books Rulers Dual power calculators Notebook paper Hand Sanitizer Facial Tissue Spiral note books 70 pages Blunt Scissors Pointed Scissors Washable Markers (10) Notebook dividers 3 Ring Notebooks 1” or 1.5” Pencil Boxes End Cap Erasers Pens, black or blue Pencil pouches Upcoming Events Vernonia Schools Grand Opening Celebration, August 21 Begins at 10:00 AM Join the Vernonia School District, the Catalyst campaign and the rest of the community to celebrate the opening of the new school and community center. Lunch will be served at 12:00 PM and there will be tours of the building all day. A community open house will begin at 5:30 PM. Salmon Festival, October 6, 10 AM - 6 PM at Hawkins Park. Come on out and help welcome home our salmon friends and take part in an old time harvest festival. Pumpkin Annual Community Wide Garage carving, scarecrow building, trout Sale, August 25, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. pond, salmon viewing, food, music, All residents & businesses wanting vendors and more. to be included on the maps can sign Upcoming WOEC Member Meetings Annual Meeting Saturday August 18, 2012, 11:00 AM at the Vernonia Scout Cabin To elect Directors, hear reports from officers and directors, and transact other membership business. Member Meeting Tuesday August 21, 6:00 PM in the WOEC Boardroom, 652 Rose Avenue To provide information and discuss a proposed rate increase to begin October 1, 2012. Additional Member Meeting Tuesday August 28, 6:00 PM in the WOEC Boardroom, 652 Rose Avenue To provide information and discuss a proposed rate increase to begin October 1, 2012. WOEC Rate Change Meeting Information By Marc Farmer There are a couple of key points that I need to make regarding the upcoming member meeting to discuss a rate change in this article. First is the date of the meeting. It’s been brought to our attention that there is a scheduling conflict in the community of Vernonia with the open house for the new school building on the evening of the 21 st of August. When we set the date for the member meeting we were unaware of any conflict and set that meeting Now your mortgage can retire before you do. U.S. BANK SMART REFINANCE 3.99 % APR * Fixed Rate up to 20 years Vernonia Branch 905 Bridge Street 503-429-6271 branch usbank.com date as in past practice and is prior to our regularly scheduled Board Meeting, which is the 3 rd Tuesday of every month. We’ve always combined the meetings in an effort to save time and money. Our August meeting just happened to fall on the same evening as the school open house. We want to make sure our Vernonia members are able to attend the member meeting, so we will hold a second meeting in Vernonia on Tuesday, August 28 th in the WOEC building at 6:00 PM. This will provide an opportunity for members in the community to attend both the school event and our WOEC member meeting. The second point is to provide the reason behind the rate meeting and how it came about. Going into 2012 we did not have a rate increase planned or anticipated. We knew we would be receiving a substantial rate increase in our power rates in October of 2013 from BPA and would have to pass that one through when it comes. Our 2012 budget was set, approved, and we were moving forward with that plan in mind. Then came the fourth FEMA event in five and a half years with the snow storm early this year. This event cost the Co-op over Pay off your home faster with a U.S. Bank Smart Refinance. What’s the smart solution to being mortgage freeB A Smart Refinance from U.S. Bank. Refinance into a 20-year mortgage and you’ll save big on interest, build equity faster and be mortgage free before you know it. With a U.S. Bank Smart Refinance, you’ll enjoy: • No closing costs • Easy application process • No points or fees • Free setup of bi-weekly payments Smart Refinance is only one of many mortgage refinance options that U.S. Bank offers. Make a smart move and contact your local branch, usbank.com, or call 888-444-BANK to discuss all of your refinancing options. 888.444.BANK (2265) *3.99 % fixed Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is available for 20-year first position home equity installment loans $40,000 to $250,000 with loan-to-value of 70% or less or 80% or less depending on market. Higher rates apply for higher LTV or other loan amount. Automatic payments from a U.S. Bank Package required. Loan payment example: on a $40,000 loan for 240 months at 3.99 % interest rate, monthly payments would be $242.18. No customer paid closing costs, APR is 3.99 %. Payment example does not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The monthly payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included and an initial customer deposit may be required if an escrow account for these items is established. Offer is subject to normal credit qualifications. Rates are subject to change. Property insurance is required. Consult your tax advisor regarding the deductibility of interest. Home Equity loans and lines of credit are offered through U.S. Bank National Association ND. ©2012 U.S. Bancorp, U.S. Bank. Member FDIC. up by calling Helen Bateman at 503-429-6203, last day to sign up is August 21st. Maps of all participating locations will be available Friday before the sale. In the past years over 45 locations have held a sale. $700,000. Because only one of the four counties we incurred damages in was declared a FEMA event, we were only reimbursed about a third of the expenses we incurred. The budget we approved was so lean, there was no way to absorb the cost and still continue to cover our normal costs. Our reserve account had been decimated by the other three FEMA events without sufficient time and resources to rebuild it. We also have been absorbing so much of the past three rate increases from BPA in an effort to keep rates as low as possible, that we have not kept ahead of cost increases. At our strategic planning meeting in June 2012, it became very apparent that we had no options left but to do an emergency change in our rates to cover the cost from the storm event and the board directed me to move forward with a rate increase. There is some public perception that the increase still has something to do with the new building. I want to assure you that the building has nothing to do with this rate increase, it is driven by the high costs of the snow storm event earlier this year. The building is what I have said it is - $3 per meter per month for the next 30 years to build the building. Some have the perception that the “facility” charge on our bill statement means facility as in the “new” building. The name of the charge means “all” of the facilities we have which includes all lines, substations, equipment, transformers, etc… HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR throughout the entire system. Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and requests your thoughts, To clarify this name, starting opinions and ideas. Please include your name, address with the September bills we will and phone number, limit your letters to 300 words or less. be changing the name on the Vernonia’s Voice reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or statement to “base” charge. ask for a response to letters submitted. We will print letters We look forward to seeing you space permitting. Deadline is the 1st and 3rd Monday of at one of our member meetings each month. Email: scott@vernoniasvoice.com or mail to: to discuss the proposed rate Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064. changes.
