february1 2018
free
VERNONIA’S
volume12 issue3
reflecting the spirit of our community
www.vernoniasvoice.com
A Look Inside Columbia 9-1-1
Communications District
Jenesis Massage Offers
Relief from Chronic Pain
A recent tour of the Columbia
County response dispatch
center explained how the 9-1-1
system operates and the people
behind this vital facility
Massage Therapist Jennifer
Hayes has a new practice in
Vernonia
By Scott Laird
Whenever anyone in Columbia
County is in trouble and calls for emer-
gency assistance the first person they will
speak with is a Communication Special-
ist at the Columbia 9-1-1 Communica-
tions District located in St. Helens.
change throughout the year, depending
on the weather, but our call volume stays
pretty consistent.”
Columbia 9-1-1 is considered
a “Public Safety Answering Point” and
is one of 43 such facilities in the State
of Oregon. They receive the primary
emergency calls and then contact any lo-
cal responding agency that needs to be
involved – ambulance, fire, police, state
police, and sheriff. Other partner agen-
cies that rely on Columbia 9-1-1 dispatch
services include Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of
Communication Specialists at the Columbia 9-1-1 Communications District
answer calls and dispatch responders across Columbia County.
Those “dispatchers” often deal
with people in their worst moments and
often have seconds to make quick and
lifesaving decisions, all while maintain-
ing a calm demeanor. “They are the folks
on the front line,” said Columbia 9-1-1
Operations Manager Trish Hilsinger dur-
ing a recent open house and tour of their
facility. “They are the ones who are an-
swering the telephones every single day,
24 hours a day.”
While those Communication
Specialists have an extremely important
job, Columbia 9-1-1 does much more
than handle emergency calls.
“We average about 200-250
calls a day,” says Hilsinger. “The needs
inside
5
9
10
barbee family benefit
county veterans
memorial expansion
vhs winter sports
Forestry, and Department of Health and
Human Services, to name just a few.
Columbia 9-1-1 Communica-
tions District is a special district and is a
government entity but does not fall under
the jurisdiction, and is not regulated by,
a specific local agency. “We definitely
work closely with our Sheriff’s Office
and local police and fire departments, but
we have our own tax base and funding
that allows us to operate independently,”
said Hilsinger. She went on to explain
that Columbia 9-1-1 is one of only three
special districts that provide emergency
dispatch services in Oregon; Tillamook
and Kalamath counties are also set up
continued on page 7
By Scott Laird
A new massage therapist is
now practicing in Vernonia and offer-
ing relief for pain, stress and other ail-
ments.
Jennifer Hayes is a Licensed
Massage Therapist (LMT) who opened
her massage therapy practice, Jenesis,
last March. She is currently sharing
office space with Dr. Carol McIntyre’s
naturopathic practice at 758 Weed Av-
enue in Vernonia.
Hayes is a 2014 graduate of
Vernonia High School who worked as a
receptionist at McIntyre’s Natural Path
Health Services office immediately
following her high school graduation,
before enrolling in the East West Col-
lege of the Healing Arts in Portland.
“I really love doing massage
because it allows me to help people
and it also helps keep me physically
active,” says Hayes. “I’m constantly
learning, which is important to me. I
get to work with people and help solve
the puzzle of their bodies, their mus-
cles, and their bones.”
Hayes says that while study-
ing at East West College she learned
basic skills in Swedish and deep tissue
massage, and learned about our body’s
anatomy and physiology, and pathol-
ogy. “Towards the end of our training
we started diving into more special-
ized things like eastern modalities,
which helps point you in the direction
you want to work in,” explains Hayes.
“I definitely went more western with
my approaches and took classes that
focused on correcting postural distor-
tions.”
Hayes offers full body mas-
sages for 30 to 90 minutes by appoint-
ment on Mondays and Fridays; cost for
a 60 minute massage is $45. She also
offers convenient drop-in chair mas-
sages for 15 or 30 minutes on Wednes-
days, and other days and times if she is
not scheduled for other appointments;
cost is just $10 for a 15 minute session.
Hours are from 3:00 to 8:00 pm on
Mondays and Wednesdays, and 9:00
am to 5:00 pm on Fridays. A sign out
in front of the office will let potential
clients know when drop-in chair mas-
sages are available.
“There can be many reasons
why people suffer from chronic pain,
but a lot of people believe that postural
distortions are often the most likely
cause,” says Hayes. “I focus on finding
people pain relief that will last. The
approach that I take is different than a
chiropractor who uses quick thrusting
motions to get something to pop back
into place. My approach is slower and
may take more time, possibly over a
few sessions, but it can also have a lon-
ger lasting effect. By correcting these
issues I’m hoping people can learn to
be in their body in a new way that will
keep them from having pain.”
continued on page 3
Running Dogs Brewery: Lots of Taps, Lots of Choices
Columbia County’s newest
brewery offers 14 regional
beers on tap and a welcoming
atmosphere in St. Helens
By Scott Laird
Walk in the door of the Running
Dogs Brewery taproom in Old Town St.
Helens and you almost expect everyone
to shout out your name, like they do at
Cheers.
This small and friendly estab-
lishment, Columbia County’s newest
and, right now, only brewery, feels like
a place you can take off your coat and
hat, grab a mug, and stay for a while.
Owners Maggie and Jaron
Clayton opened the doors of their tap-
room in October and have already
garnered a loyal following. Brewing
their own unique and interesting beers
Maggie Clayton and her husband Jaron
are the owners of Running Dog Brewery.
off-site in their home garage on a small
one-barrel system, with four two-barrel
fermenters, Running Dogs is having a
tough time keeping their own beers on
tap as they’ve grown in popularity. But
with 14 taps total, there are always lots
of other good choices; recent featured
breweries included Lompoc, Double
Mountain,
Rusty Truck, Ashtown,
Burnside, Old Town, Anderson Valley
and Baumans ciders.
“We don’t really have any flag-
ship beers because we’re always brew-
ing new stuff and that kind of sets us
apart,” said Maggie Clayton during a
recent visit to the taproom. “You’re al-
ways going to find something different
when you come in. Our problem right
now is that whenever we put a new one
of our beers on tap, it’s gone right away.
People want our beer, we just have to
produce it faster.”
A great beer selection isn’t the
only thing that makes Running Dogs
a great neighborhood place. They
have featured some live music along
with other fun events like trivia and
bingo nights, paint nights, beer and
yoga during the day, and a tap takeover
continued on page 8