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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2017)
september7 2017 free VERNONIA’S volume11 issue17 reflecting the spirit of our community www.vernoniasvoice.com Vernonia Youths Hailed as Bonamici Visits Vernonia Heroes for Rescuing Friend to Discuss and View Projects Two young men are being hailed as heroes after they saved their friend from drowning after he suffered a seizure and fell into Rock Creek. Mekhi Williams and Daniel Smith, both aged 17, were swim- ming in Rock Creek on August 25, 2017 with their friend Seth Schultz, also 17, who was climbing in a tree above the creek. Shultz suffered a with the Vernonia Rural Fire Protec- tion District (VRFPD). Daniel says he is not certified in CPR, but says he knew what to do. Williams says after they started CPR, he headed out to the road to help first responders find them, and he saw Loren Loomis, a Lieutenant with VRFPD who lives near the creek. Loomis quickly ran to assist the young men. Senior Center/Food Bank and Wastewater projects are recipients of federal funds U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici visited Vernonia on August 23 to meet with City leaders and discuss the Se- nior Center/Food Bank project, and to tour the almost completed Wastewater Treat- ment Upgrade Project. Both projects have been the recipi- U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici met with local leaders of the Vernonia Senior Center and Vernonia Cares to discuss their new joint facility. Pictured left to right: Bonamici, Jack Harvey, Randal Harvey, two Bonamici staff members, Sandy Welch, Tobie Finzel and Vernonia City Administator Josette Mitchell. Mekhi Williams (l) and Daniel Smith (r) pulled their friend Seth Schultz (c) from Rock Creek and performed CPR after he suffered a seizure. seizure and fell into the water. “We didn’t realize he had a seizure and then when he didn’t come to the surface, I jumped in,” said Williams during an interview following the incident. “I looked for him and he was down on the bot- tom.” Williams says the water is about six feet deep in that area. Williams and Smith pulled Schultz to the surface and then onto a nearby log. While another friend called 9-1-1 for help, Smith began performing CPR on Schultz, who was initially unresponsive. Smith’s mother is Trish Smith, a local EMT, and his father is Jason, a local volunteer firefighter inside 8 old grads picnic 9 where do you read the voice? 13 an electric car? When the ambulance ar- rived, Schultz, who had become re- sponsive thanks to the quick work of his friends, was transported to the hospital and then released a few hours later. The three young men, who will all be seniors in high school this coming school year, say they have been friends since elementary school - Smith and Schultz since preschool. The friends are glad they were able to be there and help each other and can even joke a bit about their experience after the fact. “We all need to have a friend who knows CPR,” said Schultz, when asked to comment about his experience. “And a skinny one that can swim like a fish and run really fast.” Cares Food Bank at the Vernonia City Hall to discuss the project’s progress and listen to concerns and road blocks in the process. Included in the discussion were Vernonia Cares Director Sandy Welch, Senior Cen- ter President Jack Harvey, Randal Harvey, and Tobie Finzel, along with Vernonia City Administrator Josette Mitchell. The group discussed the design of the shared facility, funding for the project, ongoing funding and business planning for both operations, ent of federal funds. The Senior Center/ Food Bank project, through an application submitted by the City of Vernonia, was awarded $2 million in Community Devel- opment Block Grant (CDBG) funding in 2016. The Wastewater Treatment Upgrade Project received interim financing of $2.8 million from the DEQ Clean Water SRF Program while the main funding for the project came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development who provided a loan of $5.6 million and a $2.2 million grant. “It’s helpful for me when I’m ad- vocating for funding in Washington to say, ‘These are the kind of projects that make such a difference in these rural communi- ties,’” said Bonamici. During her Vernonia visit Bonamici met with local volunteers and leaders in- volved with the Senior Center and Vernonia delays in breaking ground due to extensive mandatory reviews by CDBG staff, and government imposed restrictions on the use of the facility. “I’m a big supporter of the CDBG program and am obviously concerned that CDBG is eliminated in President Trump’s proposed budget,” said Bonamici. She not- ed that there is a counter budget proposal in Congress that cuts some CDBG funding but still retains the program. “I have called for a modest increase in CDBG funding, be- cause I see projects like this and see what a difference it makes to our local communi- ties. I know Vernonia would not be able to find this funding on their own.” Bonamici went on to say she believed there is bipar- tisan support for some continuing CDBG funding, along with programs like Meals on Wheels which she said the President has continued on page 7 PCC Going Out for Bond Measure in November Bond would support programs leading to high demand careers, workforce training and safety Portland is growing fast — and in order to meet the changing needs of its workforce, the city’s largest college is in need of upgrades. In some cases, it’s a matter of modernizing equipment and technolo- gy. In others, facility overhaul has been determined as the most efficient and economical method of delivering long term, high quality instruction to support student success and best serve the com- munity at large. To accomplish this, PCC’s Board of Directors has voted in fa- vor of placing a bond measure on the November 7, 2017 ballot for consid- eration by voters within the college’s 1,500-square-mile district. If passed, the bond would im- prove workforce training programs to align with current and future industry needs, and better the chance students can secure higher paying positions. “The college has a two-pronged responsibility: to its students and to Portland metro area voters who have so generously supported PCC in the past,” said Kali Thorne Ladd, chair of PCC’s Board of Directors. “Approval of the bond measure by voters would enable PCC’s ongoing protection of the community’s invest- ment in PCC and the college’s current assets. Furthermore, the college would be positioned to advance delivery of top quality instruction so that diverse stu- dents receive the training and prepara- tion needed to jumpstart their careers or further their education,” she said. If passed, the PCC bond mea- sure is estimated to maintain the tax rate of 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed prop- erty value, for 16 years, with the total principal amount of the bonds autho- rized not to exceed $185 million. For a home assessed at $200,000, the annual cost of the bond to a homeowner is es- timated to be $80 per year, or $6.66 per month. Funds from the bond measure would go toward projects expected to: • Improve workforce training programs to align with current and future industry needs, and better the chance students can secure higher paying positions — necessary in a metro area whose cost of continued on page 11
