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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2017)
community february16 5 Three Things to Watch as Tall Wood Buildings Rise in the Northwest 2017 A closer look at opportunities in the burgeoning Cross Lami- nated Timber market By Brent Davies Ecotrust Vice President, Forests and Ecosystem Services Tall wood buildings are on the rise in the Northwest, along with de- mand for cross-laminated timber (CLT), the engineered wood product used to make them. With a foothold in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, the market for CLT is still in its infancy in the Unit- ed States, but is already estimated at $4 billion. Building with wood is nothing new, of course — so why the sudden surge of interest? Let’s take a closer look at CLT and three big reasons to pay at- tention to it. CLT is changing the building industry Against a backdrop of rapidly growing urban populations and a short- age of affordable housing, and in light of the abundance of our region’s forests, in- terest in CLT from Northwest architects is growing. The material has been incor- porated into dozens of low and mid-rise buildings (almost all below 20 stories tall) around the world, including these five buildings that are either in design or construction right here in Oregon: • Lever Architecture’s Albina Yard building • PATH Architecture’s 8-story Carbon 12 building that has broken ground in North Portland • Beneficial State Bank’s new Frame- work building, which is another Lever project and will reach 12 stories • OSU College of Forestry’s new Oregon Forest Science Complex • Springfield’s 4-story parking garage These buildings are increasingly being referred to as “tall wood build- ings” or “mass timber construction.” The Engineered Wood Asso- ciation describes a CLT panel as, “sev- eral layers of kiln-dried lumber boards stacked in alternating directions, bonded with structural adhesives, and pressed to form a solid, straight, rectangular panel. While at the mill, CLT panels are cut to continued on page 17 The Ku Klux Klan and My Grandmother’s House continued from page 3 property ownerships rights to Japanese. This was the high water mark of the Klan in Oregon. As quickly as it rose, it fell. Infighting within the Oregon lead- ership, a sex scandal and fighting over the considerable money the Klan was bringing in – as much as $24,000,000 in 1922 -- helped lead to its demise. Disclo- sures by disaffected members showed the deep commercial nature of the Klan. By the end of the decade, the Klan had deteriorated significantly. The Klan push for what they called a 100% society was hard to maintain. The system of cross- referrals between Klan businesses hit a nerve. Signs advertising businesses as 100% American -- code for Klan -- started coming down. The compulsory Education Act was declared unconstitu- tional and a similar version failed badly in Washington State. Governor Pierce was badly beaten in his re-election. It was as if a big storm had blown through and there was considerable relief it was over. It could not have been easy on Down River Road’s 200 or so residents. The five black children of school age in 1924 were denied access to Vernonia Schools. They went to school in Port- land, boarding mostly with relatives, while Portland’s foremost Civil Rights leader at the time, Beatrice Morrow Can- nady, negotiated on their behalf. While certainly intimidated, the people in the shacks were not passive. They formed their own NAACP Chapter and their kids were able to enter school in their home town in 1925. The Klan was quite active in Vernonia and the local Klavern dis- cussed constructing its own building. The Klan marched in parades and held picnics and the local paper, the Vernonia Eagle, reported extensively on its initia- The Vernonia Transfer Station is open on the 2nd and 4th Saturday from 8am-2pm February 25 March 11 & 25 Dates and times are subject to change due to weather tions. The powerful Tillamook and Asto- head down to play ball at the high school ria Klaverns held large rallies – Astoria field, across the creek from the shacks. claimed 2,000 Klansmen – which moved A couple of kids from the shacks would between Tillamook, Astoria and Verno- play catch or join the pick-up games, but nia one weekend in 1922. The glow I don’t recall if those kids played on one of many burning crosses fell on those of the several official teams in our little shacks. boys league that It’s clear played in Verno- The five black children that Vernonia at nia, Mist, Goble, the time was an Scappoose, of school age in 1924 explosion wait- Clatskanie, and were denied access to ing to happen. St. Helens. Vernonia Schools. They It’s thrown to- When we lived gether popula- went to school in Portland, there, in 1954, tion, not