june5 2014
VERNONIA’S
volume8    issue11
www.vernoniasvoice.com
reflecting the spirit of our community
Vernonia Freewheelers:
More Than a Four Wheeling Club
Reinvesting in Vernonia
By Scott Laird
As the economy slowly continues to recover, there
are several positive signs that the recovery may finally be
reaching Vernonia. Several local businesses are expand-
ing, refurbishing or investing in new equipment. There are
numerous good signs that indicate things are looking up
around Vernonia, among them local business owners rein-
vesting in their businesses and the Vernonia community.
Sharon Bernal is a local resident and real estate
agent for John L. Scott. Bernal recently purchased the build-
ing where her office is located. In the space next door she
has re-opened “Out on a Limb,” a gift shop which carries
cards, decor, crafts and gifts with a country theme. Bernal
is re-roofing and painting her building. She is also remod-
By Scott Laird
You see them in most local parades with
their jacked up trucks and 4x4s, revving their en-
gines. You see those trucks around town with mud
on the side panels and hood. That mud sometimes
obscures the sticker across the top of the windshield
that identifies the vehicle as belonging to the Ver-
nonia Freewheelers Club. That sticker that each
member places like a badge of honor to identify
themselves as part of the group.
Yes, they like to go four wheeling in the
mud. But you may have also witnessed members of
this club alongside highway 47 picking up garbage;
their name is on the sign as being responsible for the
stretch of highway as your enter town.
Or maybe you saw them sitting out in the
snow last winter on the street corner with a large
trailer full of wood, selling raffle tickets to raise
money for a family they adopted for Christmas.
Yes, the Vernonia Freewheelers are much
more than a four wheeling club. They are a service
organization dedicated to improving the community
of Vernonia and helping its citizens.
“This is a way we can give back to our
community,” says Freewheelers President Joe Sup-
pes. “We just really enjoy helping.”
Recently the Freewheelers adopted the Ver-
nonia Pioneer Cemetery as one of their projects; the
group has agreed to assist the City of Vernonia by
mowing and maintaining the grounds of the historic
site on Keasey Road just outside of town. I met up
with the club as they spruced up the parking area,
mowed the grass and ran weed eaters around the
headstones and grave sites. The group was even
expanding the parking area, using heavy equipment
to push back the encroaching undergrowth.
Suppes and group Vice President Brian
Fennel have been friends since growing up in
Vernonia. Suppes says the group was started in
honor of their good friend from high school, Eric
Kesterson. Kesterson, who served eight years as
a U.S. Marine, re-enlisted in the U.S. Army fol-
lowing the September 11 attacks. Kesterson was
killed in action while serving as a helicopter pilot
inside
3
preparing
for jamboree
11 vhs class of 2014
15
jr. salmon auction
23
youth art exhibit
free
Fresh paint brightens Sharon Bernal’s recently
purchased building downtown.
The Freewheelers Club is helping to maintain
the Vernonia Pioneer Cemetery.
in Iraq in 2003. “We named the group the “Free-
wheelers” because Eric was fighting for our free-
dom,” says Suppes.
Suppes and Fennel agree that the group is
both a social and civic group. They have a social
continued on page 10
eling three apartments in the building. “I thought it was a
good investment, but I knew I was also going to have to
invest in it to make it a good investment,” explains Bernal.
“I thought it would improve Vernonia. I thought it was time
after the economic downturn and that Vernonia was ready
for “Out on a Limb” to come back. I thought I could take
this old building, make improvements and be able to offer
some nice, higher end apartments. When I looked at it I
Vernonia Pride Revived
A group of local citizens
is excited to announce they have
reformed the group “Vernonia Pride.”
The group is preparing for their first
project and will be painting the curbs
in downtown Vernonia on June 19
and 21.
The idea to reform Vernonia
Pride was born during the recent
“Vital Vernonia Community Forum”
held on April 5 th . Vernonia Pride will
look to maintain and beautify assets
currently in place in the community.
Vernonia Pride plans to increase
awareness of community needs and
opportunities to become involved and
help. They will engage community
members,
especially
students,
about community service activities
and build a sense of community
connection and pride.
Vernonia Pride is developing
a strategy to partner with local service
and civic groups who will sponsor
specific
improvement
projects.
According to Vernonia Pride Chair,
Alicia Normand, the organization
will organize, publicize and find
sponsors for several projects each
year. “We want to start simple and
improve our community by taking
care of the things we have,” says
Normand.
The Curb Painting Project
will be sponsored by the Vernonia
Area Chamber of Commerce. A
work crew will scrape and prepare
the curbs on Thursday, June 19 from
6:00 to 8:30 PM. On Saturday,
June 21, business owners and other
volunteers will gather from 9:00 AM
to 12:30 PM to repaint the yellow
curb areas along Bridge Street and
other side streets in the downtown
corridor. The Chamber of Commerce
will be approaching business owners
ahead of the project in order to gather
their support.
“My vision for Vernonia
Pride is to bring together the
community by collaborating on
projects, while mentoring our youth
in volunteerism, fostering pride in our
community and making our beautiful
town shine,” says Normand.
The
Vital
Vernonia
Community Forum examined the
results of the recently completed
Vernonia Indicator Project. The
Indicator Project
gathered data
and developed goals and indicators
to measure community vitality
across five community dimensions:
1) community livability and
engagement, 2) youth and education,
3) economy, 4) health and well
being, 5) environment and natural
resources. The Community Forum
continued on page 9
hosted discussions focused on
each dimension. Each discussion
identified needs, prioritized goals
and identified potential actions. The
forum then looked at the findings
from each discussion and chose the
reforming of Vernonia Pride as a
project that was most aligned with
the majority of the potential actions
that were identified. The Community
Forum was sponsored by The Ford
Family Foundation.
Vernonia Pride is also
considering the formation of a
management system that would
create an inventory list of activities
and ongoing projects within the
community and implement an easy
way for volunteers to find and become
involved in service opportunities.
Vernonia Pride is still
developing a structure for developing
additional projects.
Watch for
more information about upcoming
volunteer opportunities in Vernonia’s
Voice and on the Vernonia Community
Bulletin Boards on Facebook. If you
would like to become involved in
helping revive Vernonia Pride, their
next meeting will be on June 24 at
6:00 PM at the Vernonia Community
Learning Center.
For more
information contact Alicia Normand
at 503-880-3036.