Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2012)
4 community bulletin board/letters to the editor august28 2012 Stub Stewart to Host First Annual Heritage Day Stub Stewart State Park will hold the Heritage Day on Saturday September 8, 2012. The day will be a celebration of rural heritage from pioneer to present day. Please plan to come and learn, enjoy, and build memories This is a free event. Entry to park requires State Park Day Use Pass: $5.00/car Included in the day will be: Treasure Hunts for hikers, bikers and equestrians starting at 8:30 AM and ending with a prize drawing at 11:00 AM. “Cowboy Church”, an experience of the spiritual side of this iconic American lifestyle, from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM with voices, guitar and old hymns to create the background for an experience of the homemade services pioneers had to use before ministers and churches reached communities in newly settled areas. Exhibits and Presentations from eventually be able to go from Banks to some of the first gas-powered engines that replaced horse- and manpower in 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM will include: Scappoose. Local Native History – Washington County Museum The Mobile Museum will explore the lives of the indigenous peoples. Learn how they dressed, their customs, what they ate and where they lived. Pioneer History – Vernonia Pioneer Museum Vernonia prospered as a timber town with logging operations, mills and transport drawing immigrants from many parts of the world. A video will provide an overview of it’s rich history as a rural outpost turned city through period photos and commentary. Crown Zellerbach Trail -- Columbia County Parks and Forests Parts of this new trail connecting Vernonia to Scappoose will open later this September. Hear about the route, amenities and how hikers, bikers and horsemen will Saddlery and Leatherwork Gretchen’s Saddlery in Vernonia will bring all manner of western tack for visitors to learn about – how they are used on a horse and how they can be repaired. Mexican Horsemanship Costumed riders will demonstrate the rich history of the horsemanship of Mexico. Cowboy Skills Challenge (youth activities – no animals involved) Adventurous youth can try their hand at the cowboy skills of: calf tying; roping; saddling and bridling the horse; pole bending; barrel racing; saddlebag packing; brand identification; parts of the horse puzzle; and breeds of the horse puzzle. Horseshoe awards to those who complete all challenges. Antiques Engines – Vernonia Historical Society See, hear and smell logging and farm work. Learn how these engines work and what their uses were. Blacksmithery – Wolfgang Forge The blacksmith will explain how the smith was the community engineer, repairing equipment and working with neighbors to develop new machines for doing their work. He will show samples and explain how basic blacksmithing was done. and much, much more… For more information, please contact: Janet Smith, 503-628-1320 or Suzanne Doyle, 503-641-8656 suzand2005@yahoo.com. Follow us on Facebook at Friends of Stub Stewart State Park and Banks Vernonia Trail. Readers Lend Their Voices... An open letter to the people of Vernonia and vicinity: I am going to start with a little history of Vernonia Ridge Riders. John Siedelman and Bob Thompson founded the Ridge Riders in 1954. Members included families from Vernonia, Birkenfeld, Banks, and other communities in the vicinity. At that time, they held their equestrian competitions at the north end of Hawkins Park in Vernonia. In 1958 when Conrad Anderson donated the property to the city, the unusable portion on the west side was leased to the Ridge Riders for an arena with the agreement that they cleared the area of brush and old, vacant structures. This agreement, however, was made with a gentlemen’s handshake; therefore, there is no documentation. In 1962 the arena was fenced. In 1991 a tower and covered spectator building was approved for construction. The flood of 1996 put the area on flood way status and severe restrictions were placed upon the area. After much haggling in 2001, corrals were approved and built. The Ridge Riders continue to make improvements to the area every year with the goal of erecting a cover over the arena for use by 4-H, equestrian teams and others. In 2006, I finally got the approval of the Vernonia City Council to grant a lease which was documented. In 2009 the Ridge Riders were told by City Administrator Young that our lease was invalid because of the time element. The Ridge Riders then chose to seek counsel for advise on this issue and after reading our lease, our attorney told us we had a very viable lease agreement. We then presented this information to the council and the issue was dropped. In July 2012, Vernonia Ridge Riders complained to the city about the placing of a guy wire Sincerely, George E. Bellingham Previous President and current member of the Vernonia Ridge Riders HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and requests your thoughts, opinions and ideas. Please include your name, address and phone number, limit your letters to 300 words or less. Vernonia’s Voice reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted. We will print letters space permitting. Deadline is the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. Email: scott@ver- noniasvoice.com or mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064. TOO BUSY? Call your LOCAL bookkeeper R Y OLL A P PLUS LLC For fast cash! 010412 Terry’s Gym from a power pole in the middle of our warm up area next to the arena because it could potentially cause harm to horses and/or their riders. The Ridge Riders were given three options by Bill Haack, the current City Administrator. Option #1: Leave the guy wire as is. Option #2: Put a barrier around it. Option #3: Put another pole on the hill above the area to attach the wire at a cost to the Vernonia Ridge Riders of approximately $1,300. I asked at the time why we were not included in the original discussion and decision to place the guy wire and I never received a response. At the August 6, 2012 council meeting, we were told that a workshop would be established to address this matter and we would be notified of when and where. In the meantime we received a letter from the City’s attorney that our lease was invalid. The Ridge Riders consider this a threat and will pursue litigation regarding the lease agreement. Edi Sheldon 503-429-1819 edisheldon@gmail.com JOIN THE TEAM! 503-901-1705 16720 Noakes Rd. Vernonia Licensed tax consultant • Full service payroll Personal & small business bookkeeping • QuickBooks assistance CORPS, S-CORPS, LLC, Partnerships • Personal one-on-one service LTC #29629 - Oregon licensed tax consultant RTRP #P00448199 - designated as a registered tax return preparer by the Internal Revenue Service The IRS does not endorse any particular individual tax return preparer. For more information on tax return preparers, go to www.IRS.gov. 2245 Baseline St., Cornelius (Across from Fred Meyer) 503-530-8119 State Licensed PB-0388 Open everyday at 9 a.m.
