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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2017)
december21 2017 www.vernoniasvoice.com reflecting the spirit of our community Vernonia, Ten Years After the Flood: Part 2 – The Recovery Ten years after the December 3, 2007 flood, we take a look at what Vernonia has done to recover By Scott Laird free VERNONIA’S volume11 issue24 meetings were held and the community discussed the future of the school district and school buildings. The Vernonia City Council and Planning Commission met and discussed the financial implications for the City, important infrastructure re- pair, mitigation planning, and economic recovery efforts. Columbia County Flood Relief, a newly formed organi- zation under Community Action Team, Rock Creek and the Nehalem River were isolated incidents, or 100 year floods, was being dispelled. Inten- sive logging and forest management practices within the Upper Nehalem Valley was thought to be a factor in the “flash flood” conditions that hit on December 3. The possibility of mov- ing homes and the schools out of the flood zone and allowing the free flow The flood waters that inundated Vernonia homes, businesses, and much of the community on December 3, 2007, quickly subsided, but left in their wake a community with a lot of work and plenty of questions about how to move forward with our re- covery. Ten years later, as the City gets ready to break ground on the new Senior Center/Vernonia Cares Food Bank facility in the spring of 2018, the community is in the final stages of that long recovery process that saw heroic efforts in fundraising, demolitions, new construc- tion, and a lot of waiting. Many Vernonia resi- The ribbon cutting ceremony at the August 2012 opening of the new Vernonia Schools dents and community groups campus featured (right-left) County Commissioner Tony Hyde, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, State Senator Betsy Johnson, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Representative Suzanne initially stepped forward to help Bonamici, and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski. their neighbors, and outside vol- unteers and donations poured into the established a permanent headquarters at of more water through the community community. The Cedar Ridge Confer- the Vernonia Community Learning Cen- in case of another high water event, ence Center served as an Emergency ter and began assisting the 650 Vernonia also took hold. Creating wetlands and shelter for three weeks following the residents who registered with them to “natural valley storage” to improve the flood, housing and feeding displaced res- navigate the “victims assistance” pro- ability to catch, hold, and slowly release idents. The Vernonia Lions Club helped cess and repair their homes and busi- heavy rain and snow melt was also dis- out in many ways, bringing in supplies, nesses. Community services that were cussed. providing legal and accounting services, directly affected by the flood - like West Making Progress and helping find unused motor homes Oregon Electric Cooperative (WOEC), In February volunteers from and trailers that could be used as tempo- the Vernonia Health Center, the Verno- Christian Aid Ministries, an Amish and rary homes. Vernonia Cares was cleaned nia Senior Center, and Vernonia Cares - Mennonite service organization, arrived out and reopened, providing emergency began to consider how they would deal in Vernonia and spent 6,000 hours over food and supplies. with protecting themselves against fu- two months sharing their construction Big Decisions ture floods. and administrative skills to help approx- Once initial needs were met, Future floods were on the minds imately 40 families repair their damaged like emergency food and shelter for of most of the community as they con- homes. They returned one year later and those displaced, government leaders sidered long-range recovery options. spent another month helping the Verno- had to come together and start planning After experiencing two floods within nia community. In April a group of 11 the long-term recovery process. Public 11 years, the idea that flooding along young AmeriCorp volunteers arrived Highlights from the Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia on page 22-23 and spent five weeks working in the community; a second team of Ameri- Corp volunteers followed the first group and stayed for six weeks. In March FEMA placed 21 man- ufactured homes in Vernonia on an emp- ty lot on Weed Avenue (where the new WOEC headquarters is now located) and provided local housing for residents who were unable to occupy their homes. That temporary housing village would remain in place for 18 months as homeowners waited for funds to repair or buyout their homes. Elementary School students were able to reoccupy Washington continued on page 9 Special Election Held Tuesday, January 23, 2018 inside 7 the good ol’ days 16 vhs winter sports report 22 spirit of christmas highlights Drop sites and Public Certification Test Announced A state wide Special Election will be held January 23, 2018 for all of Columbia County. Approximately 37,000 registered voters will receive a ballot. The sole content of the election will be State Measure 101, a referen- dum ordered to ballot by petition of the people. Election details can be found on Oregon Secretary of State’s website www.oregonvotes.gov and navigating to the Current Election webpage. Ad- ditional information can be found on the Elections department page of www. co.columbia.or.us. A statewide voter’s pamphlet will be produced by the Sec- retary of State’s office and mailed to all households between December 27 and 29. The main mailing of ballots for Columbia County will be between Wednesday, January 3 and January 5. Overseas and out-of-state ballots will be mailed at an earlier date. Verify registration/absentee voting - Voters can review and update their reg- istration information at www.oregon- votes.gov by clicking the “My Vote” tab. Returning voted ballots - Ballots must be received by the county clerk no later than 8:00 pm on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 - postmarks do not count. The United States Postal Service has stated that ballots could take up to 5-7 days to reach county elections offices once they are put in the mail. It is advised that if you can not put your ballot in the mail before January 18, you should plan on return- ing your ballot to a drop site. Further consideration should take into account possible inclement weather conditions that could hamper your ability to travel to a drop site on Election Day. Please be safe and plan ahead. Drop sites for the election will be as follows: • Columbia County Courthouse Elections Department 230 Strand St, St. Helens 24-Hour Drive-up Drop Box Lower parking lot • Clatskanie Library 11 Lillich St • Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD 12525 Oregon Highway 202 • Rainier City Hall 106 B St West • Vernonia Public Library 701 Weed Ave • Scappoose City Hall 24-Hour Drop Box 33568 E. Columbia Ave Public Certification Test - The Pub- lic Certification Test of the counting equipment for the Special Election will be held on Tuesday, January 16, 2018. The testing will begin at 10:00 am in the County Elections Department. The public is welcome to attend.
