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
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622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064
phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881
continued on page 5
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