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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2013)
4 community bulletin board/letters to the editor april18 2013 Joy Creek Nursery 18th Annual Columbia County Offers Classes Spring Garden Fair Joy Creek believes their classes are a good way for gardeners of all Tomato Sale levels to improve their knowledge of plants and their gardening skills. The classes also offer an opportu- nity for gardeners to meet others who share a similar passion. Joy Creek hopes they give confidence to the beginner and inspiration to the long-time gardener. Saturday April 27, 2013 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Certified Master Gardeners offer 5,000 to- matoes in more than 30 varieties for only $1.50 per plant, tomato and general gar- dening information, raffle tickets, hourly prizes and displays. Dozens of local ven- dors offering garden related products. Please carpool. Location: St. Helens High School 2375 Gable Rd, St Helens, OR 97051 Contact: Wes Bevans Phone: 503-543-3725 1:00 Sunday, April 21 - free Vegetables in Containers - with Rose Marie Nichols-McGee 1:00 Sunday, April 28 - free Potted: Planting Containers for Sun & Shade - with Robert Hyland Visit their website for a full listing of classes offered. http://joycreek.com/education.htm 20300 NW Watson Road, Scap- poose, OR 97056 (503) 543-7474 Readers Lend Their Voices... To the Oregon State Senate Judiciary Committee, Concerning the Anti-Gun Bills Aimed at Law-Abiding Citizens currently being considered, these bills attempt to create a “solution” to a non- existent problem and instead create a new class of criminals amongst otherwise law-abiding citizens. Please do not place any additional requirements on a group of people who have already gone out of their way to abide by the law to exercise a constitutional right. Concealed Handgun licensed (CHL) holders are not a threat to any Oregonian. Crime rates are reduced in states with CHL holders. Existing law is enough, prosecute those who break the law not those who have already taken overt steps not to break the law. Secondly, though I am for commercial sales and gun shows requiring background checks, I am opposed to any additional changes to regulations of private sales. If you where to look at existing state and federal law there is already necessary statutes to address and regulate potentially adverse behavior. Again, do not waist taxpayer time trying to find people who may break the law in a group who classically is not, make those who break the law do the time for the laws they break. Enforce, don’t punish. I am a gun owner and I vote! Joel R. Glass Father, Hunter, Shooter Vernonia, OR To the Editor, I read with interest your story on the American Legion Building in Vernonia. From an early age I hung around that building. It was only a couple of blocks from my home. I would go there to watch boxing and wrestling which were regular events at the American Legion Building. And dances were held there almost every Saturday night. During World War II, the Army had several people (five to seven is my guess and that is just a guess) stationed at the building as they manned a station (radar? radio?) in the hills near Vernonia. They slept upstairs in the second floor area over the kitchen and front door area. They had a Jeep vehicle at their disposal and I hung around for a chance to ride in that Jeep. I would further guess that they ate at a local Vernonia Restaurant but they might very well have done their own cooking upstairs in their “Legion Barracks.” I worked at the Pal Shop ice cream parlor just up the street from the American Legion Building and when off duty those Army fellows spent a lot of time there. Between the two World Wars I and II the American Legion Building in Vernonia was a busy place when open for some event. On Armistice Day (back then, always November 11) was a big day at the Legion. Nov. 11, 1918, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month was when the official ending of World War I took 2013 Vernonia Lake Trout Stocking by Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife April 8 April 29 3,000 Rainbow 2,500 Rainbow Stocking dates subject to change without notice Library Conversation Explores Unheeded Warnings On April 20, 2013, at 4:00 PM the Vernonia Public Library presents “Slow Learners: Two Hundred Years of Unheeded Warnings,” a free conversation with Oregon State University professor emeritus Richard Clinton. This program is hosted by Friends of the Vernonia Public Library and Vernonia Library Board and sponsored by Oregon Humanities. Cogent, compelling warnings about exponential population growth, misplaced faith in technology to solve our problems, that greed and envy are treacherous underpinnings for an economic system – have been ignored for more than two centuries. These warnings have come from some of the best minds of their times and have often been endorsed by other respected scientists and thinkers, yet their influence on public policy and individual behavior has been negligible. Clinton is professor emeritus of political science at Oregon State University, where he currently teaches place. And every November 11, at 11:00 AM, the Legion members, seemingly led by Cass Bergerson, would put up eleven sticks of dynamite on sticks of lath, separated in the field north side of the Legion Building. Cass would begin with a blow torch and light the fuses to the dynamite, one at a time. Thus there would be 11 sticks of dynamite going off within a very short time of each other, commemorating the day and time. I’m sure they had other festivities going on in the building for the members. Then, in the afternoon the Legion members would assemble with rifles and march through Vernonia. All had military rifles, webbing belts, Legion caps. And there seemed to be a lot of them. I can still see them in my mind. And the dances at the Legion Building on Saturday nights? A wood stove on the south side middle. Made out of oil drums, one above the other. Silver in color. Bench seat along south and north sides of building. Men on the south side, women on the north side. Musical groups were usually Red O’Brien’s group from Vernonia (Red, his stepsons Dick and Don Renfro, Harold Fowler, Mrs. Borton and Larry Brady singing) and sometimes “Arky and His Jolly Cowboys” (they were out of Portland were on the radio). Music would begin and men would rush across floor to ask their lady of choice for a dance. At intermission, the ladies of the Legion would provide a meal (for a fee) from the kitchen. At Intermission there was a lot of rushing out to the parked cars to imbibe in stronger drink than the coffee provided inside the building. Occasionally there would be a fight. The mood was usually quite lively after intermission. Bob New Brush Prairie, WA To the Editor, As one who has been regularly involved as an educator and volunteer in efforts to improve the quality of life in the Rainier area since 1970, I applaud the Rainier City Council’s recent decision to in the Honors College. Clinton was twice a Senior Fulbright Scholar- facilitator in Peru and has been the Hanna Distinguished Chair in Latin American Politics at Rollins College in Florida. He is the author of three books and dozens of journal articles, book chapters, and essays; the editor or co-editor of three volumes; and, most recently, the co-author of Environmental Politics and Policy: A Comparative Approach (McGraw Hill, 2002). Through the Conversation Project, Oregon Humanities offers free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our state’s future. For more information about this free community discussion, please contact the Vernonia Public Library at 503- 429-1818 or library@vernonia-or.gov. O. Hm. Oregon Humanities oppose the expansion (rezoning) of the Port Westward industrial land for a coal terminal that would entail massive rail shipments through Rainier. The Council correctly foresees that the quality of life and the economic conditions in Rainier will be adversely affected by the Port’s extreme expansion plans. Rainier’s situation is such that a moderate use of the existing railroad infrastructure for a limited number of short train passages per day, is the only appropriate choice for city and county (and port) planners. Unit trains of coal and/or petroleum, each comprised of 125 or more cars and measuring one- and-a-third miles long, will not allow the city to function effectively and safely without millions of dollars being spent for redesigning and rebuilding city and rail infrastructure, resulting in the uprooting and removal of dozens of businesses, families and city services. Since the Port of St. Helens board and some of our County officials seem determined to roll over our town without even conducting a decent economic impact study in their frantic efforts to join the coal-and-oil export craze, it is heartening that our city leaders have the courage to insist that Rainier must not be “collateral damage” from this wholly misguided and foolish enterprise. Darrel Whipple Rainier, OR HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and re- quests your thoughts, opinions and ideas. Please include your name, ad- dress and phone number, limit your letters to 300 words or less. Verno- nia’s Voice reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted. We will print let- ters space permitting. Deadline is the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. Email: scott@vernoniasvoice.com or mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Verno- nia, OR 97064.
