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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2018)
community news february1 2018 9 VFW Post 1440 Seeks Names for McCormick Park Veterans Memorial Expansion The St. Helens Oregon Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1440 is seeking the names of all war- casualty veterans that have resided or were born in Co- lumbia County. The McCormick Park Veterans Memo- rial will soon be expanded to include a new monument that will honor those by name who were lost in the Viet- nam, Gulf, and all conflicts in the Middle East through the present. The VFW Post 1440 is seeking names for this expansion and the existing monument by May 31, 2018. Any names discovered after the deadline may still be included after the new monument’s installation. To be eligible for inclusion, the veteran must have either died during conflict or passed away after returning home due to a war injury. They also must have resided or been born in Columbia County. If you or someone you know has a friend or relative who may be eligible for inclusion, please leave a message at the VFW Post 1440 telephone message center at (503) 278-8473. You can also email the VFW Post 1440 at vfwpost1440@protonmail.com. This project is made possible by the financial support of VFW Post 1440, the City of St. Helens, and private donations. About the Expansion Project The existing McCormick Park Veterans Memo- rial located in St. Helens pays tribute to the servicemen by naming those that were killed in World War I, World War II, and Korea. Since its original dedication cere- mony on November 11, 2010, there have been several increasingly popular countywide Veterans Day events held at the memorial. Often attracting state senators and house representatives to be guest speakers, the events have outgrown the space available for attend- ees. In April 2017 the City of St. Helens was awarded a $46,770 grant from the Oregon Parks & Recreation Veterans & War Memorials Grant Program to support the expansion project. The VFW Post 1440 is also contributing at least $40,000 to support the project. In addition to honoring Columbia County veterans who have lost their lives in more recent conflicts, the expansion will open up the memorial to accommo- date several hundred spectators and provide adequate room for guest speakers. The expansion project is ex- pected to be completed by Veterans Day 2018. About the Original McCormick Park Veterans Monument The VFW Post 1440 hand-built the first St. Helens Veterans Memorial which was originally lo- cated along Highway 30 at Columbia Boulevard. It included wooden plaques with hand carved names of Columbia County war casualties from World War I, World War II, and Korea. The original wooden plaques and a 105 Howitzer Cannon were dedicated in 1958. When the Oregon Department of Transportation wid- ened Highway 30 certain items from this memorial were moved to McCormick Park but not the original wooden plaques. Members of the VFW Post 1440 were very interested in finding or recreating the lost plaques. A local engineering firm, Lower Columbia Engineering, volunteered to design and build new monuments that would be more durable replicas of the original wooden plaques. Considerable donations and public and private in kind contributions helped fund the project. Similar to the original project Lower Columbia Engineering is playing an instrumental role in the design and construc- tion management for the current expansion project. To inquire about inclusion in the McCormick Park Veterans Memorial Expansion please leave a mes- sage at the VFW Post 1440 telephone message center at (503) 278-8473. You can also email the VFW Post 1440 at vfwpost1440@protonmail.com. For further information regarding the Mc- Cormick Park Veterans Memorial Expansion Project please contact City of St. Helens Associate Planner Jenny Dimsho at jdimsho@ci.st-helens.or.us or (503) 366-8207. Oregon’s Valuable Dungeness Crab Fishery Gets Underway And they’re off! Oregon’s most valuable commercial fishery for the state’s official crustacean, Dungeness crab, got underway north of Cape Blan- co on January 22. This year’s opening was delayed from its target start date of December 1 because testing of crabs on some parts of the Pacific coast showed crabs were low in meat yield. In partnership with the Or- egon Dungeness Crab Commission and the commercial crab industry, ODFW collects and quality tests crabs out of the six major crabbing ports before the sea- son begins. The season can be delayed if the meat yield doesn’t meet a certain standard, which means that consumers get a high quality product with plenty of meat. (The goal is 23 or 25 percent meat recovery depending on the area, or 9-10 oz. of crab meat for a crab weighing 2.5 pounds.) Failure to achieve a negotiated opening price and intense coastal storms also delayed the opening a few days af- ter January 15. Dungeness crab have been har- vested commercially along the Pacific coast since the late 1800s. Current reg- ulations allow only male crabs larger than 6 ¼ inches across the back of the shell to be taken. This protects the fe- male and undersized male crabs which constitute the breeding population and produce the next generation of crab to be harvested in about four years, en- suring the sustainability of the overall stock and the industry. This regulatory approach is working. Preliminary results from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) study show that the population of legal-size males appears to be stable to increasing on the West Coast. Harvest rates are also stable to increasing. Last season’s ex- vessel value (or average price) set a record of $62.7 million, with landings totaling 20 million pounds, 22 percent above the 10-year average. Vessels returning to Newport had the most pounds of crab landed last year, followed by Astoria and Coos Bay. Poppino Painting 503-429-7101 Tim Poppino 19025 Woods Road Vernonia, OR 97064 Licensed Bonded Insured CCM#90548 A little over 300 fishing boats bring crab into Oregon each season. The industry is an important economic driver in Or- egon’s coastal towns. Commercial crabbing starts in the winter, when crabs are hard-shelled and full of meat. State natural resource agencies in Oregon, Washington and California cooperate as part of what is continued on page 15 Creatures LLC Pets, Feeds, Supplies, Tack, U-Wash Facility, Childrens Toys, Gifts, Novelies & More... 503-429-PETS (7387) 998 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064 Mon-Fri 10:00am-6:00pm Sat 10:00am-5:00pm Sun 12:00pm-4:00pm Creatures@frontier.com Facebook: Creatures-pet-shop Visit US today for all your financial needs! We saddle shoe. Do you? Muffy’s Josh, Teresa, Juli, Teresa, Margy Josh, Joy, and Lisa 905 Bridge Street 905 Bridge Street (503) (503) 429-6271 429-6271 950 Bridge Street Vernonia, O8 97064 503.429.5050 or 866.524.5050 www.muffys.com World Headquarters Vernonia, Oregon A crabbing boat gets ready to head out from the Coos Bay/Charleston port on Monday, January 22, 2018. Photo by Tim Novotny. 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