march1 2018
VERNONIA’S
volume12 issue5
www.vernoniasvoice.com
reflecting the spirit of our community
Columbia Humane Society is
Surviving Under New Arrangement
Director Lisa Beggio is making
adjustments since Columbia
County ended their contract with
the shelter at the start of the year
St. Patrick’s Day Parade!
Saturday, March 17 at 1:30 pm
Everyone
is welcome
Starts at
Pat & Darlene
Knight’s house
Bridge Street
& State Avenue
By Scott Laird
A recent change in the Columbia
Humane Society’s (CHS) relationship
with Columbia County has left staff at
CHS shorthanded and the animals they
care for stuck in the middle.
In January of 2018 CHS, located
at 2084 Oregon Street in St. Helens, be-
gan operating under a new, restricted bud-
get after the Columbia County Commis-
sioners canceled a contract with CHS to
manage the welfare of stray, neglected,
and abused dogs that have been taken into
custody by the County’s Animal Control
Division.
The Humane Society and Colum-
bia County’s Animal Control, under the
direction of the Sheriff’s Offic,e are two
completely separate entities, although
they have shared a facility and have in the
past worked in partnership to care for ani-
mals within the County.
The County Animal Control is
responsible for lost, found, and neglect-
ed animals, and investigates complaints
from citizens. In certain instances they
may remove and take possession of an
animal and shelter it. During the last four
years Columbia County has had a contract
with CHS to provide medical care, food,
evaluations and enrichment programs,
and shelter to the County’s animals until
they could be reconnected with their own-
ers; if the owners did not reclaim them,
CHS would then work to find them a new
home.
According to Columbia County
the contract with CHS was terminated
after a review last year by the Columbia
County Sheriff’s Office. CHS’s duties to
care for impounded dogs are now being
managed by the Sheriff’s Office and Ani-
inside
7
Creatures Has a New Owner
Vernonia’s pet supply store
still has the products you
and your best friends need
Lisa Beggio is the Executive Director
of Columbia Humane Society
mal Control staff.
CHS, established in 1985, helps
find new homes for displaced, surren-
dered, and neglected animals. They are a
no-kill animal shelter meaning no animal
is euthanized for spending too much time
in the shelter or a lack of space; dogs of-
ten live at the shelter for many months. In
certain situations dangerous or sick ani-
mals may need to be euthanized. They
also promote awareness for spay and neu-
ter programs to humanely control animal
populations. CHS is a non-profit organi-
zation that relies solely on income from
donors, small grants, fundraising events,
and fees for their operations.
Not only does CHS help Colum-
bia County dogs, they actively take dogs
from other shelters around the country,
and even from around the world. Dogs
that have run out of time are often trans-
ported to CHS from shelters in California.
CHS has also helped find homes for dogs
that were lost or abandoned during natu-
ral disasters; they re-homed several dogs
following Hurricane Harvey in Houston
last year. CHS also actively participates
continued on page 3
into the inferno
vhs winter sports
15
odot bridge project
Regular customers of Crea-
tures Pet Store at 998 Bridge Street
in Vernonia may have noticed a re-
cent change. Longtime owner Michal
Smith has sold the business to new
owner Beth Smith, who took over at
the start of the new year.
While Michal and Beth share
the same last name, they are not re-
lated. Michal has moved to Madras,
Oregon where she has opened a new
Creatures pet store.
Besides a new owner, Beth
Smith says not much will be changing
at Creatures.
“The brands of feed we sell
will not be changing,” says Smith.
“Michal built up a good business and
people like it the way it is. I will be in-
creasing the number of birds and small
animals we have, because kids really
like to come in and see pets in the pet
store. I really just plan to build onto
what Michal started.”
Smith says she talks to former
owner Michal Smith regularly to ask
questions, or share information. “She
is still helping me get settled in,” says
Smith. “I’m the kind of person that
learns by doing, but I still have ques-
New owner of Creatures
Pet Store, Beth Smith
tions about products or brands that she
helps me with.”
Smith has a lot of experience
working in retail, which should
come in handy in running her own
retail business. She has worked in
the restaurant business and spent
numerous years working at Fred Meyer
in Portland where she ran departments
in the Garden Center, apparel, and
candy. She also spent the past year
working at Vernonia Hardware before
jumping in and purchasing Creatures.
continued on page 9
Logger Boys Heading
to Pendleton for Third Straight Year
Vernonia will face league
rival Knappa in first round
on March 1
10
free
The Vernonia Loggers boys
basketball team are heading to the
OSAA U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires
2A State Championship in Pendleton
on March 1-3. The Loggers earned the
trip after defeating the Monroe Drag-
ons 60-46 on Saturday, February 24 in
the round of 16 in the State Playoffs.
The Loggers entered the play-
offs as the #11 seed and upset the #6
seeded Dragons on the Dragons’ home
court. “We really played our best game
of the season against Monroe,” said
head coach David Weller. “They fol-
lowed our game plan exactly as script-
ed. I’ve coached about 200 games now
and this stands out as one of the top one
or two games where the team put in
the practice, followed the plan we dis-
cussed, and then went out and executed
it.”
Senior Clay Sullivan led the
Loggers with 25 points. Junior Jake
Handegard chipped in 16, and senior
Andrew Vasquez added 10. “This was
Clay’s fourth state play-in game, with
a trip to Pendleton on the line,” said
Weller. “I told him he is the veteran
on this team, and he should know what
to expect. I told him to go out and do
what he is capable of, and he did. He
played in control and didn’t force any-
thing. He showed real leadership.”
Vernonia finished third in the
Northwest League Playoffs after fall-
ing to Columbia Christian 48-37 and
then defeating Nestucca 51-47 to se-
cure the final spot in the State Playoffs.
The State Tournament bracket
has a bit of an unusual twist as #2 seed
Columbia Christian, #3 seed Knappa
and #11 seed Vernonia, three Northwest
League rivals, are all in the same half
of the bracket. The Loggers will face
Knappa in the first round on Thursday,
March 1 and could potentially face Co-
lumbia Christian the next day, depend-
ing on the results of both teams’games.
The Loggers lost to Knappa twice this
season, 69-48 on December 14 and 61-
48 on January 25. The Loggers have
lost to Columbia Christian three times,
58-42 on January 9, 78-63 on January
30, and in the League Playoffs.
“I love it,” said Weller when
continued on page 10