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