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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2016)
6 community june16 2016 Columbia Century Challenge Bike Event to Visit Vernonia Cycle Columbia County will be bringing a Century Plus and a Metric Century Plus bicycle ride/ event to Columbia County on June 18, 2016. The Columbia Century Challenge will start and end in St. Helens, and will feature a 108 mile Century Plus loop that passes through the communities of Vernonia, Mist, Clatskanie, Rainier and Columbia City, and a 66 mile Metric Plus loop through Vernonia, past Camp Wilkerson, to Columbia City and back to St. Helens. The ride course will open at 6:00 am and all riders will begin before 9:00 am. Columbia County features some great, bicycle- friendly backroads, from rolling roads through the old Oregon timberlands to farm roads through the open fields and pastures along the Columbia River, plus the unpaved historic Crown-Zellerbach trail (12 miles of which will be featured on the ride). Add charming rural towns, and you have the perfect backdrop for a fun and epic bike ride that has the potential to become an instant classic! Columbia Century Challenge is organized by a local team of cycling enthusiasts excited about bringing an event to Columbia County that will have a positive impact on all of the surrounding communities. The team is also committed to ensuring a positive ride experience from start to finish. The Columbia Century Challenge will be fully supported with aid/feed stations spaced approximately 15 miles apart. Free mechanical support, free off street parking near the start/finish line and much more. Sponsors for the inaugural year of this event include the City of St. Helens, NW Natural, Wauna Credit Union, PARG Phantom Amateur Radio Group, Barlow Bikes and Boards, Gevenall, Vernonia Dental, Online Marketing Resources, Keep St. Helens Geared, M.J.K. Carpet Services, Fort George Brewery, Tea Time, Dave’s Killer Bread, Klondike Restaurant & Bar, Odwalla, and Skout Backcountry. For more information go to www. CycleColumbiaCounty.com. New Hosts Welcome Guests at Anderson Park a former nurse in a doctor’s office. The customer service skills they acquired in those earlier professions are a real asset to the park and the City. “I went through all the training at Disney World and it kind of changes your life; you start looking at things dif- ferently and try to make everybody’s ex- perience better,” explains Copenhaver. “Melinda and I thought we might be a good fit as park hosts.” Over the past several years the City of Vernonia has been through a se- ries of hosts at Anderson Park that did not provide the quality of work they were looking for. The park was also damaged during the high water event this past winter. The City has been more than pleased with the job Copenhaver and Carter are doing mowing the grass, weed eating around the park, keeping the restrooms clean, welcoming guests, and enforcing the rules. “Adam and Melinda have done an amazing job of getting the park back into shape,” said City Finance Director Angie Handegard. “They’ve been a real asset to the Parks staff and have made some great suggestions for improve- ments. Reservations have increased since they started and we have been hearing a lot of compliments from the community on how nice it is to have Anderson Park looking so nice. I’m hopeful that they will stay with us for a long time.” “The conditions when we ar- rived were less than ideal,” says Copen- haver. “But we took the challenge and continued from front page it’s worked out really nicely. We were really busy on Mother’s Day weekend and we just walked around the park smiling because people seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a good time. That’s what we had envisioned, to make it a nice park again.” The change in the park is pro- nounced and visitors are noticing. “We just had a big group on Memorial Day weekend who used to stay here regularly but haven’t been back for several years,” says Carter. “Every one of them stopped by and told us the park looks amazing.” Not only does the park look great, the couple also try to treat their guests extra special as well. A recent guest in her 70s told Copenhaver she had never ridden on a motorcycle before, so he got out his bike and took for her ride all the way out Timber Road to Highway 26 and back. Later he took her across the river to the local shooting range to shoot her new handgun. “She marked two items off her personal bucket list during her visit here,” says Copenhaver with a big grin. Another camper went into labor while staying at Anderson Park and Co- penhaver and Carter looked after their dog and pet ferrets while they were gone for