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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2014)
july3 2014 VERNONIA’S volume8 issue13 www.vernoniasvoice.com free reflecting the spirit of our community Inn to be Renovated By Scott Laird The building which formerly housed the Vernonia Inn is being reno- vated. New owner Jerry Cordell, along with his business associates, brothers Elmer and Santos Rivas, have already begun work on the fifteen room lodge they have renamed Ride Inn. Cordell says plans call for a complete rehabilita- tion to the building with a grand open- ing tentatively scheduled for October 1, 2014. Cordell and his partners had previously purchased the old Masonic Lodge and are currently renovating it. That building will most likely be a six room up-scale bed and breakfast. “I’m very excited about Verno- nia,” said Cordell during a recent tour of both properties. “I think there are huge possibilities here.” Cordell says the name ‘Ride Inn” was specifically selected to help tap into the potential customer base of bicycle, motorcycle and other tourists who visit or pass through Vernonia. According to Cordell the exterior of the inn will be pressure washed and repainted. Some of the exterior wood work will also be re- placed. Inside the main lobby will be new tile and cabinets and the inn keepers quarters will be totally re- done. The guest rooms will also be totally renovated with new berber carpet, blinds, bathroom fixtures, tub surrounds, tile, and furniture. “It’s going to be really nice,” says Cordell. Cordell, who currently lives in Portland, says he has a history of re- modeling homes, having completed nine projects over the years. Several of those properties were duplexes and multi-unit properties. He owned a plumbing busi- ness for thirty-five years. For the last fif- teen years he has worked at Home Depot as an assistant manager in Atlanta, GA; he currently works as a part-time associ- ate at Home Depot. Cordell has no past history operating a hotel/motel/inn type Training a Burro for 100 Days Leslie Seeburger will be saying goodbye to a friend soon. Seeburger has been fostering and working with a wild burro, California Girl (or Cali Girl for short, or just Cali) for the past three months on her farm outside Vernonia. Cali, who was born in a corral and raised on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, is a four year old wild Jenny burro. “Her ancestors are from the Slate Range, Fort Irwin, so she’s basical- ly a descendant of army burros,” says Seeburger about Cali Girl. Cali has had no previous training, and is being ‘gentled’ by Seeburger. In other words See- burger is training and handling her and getting her used to working so she can be adopted. A burro is inside 3 hands-on development 9 vernonia pride 10 life with a scottish accent 15 the scuttlebutt of establishment but says he may act as the inn keeper himself when the ‘Ride Inn’ opens. Cordell says he will do a lot of the work himself. One of the rooms we toured needed a good portion of the floor replaced where a Jacuzzi tub had to be removed. “We’ll just redo the floor,” ex- plained Cordell. “That’s no big deal for me. It’s a simple task.” Cordell says he sees a lot of potential for Vernonia and he has made a significant investment here. “It’s not Landon Avenue Design: From Useless to Useful A unique, new business has opened at the cor- ner of Bridge Street and Jefferson Avenue in Vernonia Tiffini Meyer recently opened ‘Landon Av- enue Design,’ filling the space which previously was home to the ‘Made In Vernonia’ store. Meyer and ‘Landon Avenue Design’ sell hand- made items that she describes as “simple and elegant.” But it goes much deeper than that. “From useless into useful,” is another way Meyer describes her product line. Meyer finds discarded items and materials - things that people are getting rid of - and turns them into beautiful furniture, decorations, cards, banners and other creations, all with her own personal touch. “People burn things like barn wood because they don’t think there is a use for it,” says Meyer. “I don’t see it that way.” Everything for sale at ‘Landon Avenue De- sign’ is almost exclusively one-of-a-kind. “Unless I have multiples of something, everything is unique,” says Mey- er. “Every shelf is different – it’s made with different wood or a different design. The coat racks have different knobs. I buy everything second hand, polish it up and make it new again.” the idea of making money,” explains Cordell. “It’s the idea of doing some- thing with yourself and your money to improve the community. That’s what I’m about; improving the community.” The October 1 opening date is tentative, says Cordell. “That will be pushing it hard, but we think we can do it. I’m very aggressive when it comes to these types of projects. I want to get it done so we can meet that deadline and get it open.” considered ‘gentle’ when you can catch it, lead it, pick up its feet, and load it in a trailer. Seeburger already has several horses and several mules, so it seems like Cali has found a good place, and friend to do her training. It’s all part of a program through the Pa- cific Wild Horse Club (PWHC), a non-profit that promotes the protection of wild horses and burros. To further their mission, the PWHC, in conjunc- tion with the BLM, have created the ‘The 2014 Great Burro Turnaround,’ an event used to show- case these burros and help find them homes. The event will be held on July 13 in McMinnville. Seeburger got involved in the project this past year when she saw an application at a horse event. After applying, Seeburger was one of ten continued on page 8 The name ‘Landon Avenue Design’ comes from two places and is based in family roots. Landon is the name of Meyer’s youngest son. Landon Avenue is the name of the street where her grandmother lived. “It’s just a meaningful name for me,” says Meyer. Meyer does sell some new products, mostly handmade soaps and lotions, and all come from Oregon. continued on page 9
