10
community
january16
2014
Metro West Debuts Four Wheel Drive Ambulance
Metro West Ambulance and the
Vernonia Volunteer Ambulance Associa-
tion are excited to welcome the newest
member to their EMS team-a Chevy Sil-
verado K3500 four wheel drive ambu-
lance!
“This is the first four-wheeled
drive ambulance and also the first pickup
based ambulance that we’ve had in any
of our family of companies active fleets,”
said J.D. Fuiten, Metro West Ambulance
President and owner. “We want to see
how it performs for our crews in the Ver-
nonia area to see if it should be consid-
ered for other communities our various
companies serve.”
The new ambulance is only
slightly different than other ambulances
used by Metro West crews and Vernonia
Volunteer Ambulance volunteers says
Randy Carlton, who is both a paid Metro
West crew member and a local volun-
teer. Carlton noted that the major dif-
ference is that the new ambulance box
is mounted on the pick-up truck chaise
instead of the usual van chaise.
The vehicle has upgraded mud
terrain tires. It also has reverse
lights installed on the side of the
vehicle and all the emergency
lighting are the upgraded, new
generation LED lighting which
are less of a drain on the battery
in the vehicle.
“This type of ambu-
lance was bought for enhanced
safety for our crews and for the
patients we care for,” said Alex
Lee, Metro West Ambulance
Fleet manager. “We remem-
bered the years of substantial
snow in the Vernonia region and
knew that by having a unit with
four wheel drive, more aggres-
sive tires and the ability to chain all four
tires that it greatly increases getting our
patients where they need to go much
more safely, especially considering the
road conditions that the crews can and
have faced!”
“This is a culmination of our ex-
periences going through our numerous
winters up here,” added Metro West Ver-
nonia Supervisor Jeff Mathia. “And it is
especially a result of the effort made by
Randy Carlton, who really lobbied hard
for this.”
Older Vernonia Grads Are Giving Back
continued from front page
many to the Sports Initiative project.
“The vast majority (95%) of the
Alumni who have contributed thus far
are considered “senior citizens” or over
the age of 55, and graduated somewhere
between 1940 and 1975,” said Eckland,
who lives in Keizer, Oregon, during a
recent visit to Vernonia. “This segment
of the Alumni population makes up
only about a third of the total
number of Vernonia grads.
In other words, two thirds of
Vernonia Alumni (those who
graduated after 1975) have not
been asked to donate yet to the
Sports Initiative.”
Another
interesting
statistic provided by Eckland
is that 80% of the Alumni
who have contributed thus far
reside outside the Vernonia
School District. “This is very
understandable since District
voters passed a bond measure
in 2009 and local taxpayers
have seen an increase in their property
taxes and utility rates in recent years,”
says Eckland.
According to Eckland, $30,000
was raised through just four donations;
two of $10,000, one of $7,500 and one
of $2,500. But Eckland seemed just as
pleased with the ten donations of $200,
the thirty-one donations of $100, the
twenty-nine donations between $99
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lo
ca
tio
n!
mail, using address lists that were
painstakingly gathered from reunion
committees. A second mailing of 200
was sent out by the Ecklands this past
December, at a cost of $150. According
to Eckland, 110 of those mailings went
out to Alumni who had already donated;
ninety were mailed to new contacts.
Fifty Alums responded, a 25% response
rate, contributing over
$13,000. Twenty-one
were new donors and
twenty-nine were repeat
donors.
The next challenge,
according to Eckland,
is to try to locate the
“younger” Alumni, who
graduated after 1975, and
ask them to contribute
to the Vernonia Alumni
Sports Initiative so that
more fields and facilities
can be completed.
Future home of the VHS softball field.
If you would like to
$22,000 or 43% of the total; and grads contribute, you may send your tax-
from the 1960s have donated over deductible donation to the Vernonia
$14,000 or 28% of the total. Grads from Education Foundation, 1201 Texas
the 70s and 80s have donated $1,320 Avenue, Vernonia, OR 97064; or log on
or just 3% of the total. According to to www.vernonia.k12.or.us
Eckland no other graduating classes
have been contacted and asked to donate Jim Eckland, Class of 1962, currently
in an organized way.
resides in Keizer, Oregon, with his wife
Eckland says the older Alumni Kathy Minger Eckland, Class of 1965.
were originally contacted by direct
Absolute
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and $50 and the forty-five donations of
$25 and less that the fund has received.
“They are all adding up!,” says Eckland.
Eckland also provided an
additional interesting breakdown of
where the money has come from:
graduates from the 1940s have donated
over $12,000 or 24% of the total; grads
from the 1950s have donated almost
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While this vehicle is not an off-
road vehicle, having a four-wheeled
ambulance available and ready no mat-
ter what Mother Nature provides is reas-
suring to both of the EMS crews and the
Vernonia Community.
Fundraiser for
David Spackman
Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament
Sun, February 9 at 2 PM
Sponsored by the
Vernonia Lions Club
David is having liver transplant
surgery in San Francisco.
Fundraising will go to help David
and Sonia with living and medical
expenses during this difficult time.
Calling All Vets!
Columbia County
Veterans Stand Down
Sat, February 1, 9AM-5PM
at the Columbia County Fairgrounds
• Hot Meal • Clothing • Dental and Health
Care • Personal Care Items • Haircuts •
• Homeless Services • Flu Shots •
• VA Benefits Experts • Employers •
• Vocational Rehab • Eye Care •
• Educational Info • Mental Health Care •
• Housing Info • and much more!
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at 503-366-6591
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