April20 2017
free
VERNONIA’S
volume11 issue8
www.vernoniasvoice.com
reflecting the spirit of our community
Getting to the Roots of
City to Adjust Water Rates
Ryhthm and American Music:
A Conversation with Joe Seamons
Musician Joe Seamons brings the
Rutabaga Rhythm Workshop to
Vernonia on April 26-27
Joe Seamons should be a famil-
iar name to regular readers of Vernonia’s
Voice. Joe and his music have been the
subject of several articles in this pub-
lication and he and his band, Timber-
bound have performed numerous times
in Vernonia during the last several years,
including appearances at the Vernonia
Friendship Jamboree in 2014 and 2015,
and several concerts and dances at the
Vernonia Grange Hall.
Seamons considers himself a
musical folklorist, archivist, and pres-
ervationist, who has delved deeply into
the roots of Americana music, especially
folk, bluegrass and blues. He is espe-
cially interested in music from the Pa-
cific Northwest, but his musical interests
and influences range far and wide.
In addition to his work with Tim-
berbound, interpreting the local music
of Vernonians Kim and John Cunnick,
Seamons was also recently involved
in a release on Smithsonian Folkways
Records. That album collected record-
ings by various current artists cover-
ing all of Woody Guthrie’s Columbia
River songs, written when Guthrie was
employed by the Bonneville Power Ad-
ministration in 1941. “Roll Columbia”
was the first time all 26 Guthrie songs
were recorded and released together, in
fact several of the songs had never been
previously recorded anywhere. Not
only did Seamons play on several of the
recordings with Timberbound and with
musical partner Ben Hunter, but he was
one of the initiators of the project and in-
strumental (pun intended!) in gathering
the musicians and bringing the project to
fruition.
The Rhapsody Project is anoth-
er venture that Seamons is spearhead-
ing along with Hunter. Through the
Rhapsody Project, Seamons and Hunter
inside
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oregon folklife
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inside movies:
he named me malala
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bustamante
earns scholarship
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vernonia
easter egg hunt
spend several days visiting schools and
communities around the country, work-
ing mostly with young students in work-
shops and public events to promote an
appreciation for roots music and encour-
age inter-generational and inter-cultural
interactions.
Now based in Seattle, Seamons
will visit Vernonia on April 26 and
27 to present the “Rutabaga Rhythm
Workshop,” along with another of his
many musical collaborators, Tina Di-
etz. Seamons and Dietz will visit with
Vernonia and Mist Elementary students,
Vernonia area homeschool students, and
also perform with Timberbound in an
all-ages concert and dance at the Verno-
nia Grange.
Vernonia’s Voice recently caught
up with Joe Seamons by phone to talk
about of his Vernonia visit and some of
his other recent projects. The following
is an excerpt from our conversation.
Vernonia’s Voice: Tell us about the Ru-
tabaga Rhythm Workshop and what you
will be doing during your visit to Ver-
nonia?
Joe Seamons: “This is a new program
for me, even though it is technically
part of the Rhapsody Project, which
we bring all over the country, but
Ben won’t be here. What we’ll really
be exploring is the role of rhythm as
it pertains to lyrics and basically get-
ting kids thinking about the fact that
even when you sing words, you’re
still making rhythms. So, connect-
ing the act of clapping and stomping
to singing, because for some kids
rhythm comes really naturally and
for other people, like me, rhythm is
not your strong suit and you kind of
have to think about it. So, it’s about
listening to that part of yourself that
has rhythm and trusting that. Any-
body who has involuntarily tapped
their foot to music has demonstrated
that they have rhythm. I’m focused
on having some fun with songs that
the kids can stomp and clap along
to, and then also have the kids reflect
continued on page 13
Vernonia residents will see a
small change in their water rates begin-
ning July 1, 2017.
The Vernonia City Council vot-
ed to adjust water rates for city utility
customers at their April 17, 2017 City
Council meeting. The changes are based
on a recommendation from the Utility
Rate Review Committee, made up of
members of the Public Works Commit-
tee and City staff, which is mandated
to meet annually to review city utility
revenues and expenses, and recommend
adjustments to rates as needed.
