november7 2013
VERNONIA’S
volume7    issue21
reflecting the spirit of our community
www.vernoniasvoice.com
Fundraiser for Jesse White
Concerned school staff, local basketball players and parents brought the Harlem Crowns
to Vernonia to help raise funds for Jesse White and his family’s fight against cancer.
The event raised $1,074. Photo courtesy of Karen Roberts.
Happy Halloween!
inside
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library
passport program
p.e.o.
scholarships
vhs fall sports
jacob levenseller
memorial swingset
scuttlebutt
free
more photos on page 19
Art Exhibit Features
Northwest Landscapes

Kathryn Cotnoir, Erik
Sandgren and Dee Vadnais, a resi-
dent of Deer Island, will be show-
ing work at the Lower Columbia
College Rose Center for the Arts
Gallery, Nov. 13 thru Dec. 8.

The title of the show is
Voyages to Haida Gwaii. The
opening reception will be on Tues-
day November 12, from 4:00 to
6:00 PM. The public is invited to
attend, meet the artists and hear
them give a short gallery talk at
4:30.

The three painters trav-
elled together on Vadnais’s fam-
ily boat, the SV Blue Pteron, a
43’ sailboat, skippered by Dee’s
husband Paul Seamons. The two
couples made several journeys
together which resulted in a large
body of work consisting
of hundreds of original
on-site paintings as well
as subsequent work done
by each artist. The up-
coming exhibit is made
up of a selection of paint-
ings, drawings and prints.

The focus of the
work in Voyages to Haida
Gwaii is the landscapes
of the northwest, British
Columbia and SE Alaskan
coastal sites. Particular
attention was given to the
exploration and depiction
of First Nation’s village
sites, totems, and sig-
nificant artifacts. Two of
these trips were spent vis-
iting, learning about and
creating paintings in the
Above art by Erik
Sandgren. Below left art
by Dee Vadnais.
Gwaii Hanaas National
Park Reserve which con-
tains the United Nation’s
World Heritage site of
Skangwaii. The remain-
ing totem poles and house
sites still visible there are
the central theme of this
show.
Many locations were
accessible by water only.
The two couples spent
many days and weeks
at anchor off significant
sites, exploring the shores
and beaches by dingy
and with hikes through
the old growth. Three of
continued on page 9
Merkley Introduces Legislation to Protect
Homeowners From Flood Insurance Rate Spike
Homeowner Flood
Insurance Affordability
Act Comes on One
Year Anniversary of
Superstorm Sandy

On the one year anniversary
of Superstorm Sandy, Oregon’s
Senator Jeff Merkley and a bipartisan
coalition of Senators introduced
the Homeowner Flood Insurance
Affordability Act which will protect
thousands of Oregon homeowners
from facing huge flood insurance
premium rate hikes and require
FEMA to complete an affordability
study and propose real solutions to
address affordability issues before
any flood insurance premiums can
be raised in the future.

“Something is very wrong
when middle class families across
Oregon and America are more
worried about extreme spikes in
flood insurance than about actual
floods. This must be remedied,”
said Merkley. “We can strengthen
the long-term health of the program
without pricing families out of
their homes. I am pleased that last
month’s hearing helped mobilize a
bipartisan coalition committed to
giving homeowners relief.”

Homeowners
with
mortgages living in flood zones are
required to have flood insurance,
which for about 20 percent of
properties has traditionally been
subsidized or grandfathered at a
lower rate by the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP). Before
Superstorm Sandy struck, a federal
flood insurance reform bill, the
Biggert-Waters Act, was passed as
part of a larger legislative package.
The Biggert-Waters Act was aimed at
reducing, or phasing out, the federal
NFIP subsidy at up to 25 percent
a year, which would dramatically
increase premiums for homeowners
and businesses.

In September, Merkley
chaired a hearing in his Economic
Policy subcommittee on flood
insurance rate spikes and possible
solutions. He then assembled a
bipartisan working group of Senators
concerned about the problems,
which led to this legislation.
The Homeowner Flood Insurance
Affordability Act will:
SECTION
1.
DELAYED
IMPLEMENTATION OF FLOOD
INSURANCE RATE INCREASES
Delays the implementation of rate
increases on the following three
types of properties until FEMA meets
two requirements: 1) completes
the affordability study mandated
by Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance
Reform Act of 2012, proposes a
draft affordability framework for
Congressional review, and Congress
has a chance to give FEMA
affordability authority; and 2) the
FEMA Administrator certifies that
the agency has implemented a flood
continued on page 3