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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2017)
in other words december21 2017 7 The Good Ol ’ Days By Tobie Finzel we have no information. The December 2007 water reached higher than the top of that six foot cellar door. Stories and pictures in the Ver- nonia Eagle newspaper are remarkably similar to those of the more recent floods: all roads into the area were submerged; there were landslides on the roads be- tween Vernonia and Mist, Timber, and Scappoose; the flats near the confluence of Rock Creek and the Nehalem flooded bringing damage to the former schools and school district office, and the for- mer restaurant at Bridge and Washing- ton; and homes on the east side of the Nehalem along Mist Drive in the area previously known as Riverview were flooded. Last spring the Vernonia Library hosted a community conversation on the 2007 flood and asked participants to share the lighter side of this event with a focus on lessons learned and the good works of individuals. Our resident poet, Kala Cota, was unable to attend but sent a poem she had written entitled “Christ- mas in Our Neck of the Woods,” based on “The Night Before Christmas.” With her permission we share a few stanzas: time resident whose family had a farm in the Upper Nehalem Valley between Natal and Pittsburg. Each year from 1906 until 1955, he kept a regular diary of his activities. Although December 2017 has been very dry, one hundred years ago the rains were heavy in November and December. and fanning mill. Rained considerable all day. Flood Memories Thursday, December 20: Pulled Ten years ago this month, Ver- and hauled in turnips all day nonia experienced its second “500 year and got most of them in. Very flood” in eleven years. With the expe- good day. rience gained from the flood of 1996, Friday, December 21: Went citizens and community leaders rallied down to Oak Ranch after the to help save lives and start the long re- Friday, December 14, 1917: cattle 7:15 A.M. and returned covery as soon as the waters receded. Went around by Pittsburg and 12:30 but did not get them. Residents who lived here during either got the mail first thing in the Rained pretty hard all day. or both of those events have many per- morning. Hauled some planks sonal stories to tell of the courage, dedi- Saturday, December 22: Went up the hill and fixed the barn cation and hard, muddy work that helped up to Pittsburg and put in a in afternoon. Rained some the community recover. gate in covered bridge. Very all day. Foot bridge washed The topography of the Upper good most of the day. around. Nehalem Valley produces an ideal situ- Saturday, December 15: Went ation for flooding when sufficient rain or The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located up to Vernonia 9:30 A.M. with rapidly melting snow suddenly increas- at 511 E. Bridge Street and is open from Art in wagon and returned es the river’s volume. The Nehalem 3:30 P.M. Took beans up and 1 to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays (ex- rises in the Coast Range east of Timber thrashed them. Fanned. cluding holidays) all year. From June and nearly doubles its size as it passes Rained considerable all day. through mid-September, the museum through Vernonia and receives the wa- is also open on Fridays from 1 – 4 pm. ters of Rock Creek which also begins in Sunday, December 16: Went There is no charge for admission but do- the same mountains. From its source, over and up Boales Creek after nations are always welcome. Become the river makes a wide circle almost salmon. Also up to Boales a member of the museum for an annual 120 miles long before emptying into the place. Got home 3 P.M. Rained $5 fee to receive the periodic newsletter. Pacific at Nehalem Bay. With the hilly pretty hard all day and the We now have a page on the Vernonia terrain through which both streams pass, river up pretty high. Hands on Art website, www.vernonia- there are few places for excess water to Monday, December 17: handsonart.org If you are a Facebook go but up. Twas the night before Christmas and all through the town Thrashed oats part of user, check out the Vernonia Pioneer Floods have af- Everyone was praying the floodwaters would go down day. Rained awful hard Museum page. The museum volunteers fected this part of the The stockings were hung by the chimney with care all day. Received my are always pleased to enlist additional valley for millennia, but Thank goodness Santa was coming by air. check from Lumbermans volunteers to help hold the museum open they have only been doc- Engineering Co. $32.50. and assist in other ways. Please stop by umented since the area The children were nestled all snug in their beds and let one of the volunteers know of was settled in the 1870s. Whiles the news helicopters flew over head Wednesday, December your interest in helping out. And ma in her raincoat and me in my ball cap 19: Went over in the Pioneer diaries mention Had just jumped in the dingy to take one more lap. sled and got the beans the need to replace foot- bridges, loss of hay stores Sand bags were flying as they were placed in tight stacks in outbuildings, stranded Everyone looked like St. Nick carrying his pack. or drowned farm animals, The sump pumps were in tune, a nice cheery sound and having boats tied at And though things looked bleak, there was nary a frown. continued from page 6 the ready to front porch They all worked together, even laughter was heard Auxier, Dickerson, and Evans already have a vision for how the new position posts. At the Vernonia They’d been through this before and they had all learned will be used. Beginning in January, the prosecutor and PO will work together Museum, we have an up- Someone will be there in your hour of need, to identify defendants who truly have the potential to succeed on probation. right from a doorjamb that The sun will come up and the water will recede. Then, when the defendants are identified, the sheriff’s deputy will focus his or was in the basement of her patrol efforts on these particular offenders to make sure they are following a house on Grant and A We headed back home in our trusty yellow boat the rules. Streets. On it are marked Down past the goal posts and we took note “This collaboration supports the use of evidence-based probation the flood heights from The floodwaters may rise, but they can’t dampen our spirits practices by increasing the effectiveness of supervision, targeting criminogen- eight previous events: The wind may blow and at time we might fear it. ic risks through treatment, and providing swift and certain consequences for February 1949, Decem- violations. These practices have been found to increase public safety, reduce But in our little town, when the sun finally comes up ber 1955, January 1964, We’ll hop in our trucks with a full coffee cup recidivism and improve offender outcomes,” said Evans. January 1972 (two floods Go check on our neighbors and see how they did fare The grant award means that the DA, the Sheriff, and the probation department have $1,114,337 additional dollars to spend on personnel at no ex- within two weeks), Janu- And find that Santa, once again, made it this year. pense to the Columbia County budget. Since the Criminal Justice Commission ary 1974, and February requires that a certain amount of their grant funds go to county victim services 1996. The second 1972 flood was said From Virgil Powell’s Diary agencies, the remaining $120,000 will go to the Amani Center and Safe of to be worse than one in 1937 for which Virgil Powell (1887-1963) was a long- Columbia County. Columbia County Awarded Grant TOO BUSY? 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