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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2014)
letters to the editor/events august7 2014 Readers Lend Their Voices... VERNONIA E C I V SER PAIR & RE Monica Cade Director, Columbia County RSVP To the Editor, The Vernonia High School Softball team had a great season this year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Vernonia community for their To the Editor, I was thrilled to read in the recent Vernonia Education Foundation newsletter about the most recent contributions to the Vernonia Schools: • Family of E.T. & Norma Johnston - $25K for shop • OCF Fred W. Fields fund – $25K for debt reduction • Vernonia Hands on Art Grant through the Miller Foundation - $25K for sound equipment to be shared with VHOA and the Vernonia School District • Stimson Lumber - $37,500 for debt reduction As an alumni of Vernonia, I would like to thank these people for their generous contributions. These funds will make a huge dent toward completing the goals of making the Vernonia Schools modern, competitive and first-rate. Vernonia Dental Warranty on all parts and labor Now offering 2 and 4 wheel alignments 58605 NEHALEM HWY. S. Next to Storage, Too 503/429/7972 . Dr ri h C For those of us who are not lucky enough to have great wealth to contribute, it’s important to remember that small contributions add up and creative fundraising ideas (such as last year’s Give Back Bash by the Class of 1973, which raised over $10,000) are always welcome and appreciated by the Vernonia Education Foundation. Most people can contribute $5, $10, $50. While you may not think it makes a difference, multiple small contributions really do add up. Jim and Kathy Eckland (VHS Alumni – residents of Kaiser, OR) have been working tirelessly putting together lists of alumni to help raise funds for the Sports Initiative with a goal of having athletic facilities on the new school grounds. They continue to seek contact information for alumni, particularly those in the most recent decades of the 70s, 80s and 90s. I challenge all alumni to make an effort to give back to the little community that made us who we are today. Vernonia Education Foundation, 1201 Texas Avenue, Vernonia, OR 97064. If you want funds to specifically go toward the Sports Initiative, please indicate that on your check or money order. Kathi (Medges) Knowles Beaverton, OR To the Editor, The Vernonia Logging Show was able to repair the bleachers on June 7 th and 8 th with the help of volunteers and donations. The bleachers were pressure washed, painted and new boards added as well as some welding. We would like to thank the following volunteers: Eli and Garrett Everett, Zane Kovelda, Zebadiah Kovelda, Zoe Kovelda, Teresa Kovelda, Pressley and Kylee Baska, Jayda and Rylee Pihl, Megan Zavales, Bud Normand, Bonnie Birkmaier, Kimberly Normand, Donald Normand, Linda Christopherson, Lance Kemper, Cheyenne Kemper, Olin Kemper, Logan Kemper, Kara Kemper, Dave and Alix Haney and Gene Baska. We would like to thank the following business: Vernonia True Value, City of Vernonia, The Farm Table Catering, Gwin and Sons Logging, Mike Pihl Logging, Pacific Tractor and Implement and Olympic Forest Products. Without the help of these great volunteers and businesses we would not have been able to do it. Thank you for your time and financial support to allow us to continue to use the bleachers for the Vernonia Logging Show. Alicia Normand, Kelly and Lindsay Baska Vernonia Logging Show Chairmen D To the Editor, This year marks another successful ‘My Fair Lady Pageant’ at the Columbia County Fair. The five ladies representing the 2014 court are wonderful examples of volunteers throughout the county - Barbra Bynoe (St. Helens), Charleen Pruett (Clatskanie), Rachel Kelley (Rainier), Kathy Denkla (Vernonia). 2013 My Fair Lady Queen Ann Mitchell (Vernonia) was on hand to crown the new queen – Kathy Denkla from Vernonia. Even though the weather was hot, everyone had a great time and many Mike Fetch VHS Head Softball Coach an Jay Anderson Vernonia thanks go to the following individuals and organizations for helping to make the event a success: Transwestern Aviation’s sponsorship provided free admission for seniors and veterans. CC Rider provided free transportation to the fair with donations from Columbia River PUD, Clatskanie PUD, Avamere, Rose Valley, Spring Meadows, Columbia Hills, & Meadow Park. Prior to the pageant, the Heart Strings Quartet entertained the crowd. RSVP volunteers Dena Chesney and Jean Carulli assisted with a prize wheel, and Leif Nelson, Dylan Hart , Donna Walter, and Rennee Shelby helped Sunshine Pizza serve up a great