The changes include an in-
crease to the Base Rate charge, from
24.50 to $29.30 and a $1.25 decrease to
the Consumptive Rate per meter mul-
tiplier from $4.25 per 1,000 gallons to
$3.00 per 1,000 gallons. The Council
also approved a decrease of $2.00 in the
Water Loan rate from $11.50 to $9.50
per meter multiplier.
The effect on ratepayers will
vary depending on water meter size and
amount of water consumed.
According to the staff report
presented to the Council, many cus-
tomers with 3/4” meters (almost all the
city’s residential customers) may see
a small increase in the water portion
of their bill, while customers who use
more water will see a slight decrease.
The biggest impact will be to the City’s
two largest customers who have 4” me-
ters, who will see a significant decrease
in their monthly bill.
“An unfortunate side effect of
using the base plus consumptive rate
structure, along with having a low base
rate and a high consumptive rate, is large
meters and larger water users are being
treated unfairly by subsidizing the ma-
jority of water users in Vernonia,” stated
the staff report. “...most of the increase
is not an increase at all, but rather the
result of the City being more equitable
by having those customers actually pay
their fair share.”
The staff report notes that the
concept behind a base plus consumptive
rate structure is to ensure the mainte-
nance and operation of the water system
through the base rate, regardless of wa-
ter consumption by customers, and cov-
ering water production costs through
the consumption charge.
The City is able to reduce the
Water Loan rate due to the increase in
the number of previously unoccupied
homes being reoccupied, and the in-
crease in the number of new homes
being built. The result has been excess
revenue of approximately $11,000 each
year over the last two years, collected
through the loan rate. The City is re-
quired to maintain a one year loan re-
payment reserve of $120,000, which
they have set aside.
“...an opportunity to decrease
rates for the ratepayers is not going to
come along very often,” states the staff
report. “...we are in a position to lower
the Water Loan rate as a way to begin
refunding the excess revenue, while be-
ing fiscally responsible as an organiza-
tion.”
The Council voted 3-1 to ap-
prove the recommended changes, with
Councilors Mike Seager and Jill Hult,
and Mayor Mario Leonetti all voting
yes, while Councilor Bruce McNair
voted no. Councilor McNair gave no
reason for his no vote.
Why I Support the School Bond
Vernonia’s Voice checked in
with a cross section of Vernonia resi-
dents to find out why they are support-
ing the Vernonia School Bond on the
May 16, 2017 election ballot.
Ernie Smith, Business Owner, Youth
Sports Coach, School Board Member–
I love this community and the schools
are the heart of any community. If you
look at any community that is going
to grow, or if industry is ever going to
move in, the first thing they’re going to
look at is the school system. If someone
is going to move here, they’re going to
look at the school system. The people
that are worried about their taxes going
up, you have to look at the positive
side and their investment is worth a lot
more than it was before. The schools
do nothing but good in our community
and anybody that thinks that it is taking
away is a fool. It’s the heart of our
community and it’s where our kids are
taught to be good citizens and learn how
to survive in life and if we don’t support
them, then who is?
Diana Peach, Local Author – My chil-
dren are all grown and out of school,
but I support the School Bond anyway,
because this isn’t about me, it’s about
the strength of our community and the
opportunities of “our” children. Invest-
ing in our children, our town, and our
futures seems like a great idea. A well-
loved school that has the commitment
of the community is part of what makes
Vernonia a special place to live.
Sharon Bernal, Real Estate Agent,
School Bond Committee Chair – It’s
important for the vitality of our com-
munity. Most people that are going to
be interested in moving to Vernonia are
going to look at the schools first to make
sure that they want to place their chil-
dren there. If we don’t get the schools
loans paid off, we’re going to start los-
ing teachers and aides and then we’re
going to start losing students. There will
be a trickle down effect that impacts our
businesses, property values and every-
thing else. The vitality of a community,
I believe, always begins with the school,
and we need to have a good school. It’s
important that our schools be strong and
healthy.
Tobie Finzel, Community Volunteer,
School Budget Committee Member–
Even though we have no children or
grandchildren in the Vernonia School
continued on page 6