4
letters to the editor/community bulletin board
april3
2014
P.E.O. Rummage Sale
Upcoming Events
Baby & Toddler Time - Wednesday, April
9, 11:00-11:30 AM at the Vernonia Public
Library. Songs, rhymes, very short books,
toys and bubbles. Ages 0-3. Older sib-
lings welcome.
Empty Bowls Fundraiser - Friday, April 11,
5:00-7:00 PM at the McBride Elementary
School, 2774 Columbia Boulevard in St.
Helens. Sponsored by the Columbia
Pacific Food Bank.
Make Vernonia Shine Day - Saturday, April
12, 9:00 AM-Noon, register at City Hall.
Bags and gloves available while supplies
last. Water and snacks will be provided.
Hazardous waste collection at Vernonia
Lake 9:00 AM-Noon. Vernonia Transfer
station open 8:00 AM-2:00 PM. Contact
Donna Webb 503-429-5201 or donnat-
webb@gmailcom
open to anyone in the community. RSVP
to: madeinvernonia@gmail.com or call
503-449-3591.
Community Wide Easter Egg Hunt - Sat-
urday, April 19, promptly at 10:00 AM at
Hawkins Park. Rain or Shine. Bring your
own basket to collect your eggs. Spon-
sored by the Vernonia Community PTA.
VHS Athletic Hall of Fame Induction - Sat-
urday, April 19, 6:00 PM at Cedar Ridge.
Tickets $15 at the door, includes dinner.
Upper Nehalem Watershed Council Meet-
ing - Thursday, April 24, 6:30 PM at the
UNWC office, 1201 Texas Ave. The en-
trance is downstairs, around the back of
the Vernonia School District office build-
ing.
Vernonia Sportsman’s Banquet - Saturday,
April 12, 6:00 PM at the Vernonia Chris-
tian Church, 410 North St. Tickets are $10
available at the Sentry Market Video Dept.
Contact Chad Hewitt 503-429-0511
P.E.O. Rummage Sale - Friday, April 25,
9:00 AM-4:00 PM and Saturday, April 26,
9:00 AM-3:00 PM at the Grange, 375
North St. All proceeds go toward P.E.O.’s
ongoing commitment of providing scholar-
ships to women.
BJ the Clown - Wednesday, April 16, 6:00
PM at the Vernonia Public Library, 701
Weed Ave. An hour of comedy, magic,
juggling, music, storytelling, puppetry,
physical comedy & audience participation.
Ages 3 and up. 503-429-1818
Columbia County Master Gardeners™
19th Annual Spring Garden Fair - Satur-
day, April 26, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM at St. Hel-
ens High School, 2375 Gable Rd. Over
5,000 tomato plants from 30 varieties at
$1.50 a plant.
How to use Square to process payments,
- Thursday, April 17, 6:30-7:30 PM at the
Vernonia Community Learning Center,
sponsored by the Vernonia Area Chamber
of Commerce. This free presentation is
Oregon Humanities Discussion - Saturday,
April 26, 4:00 PM at the Vernonia Public
Library. “We Are What We Eat: Connecting
Food and Citizenship,” a free conversation
with Wendy Willis.
Men’s Golf Assoc. Starts Season
The Vernonia Men’s golf Association (Men’s Club) began the 2014 season with a round
of golf and the annual membership meeting. This Wednesday night play consisted of a game of
“least putts”, and was won by Joe Hult and Brian Colson, with 14 putts for 9 holes. The KP’s
(closest to the pin) were won by Jim Pirpch, and Brian Colson.
After the Wednesday night play, the organizational meeting for this year was held. This
year’s officers are President Rick Brown, Vice President Randy Aultman, and Treasurer Brian
Colson. May 4 th was chosen for this year’s “Spring Handicap Tournament.” Please come join
us, and learn the game if you’re a beginner or teach us something if you are an old pro. We are
a fun group, and have a great time on Wednesday afternoons and evenings.
Vernonia Golf Club 503-429-6811
Readers Lend Their Voices...
To the Editor,
How does someone say THANK
YOU in a way that everyone who helped
feels it personally?
1 st , the Lions club had a “Texas
Hold Em” on a cold, snow laden day
at the “All In”. Thirty-seven people
came out in spite of the weather and
contributed for us to receive $1,248.00.
We are so grateful for each of you that
gave and had a part in that.
2 nd , the individual contributors
- anonymous and otherwise. You know
who you are. Sonia and I truly appreciate
each and every one of you.
3 rd , the coin drive by the students
at the Vernonia School District. The
children and staff contributed $1,862.98.
I was completely amazed and it brought
Sonia to tears when they gave us the
envelope. We want each student, parent,
and staff member to know we are truly
grateful to you for your gifts and your
sacrificial giving.
