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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2016)
October20 2016 volume10 issue20 www.vernoniasvoice.com free VERNONIA’S reflecting the spirit of our community SAFE Advocate Helps Victims of Domestic/Sexual Assault in Vernonia By Scott Laird provide direct access to sup- type of universal education, port systems for local survi- presented to eighth graders, we It has to be difficult to stay posi- vors of domestic violence, believe can be foundational to tive about the world when your job re- sexual assault, and stalking. seeing actual change over time. quires you to talk with people who are In this program SAFE is At the end of the day it’s about being physically or mentally abused by partnering with the Verno- violence and domestic violence their domestic partners. nia Health Center and The prevention,” says Brady. It has to be challenging to re- Public Health Foundation of Brady says the course main upbeat or optimistic when your job Columbia County to launch covers how teens should want is to assist someone who has been sexu- this pilot project here in Ver- to be treated by their dating ally assaulted. nonia. SAFE is providing partners, what makes a relation- But that is what Kathryn (Kat) regular clinic hours for Ste- ship unhealthy, red flags and Stevens does every time she goes to vens to meet confidentially things to look out for in an un- work at the Vernonia Health Center. with patients to discuss their healthy relationship, how teens “I don’t think I could be any oth- situation and help them ac- can help a friend in an abusive er way!,” says Stevens, a former gradu- cess resources. relationship by identifying peo- Kat Stevens is the new Healthy Relationships Specialist for ate of Vernonia High School (VHS), who At the Vernonia ple in their lives they could tell SAFE of Columbia County at the Vernonia Health Center. is the Healthy Relationships Specialist Health Center, Stevens will about their concerns, and by- who we were serving in St. Helens that for SAFE of Columbia County in Verno- be available on Mondays, stander intervention techniques. nia. “All I want to do with my life is help Tuesdays, and Wednesdays to meet with were coming from Vernonia.” “This is really good information for all In addition SAFE is also partner- our relationships, throughout our whole others. If I can see my actions making and assist clients by discussing support, ing with the Vernonia School District to lives,” says Brady. someone else’s life a little easier, then I safety, and education about domestic am happy. There are a lot of sad things in abuse and sexual violence, and also pro- provide a healthy relationships curricu- Stevens says the Vernonia pilot this line of work, but I’ve also seen a lot viding a safe link to resources such as lum to middle school students that meets program at the Vernonia Health Center, of fantastic miracles happen - and those shelter, legal aid, and Department of Hu- the District’s requirement to implement which began on September 1, 2016, is the Oregon Healthy Teen Relationships designed to gather data and increase the memories fuel my optimism.” man Services (DHS) programs. Just in time for October, which “It is so hard for individu- Act. Allison Brady will be presenting likelihood of securing additional fund- is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, als who are experiencing these situa- the nine session course, “Safe Dates” to ing to expand the program to other rural SAFE recently launched its new pro- tion from Vernonia and Clatskanie and all eighth grade students later this school communities like Tillamook, Rainier, gram in Vernonia, in conjunction with Rainier to travel all the way out to St. year and is currently facilitating it in the and Clatskanie. “We’re hoping we can a continuing educational component for Helens,” says Stevens about the need for Rainier and St. Helens School Districts. prove that this is a necessary resource Vernonia school students. the program in Vernonia. “And we were “The goal is to challenge some myths and that there are people who need this The new program is designed to seeing a large proportion of individuals and stereotypes that people have about kind of assistance from programs like domestic violence,” says Brady. “This Vernonians Get to Meet the Candidates Candidates for Vernonia Mayor, City Council, and County Commissioner met with Vernonia voters and others from around Columbia County on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at the “Meet the Candidates” political forum, held at the Cabin in Vernonia and hosted by Vernonia’s Voice. The evening began with a one hour open house, where voters could chat casually with the candidates, which was followed by a formal question and answer panel forum, with questions being asked by Vernonia’s Voice publisher Scott Laird. The forum was both pleasant inside 3 election endorsements 6 life after war 7 good ol’ days 9 where do you read the voice and informative, with all candidates acting very cordial and friendly towards one another, including some humorous banter, and providing the audience with direct answers to the questions. The candidates in attendance were Mario Leonetti and Kim Tierney running for Vernonia Mayor; Bruce McNair and Susan Wagner running for Vernonia City Council; and Margaret Magruder and Wayne Mayo running for County Commissioner Position 1. Vernonia City Council candidate Mike Buffum was unable to attend due to health reasons, but met later with the Voice to answer the same questions the rest of the Candidates were asked. Mayo and Magruder are in a run-off after neither received over 50% of the vote in the primary election in May that featured five candidates. Vernonia voters will have an opportunity to vote for two of the three candidates for Council; the top two will take office in January, as will the winner of the Mayor’s race. Leonetti has lived in Vernonia since 1964 and served for a combined 18 years on the City Council and as Mayor, starting in 1983. He also served on the volunteer fire and ambulance services for 20 years and has owned a business in Vernonia since 1969. He noted that while he was in city government the City finished the City Hall and Library buildings, the Vernonia Lake Park, the water plant, and he helped construct the Scout Cabin building. He commended the current Council for getting Vernonia moving and to the place it is today. He said he is running for Mayor because he loves Vernonia and its people, and that he wants to involve the people in their government and bring them closer together. Kim Tierney has served on the City Council for 5 years and is currently the President of the City Council, serving as the back-up to the Mayor when he is unable to fulfill his duties. Tierney said Mayor Randy Parrow asked her to run for Mayor when he decided not to run. Tierney said she is running to provide experience, integrity, and continuity that will help guide both the staff and the Council. Tierney recently retired and has 30+ years of management experience in public health that includes experience with large budgets, program management, grant writing and management, and personnel management, and points to having used that experience to help the Vernonia government set up and strengthen internal systems. Tierney has lived in Vernonia for 35 years, raised her family here, was a scout leader, has served on the School Board, represented Vernonia on the Commission on Children and Families, served on both the 1996 and 2007 flood Unmet Needs Committees, and has worked to spay and neuter 450 feral cats in the community. Bruce McNair grew up in Vernonia and has lived here most of his life. He has worked as a logger for 40 years. He joined the City Budget Committee in 2005, and learned about how the City runs. In 2011 he was continued on page 16 appointed to the City Council to fill a vacancy and was appointed in 2015 after he chose not to run in 2014. He says he thinks the current Council has turned around the culture in the City and is getting good work from the staff and would like to continue that work and finish the projects they have undertaken. “I love this little town, it’s in my blood,” said McNair. “The opportunity to serve this community and give back what it has given to me, is hard to express in words.” He thanked Vernonia’s Voice for hosting the event and also acknowledged outgoing Mayor Randy Parrow for his 12 years of service on the Council. Susan Wagner moved to Vernonia from Colorado in 2006 with her family and said she is a Vernonian by choice. She volunteered in the grade school, starting an after school science program. She also worked as an employee at the schools, working with special education students. She got involved in flood recovery efforts following the 2007 flood because of previous experience with disaster recovery and FEMA in Colorado, helping with volunteer coordination, data collection, and grant writing, and was eventually hired by Community Action Team, where she is still employed. She has served on the local Economic Development Committee, has chaired the City Budget Committee, is the current Chair of the Planning Commission, and currently serves on the School Board. She believes she is organized, honest, thorough, and objective and that her experience can continued on page 3
