Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2017)
May18 2017 www.vernoniasvoice.com reflecting the spirit of our community The Pages Keep Turning at the Vernonia Library Library Director Shannon Romtvedt is working to make the Library a resource for everyone. By Scott Laird Regular readers of Ver- nonia’s Voice may have noticed more content concerning the Ver- nonia Library recently. That’s be- cause Library Director Shannon Romtvedt has been working hard to expand programs and outreach in the community and increase circulation since she was hired in 2015. Since her hiring by the City of Vernonia, Romtvedt, along with staff members Nancy Burch and Brandy Fennel, have had a subtle but significant impact on library use. While the number of active users of the Library has increased only slightly and hov- ers around 1,000, statistics show that visits, circulation, programs offered, and even volunteerism have all risen. That’s because Romtvedt has wholeheartedly embraced the idea of the Library as a community center and a re- source that should be available to everyone. “It’s really important to me that as many people as pos- sible in the community find value in the Library and find a way to use it,” says Romtvedt. “A lot of people who have just moved to Vernonia look for and see the programs we offer and then come to the Library as a way to get con- nected in the community. I love welcoming new people into the community through the Library.” In an address to the inside 3 salem report 7 the good ol’ days 8 a mouse in the house 12 vhs spring sports free VERNONIA’S volume11 issue10 Vernonia City Council in November of 2016, Romtvedt presented data from her annual Library Statistical Report that compared information from 2014- 15 and 2015-16. The data showed that Library visits increased from 18,512 to 20,614 while total circulation of materials increased from 20,372 to 24,710. The data also showed an increase in attendance and the number of programs being offered with the number of children’s programs increasing from 112 to 127 and the number of persons attending children’s programs increased from 944 to 1,979; the number of programs for adults also increased from 25 to 35 while the number of persons attending those programs increased from 137 to 162. But the numbers only tell part of the story. It’s more about the variety of activities and the constant flow of visitors who use the Library for a variety of reasons. Stop by most days and you might find patrons using the computers, home schoolers doing research, young families enjoying a story time, craft project or mov- ie, a book group or writers group meeting, or there may be a special event happening. “My favorite days at the Library are when we have our Writers Group meeting, and we have some families checking out materials, and we have people using the computers... when we have that multi-use of the Li- brary,” says Romtvedt. “It’s hard to balance things sometimes and think about the community as a whole, versus thinking about the smaller portion of people who use the Library daily or weekly. There is some trial and error in- volved in finding things that will draw more people in.” Romtvedt graduated from George Fox University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Writing and Literature in 2005 and then earned a Master’s Degree in Li- brary Science in 2007 from the University of North Texas. She was working in the Washington County Library system in 2010 when she moved to Vernonia with her husband Brady. Since then her family has expanded by two children. As a young mother Romtvedt started volunteering at the Vernonia Library, initiating the Baby and Toddler Time pro- gram, which caters to very young families. “Even before I knew there was going to be a position here in Vernonia I volunteered for the Baby and Toddler Time be- cause I had a baby that age and I wanted to see more of those types of opportunities in the commu- nity,” says Romtvedt. Because she has two young children, as the new Li- brary Director Romtvedt initially focused on growing programs for young children and has continued the regular story time programing Vernonia Voters Approve School Bond Vernonia voters overwhelmingly approved the Vernonia School Bond in the May 16 Special Election. In initial results available on Wednesday morning, Measure 5-265 had received 905 YES votes to 530 NO votes, a 63% to 37% margin. That margin of victory stayed steady throughout the evening as counts were released by the County Elections Department at 8:15 pm at the close of the polls, at 10:15 pm as ballots from the final days were added to the count, and at 12:15 am at the close of counting. Supporters of the Bond, including Bond Committee Chair Sharon Bernal and other Bond Committee members, gathered at the All In Pub to hear the release of the initial numbers and celebrate the victory. The passage of the $6.8 million bond will allow the Vernonia School District to pay off the $4.5 million in debt remaining from the construction of the new school campus. The additional $2.3 million in bond funding will be matched by the state of Oregon through their Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching (OSCIM) grant program and will provide funding for additional classrooms and district maintenance and upgrades. This was the second attempt by the District to pass a bond to pay off the debt and take advantage of the OSCIM funds. Voters rejected the first bond in November of 2016 by a narrow margin. School Board Chair Brett Costley took to social media Tuesday night to thank voters and encourage them to pay attention to, and participate in, the process as the District proceeds. In other election news, Costley, Susan Wagner and Melissa Zavales all were elected to the Vernonia School Board after running unopposed. No candidate filed to run for Position 4, but two people, Del Allen and Stacey Pelster, mounted write-in campaigns; there were 434 write- in votes received for the position, although no results of who received those votes were available at press time. Incumbents Ben Davis and Mike Demeter ran unopposed and were both elected to the Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors. Mike Kaminski narrowly defeated former Chief David Crawford for Position 3 on the Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors, while Rachel Wilcoxen and Barbara Smith were also elected after running unopposed. Crawford was elected as the Columbia 9-1-1 Director from Zone 4 after running unopposed. continued on page 9 Commissioner Tardif Meets with Vernonians New Columbia County Com- missioner Alex Tardif met with Ver- nonia citizens on April 18 at the Blue House Café. The event, called “Dish With Your Commish” was organized by Erika Paleck and featured an informal conversation between citizens and Tardif during an informal family style meal. Tardif fielded questions on a va- riety of county issues that included the possible closure of the county road de- partment building in Vernonia, safety issues on Highway 47, funding for county roads, the Crown-Zellerbach Trail, Columbia County Parks, tour- ism, local economies, the NW Natu- ral gas fields near Mist, spraying of Round-up along highways and on log- ging property near private residences, and better communication from the County Commissioners. Tardif introduced Karen Kane who is the new Public In- formation Officer for Columbia County. He said he has directed his staff to begin drafting legisla- tion to get more funding for road improvements and maintenance. Tardif said they have started a “Green Team” at the County to help move towards be- ing more environmentally friend- ly. Tardif said the gas fields in Mist are used for storage before the gas is sent to Port Westward. When asked if there could be more oversight on the project by the County, Tardif said he would like to work on better commu- nication with neighbors and better trans- parency from NW Natural and, for all county business. He said the County is still trying to find an acceptable route for the CZ Trail to get from Knott Street to Vernonia Lake, including a bridge over the Nehalem River, and also mentioned plans for development of the Chapman continued on page 12
