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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2012)
schools september11 2012 A Sense of Hope: The First Day By Savannah Brown In the midst of my freshman year in 2008 I moved into the Nehalem Valley unfamiliar with the history that preceded me by just a few years. I quick- ly received an education about how this town and this school system had been decimated by the loss of their economy in 1957 when the Oregon-American Mill shut down, about the gradual decline of the timber industry and more recently by two floods and then the economic reces- sion. What I observed were remain- ing segments of a school- a gymnasium and an entry hall headed nowhere, a di- lapidated band room and a demolished foundation of the parts that were am- putated post-flood. A corral of modu- KNIFE (and other edged tools) SHARPENING SERVICE DROP-OFF & PICK-UP at Made In Vernonia, 805 Bridge St. 503-429-7342 lar FEMA buildings had been rolled in and the middle school/cafeteria/offices building served to keep the schools limping along. The only symbol left of former glory was Washington Grade School, with sunshine leaking thru the cracks of the walls, and crumbling as- bestos wrapped pipes. Within these dismal surroundings, the people here--the students, faculty, the community--were all friendly. The first day I came to school here, few were optimistic. Some people were more focused on the past losses than the fu- ture. Apathy had crept into this place--a few had expressed curiosity at my decision to trans- fer here saying ‘Who would want to come here?’ However, these people living here were survivors, just like the sturdy pioneering peo- ple that originally in- habited this valley, they stuck with it, through the good and now bad. Amid this, they were all welcom- ing, and that means a lot to an introvert- ed 15 year old. This was the place I had decided to call home, and they accepted me. I learned what it meant to become a “Vernonia Logger.” There wasn’t much hope here, and there certainly weren’t any lockers to store your heavy text books during the day. This was a problem when you also have to walk down a rough logging road before dawn, ride the bus 17 miles and lug your books and sports gear along with you, only to finish the day dragging it all back home. There wasn’t much hope, but there were a few sparks, a few vision- aries, and some of those tough-as-nails people in this com- munity that have always fought as hard as they can to champion important causes. People like Sharon Bernal, whose efforts drove the bond measures through. Like Sena- tor Betsy Johnson, who strongly cam- paigned and cham- pioned state mon- eys to flow into the Nehalem Valley and help restore Verno- nia Schools. Tony Hyde, once a logger, (a working in the woods logger) then the Mayor of Verno- nia during the flood in 1996, and now a Columbia County Commissioner. Like Dan Brown, who has lived here for most of his life and cares about this town and its people as much as anybody. And most of all each and every one of those citizens of the Vernonia school district in Vernonia, Timber Junc- tion, Mist-Birkenfeld that supported the D aga s COMPUTER & Owned and Operated by Don & Kim Wallace INTERNET SERVICES Savannah Brown is a senior at Vernonia High School and is an intern with Ver- nonia’s Voice. ral Path Health Ser ces vi g WiFi n i vid et & o r P tern In SL bond measure with their votes and their on-going property tax dollars. On September 4th, 2012, just four years later, I stepped off that 40-minute bus ride from Mist in front of a towering glass and timber building that draws the eyes skyward, much like the metaphor of church spires and sanc- tuaries filled with beautiful surroundings that draw parishioners gaze skyward, uplifting the soul. This place too, does lift the soul, does lift hope. They raised a new beginning. Sitting through the optimistic sounding assembly that began the day, it started to sink in. All the drawings, talk, meetings, blue prints, planning and plantings have culminated in this day. Surrounding me were my friends and faculty, somehow even more family- like sitting amongst the full K-12 stu- dent body. Students today commented on how “light and bright” it feels inside this school. Indeed, it is more than the big windows, new boilers, the super in- sulation and fancy water collection sys- tem. This bright glow is not just coming from the skylights, it’s coming from the people. It is the strong glow of hope, the hope of a new dawn in this place. A new future and new directions for this place. To those who hoped, believed, pledged, and committed themselves, I toast you with the motto of the Henry Stamper character from Ken Keasey’s novel, Sometimes a Great Notion: NEVER GIVE AN INCH! Na tu 12 Dr. Carol McIntyre Naturopathic & Chinese Medicine 503.429.3928 cccmnd@yahoo.com naturalpathhealthservices.com 503.429.TECH jeff@agalis.net 786 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR, 97064
