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
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election
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good ol’ days
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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
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