meal for senior volunteers. Doug Cade and Craig Cade helped with set up and filled in wherever necessary. The princesses arrived in style driven by members of the Clatskanie car club, retired firefighter Brian Gardner and CRF&R Chief Eric Smythe. Don Cross took photos of the event. Northwest Apparel donated the court’s beautiful pink sashes. Diane Dillard was an entertaining emcee, and commissioners Henry Heimuller and Tony Hyde were in attendance to pass out roses to past princesses, and patriotic magnets to veterans in attendance. Helen Purkerson added a touch of class to the event while helping with the staging prior to the start of the pageant. The 2014 Rodeo Court acted as judges. Julie Stephens helped organize events with the fair board, and the Columbia County Fair provided the pageant the stage, tent, and seating area needed to accommodate hundreds of spectators. Big thanks go to the CRF&R admin staff for their unconditional support for RSVP and help with any task needed before, during and after the pageant. And finally, a huge thank you goes to Columbia River PUD - especially Sherry Welter and Libby Calnon for their many years of planning, organization, and generous sponsorship, for without them the pageant couldn’t exist. I bid goodbye to the 2013 court and look forward to an exciting year working with these ladies filled with the spirit of volunteerism. e rm To the Editor, We have an election coming up for positions on the board of directors for WOEC. The “C” in WOEC stands for Cooperative, which means the rate payers are the owners. Very few customers get to decide who will be on the board of their electric supplier. With that in mind it is very important to elect responsible and knowledgeable people. This cooperative was organized under a Federal Government program enacted into law in 1935 designed to bring power to areas of the country that on one else wanted to service. That hasn’t changed, the nature of the area served by WOEC makes it a very expensive utility to manage. WOEC has a problem with trees and long distances between meters in some areas. One of the candidates running for the directorship of district 3, suggested at the 2012 annual meeting that all customer/owners at the end of long lines be cut off in order to reduce the cost to the rest of the cooperative. This would be against the meaning of a cooperative and quite possibly against charter under which WOEC operates. We do not need this type of thinking on the board. Jim Buxton does NOT think this way. However he has in the dim past been a critic of the board over bylaw provisions and deferred maintenance that is still causing us problems. He petitioned the board to change the bylaws and make it easier to nominate a candidate for office. He is also very knowledgeable of the history of WOEC and the operations of the co-op. Please consider giving Jim your support by voting for him in district 3. support of the VHS softball team and the parents for their time and dedication. The girls put in many hours in the gym, traveling to Dayton and Yamhill for pitching and hitting practice on their own time. A big thank you to the pitching and hitting coaches, Larry Nichols and Larry Barnett. I would like to thank Ernie Smith for all of the extra hours he put in to make our field look like a softball field - it looks the best it has for Vernonia Softball; thank you to Doug Cook for bringing extra eyes and ears, and for having positive input on drills and situations; and thank you to all of my players who made the 2014 League Championship happen. Also, thank you to everyone who has donated time and money for the new softball field. We are moving forward a little at a time, but it will happen with your help and with our many volunteers. This is just an example of what makes Vernonia a great place to live. Vernonia had 7 girls on the NWL All League teams this year: 1 st Team - Kassidy Fetch, Sara Smith, Payton Wolf and Paige Smith; 2 nd Team - Taylor Titus, Pearl Cook and Jerrian Pond; Honorable Mention - Cassidy Whitton. We also had 3 girls on the Oregon All State Teams: 2 nd Team - Payton Wolf; Honorable Mention - Kassidy Fetch and Paige Smith. We are moving forward to build a tradition of hard work and determination to continue as League Champions, and to be contenders for the State Championship. DM 4 s er h to p M . S e ch u 622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064 phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881 continued on page 5 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 Monday of each month. Email: scott@ver- noniasvoice.com or mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064.