only the mill was in boarding mostly with contained fairly the process of large communi- being cannibal- relatives... ties of Blacks, ized in a series of Filipinos and Japanese, but also many mergers and purchases and finally closed immigrants. A big crowd of Klansmen in 1957. It had created 2.5 billion board in town and the little Down River Road feet of lumber and cut nearly all the old community never did clash, though growth fir in the area. The last load of doubtless there were humiliations and lumber sent out from the mill contained near misses. Perhaps the O and A com- a message on butcher paper tacked to the pany was a steady hand in town, not logs: wanting race or religion to complicate “Last Load” the business of making, transporting and “Oregon American from 1922-1957.” selling the lumber from those mighty “Ain’t No More!!” Douglas firs. As a college student in 1964 In the summer of 1954, we’d I was driving from Eugene to Cannon moved in with my grandmother during a Beach to meet friends. Passing by the tough time. My brother and I slept on a Banks cutoff, I made a snap decision to big featherbed our parents had rigged up drive to Vernonia over the 15 mile road in the garage. We’d slowly sink down until little but noses and toes peaked out of the mattress and those were quickly topped with a big comforter. We’d walk down the hill, past a very aggressive German shepherd, to ARRESTS / REPORTS TAKEN the berry bus that would carry us out to • February 1, 2017 Report of a Stolen Banks and its strawberry and blackcap Vehicle near North Mist Dr. fields, stopping at the Banks Dairy Queen • February 6, 2017 Report of outside on the way back to spend most of the Agency Assist near Nehalem HWY North two or three dollars we made. Dropped • February 6, 2017 Report of Disorderly off in the early afternoon, we’d then Conduct II near Madison and Maple St. • February 6, 2017 Report of Stolen Vehicle Recovered near Spencer Ave. and East Alabama Ave. • February 9, 2017 Report of a Stolen Vernonia City Council Vehicle near Louisiana Ave. Meetings and Closures • February 9, 201 Report of Unlawful Entry of a Motor Vehicle near Knott St. • February 11, 2017 Arrest for Disorderly City Council Meetings Conduct II and Harassment near Bridge are scheduled for 7:00 pm: St. Tuesday, February 21, 2017 • February 12, 2017 Arrested on a Monday, March 6, 2017 Warrant near California Ave. • February 12, 2017 Report of an City Closures Abandoned Vehicle near East Ave. and are scheduled for: North St. Monday, February 20, 2017 • February 13, 2017 Report of a non-injury Presidents’ Day Holiday Motor Vehicle Crash near Bridge St. and Texas Ave. where, years earlier, I would hold my breath and wonder if my Dad would pull over, stop the car and invite me to drive the rest of the way, my Mom not approv- ing. After a disappointing stop at my grandma’s house – the strawberry field had a house on it – I drove down to the High School and walked down to the baseball field across from the shacks at what I know now as Down River Road. It was known as Anderson Park Road after the RV Park the city developed once a successor company to O and A deeded the land to the city of Vernonia. There was nothing there. I hopped the creek and inspected the bushes and fill. I could find no artifacts, none. No pieces of plumbing or door knobs, a spoon or a clothes hanger. There was nothing there to show that people once lived there, strangers in their own town. Somehow defeated, I drove on to the coast through the next generations of Douglas fir. This article was originally published on September 26, 2013 in Bob Royer’s blog The Cascadia Courier, and is reprinted with permission. Bob Royer is a native Oregonian who adopted the state of Washington in 1965. He lives in Seattle with his wife Barbara. Police Blotter • February 1-13, 2017 Dates and times subject to change CITATIONS / OTHER • February 2, 2017 Cited for Driving While Suspended and Driving Uninsured near Bridge St. and Washington Ave. • February 4, 2017 Cited for Violation of the Posted Speed near North Mist Dr. and Grove St. • February 8, 2017 Cited for Expired Registration near Rose Ave. and Cougar St. • February 9, 2017 Cited for Driving While Suspended and Uninsured near East Alabama Ave. and Riverside Dr. • February 10, 2017 Cited for Driving While Suspended and Uninsured near Bridge St. and Jefferson Ave. • February 10, 2017 Cited for Driving While Suspended/Careless/and Uninsured near Nehalem HWY South. • February 11, 2017 Cited for No Insurance near North Mist Dr. and Douglas St. • February 12, 2017 Cited for Driving While Suspended near Bridge St. and California Ave. Vernonia Police Department responds to calls that do not always end in Arrest, Report, or Citation. 02/01/2017 through 02/13/2017 VPD had 178 calls for service.