4 th , the spaghetti dinner and
silent auction by Sally Harrison and her
team was so festive and joyful. They
brought in $1973.00! That was such
a surprise! This festive time was so
enjoyable and encouraging to us.
Lastly, we certainly feel the love
and caring from this little community.
We are so amazed at how when someone
is down - this town is a lifter of our spirits
and a constant source of encouragement
in spite of the difficult days.
You lift us up.
Thank you so very, very much
from the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely,
David and Sonia Spackman
To the Editor,
I have been visiting your fair
community on Thursdays for years now
and wanted to make an observation
about how I feel about my weekly visits
to Vernonia.
First of all I always look forward
to driving up the mountain and seeing all
the beauty of this part of the state, when
I arrive in Vernonia I get a sense of peace
and tranquility.
One of the most striking things
P.E.O. is planning a huge
Rummage Sale, to be held at
the Grange Hall on Friday and
Saturday, April 25 and 26 th . The
hours will be from 9:00 - 4:00
on Friday, and 9:00 - 3:00 on
Saturday. There will be a wide
array of treasures, from antiques
and collectibles to household
goods, clothes, books and much
more.
The
proceeds
will
go toward P.E.O.’s ongoing
commitment
of
providing
scholarships to women. P.E.O.
assists women in meeting their
college goals with scholarships
and other financial aid. The
Vernonia chapter awards two or
more scholarships every year to
graduating seniors from VHS,
and also assists women in all
stages of education, whether an
upperclassman, postgraduate, or
those returning to college later in
life.
“We couldn’t begin to
accomplish what we do without
the support of our community.
Helping women in financing
their higher education is a very
rewarding endeavor, and we
are always very grateful to our
friends and neighbors for their
interest and support in the work
that we do,” says Ilene Grady,
P.E.O. President.
Other P.E.O. Notes:
P.E.O. has lost two of its long-
standing members in the past
few months. Carolyn Keasey,
who passed away in October,
2013, will be honored with
a VHS scholarship this year.
And, a generous donation to the
Educational Loan Fund (a National
P.E.O. organization offering low-
interest loans to college women)
has been made in Pauline King’s
name, per her request to the local
chapter. Pauline died at age 95 in
January. Both of these awards are
due to memorial gifts. Carolyn
and Pauline were long-time
residents of Vernonia, and were
loyal members of P.E.O. They
were an active, vital part of the
community.
The Vernonia chapter
recently elected new officers for
the upcoming year: President:
Ilene Grady; Vice President:
Janet Parker; Secretary: Katie
Poetter; Treasurer: Tobie Finzel;
Chaplain: Myrrhina Kibben;
Corresponding Secretary: Coni
Hodgson, and Guard: Claudia
Oblack.
PTA Easter Egg Hunt April 19
It’s time once again for the Easter bunny to make his special
appearance at the community wide Easter egg hunt, sponsored by the
Vernonia Community PTA at Hawkins Park on Saturday, April 19th,
the day before Easter. The hunt begins at 10:00 AM sharp, rain or
shine, so please come dressed accordingly. You will also need to bring
along your own basket or bag to gather your eggs in. Hope to see you
there!
The VCPTA is excited to announce that the 2014 fall carnival
will be held Saturday, September 27th. We would love to have people
start signing up for committees as soon as possible to help make it big-
ger and better than ever. If you are interested in volunteering please
contact Susan Ely 503-429-5709 or come to our next PTA meeting on
Thursday, April 17, starting at 7:00 PM.
Vernonia’s Voice is published on the
1st and 3rd Thursday.
Our next issue will be out April 17th.
to me is how polite the drivers are in
Vernonia. I walk a lot when I’m in town
and I have yet to cross a street where the
drivers did not go out of their way to give
me the right of way, not my experience in
other towns. It sometimes surprises me
how courteous you all are when driving,
it catches me off guard that I don’t have
to play a game of chicken to get across
the street. Thank you all for being so
courteous.
I know all small towns are
struggling but as long as you keep
showing respect and care for one another
Vernonia will continue to be a great
place to visit and to live.
Phil Bettin
Clatskanie, OR
To the Editor,
A heartfelt “Thank you” to all who
helped with the Spackman Benefit.
A special shout out to Mario and his
crew for their culinary delights, all who
attended, all the dessert providers, all the
Silent Auction donors, all the bidders and
winners, all the setup and cleanup gang
and all who went above and beyond to
make the event a wonderful success.
Blessings on you all.
Sharron, Gayle, Janelle and Sally
HOW TO SEND
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and re-
quests your thoughts, opinions and
ideas. Please include your name,
address and phone number, limit
your letters to 300 words or less.
Vernonia’s Voice reserves the right
to edit, omit, respond or ask for a
response to letters submitted. We
will print letters space permitting.
Deadline is the 1st and 3rd Mon-
day of each month. Email: scott@
vernoniasvoice.com
or mail to:
Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR
97064.
