Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2018)
march15 2018 free VERNONIA’S volume12 issue6 reflecting the spirit of our community Loggers Bring Home Third Place Trophy from Pendleton Senior Sullivan leads Loggers; named First Team All Tournament By Scott Laird The Vernonia Logger boys basketball team were the surprise of the 2018 OSAA 2A State Tournament in Pendleton this year, taking third place on March 1-3, the eventual champions of the tourna- ment, all they could handle in the first half, before falling 67-48. The Log- gers bounced back with a gutsy 55-50 upset of #5 seeded Oakland. Vernonia senior Clay Sulli- van concluded his outstanding Logger career in fine fashion, finishing as the tournament’s leading scorer, averaging 27.7 points in the three games in Pend- leton (37 vs. Oakland, 31 vs. Knappa, St. Patrick’s Day Parade! Saturday, March 17 at 1:30 pm All are welcome Starts at Pat & Darlene Knight’s house Bridge Street & State Avenue City Council Receives Utility Rate Review Report Potential for changes to water and sewer rates, including a reduction, are a possibility By Scott Laird The Loggers entered the 16 team tournament as the #11 seed, beat three higher seeded teams on their way to their third place finish. They eas- ily handled #6 seed Monroe 60-46 at Monroe in the play-in game on Febru- ary 24, to earn a trip to Pendleton and the State Tournament’s final eight. The Loggers, who finished third in the Northwest League playoffs, opened the tournament on Thursday, March 1 by knocking off league rival Knappa, the #3 seed in the tournament, 52-50. The Loggers won the game on a dramatic last second buzzer-beating short jumper by sophomore Gunnar Harral. The following day the Log- gers gave #2 seed Columbia Christian, another Northwest League rival and inside 15 vs. Columbia Christian) while set- ting a new 2A tournament record with 83 total points. (Sullivan scored 25 points against Monroe in the play-in game.) Sullivan also led the tourna- ment in assists (14), in field goals made (28), three point shots made (13) and free throws made (14 of 16, .875%). Sullivan was named the Log- ger Player of the Game in two of their three match-ups and was unanimously named First Team All Tournament. In the tournament opener against Knappa, the underdog Loggers fell behind early and trailed by 5, 24- 19 at the half. Vernonia cut the lead to three in the third quarter. The Loggers grabbed their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter on a layup and foul shot, followed by another jumper, all by junior Jake Handegard. The teams traded baskets throughout the fourth Customers that pay a utility bill for water and sewer service from the City of Vernonia may get some welcome relief in the near future based on recommenda- tions in a recently released draft report from city staff. The Vernonia City Council re- viewed a detailed draft of the Utility Rate Review report at their March 5 City Council meeting prepared by city staff members. The report explained current water and sewer utility rates, provided a statistical analysis of us- age, showed calculations and projections for future water and sewer use, and recommended rate adjustments. Based on a thorough analysis and evaluation of relevant statistics, the re- port recommends a slight increases to the base rate for water and for sewer, adjust- ments to consumption charges, and about a $10.00 reduction in the sewer loan pay- ment charge because the City has paid off one of their outstanding loans. If Coun- cil were to adopt all the recommended changes in the draft report an average city utility customers could see a reduction in their monthly bill of around $8.00. The continued on page 16 Health Care Assistance Available 10 local scouting award 11 faith west’s new administrator 12 barbee family fundraiser Do you need help with the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) or Medicare? CareOregon Go Mobile team will be in St. Helens to help with a wide-variety of issues, including eligibility, enrollment, and other issues. The Go Mobile team will be at Sacagawea Health Center, 1060 Eisenschmidt Lane in St. Helens on the following dates and times: • 9:00 am to noon, Monday, April 2, 2018 • 9:00 am to noon, Monday, May 7, 2018 • 9:00 am to noon, Monday, June 4, 2018 If you have questions about CareOregon Go Mobile team, please call (503) 416-4883 or email Caleb at greenc@careoregon.org. About Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization Established in September 2012, Columbia Pacific CCO coordinates health ser- vices for more than 24,000 Oregon Health Plan members in Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook counties. For more information, contact Patti Atkins at atkinsp@ careoregon.org or (503) 961-2535. Also visit colpachhealth.org and Facebook at @ColumbiaPacificCCO. exact figures will be determined during an upcoming rate review. That wasn’t the only good news to come out of the March 5 City Coun- cil meeting. City Administrator Josette Mitchell acknowledged, and minutes from a December 26, 2018 Public Works Committee meeting also mentioned, that a major sewer loan is scheduled to be paid off in September of 2020, which would eliminate in excess of $20 more from monthly utility bills. The report was prepared by As- sistant Planner Ben Fousek, Finance Di- rector Angie Handegard, and City Admin- istrator Mitchell, and was presented to Council by Fousek and Mitchell. The report will be reviewed by the Utility Rate Re- view Committee in early March, which will then make a recommendation to the City Council at their March 19 meeting. The Utility Rate Review Committee meets annually to evaluate current water and sewer rates, re- view previous usage statistics, and recom- mends to City Council any rate changes for the upcoming fiscal year. The Utility Rate Review Committee consists of two members of the City Council, two mem- bers of the Public Works Committee, and three members of the City staff. The calculations for determin- ing rates for water and sewer utilities are complex. The City has spent several years creating a comprehensive analysis system while making adjustments to the rates. They have settled on annually convening the Utility Rate Review Committee as a way to confirm that the City is generat- ing enough revenue to cover the cost of maintaining their systems while correctly charging customers based on current use trends. The City uses a combination of base plus consumption for both water and sewer. Base rates are charged equally across all customers based on the size of the service’s meter, known as the meter multiplier. Most residential customers have 3/4” meters, while businesses can have larger meters. Consumption rates charge cus- tomers based on their usage. The meter multiplier comes into effect on larger continued on page 3