three days. “For us it’s not like we’re do- ing anything extra, it’s just people taking care of people,” says Copenhaver. “We treat this park like it’s out own back yard and the guests like they’re our friends.” On The Shelves By Shannon Romtvedt The library is busy with the start of Summer Reading this week. Children birth through age 14 can sign up. See “Upcoming Events” for more information about this program and free performances coming up at the library. On Friday, July 1, 11:30 am – 1 pm, library staff will be at the Summer Meals program giving away free books to all children and teens. The Summer Meals site is at the Grace Family Fellowship Church on 957 State Ave. Books have been donated by an organization called All Together Now, based out of Forest Grove. All Together Now partners with individuals and organizations to bring hands-on arts experiences and books to children and families with limited means. Thank you to Linda Stiles-Taylor for offering Vernonia this opportunity. The library is in search of volunteers! We are currently looking for volunteers to help with Summer children’s craft programs, shelving and desk help, and watering and weeding over the summer. We are also looking for volunteers for a special project to make our digitized newspapers more searchable and accessible. For more information about these opportunities, contact the library (503) 429-1818 or email shannonr@ vernonia-or.gov. Library Board has an open position, starting in September 2016. Library Board members support the library by recommending changes and improvements to policies and services. This is a great opportunity to have a voice in what happens at the library. Applications are available on the city website, at City Hall, and at the Library. Upcoming Events at the Library Summer Reading 201P For children, birth through age 14. Sign-up at the library June 13 – July 22. Receive free Oregon State Fair, Oregon Zoo tickets (limited number) and other incentives. Enter a weekly prize drawing for every hour you read. Return your time log between July 25 and August 12 to choose a free paperback book and enter a grand prize drawing. Readers Theater Thursday, June 16, 6:00 pm Performance of The Little Red Hen, Three Hens and a Peacock, and The Bremen Town Musicians by Young at Heart Readers Theater based out of Forest Grove. Story and Craft Programs Every Tuesday, 10:30 am, June 14 - July 19. For Pre-K through Grade 5 and families. Charlie Brown Juggling Comedy Thursday, June 23, 6 pm Open to all ages. Sponsored by Oregon College Savings Plan Family Movie Night Thursday, June 30, 6 pm Relax at the library with a movie and popcorn! Call or visited the library for movie titles. Ongoing Programs Baby and Toddler Time Mondays, 10:30 – 11:15 am Songs, short stories, toys, and bubbles for 0 – 3. Older siblings welcome. Book Discussion Group Thinking back to my college days, I was obsessed with Nikos Kazantzakis’ Zorba the Greek. Authors I have grown to love are Barbara Kingsolver for her fiction book Bean Trees and the non-fiction Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Also Elizabeth Gilbert who can write terrific fiction - The Signature of All Things along with her classic Eat, Pray, Love. Her most recent non-fiction piece Big Magic is inspiring, too. Other fiction recently enjoyed are All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster. A few years ago I re-read Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird - incredible stories so magnificently written! Other non-fiction favorites are When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Rising Strong by Brene Brown, and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Library Volunteers Thank you to our graduated senior library volunteers Mariah Miller, Haily Fennell, Connor Fennell, Breanna Gardner, and Nichole Gardner for all your work this past year. We will miss you and hope the best for your future! Thank you to Audeen Wagner, Janelle Cedergreen, and Lorna Poetter for selecting plants and planting the pots in the courtyard. Last Monday of every month, 5:30 pm Selection for June 27: The Greening of Ben Brown by Michael Strelow Library Closures Volunteer Pick’s: Some of CiCi’s Favorites Hours & Contact Info CiCi Bell is a volunteer at the Vernonia Library, a member of the Friends of the Library, Board Member of the Columbia County Cultural Coalition representing Vernonia, and a member of the Vernonia Grange and Community Garden Club. She has lived in Vernonia for 45 years. What CiCi has to say about books: Phone: (503) 429-1818 E-mail: library@vernonia-or.gov Monday, July 4 for the Independence Day Holiday Mon, Wed, Fri 10 am – 5 pm Tues & Thurs 1 pm – 7pm Sat 10 am – 4 pm Closed Sundays
