november21 2013
VERNONIA’S
volume7 issue22
www.vernoniasvoice.com
free
reflecting the spirit of our community
Decreasing Cat Overpopulation in Vernonia
In July, Kim Tierney responded to an appeal trying to help find homes.
from Angela Bettencourt to help a family with a large
Many people react when they learn that cats
number of feral cats. Tierney agreed to help trap and are released after being trapped, but trap and release is
transport these feral and stray kitties to the Feral Cat considered a very effective way to reduce the cat over-
Coalition Clinic in Portland. At the Feral Cat Co- population. Feral and stray cats have a rough life and
alition clinic, cats and kittens are spay and neutered, don’t tend to live very long. However, a pregnant feral
vaccinated, treated for fleas, given antibiotics and pain cat can have 18 kittens during a season, and it is easy to
medicine. They are transported
see why it is so critical to get them
back that same day and after they
spayed. Intact males are more
spend that night in the trap, are
likely to spray and fight. They are
released back where they were
more likely to spread disease like
trapped.
FIV through fighting and mating.
After Tierney learned
Intact males will go out and find
about how Vernonia had a reputa-
girlfriends and bring them to the
tion for having large populations
food.
of feral and stray cats, she arranged
Kittens can be spayed as early
with the Feral Cat Coalition to co-
as 2 months of age if they weigh at
ordinate clinics for Vernonia cats.
least 2 pounds. Kittens less than 3
There is no charge for this service,
months can be tamed and homed.
but the suggested donation per
There is now a list of community
cat is $30 but any donation level
volunteers who have stepped up
is welcome. Since July, Tierney
to either socialize feral kittens or
with the help of many caregivers
nurse young ones that have been
has taken in 132 cats and kittens.
found. Creatures Pet Store has
An additional 60 are scheduled for
helped place many abandoned and
the next month. Since this effort
feral kittens. Michal Smith, owner
began, many others in the com-
of Creatures, has also contributed
Kim Tierney with an easy to make
munity have stepped up to help by
money for veterinary care and
outdoor cat shelter. Plans are available
nursing and socializing kittens and
has spent significant time nursing
at the local hardware stores.
many kittens back to health. If you find kittens less
than 3 months old, catch them or ask Tierney for help
trapping them so they can be tamed and placed into
homes.
In the last several months entire neighborhoods
have worked together to trap and care for the stray and
feral cats in their neighborhoods. Several neighbor-
Kittens that have been caught and tamed have been
available for adoption at Creatures Pet Store.
hoods have tackled their feral cat problems, fixing the
adults and trapping kittens so they can be tamed and
rehomed. Winter is a critical time to keep up trapping
because cats don’t normally reproduce until spring.
What doesn’t work is to ignore the situation.
Abandoning or dumping cats is illegal, cruel and makes
FEMA Compliance in the City of Vernonia
Vernonia City staff recently met
with Christine Shirley, National Flood
Insurance Program Coordinator with the
Oregon Department of Land Conserva-
tion and Development. She reviewed
a sample of open file issues from the
1996-1998 flood recovery effort as well
as discussed in general terms the plan to
conduct a Community Assistance Visit
soon to review all of the more recent
flood recovery projects since 2007.
Shirley also reviewed a small
sample of properties that are held by fi-
nancial institutions and/or were acquired
inside
7
out of foreclosure. The State will pro-
vide the City with guidance on modifica-
tions to the appeal process for substan-
tial damaged buildings when acquired
out of foreclosure, guidance on the use
of substantial damage and substantial
improvement rules where the assessed
value for improvements is a fraction
of the pre-flood value when acquired
through foreclosure, and will assist the
City in securing information that would
support the creation of a floodplain man-
agement program.
The City will review their files
and work with Columbia
County flood recovery staff
over the next two months to
ensure that are files are com-
plete. Any deficiencies that
the good
ol’ days
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meet the
exchange students
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vhs fall sports
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vrfpd
are found will generate a phone call and/
or letter to property owners asking them
to provided information for City files.
Working with the State, the City
will secure a data set to identify, by ad-
dress, those buildings that have received
any federal assistance (e.g. Increased
Cost of Compliance, Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program, and Flood Mitigation
Assistance). If a property was ever dam-
aged by floodwaters and the property
owner at that time received a NFIP ben-
efit for any portion of that damage, then
that property must retain NFIP insurance
in perpetuity for that future property
owner to have access to any FEMA ben-
efit during a future storm event.
The City intends to develop a
procedure to record a Notice of Desig-
A Christmas Carol
A one hour, family friendly and
100% FREE performance for Vernonia!
December 7 at 7:30 at the Grange Hall
Bag&Baggage Productions, Hillsboro’s only
professional theatre, is proud to present a free rehearsed
reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol!, as part
of the “Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia” celebration on
December 7th. Six professional actors in Victorian
costume will perform a 1 hour version of this classic
holiday tale followed by a short post-show discussion
about the role that professional theatre can play in YOUR
community! The performance is FREE for all and is 100%
family friendly! Come and experience Bag&Baggage’s
unique, tongue-in-cheek style and celebrate the holidays
with laughter!
For more information about Bag&Baggage, please
visit our website at www.bagnbaggage.org.
continued on page 10
nation of Substantial Damage against
flood enforcement properties that are not
in compliance. This will be reviewed by
the City Attorney and City Council prior
to enactment. This will assist with bank
owned properties in particular, as there
are no disclosure requirements for prop-
erties acquired through bank and HUD
owned foreclosure sales processes.
The City’s ability to maintain
complete files is contingent on the com-
munity working proactively with them.
This includes pulling building permits
for all work performed on your property
– as a physical check of City files is a
component of a Community Assistance
Visit. Having all flood foundation vents
open and clear is a second major element
of the review.
continued on page 16
