june2 2016
VERNONIA’S
volume10 issue11
reflecting the spirit of our community
www.vernoniasvoice.com
Roll On Columbia
New music project is reviving
Woody Guthrie’s BPA songs
month exploring and documenting the
BPA region, Seamons is collaborating
with musician, folklorist and former
BPA employee Bill Murlin, along with
By Scott Laird
a host of other regional musicians, to
In 1941 American folk singer record all of Guthrie’s Columbia River
Woody Guthrie spent a month in the songs and release them on one double
employ of the U.S. Federal government. album.
Guthrie was hired to write songs for a
film to be produced by the Bonneville
Power Administration (BPA) in an ef-
fort to help promote the advantages of
public electric power.
What followed was one of the
most creative time periods of Guthrie’s
prolific song writing career and result-
ed in some of his most famous songs,
including “Roll On Columbia,” “The
Grand Coulee Dam,” and “Pastures of
Plenty.”
Now local musician Joe
Seamons is giving those songs a chance
at a new life.
Guthrie wrote 26 songs during
his brief but fruitful
30 day visit to the
“It’s a very ex-
Pacific Northwest.
citing
project with a
He recorded about a
lot
of
engagement,”
dozen of the songs in
says
Seamons
about
the basement of the
the project.
BPA office in Port-
Many of the
land. Although the
songs
Guthrie wrote
originally planned
have entered the pop-
film never materi-
ular consciousness,
alized, three songs
says Seamons. “But
were eventually used
too many of them re-
in the documentary
main quite obscure,”
film, Columbia, pro-
which is why he and
duced by the BPA in
Murlin are spear-
1948. Guthrie later
heading this new
recorded and released
project.
several of the songs
Many Vernoni-
himself and pub-
Joe Seamons
ans are familiar with
lished several more
Seamon’s past work.
in songbooks, but much of his origi-
He
grew
up
in
Rainier
on the Colum-
nal material disappeared and was lost.
The lost music was rediscovered in the bia River and took a special interest in
1980s, but no one has ever recorded all local northwest folk music early in his
life. He spent time with family friend
26 songs.
75 years after Guthrie spent his Hobe Kytr, who wrote and performed
continued on page 8
inside
free
Sullivan, 4 x 100 Relay, Win
Track State Championships
Relay
team
breaks
state meet record while
bringing home the gold
Vernonia High School sopho-
more Clay Sullivan brought home two
state championships from Eugene’s
Hayward Field at the 2A State Track
and Field Championships on May 19-
20.
Sullivan won the 110 meter
high hurdles and was part of the state
record breaking 4x100 meter relay team
that also won gold and included seniors
Jared Medearis, Steven Burns and Rob-
ert Connor.
For Sullivan, Medearis and
Conner it was their second state cham-
pionship this year as all three were part
of the state winning boys basketball
team this winter.
The 4x100 relay team ran away
from the competition, with Connor run-
ning the anchor leg and winning by well
over 30 meters, in a time of 43.57, a
new state meet record.
“Medearis got us off to a good
start, as he has all year, and we were
close to the lead on the first hand-off
to Steve Burns,” said Vernonia head
coach Byron Brown. “Burns did what
he has done all season, separating from
the rest of the pack almost immediately.
It’s been a beautiful and inspiring thing
to see. He just seems to rocket into the
lead after getting the hand-off and no-
body has been able to stay with him all
season. Clay expanded the lead after he
and Steve executed a perfect handoff.
And then another near-perfect handoff
to Connor, who sprinted all alone to the
finish.”
Sullivan won the 110 meter
hurdles in a personal best time of 15.82
to grab his second gold medal of the
meet. He later took fourth place in the
300 meter hurdles with a time of 42.03.
Sullivan completed his weekend with
an eighth place finish in the long jump
with a jump of 19’ 10.25”.
“Clay led from start to finish in
the 110 meter hurdles, dominating the
race,” said Brown. “He is an incred-
Robert Connor, Jared Medearis, Clay
Sullivan and Steven Burns broke the state
record on their way to winning the 4x100
state championship.
ibly gifted athlete, with a great future.
He barely even practices this event—he
just goes out and destroys the competi-
tion once or twice a week. I’ve never
seen or even heard of anything like it.
He took up the 300 low hurdles about
3 weeks ago, and finished 4th place at
state in a close race. Next year he’ll
win that one, too. I just hope the Ver-
nonia community understands what a
special and unique home-grown young
man we have raised here that we can all
be proud of.”
Conner also had an impres-
sive meet, despite battling a hamstring
injury all season, taking second in the
100 meter dash with a time of 11.39 and
finishing fifth in the 200 meters with a
time of 23.59. “It says a lot that Rob-
ert accomplished so much despite his
season-long injuries,” said Brown. “I
feel like we were very fortunate to have
continued on page 11
Community Action Team:
The First 50 Years Serving Columbia County
Part 1: Veterans Services
By Leanne Murray
3
salem update
7
where do you
read the voice?
9
vhs softball
10
jr. salmon auction
2016 is a big year for Commu-
nity Action Team (CAT); this organi-
zation, originally formed in Columbia
County, is celebrating 50 years of serv-
ing our community. Theirs is a history
filled with adaptation, expansion and
impact. Columbia County joined the
state and national Community Action
Partnerships trade associations by first
providing federally-funded services for
young children through Head Start and
for older Americans in 1966. Governed
by a community-based Board of Direc-
tors, it is a stand-alone non-profit orga-
nization that receives its primary fund-
ing from state and federal programs,
CAT’s Veterans Services Officer Russ Clark meeting with community members.
along with the occasional foundation
grant. Local municipalities and private
donors provide the balance.
In the early 1980s the federal
government reduced funding and began
distributing dollars through Commu-
nity Service Block Grants through the
states. A few years later CAT responded
to Oregon’s call for Community Ac-
tion Partnership representation in ev-
ery county by creating advisory boards
in Tillamook and Clatsop counties. In
time those boards developed the local
agencies we now know as Community
Action Resource Enterprises (CARE)
in Tillamook and Clatsop Community
continued on page 6
