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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2018)
june21 2018 free VERNONIA’S volume12 issue12 reflecting the spirit of our community Lack of Fire Volunteers Becoming Critical Limited responses to emergencies indicate that the shortage of resources may be reaching a dangerous point By Scott Laird they arrived they found the trailer with a fire fully involved and about to spread to a garage/shop structure. With just two crew members, Hanson made the deci- sion to allow the trailer to burn and he and Abney began putting water on the shop in an effort to save that structure. Hanson called for a second alarm, which activat- A dwindling num- ber of volunteer firefight- ers is becoming a serious issue for the Vernonia Ru- ral Fire Protection District (VRFPD). A recent fire that had only two local firefighters respond ended with the loss of a travel trailer. The volunteer re- sponse exposed a lack of resources and indicated that the local fire depart- ment is reaching a critical point. “I think a question our community needs to ask itself is, ‘What is the level of service that you Local firefighters responding to a fire on Riverside Drive in 2015. believe our local fire de- partment is capable of providing, when it ed additional resources from Banks and comes to a fire, or to a motor vehicle ac- Mist-Birkenfled Fire Districts. Neither cident, or search and rescue, or to a water of those departments initially received rescue?’” says Vernonia Fire Chief Dean an adequate number volunteers, so their Smith. “What level of response do they response was delayed. “When the Banks expect, because everyone wants to call crew showed up with another water ten- 9-1-1 to help them in a situation, but do der they were able to knock out the fire,” they really understand what they are ask- says Captain Steinweg. Steinweg said ing, versus what we are capable of pro- crews were fighting the fire until 4:00 am. viding, and what they are going to get?” The firefighters did save the ga- On May 13, 2018, at around rage/shop structure, which received a 12:30 am, the VRFPD received a report small amount of fire and smoke damage, of a travel trailer fire on Louisiana Av- and kept the fire from spreading to the enue. Chief Dean Smith and Training residence or any other surrounding struc- Captain Will Steinweg were both out of tures or homes. A classic car inside the town at the time of the fire. Two Vernonia structure was not damaged. volunteers, Lieutenant Dan Hanson, who Steinweg says the initial response was the acting duty officer, and Firefight- from the Vernonia volunteers was quick - er Brandi Abney, responded to the call. just several minutes. “The problem was Lt. Hanson took the command vehicle that we didn’t get enough volunteers, and Abney drove the fire engine. When continued on page 3 inside 6 11 my fair lady court 14 summer meals After a long delay, construction of the new facility should begin this summer By Scott Laird Vernonia City Administra- tor Josette Mitchell says the Vernonia Senior Center and Ver- nonia Cares Food Bank building should break ground this summer after a lengthy delay in the planning process. The project is being built using $2 million in grant funds from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) pro- gram. While the pro- gram provides direct funding for de- velopment projects, the funding also comes with significant oversight and paperwork. “We have a new representa- tive from CDBG, Arthur Chaput, who is handling our project,” said Mitchell in a recent interview. “He was hired at the end of May.” Mitchell says changes in the personnel handling the project had slowed down the progress. According to Mitchell, the City of Vernonia, the applicant for the project on behalf of the Vernonia Senior Center and Ver- nonia Cares, has had to submit the construction plans, the construction contract, and the draft bid documents for the project for approval by CDBG. “There is a lot of back and forth be- tween the applicant and CDBG in any project of this size and scope,” explained Mitchell. “We were origi- nally working with one representative and then she moved to a new posi- tion within the agency. Then we were working with a second rep, but we had a big gap of time between Janu- ary and May because the new rep was overwhelmed with getting up to speed on all the work they were given. Then CDBG made another change in per- sonnel and Mr. Chaput was assigned to our project.” Mitchell says CDBG had previously approved the construction plans and contract and the City just re- ceived approval on the draft bid docu- ments. “We now have a schedule for soliciting bids, choosing a contractor, and starting construction around the end of August,” explained Mitchell. Mitchell says several con- tractors have expressed interest in the project and have remained in contact with the City during the delay this spring. Mitchell says the goal is to get the foundation poured, walls framed, and the roof on before winter weather starts, which would allow the interior work to be completed over the winter. Mitchell says final completion of the project should be by June 30, 2019. Jack’s Hobo Bakery: Creating Bread and Baked Goods with Love By Scott Laird carbon monoxide the silent killer City Ready to Move Forward with Senior Center/ Vernonia Cares Project Vernonia’s newest business, Jack’s Hobo Bakery and Bread Club, is already developing a loyal following, not just because of the delicious treats they are making, but because of their business model. “People just seem to love bak- eries - it just seems to be part of their heart and soul,” says co-owner Jack Kauppila. “I want people to feel like this is their bakery. I don’t feel like it’s mine just because my mug is on the glass out front. It’s really for every- body.” Jack and wife Mary purchased We Bakes, the previous bakery business that was started less than a year ago, and have hit the ground running. They opened on Memorial Day weekend at 805 Bridge Street at the corner of Jefferson Avenue to rave re- views, selling cook- ies, muffins, brown- ies, and donuts. Their specialties in- clude cinnamon rolls, and scones split and spread with butter and homemade fruit jam, just like you get at the State Fair. The muffins are gluten free. They’re cur- rently open Fridays through Sundays and they’ve also stayed open into the evening on several Saturdays for Pizza Night, serving homemade vegetarian pizza. Jack is the head baker and Mary, a social worker during the week, is the operations manager in charge of inventory, finances, and the retail continued on page 10
