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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2017)
city news january5 2017 5 Vernonia City News... At the January 3, 2017 City Council Meeting: New Mayor and Councilors Sworn In – New Mayor Mario Leonetti, along with newly elected City Councilors Bruce McNair and Susan Wagner all took the Oath of Office. McNair Named Council President – Bruce McNair was elected by the Council to be the Council President and will serve as the head of the Council if the Mayor is unable to serve. Council Liaisons – Councilor Susan Wagner will be the City Council Liaison to the Senior Center, and Mayor Mario Leonetti will be the liaison to the Library Committee. Council Approves Extended Park Stay – Council approved a request from Joanne Magill to allow her family to stay in Anderson Park until the end of the school year. Magill told the Council her family sold their home in Vernonia and have been unable to find a new home to purchase. They are currently living in a trailer in Anderson Park and requested staying until the end of the school year so her son can graduate from Vernonia High School. City Administrator Josette Mitchell told the Council the only exception the City has been making to the seven day stay rule is for workers who can provide a letter from their employer stating they are working long- term in the area, and to families with students registered in the school district. Council Approves Two Parks Committee Requests – Council approved a request from the Parks Committee to move forward with plans to contract with a professional firm to treat and eliminate the lily pads at the lake. The City has received a bid of $4,205.50 from Aqua Technex that includes three treatments to control the spread of the lily pads. Council also approved a request from the Parks Committee to name the picnic shelter that will be constructed Vernonia Police Blotter • December 12-31, 2016 REPORTS TAKEN • December 12, 2016 Report of a Motor Vehicle Crash on HWY 47 South • December 13, 2016 Report of a Motor Vehicle Crash near Bridge St. and Adams Ave. • December 16, 2016 Report of a Hit and Run near North Mist Dr. • December 17, 2016 Arrest on a Warrant near Bridge St. • December 20, 2016 Arrest for Criminal Mischief II near East Bridge St. • December 20, 2016 Report of Burglary near North Mist Dr. • December 24, 2016 Arrest on two Warrants near Rose Ave. • December 24, 2016 Report of a Hit and Run near Bridge St. • December 26, 2016 Report of Unauthorized Entry of a Motor Vehicle, Theft near Rose Ave. • December 27, 2016 Report of a Motor Vehicle Accident near A St. • December 27, 2016 Report of a Motor Vehicle Accident on Nehalem HWY South mile post 68 for Expired Tags near Bridge St. and East Ave. • December 19, 2016 Cited for Driving While Suspended near Rose Ave. • December 20, 2016 Cited for Driving While Suspended near Adams Ave. and Bridge St. • December 26, 2016 Cited for Driving While Suspended near Bridge St. and East Ave. CITATIONS/OTHER • December 12, 2016 Cited for Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device and No Valid Drivers License near Rose Ave. and Bridge St. • December 13, 2016 Cited Vernonia Police Department responds to calls that do not always end in Arrest, Report, or Citation. 12/12/2016 through 12/31/2016 VPD had 173 calls for service. Readers Lend Their Voices... continued from page 4 from Hazelnut Grove and Village Co- alition talk about community solutions to houselessness. Thanks to sponsor- ship by collage, we were able to provide art supplies to 6 houseless artists, whom collectively made over $1,600 selling their art at the event. In addition, we raised $2,200 for our scholarship fund! This December, we partnered with many wonderful grassroots or- ganizations in the Portland Houseless Support Coalition to host an Emergen- cy Resource Drive for the houseless. We collected blankets, tents, clothes and other resources from the commu- nity. We pulled in 3 times more dona- tions than expected, to be delivered to the houseless by our wonderful friends at Rose City Backpacks of Hope, Boots on the Ground, and others! In addition to funds raised at these events, combined with contributions from individual donors like you, TMSF is excited to announce that we will be giving out $7,000 in scholarship funds this winter. We are honored to partner with Portland State University to award scholarships to their houseless students. We will be announcing our winners on January 15. Stay tuned! Thank you to our volunteers, supporters, donors, and partners for making this all happen! 2017, here we come! If you’re feeling givey donate to TMSF if you haven’t already! Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for making this beautiful project a reality. Much Love and Happy New Year. Kathryn Stevens Executive Director The Millers Scholarship Foundation PO Box 14396 Portland, OR 97293 (503) 333-1347 bethemillers.org at Spencer Park this spring after former resident Terry Schaumburg. The “Terry Schaumburg Memorial Shelter” will be constructed from timbers salvaged from the Washington Grade School and will use volunteer labor. Schaumburg passed away in 2014 and was known as a citizen with a big heart who often volunteered in the community. Council Approves Bond Services – Council approved a recommendation from staff to contract with Hawkins, Delafield and Wood, LLP to provide Arbitrage Rebate and Yield Compliance Services. City Administrator Josette Mitchell explained that the City has captured a low interest rate on the $5.5 million bond for the Wastewater Treatment Project, and because of that low rate, there exists the possibility that the City could actually make money on the difference between their locked-in rate and the actual rate during the life of the bond, which is not allowed by the federal government. The contracted service will cost $1,250 annually and will monitor and help maintain the City’s yield restriction compliance. Council approved staff’s recommendation by a 4-1 vote, with Councilor Bruce McNair from the editor Appreciate the Good Things – While 2016 may have often felt like “The Worst Year Ever!” it obviously wasn’t. Most of you reading this right now have things pretty good. Some of you may be going through some serious life challenge or difficult times, and I in no way want to diminish that. But really, we live in a pretty amazing time, with many modern conveniences that make communication, travel, work, and life pretty comfortable. We should all take a moment and consider the things we have before we complain. And while you’re at it, take a moment to appreciate the people in your life that make it enjoyable and add value to it, whether it’s those close to you, or those who provide entertainment, because if we didn’t learn anything else in 2016, it is certainly that anyone can be taken away very quickly. Enjoy what you have while you have it. Greg Lake, guitarist, bass player and vocalist for several great rock acts from the 60s to the 90s, including King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Asia, passed away on December 7th of this past year. He wrote a poignant Christmas song in 1975, “I Believe in Father Christmas” that is The Vernonia Transfer Station is open on the 2nd and 4th Saturday from 8am-2pm January 14 & 28 February 11 & 25 voting no. Council Approves Cemetery Access Restrictions – Council gave approval by consensus to a request from Councilor Bruce McNair to lock the cemetery at night in an attempt to limit damage to the corners of the road. The City has a plan to install bollards at the corners, but is still waiting for parts, and drivers have been cutting the corners too closely. The City will also install temporary barriers to better delineate the corners and keep vehicles off grave sites near the road. Council Receives Calendar for Up- coming Year – Council received a schedule from City Recorder Stepha- nie Borst for the upcoming year, with the dates of all their meetings and City Hall closures. City Hall will be closed on Monday, January 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Day; the next City Council meeting will be held on Tues- day, January 17. Rose Avenue Project Selects Architect – City Administrator Josette Mitchell told the Council that Scott Edwards Architecture has been chosen to design the new Senior Center/Food Bank. continued from page 3 played on the radio every year during the holiday season. I finally listened to the lyrics closely for the first time this year following his passing and found the song has lost none of its significance. He wrote and sang: They said there’ll be snow at Christmas They said there’ll be peace on earth But instead it just kept on raining A veil of tears for the virgin birth I wish you a hopeful Christmas I wish you a brave new year All anguish, pain and sadness Leave your heart and let your road be clear They said there’ll be snow at Christmas They said there’ll be peace on earth Hallelujah, Noel be it heaven or hell The Christmas we get we deserve I wish you all a brave new year. Let’s make it the year we deserve. Scott Laird Editor and Publisher Vernonia City Council Meetings and Closures City Council Meetings are scheduled for 7:00 pm: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 Monday, February 6, 2017 City Closures are scheduled for: Monday, January 16, 2017 Martin Lurther King Jr. Holiday Dates and times subject to change Dates and times are subject to change due to weather
