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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2017)
may4 2017 reflecting the spirit of our community www.vernoniasvoice.com Plans for Dog Park in Vernonia Move Forward Pet Fair at Creatures Pet Shop there is a dog park in town, and others on May 20 will be a fundraiser have voiced that they wish there was The idea for a dog park in Vernonia has been discussed for many years by several different individuals and groups. With restrictions on use of timberland growing stricter each and every year, the need for a place for people to exercise their best friend has been increasing. Now, thanks to a couple of volunteers and the City of Vernonia, it looks like the idea of a formal dog park is starting to take shape. Holly Vaughn, a well-known friend of dogs and their owners in the community, and Michal Smith, owner of Creatures Pet Shop in Vernonia, have joined together to help jump-start plans for a dog park. The upcoming Pet Fair they have organized on May 20, will be a fundraiser for phase I of the dog park, which includes fencing for the perimeter. “Lots of my customers ask where they can take their dog or if inside 3 why i support the bond 8 rutabaga rhythm workshop 9 where in the world? 10 breaking down the walls free VERNONIA’S volume11 issue9 one,” says Smith. “People have been coming to me and writing to me and asking me where they can go, because the gates to timberland were open more in the past and people were able to take their dogs out there and run them in the woods,” says Vaughn. “Now there just aren’t many places left that aren’t private property or restricted. They want to know where they can run and play with their dogs, and possibly play with other dogs.” Vaughn and Smith addressed the Vernonia City Council on March 20 and worked with City Administra- tor Josette Mitchell to identify an appropriate site to locate the Park. After visiting every available location within city limits, they returned to the April 3 City Council meeting to discuss several options and confirmed an empty lot on Ivy Street as their top choice. The lot is controlled and maintained by the City of Vernonia after it was bought out by FEMA following the 2007 flood. The lot has restrictions on the types of development that can occur there. It is an ideal site for a park, and details are being worked out on what the park can contain. While nothing has been finalized at this point, the potential site, located between Ivy Street and Heather Lane, is surrounded by trees, has space for parking, and also has room to expand in the future. Early plans include two sections to the park, one for larger dogs and one for smaller dogs. continued on page 7 Annual Camp 18 Logger’s Memorial Dedication and Logging Exhibition is Saturday, May 13, 2017 Come honor fallen loggers and watch high school forestry teams compete and show their skills You are invited to attend the Annual Camp 18 Logger’s Memorial Dedication and Logging Exhibition and celebrate the logging industry of the past and present. The event will be held on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at the Camp 18 Logging Museum, located at milepost 18 on Highway 26 in Elsie, Oregon and begins at 10:00 am with the Logger’s Memorial Dedication. Following the dedication there will be an auction, with the Logging Exhibition starting at 11:00 am. Admission is free and everyone is welcome, so round up your family, friends and neighbors and enjoy a day of sawdust flying, tree climbing, axe throwing, nail- biting competition and edge of your seat fun! The Logger’s Memorial Dedication will honor the men and women that have had plaques placed in the Logger’s Memorial during the past year. The Camp 18 Logging Museum Board of Directors are making plans for a new building that will house small logging memorabilia and will include a meeting room, small library and storage area. A building fund has been established and all proceeds from the auction will be placed in the building fund. The Logging Exhibition will be loaded with lots of action from high school forestry teams, along with local loggers competing in an assortment of logging skills. In addition, the Museum’s Blacksmith shop will be open. There will be shirts, sweatshirts, hats, license plate holders and other items for sale, along with food and beverages available for purchase throughout the event. Volunteers are needed and donations are greatly appreciated. For more information on team registration and volunteer opportunities, contact Mark Standley at (503) 434-0148 or logsafeinc@ yahoo.com or Darlene Wilcoxen at (503) 728-2050 or darlenew@gmail.com. Where Are They Now: Gloria Sanchez This former exchange student is now a pediatrician in her home country of Chile, but still loves to travel and see the world Gloria Sanchez, a former foreign exchange student at Vernonia High school in 1993-94, recently returned to Verno- nia to visit her host family for the first time. Sanchez spent her exchange year in Vernonia with Dennis and Shann Nelson and their family. On April 30 she visited the Keasey Farm outside Vernonia for a reunion with some of her hosts. Sanchez turned 18 during her year in Vernonia and graduated with the Class of 1994. Now she is a pediatrician in her hometown of Puerto Varas, a small town in southern Chile’s Lake District. She was one of five exchange students in Vernonia that year and says she has remained in touch with her best friend from that year, Nana, an exchange student from Japan. Sanchez says they have seen each other several times over the last 23 years, meeting up in Los Angles once and Sanchez even made a trip to Japan to visit her as well. They have remained best friends. l-r: Edith Nelson, Dennis Nelson, Gloria Sanchez, and Abby Jundt Sanchez says her exchange year is Vernonia changed her in many ways. She says she was a shy girl when she arrived, who chose to become an exchange student mostly because her older brother had been one. “I was not very out- going,” says Sanchez, “so to come here by myself, I had to continued on page 7