city/area news
City Department Updates:
working out some bugs. You can review the
page at vpd.vernonia-or.gov. If you have any
suggestions on ways we can improve the
page, please send us an email (either at the
Police Department or at City Hall).
• On Tuesday, October 7th, 2014 the
Vernonia Police Department responded
to a Vernonia High School call regarding a
student that had brought a gun to school.
It was determined that there was no threat
of harm and the firearm, a rifle, had been
secured in the student’s vehicle the entire
time. The Department investigation revealed
that the student intended to deliver the firearm
to a relative prior to going to school but that,
because of running late, had driven directly
to school. A report has been forwarded to the
Juvenile Department for review.
Finance/Human Resources
• Auditors from Grove, Mueller & Swank were
here to perform the annual audit of financial
statements and procedures. Staff was able
to provide all requested information and the
audit went smoothly. We should have a draft
of the audit report by month’s end.
• Finance Administrator checked in with Drew
Davis (USDA) to get clarification regarding
paperwork that needs to be processed for
the loan the City is receiving to finish the
Waste Water project.
• Finance Administrator also prepared the
Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Waste
Water Treatment Plant Project for Council
September 29-October 10, 2014
approval.
• We received three applications for the open
Librarian position this week. The position
advertisement is scheduled to be open until
October 12th. We are optimistic that there
will be a good pool of candidates to choose
from.
Public Works
• Public Works staff has begun locating
water meters for the ground truthing project.
This job was started by volunteers from the
Public Works Committee so that all relevant
information to water meters in town are
properly entered into the new billing system.
The staff is recording meter serial numbers,
meter size and location.
• Public Works staff assisted the airport by
delivering rock from the lake to the Vernonia
Airport. They plan to have volunteers help
spread the gravel to have a level spot for the
pilots lounge. The pilots lounge is one of the
old FEMA trailers that was listed as surplus
by the County after the Flood Relief Center
moved out of town.
• A water leak was repaired on a customer
water service located on 2nd Avenue. Public
Work staff took care of the project. The leak
was caused by a rusted out galvanized fitting.
• Public Works crews will continue to flush
and inspect sewer main lines. Also on our
priority list is the task to begin the locating
of water valves, exercising them and making
sure they are accessible to use when
Public Certification Test and Drop
Sites for the General Election to be
held Tuesday, November 4, 2014
The Public Certification Test of the counting equipment for the
General Election to be held on November 4, 2014 will be held on Tuesday,
October 28, 2014. The testing will begin at 10:00 AM in the County Elections
Department. The public is welcome to attend.
Drop sites for the election will be as follows:
VERNONIA LIBRARY
701 Weed Avenue
Oct. 15 - Nov. 3, During Library Hours
Nov. 4, 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
RAINIER CITY HALL
106 B Street West
Oct. 15 - Nov. 3, During Office Hours
Nov. 4, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
CLATSKANIE LIBRARY
11 Lillich Street
Oct. 15 - Nov. 3, During Library Hours
Nov. 4, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
SCAPPOOSE CITY HALL
33568 E. Columbia Avenue
Oct. 15 - Nov. 3, During Office Hours
Nov. 4, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
MIST BIRKENFELD RFPD
12525 Highway 292
Oct. 15 - Nov. 3, During Office Hours
Nov. 4, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
ELECTIONS DEPT.
230 Strand Street
St. Helens, OR 97051
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Mon. – Thu.
Saturday, Nov. 1, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Election Day - Nov. 4, 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM
A drive-by drop box is located in the lower
parking lot.
needed. Open ditch and culvert cleaning will
also be occurring in the next couple of weeks
to prepare for the coming rains.
• Public Works crew continued on the
ongoing process of cold patching city streets.
• The water meter at the head of “Water
Filter Number 1” at the Water Plant Facility
was repaired by PW crew. During a routine
maintenance, it was discovered that the
meter, which is used to measure the amount
of water that goes through the filter during a
single day, was leaking.
• Public Works crew is constantly checking
for leaks at the location of water meters
citywide. This week the PW crew checked for
possible leaks not only on the public right of
way side, but also on the private residence
side.
