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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2012)
6 community october23 2012 Six Annual Events Showcase Vernonia Part 1: Friendship Jamboree and Logging Show By Jill Hult Did you know Vernonia has six major events during the year, all of which are predominately orga- nized by volunteers? These events are: 1. Fourth of July Celebration 2. Vernonia Friendship Jamboree and Logging Show 3. Community Garage Sale 4. St. Mary’s Quilt Fair 5. Salmon Festival 6. Spirit of Christmas and Christmas Bazaar Of course there are other community events that happen in Vernonia throughout the year such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the PTA Easter Egg Hunt, and the Halloween Parade to name a few. All of the events give community members a chance to come together and celebrate. But the other thing they do, especially the big six, is give us an op- portunity to invite outsiders in to experience our local businesses, talents, environment, and overall commu- nity. Each event is a way to market ourselves--that we are a destination to experience. Tourists spend money but they also spread the “word” and ultimately we want that word to be WILL RETURN. While we are at it, it should also include BRING A FRIEND! So how do we make that happen? In my expe- rience, it is a collaborative effort between volunteers and their family members who didn’t “officially” vol- unteer; organizations and businesses, as well as local government. Over the next few months Vernonia’s Voice will feature a series of articles that will focus on these events. In this article, we take a look at the Ver- nonia Friendship Jamboree and Logging Show Since 1957, the community of Vernonia Oregon has held a three-day celebration titled the “Vernonia Friendship Jamboree and Logging Show.” This event is held each year for the purpose of community enjoyment and in- creasing business and tourism in the community. Pio- neers came to this area and called it home. We have celebrated our rich heritage with this festival. Jamboree is a non-profit, independent organi- zation separate from City government that is operated by citizens who volunteer their time. Operating costs consist of port-a-potty rentals, garbage and recycling services, electric and water use fees, applicable per- mits, advertising, t-shirts, other merchandise, awards, and insurance coverage. Funds to pay for these costs are generated from vendor and parade fees as well as each event contributing to their portion of services needed. I asked retiring Jamboree president Joann Glass, “What are the biggest challenges Jamboree fac- es most often?” Joann stated; “The two big challenges are funding and volunteerism.” The Jamboree organization is structured with a president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary hier- archy. Currently, these four positions are the mainstay volunteers. In the last two years Jambo- ree has been fortunate to add one other person who has been a tremendous help taking on the task of garbage and recy- cling duties and another couple that has done an excellent job organizing the Logging Show event. Typically the Jamboree com- mittee tries to recruit additional volun- teers for various duties before, during, and after the event. Jamboree would like to optimize success by having teams of at least two people that would head up sub-committee activities and recruit volunteers as necessary. To do this, Jamboree needs 10-12 more vol- unteers to join their organization. Of course work is not the only reason Jamboree would like to see more people get involved. The other reason is to bring fresh, new ideas to the Jamboree weekend. Joann said, “We would like to keep the attractions we have as well as add more!” They also need new ideas to generate in- come. So here are some questions for you, the reader. When you think about Jamboree, what are your favor- ite events or memories? Do you think you have an idea to add or talents to put to use? If so, Jamboree would love to hear from you! Meetings start in January and are held every 4th Thursday of the month at 6:00 PM. You can also contact me to be added to the email list at rebel2729@yahoo.com. Please join Jamboree in keeping this commu- nity tradition entertaining us and our visitors for years to come! An Opinion continued from page 3 area between Vernonia Lake and Anderson Park and the work that went into helping West Oregon Electric Co-Op move. Haack has been competently manag- ing a myriad of projects, continuing to move the City forward on many different fronts. Which was the main reason such a firestorm erupted in April of 2011 when he was sud- denly fired. Haack, and his management style is still not always everyone’s cup of tea. He had never served as a City Administrator be- fore accepting the position in Vernonia and was originally hired because of his familiarity with many of the ongoing Vernonia projects through is work on flood recovery in the com- munity. He has struggled at times to work and communicate effectively with his volunteer Councilors. The new Council has had to make some very difficult decisions over the past year. But they are finding ways to work to- gether and reach agreement. It has not been an easy year and the Council deserves a lot of credit for persevering through a difficult tran- sition time when they are faced with an extremely heavy work- load. Haack’s ability to work with his Council, manage large projects, navigate the many layers of state and federal governmental Building off of last year’s systems and communicate with Veterans Promotion, through which outside resources has provided we reached nearly 40,000 veterans an immeasurable service for this nationwide, we are proud to announce community. we are hosting the veteran’s promotion Right now Haack, Mayor again this year. This means that from Mitchell and the rest of the City November 1 through November 30, Council has the City of Vernonia all AARP Driver Safety classroom moving forward and competently courses are free of charge to veterans, managing itself and its issues and active-duty and retired military service projects in a way that has not been members, their spouses, domestic seen in years—maybe decades. partners, dependants, children, and They have been willing to tackle widows or widowers. the tough issues and often make Additionally this year, as an hard decisions. alternative to the classroom course, (for example, if a veteran is unable to locate a convenient course in his or her community), we are offering the AARP Driver Safety online course at a 50% discount. We have scheduled the following classes in Columbia County: AARP Driver Safety Classes FREE for Veterans TOO BUSY? Call your LOCAL bookkeeper R Y OLL A P PLUS LLC Edi Sheldon 503-429-1819 edisheldon@gmail.com 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. Paige Cieloha (left), age 10 and in 4 th grade, collected $188.58 to help the Cutright Family, who lost their home to a fire earlier this month. Page collected funds at the High School Air Jams, the Homecoming football game and the PTA carnival. Paige’s friend Sophia Wolf, who helped, is pictured on the right. In Clatskanie: On November 17 at the Clatskanie PUD, 495 Columbia River Hwy One day, 6 hour, 9 to 4 To register call CCC at 503-338-2408. In Rainier: On November 20 at the Rainier Senior Center, 48 W 7th Street One day, 6 hour, 9 to 4 To register call 503-556-3889 Pre registration is required for all classes. Seating is limited so register early. These classes are open to anyone but only the veterans and their families are free; others pay $12 for AARP members and $14 for non- members. For questions or more information call Don Hawley 503- 861-1813. This class is designed for seniors 55 and older but anyone can attend. Oregon State Law provides for a discount on your auto insurance premium for completing this course. The course includes the current rules of the road, defensive driving techniques and how to operate your vehicle more safely in today’s increasingly challenging driving environment. You will learn about some adjustments you can make to accommodate common age related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time. Information will be offered on aggressive drivers, air bags, seat restraints and anti-lock brakes. If you have already taken this course or a similar one most insurance companies require that a refresher course be taken every three years to continue to receive the discount; or every two years if you are 70 or over.
