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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2015)
december3 2015 volume9 issue23 s i a q www.vernoniasvoice.com o j t u m reflecting the spirit of our community Holce Donation Will Build New School Baseball Field The Vernonia Education Foundation has announced they recently received a gift of $120,000 in the form of stock and cash from Vernonia alumni Randy Holce (1967) and Evelyn Holce (1943). The funds will to be used for the construction of a new baseball field at the school campus. Construction will begin in the summer of 2016 with a projected challenge is to try to complete the track and football field before 2020!” Fund raising has started for a new track and football field. Three different Memorial Funds (Gary Davis, Mike Grady and Pat/Rick Curl) now have a combined total of $13,675 and will be used to “kick start” the fundraising campaign for a new all- weather track which will encircle the The new VHS softball field is currently under construction on the school campus. completion date of March, 2017. The new VHS softball field is currently under construction thanks to generous support from 175 Vernonia alumni and others. Total cost is estimated to be less than $75,000. Plans are underway by the Vernonia School District to name the field “Alumni Field.” It is expected to be ready for the 2016 season. The cost for the field was minimized thanks to several donated and discounted materials and many hours of volunteer labor. “We are very grateful to the Holce family for their very generous contribution, and for their ongoing support to the Vernonia Schools,” said Jim Eckland of the Vernonia Education Foundation. “Now that the softball and baseball fields are funded, the next inside 3 new chiropractor dr. dombek 8 vhs winter sports preview 14 logger victory bell 18 holiday concert in clatskanie free VERNONIA’S new football field. Cost estimates and timeframes for these two projects are now being developed, and are expected to take several years to complete. The Vernonia Sports Initiative is overseen by an Advisory Committee whose members include: Bill Pringle (1965); Marsha Krieger-King (1966); Kathy Minger-Eckland (1965); Randy Holce (1967); Randy Aultman (1962); Kathi Wilcoxen-Fitch (1980); Kathi Medges-Knowles (1973); Gordon Jarman (VHS Athletic Director); Mark Lemay (Vernonia Boosters). These individuals are helping to guide the successful completion of the new athletic fields and facilities for Vernonia student athletes. The Sports Initiative’s immediate goal is to increase the This Holiday Season Remember to Shop Local! Now that Thanksgiving has passed and the holiday shopping season is fully upon us, it’s time to be reminded about the importance of shopping local. Many local retailers have lots of options for holiday gifts, stocking stuffers, and decorations. You can find something for just about everyone on your list right here in Vernonia. Remember, when you choose to shop local, you help support your friends and neighbors. Money stays in the community and in turn gets spent at other local businesses. It’s a win-win for everyone! continued on page 12 number of alumni donors from 175 to 200, and reach $100,000 for the Vernonia Alumni Sports Initiative by the end of the year. The long term goal is to have all fields and facilities completed before the year 2020. If you would like to help the Vernonia Sports Initiative reach their goals you can mail your donation to: Vernonia Education Foundation, 1201 Texas Ave, Vernonia, OR 97064. Saturday, December 12th See page 9 Like Rain, We Fall We don’t always choose where we land, but it shapes us By Paul J. Pastor At some milestones in life we pause to take stock of the years behind us. My 30 th birthday, this coming New Year’s Day, is one of those moments for me. I’m entering a new decade, my second third of life. What have been the experiences that have shaped me? I ponder. What people, moments, places, have made me me? If I listed these questions on paper, many of their answers would simply be a name. Vernonia. *** One Sunday morning in 1996, I (ten years old) piled into a car with my parents and sister to drive miles of rainy S-shaped highway 47 for the first time. Turning down Bridge Street, Vernonia was still watermarked from the great flood. Floodwater lines stained the sides of buildings higher than I could reach. Doors and windows were still closed and covered, months afterward, dirty plywood shuttering houses like wooden eyepatches. Everyone was still making sense of the way the water had risen and risen, and then just left, like a strange dream, but a dream that means you have to tear the carpet out. For all the damage though, the town had a strong hope to it. We sat in the rear pew of the Foursquare church, sang hymns, heard a sermon. I daydreamed about riding bikes. Rain fell outside. My parents were considering a call to pastor the church. Soon after they would say yes to that invitation, and Vernonia would become a permanent part of my life. I didn’t know it yet, but in that room, or just a few miles away, were some of the most important places and people in my life. Places and people that would shape me. Remembering back through the past twenty years, images blur together like the wind blowing a photo album. I see myself worshipping in that church, working there, growing up there. I mow the lawn, paint walls, empty the trash, drink hot cider on cold Sunday mornings. I’m a little kid, a bigger kid, an awkward teen, a young man. In the summers, we camped and ate barbecued hot continued on page 19
