august3 2017
VERNONIA’S
volume11 issue15
www.vernoniasvoice.com
reflecting the spirit of our community
Hampton Lumber Mill
in Banks Opens Doors for Tour
The Banks Mill has
re-opened under new ownership
By Scott Laird
The Banks Mill has been re-opened
under the new owner-
ship of Hampton Lum-
ber and is once again
operating, providing lo-
cal jobs, and contribut-
ing to the community.
On
Friday,
July 21, 2017 Hampton
Lumber opened the mill
to a select group of visi-
tors for a tour of their
facility and let visitors
see just how lumber is
processed and turned
from raw logs into neat-
ly stacked two-by-fours
and other dimensional
lumber.
Included in the group of visitors was
U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici,
along with several Washington County Com-
missioners.
Banks Mayor Pete Edison warmly
welcomed the visitors, along with the several
Hampton Lumber executives who were
on hand, including Hampton CEO Steve
Zika and Hampton Lumber owner David
Hampton.
Hampton Lumber is a third genera-
tion family-owned company that owns nine
sawmills in Oregon, Washington and British
Columbia, Canada.
“Coming into these small, rural
communities, we can make a big impact,”
said David Hampton.
“Our corporate
responsibility is really important to us, and
so we try to do these things and do them well.
That’s what we’re about—trying to give
people good paying jobs.”
CEO Zika told the visitors that the
Banks Mill was purchased in August 201,
inside
free
and, following a multi-million dollar retrofit
and upgrade, reopened in the early spring of
2017. Zika said the Mill currently employees
over 50 people working on one shift a day
producing 2x4s and 2x6s for framing lumber
in lengths from six to 20 feet. The Banks
State Legislature Ends
Session with Big Progress
on Health Care Issues
Legislature passes
numerous bills to safeguard
coverage for all Oregonians
By Scott Laird
Mill strictly processes Douglas fir and has
the capacity to produce 72 million board feet
annually.
“Congratulations to Banks and
to Hampton Lumber on the reopening of
the mill,” said Congresswoman Suzanne
Bonamici in her remarks prior to the tour
which was led by Banks Mill Manager
Dave Kyser. “Timber is part of Oregon’s
history and our future, and wood products
manufacturing plays an important role in
rural communities. I’m working to make
sure we’re preparing our workforce for good
jobs so that everyone has the opportunity
to succeed, regardless of where they live.
Part of the solution is strengthening career
and technical education in high school and
college. I’m proud that the House recently
passed a bill to increase funding for career
and technical education, support innovation,
and better align programs with industry
needs.”
continued on page 7
The Oregon Legislature
ended its session last month after
making great progress on numerous
health care issues that are important
to their citizens.
Both the State House and
Senate worked, often across party
lines, to protect current health care
regulations at the state level, while
also introducing new legislation to
help Oregonians.
“There are a couple of
these bills that are very, very
complicated,” said Oregon State
Senator Betsy Johnson (D - District
16) in a recent interview with
Vernonia’s Voice.
“With what is happening at
the federal level in regards to health
care, there were a lot of concerns
about any changes and how they
would affect Oregonians,” said
Vernonia resident Heather Lewis,
who serves on The Public Health
Foundation of Columbia County
Board of Directors, as well as
the Governor’s Rural Health
Coordinating Council. Lewis is a
massage therapist with a practice
in Vernonia.
“There was a lot of concern
throughout the health care field
about what would happen if the
Medicaid expansion went away
at the federal level,” said Lewis.
“The passage of several of these
bills really showed that health care
is an important issue to our state
legislators. It showed that they
are following what is happening at
the federal level and doing their
best to make sure safeguards are
in place, so that if things change
Oregonians will still have access to
health care.”
The Oregon Legislature
entertained at least 74 separate
bills and amendments concerning
different health care issues, many
of them pertaining specifically
to rural health care concerns,
according to the Lobby Oregon
2017 End-of Session Report Card
that was prepared for the Oregon
Rural Health Association (ORHA).
The ORHA was founded
in 1992 to build a stronger voice
for rural practitioners in Salem.
Today the ORHA is composed
of individuals and organizations
that provide leadership on rural
health issues through advocacy,
communication and education.
While the Legislature
did pass numerous bills, several
bills failed to receive enough
support to become law. Included
in those bills that failed to pass
were several bills that attempted
to address pharmaceuticals and the
skyrocketing costs of prescription
drugs.
Among the bills that did
pass, both Senator Johnson and
Lewis concurred on several that
were significant in protecting
health care for Oregon citizens,
including House Bill (HB) 2391,
HB 3261, Senate Bill (SB) 558,
SB 860, and HB 331.
HB 2391, titled Medicaid
Provider Tax, helped Oregon fill a
huge deficit in their budget for the
upcoming two year fiscal cycle,
estimated to be close to $1.8 billion
continued on page 6
Farmwoman’s Nursery: Homegrown History
Lorna Poetter’s love for her
historic barn and the plants
she sells grows more each day
By Scott Laird
3
bonamici bulletin
9
inside our films
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in memory of...
The big red barn is certainly eye
catching. It’s hard to miss as you head
north out of Vernonia on Highway 47.
It has been there for a long time, built
by one of the original pioneer families
in the Upper Nehalem Valley, and it is
still in beautiful shape, both inside and
out. It stands up straight and tall and
sturdy, thanks to the loving care of its
owner, the Farmwoman.
The Farmwoman is Lorna
Poetter, and the big red barn, with its
metal roof and cupola, is the centerpiece
of her business, the Farmwoman’s
Nursery, located at 2121 North Mist
Drive.
The barn was originally part of
the Malmsten homestead, early settlers
in the Vernonia region.
Poetter has been selling plants
and trees from the site, and tending to
the care of the 117 year old barn, since
2005, although the flood in December
continued on page 8