• PW crew periodically works on a routine
maintenance of City buildings and was busy
with general building maintenance of the
Police Department Building.
• The Public Works crew responded to a
water leak located at 524 Weed Avenue. The
leak was located on the private property side
of the meter. Per City Policy, when the leak
occurs on the private property side of the
meter, it is the responsibility of the citizen/
owner to repair the leak. PW crew shut off
the water so that repair could be made by
owner, and eventually water was turned on.
Planning/Building
• The Building Department has given a final
approval for the Monument that was placed
at Spencer Park.
• At the City Council meeting on October 6th,
the City Council tabled the scheduled Public
Hearing for the Lincoln School Zone Change
per direction of the City Planner and City
Attorney until the next Council Meeting on
October 20th. This postponement will afford
the City Attorney time to review the letter
that Ross Day (the Attorney representing the
applicants Bud and Sharla Dow) had sent,
too late for review, to the City Council.
• Building and Electrical inspections continue
to move forward as housing projects continue
to be worked on by the owners.
Library
• The “Book Discussion Group” met on
September 29, 2014. The group discussed
the book “A Town Like Alice” and had a lively
discussion about it. The next book the group
will discuss will be “A Tale For The Time
Being” by Ruth Ozeki. The book discussion
group always has room for more people.
The next meeting of the Book Discussion
Group will be October 27, 2014 at 5:30 at the
Library.
• The preschoolers enjoyed story time with
Nancy on September 29, 2014. The books
october16
2014
7
continued from page 6
about pumpkins were enjoyed by the
children and parents alike. Five preschoolers
attended story time.
• October 8, 2014, was “Toddler Time.”
Come have fun with Shannon Romtvedt
with storytelling, bubbles, songs, rhymes
and other games. The activities are mostly
focused on kids between the ages of 0 and
3, but older children are welcome too (bring
along an older brother, sister or friend). The
“Toddler Time” group meets on the second
Wednesday of every month at 11:00 – 11:30
am.
• The Stamp Club meets once a month.
Stamp Club is for young and old alike to get
together and share knowledge about the
hobby of stamp collecting. First Thursday of
every month at 4:30 is when the club gets
together.
• We would like to thank the Friends of the
Library for buying a storage cabinet for art
supplies: “Thank you very much… it was
very kind and gracious of you… and greatly
appreciated.” The Friends of the Library
will also be helping with the cost of having
two Oregon Humanities speakers coming
to our library and giving some interesting
presentations and guide us through exciting
and stimulating conversations. Everyone is
welcome. If you need more information about
this activity, please don’t hesitate to contact
our staff.
• Upkeep of the Library building is (almost)
a never ending activity. After taking care of
the grounds during the past weeks, we have
focused our attention to the painting of the
building. Finally, with the good weather we
were able to complete the outside painting of
the upper trim of the building. The painter did
a wonderful job. It looks great.
• Circulation statistics: 401 pieces of material
were checked out at the library during the
week of September 22, through September
26.
• Please join us at the library every Tuesday
from 3:45-4:45 for the After School Activity
Program. There will be stories, snack, and
crafts for the children to enjoy. This program
is suited for children in grades K-5. The
program is free of charge. Please call 503-
429-1818 if you have any questions.
• Just a reminder that the next “Family Movie
Night” will be October 21, 2014 at 6:00 pm.
Come enjoy a movie and some popcorn. It
will be fun for the family. Call for movie title or
come and be surprised. We hope to see you
here at the library.
• Fun fact about Vernonia Library, the library
checks out more material in a year than
Rainier or Clatskanie. Vernonia Library
checked out 23,047 pieces of material last
year. WOW! Isn’t it great that the city of
continued on page 18
TOO BUSY?
Call your LOCAL bookkeeper
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• Kitchen & Bathroom Remodels • Finish Carpentry
• Ceramic Tile Work • Custom Home Construction
• Additions • Commercial Tenant Improvements
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General Contractor
CCB# 112057
Ph: (503) 429-0154
MorrisonRemodeling@hughes.net
Vernonia, OR 97064
• Licensed • Bonded • Insured
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edisheldon@gmail.com
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