4
letters to the editor/community bulletin board
january5
2017
Readers Lend Their Voices...
To The Editor,
Once again I am impressed by
the considerate, kindhearted and gener-
ous spirits expressed in our small com-
munity. Particularly the kindnesses
shown by the young ladies of Vernonia
Christian Church Youth Group led by
Kim Pultz Friday, December 16th. They
appeared on my front porch to present
me with a Merry Christmas Wish, warm
meal of chili, corn bread, cookies and a
card. The meal was delicious, so I want-
ed to be sure to thank them once again.
Wonderfully enough, Kim is leading by
example!
Also, a wholehearted “Thank
You” to the person who shoveled the
snow off my sidewalk sometime on
Thursday, December 15th. I was so con-
cerned with events inside my home that
I did not notice who did this fi ne, kind
deed. I am sorry you will remain anony-
mous.
It is exciting to continue being
a part of such a giving and considerate
community. So, I am recognizing the
people involved in events that have com-
forted and supported me recently.
Janelle Thomas Cedergreen
Vernonia
To the Editor,
This letter concerns Wayne
Mayo’s recent letter published in the
paper. The actual “jobs saved” count is
said to be 730 workers, and another 70
salaried positions. Not 1,110 union jobs,
730. The President elect somehow in-
cluded 350 Research and Development
positions that were never slated to be
shipped out to Mexico. Another Carrier
plant in Indiana will still be closed com-
pletely... its 700+ jobs moved to Mexico.
The 553 people working on the Fan coil
assembly line at the factory visited by
Trump will still lose their jobs. And Car-
rier still plans on closing that factory in
the future.
Ken Murphy
Vernonia
To The Editor,
On behalf of Beit Shalom Torah
Fellowship, I would like to take this op-
portunity to thank all those who helped
make our Hanukkah celebration a very
special day. Nearly seventy people
passed through the doors of the Grange
Hall during the six-hour event. There
was much song, laughter, food and fel-
lowship. We highly recommend the Ver-
nonia Grange as a great venue for a large
gathering!
One question that came up often
during the day was, “What are a bunch of
Christians doing celebrating Hanukkah?
Isn’t that a ‘Jewish’ thing?” The answer
is, “Yes, Hanukkah is a traditional Jew-
ish holiday. It is not one of the seven
Biblical commanded feast days, or cel-
ebrations.” The word Hanukkah means
“dedication.” After the sound defeat of
the whole Seleucid (Greek) army back
in 165 BCE by the greatly outnumbered
Judean army, the Jews took back Jerusa-
lem and began the task of cleaning out
the temple, which had been used by the
Greeks to worship their god, Zeus. Pigs
had even been sacrifi ced on the holy al-
tar. Once the temple had been cleaned
out and the old altar torn down and re-
built, the re-dedication process took
eight days; hence, the eight-day com-
memoration today. It just seems fi tting,
especially in these chaotic world times,
to celebrate those who were willing to
fi ght and sacrifi ce all, for their right to
rule themselves, and worship as they
chose. It’s kind of like our county’s
Independence Day celebration on the
fourth of July.
Hanukkah is always celebrated
on the twenty-fi fth day of the Jewish
month, Kislev, which roughly corre-
sponds to the Julian calendar, Novem-
ber-December time frame. The altar was
desecrated on that day, the winter sol-
stice, and it was that date that was cho-
sen to re-dedicate the altar and temple to
YHWH, God of Israel, and all those who
believe in His Messiah.
One other question asked was,
HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Vernonia’s Voice welcomes and requests your thoughts, opinions and ideas. Please include your
name, address and phone number, limit your letters to 300 words or less. Vernonia’s Voice reserves
the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted. We will print letters space
permitting. Deadline is the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. Email: scott@vernoniasvoice.com
or mail to: Letters, PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064.
“Why aren’t you celebrating Christmas,
like other believers?” We do celebrate
the birth of the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus),
but during the celebration of Sukkoth, in
the fall. Prophetically, contextually and
historically, this is the likely time of Ye-
shua’s birth. Emperor Constantine and
his crew, back in 325 CE, were the ones
who decided to include the Messiah’s
birth in the pagan celebration to Zeus,
called Saturnalia, held on the winter sol-
stice, December 25th.
If anyone has any other ques-
tions they would like to ask, please feel
free to contact me at (503) 429-0954. Or
better yet, come join us for Bible study
and potluck on Friday evenings as we
usher in the Sabbath.
Shalom and blessings to all.
Columbia Humane Society
Featured Pet
Cody came to the shelter as a stray. He
is a neutered male Chocolate Lab mix, and
weighs about 72 lbs. He is microchipped
and ready to go to his new forever home.
He has a ton of energy and likes other
dogs. He plays kinda rough so he will need
a strong leader.
Web: www.columbiahumane.org
2084 Oregon Street
St. Helens, OR 97051
Phone: 503-397-4353
Email: animalwelfare@columbiahumane.org
Vernonia Ballet presents Peter
and the Wolf - Friday, January
13, 7:00 pm at the Vernonia
Grange.
No
admission,
donations accepted.
Willy Vlautin, author of Lean on
Pete and The Free will be coming
to the Vernonia Public Library
Tuesday, February 21, 6:30
pm. Vlautin lives in Scappoose,
Oregon and founded the band
Richmond Fontaine.
We would love to have the
friends of our mom,
Susan Spicer Pond
Beit Shalom Torah Fellowship
Eleanor Thompson,
To the Editor,
2016 has been such an exciting
year!
Since our launch in June, The
Miller Scholarship Foundation (TMSF)
has been quite busy. At our Sun-
day Session TMSF BBQ in July, we
raised $1,500 in scholarship funds! Our
sponsors at Chinook Book gave us 400
Chinook books to give to attendees and
our houseless neighbors at this event. If
you missed this freebie, join us again this
summer for another opportunity!
Our Regardless of Roofs event
in September, held at the Lagunitas Com-
munity Room, allowed us to create a gal-
lery of artworks for housed and house-
less artists. We had wonderful speakers
join us for a birthday
celebration for her
100th birthday!
It is being held on
Saturday, January 28, 2017,
in the fellowship hall of Grace
Family Fellowship Church,
957 State Ave., Vernonia, Oregon,
from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
A luncheon will be served as well
as cake, coff ee, and punch.
No presents please.
DeDe Webb, Joyce Weller,
and Jan Bernardi
continued on page 5
Auction Notice
Storage Too
58645 Nehalem Hwy. S.
Vernonia, Oregon 97064
503-429-7867
The Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD
Board of Directors will meet
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at
7:00 pm at the Main Station,
12525 HWY 202, Mist, OR.
Agenda items include but are
not limited to usual order of
business, citizen input, Fire
Chief’s report, fi nancial reports
and any other business needing
to be discussed.
CC13 - 5 X 10 - Ryan Anderson
CC14 - 5 X 10 - R. Clough
Auction will be held
February 8 at Noon
Where do you read the Voice? Show us where you
have traveled. Submit your photo by email to:
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Upcoming
Events
Please call prior
to confi rm the auction
William DeJager
-Board President
Need more room?
See us for the lowest prices GUARANTEED!
Debit/Credit now accepted
5x10 $39
10x10 $69
10x20 $99
RV Storage $149
Outside storage available
Totally fenced and gated
Padlocks available
58605 Nehalem Hwy South • P.O. Box 292
Vernonia, Oregon 97064
(503) 429-7867
10-5 Tue-Sat
12-4 Sun