welcome/opinion
june1
2017
3
from the editor
On Saturday, May 20
the sun shined on Vernonia
and you could feel the mood
in the community lift.
The downtown busi-
ness district was hopping
with pedestrians and activ-
ity. There was the Pet Fair
at Creatures Pet Shop that
sprawled across both sides of
the main drag and featured a
sidewalk parade up and down
Bridge Street. The Open
Air Market kicked off their
season on Adams Avenue.
The warm weather coaxed
the usual bicyclists out onto
the Banks-Vernonia and CZ
Trails, and motorcyclists
lined the streets with their
bikes.
It was even a nice
day to say goodbye to an old
friend as mourners gathered
to pay their respects to long
time resident Kermit Fisher.
The change in weath-
er and mood made it feel
like a heavy weight had been
lifted off the shoulders of the
community, and in effect it
had.
The passage of the
School Bond, and the support
shown by the community with
their overwhelming yes vote
just four days prior to that
beautiful Saturday, offered
many Vernonians the oppor-
tunity to breathe just a little
bit easier. School administra-
tors, teachers and staff now
know that an extremely tight
budget will loosen just a bit,
and that needed repairs and
upgrades will now move for-
ward. Business owners and
employers could also breathe
a deep sigh of relief, know-
ing that the school district,
the community’s largest em-
ployer, will now have at least
some of the resources they
need to better educate our
youngest citizens. The pas-
sage of the bond offers the
District a renewed lease on
life, and that sense of re-
newal was palpable on that
sunny day.
A big thank you to
Bond Committee Chairper-
son Sharon Bernal, the rest
of the Vernonia Schools
Bond Committee, and the
student and staff volunteers,
who worked tirelessly to
share the District’s story
and need, and helped get
out the vote for the school
and the community. It was
once again a great day to be
a Logger and a citizen of
Vernonia.
Take a stroll or drive through downtown Vernonia and
you may notice something has changed this year. The trees
that lined Bridge Street, providing shade and scenic beauty, as
well as some much needed color, are gone. In their place are
stumps, weeds, and empty spots in the sidewalk.
The City Council voted to remove all the trees in
the downtown corridor last fall and City staff carried out
their wishes. While I understand the City Council’s decision
making process, I certainly don’t agree with the end result.
Now that spring has fully arrived and the days are
starting to heat up, those missing trees are really... well...
missed. The downtown, with all the pavement and sidewalks,
looks and feels stark and barren. Everything local businesses
have done to enhance the downtown – painting their buildings,
decorating their windows, and landscaping their properties –
can’t cover up the missing element those trees that lined the
streets provided.
If you didn’t notice the trees were there before, you
might not know they are missing, or be able to put a finger on
what is absent in downtown Vernonia this spring. But those
who were familiar with Vernonia’s downtown and remember
the trees, sure miss the foliage, shade and beauty; I have heard
from numerous citizens about their displeasure at the current
downtown streetscape, minus the trees.
Contributors
Stacey Lynn
Aaron Miller
Shannon Romtvedt
Representative Brad Witt
Scott Laird
Editor and Publisher
Photography
Scott Laird
An Opinion: Bring Back the Trees
By Scott Laird
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
The City has been wrestling with what to do with
the trees in downtown for several years. The trees had
grown larger than was anticipated when they were originally
planted and some business owners complained that the trees
blocked their signage. The root systems were damaging
sidewalks and had the potential to cause harm to water, sewer
and gas lines under those sidewalks. They also required
significant maintenance each year. All of those concerns
led the Council to decide to remove the trees and wait to
see the impact of their removal and the response from the
community while they considered three options: replace the
trees with an appropriate species, replace the trees with some
type of container or planter, or leave the downtown corridor
barren of streetscape trees.
While I understand that the City staff has been
extremely busy getting the City ready for summer, and
have several large projects on their plate, including the new
Senior Center/Food Bank and upgrades at Spencer Park, the
downtown tree replacement plan should remain a priority
and be addressed.
Now is the time for the community to respond. If
you don’t like the way our town looks and feels without trees
in the downtown corridor, speak up and share it with the City
Council and the City staff. They need to hear from their
citizens.
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Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com
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Street
call Kim
VRFPD Warns Against Scam
There is a current scam that
involves a caller claiming to be with a
company called “Safe Communities”
that is contacting businesses and
residents of Vernonia, soliciting for
donations.
They claim to represent the
“Vernonia Fire Department” when they
ask you to donate money through a
Paypal account.
They will send you an invoice
associated with a Paypal account.
There will be a red emblem with “Safe
Communities” written under it.
The email will show coming
from: “service@paypal.com.
This is a scam!
The Vernonia Rural Fire
Protection District (VRFPD) will not
contact anyone by phone, email, text
FULL
SPORTS
PACKAGE!
Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7
message, snail mail, or any other form
of communication asking for donations.
If you receive any form of
communication asking for a donation
in the name of the Vernonia Fire
Department, or the VRFPD or if you
believe that you are a victim of this
scam or one similar to this, please report
this to the Vernonia Police Department.
(503) 429-7335
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Sat, June 3
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Sun - Thurs 11 AM - Midnight •
733 Bridge St, Vernonia
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every Thursday 6pm-close
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503-429-5841