july5 2018
VERNONIA’S
volume12 issue13
free
reflecting the spirit of our community
WOEC Board
Approves Rate Increase
The West Oregon Electric Co-
operative (WOEC) Board of Directors
voted to approve a recommended rate in-
crease at their monthly meeting on Tues-
day, June 26, 2018.
The rate increase will take effect
July 1 and will show up on customer’s
bills they receive in August.
The Board of Directors voted to
increase the base rate for residential cus-
tomers by $3, from $39 to $42. They also
voted to increase the energy usage charge
by $0.025 per kilowatt hour for residen-
tial customers.
In addition, the Board approved
a $0.027 charge per kilowatt hour on all
customer accounts, which will be used
specifically to retire accumulated Patron-
age Capital Credits. Capital Credits are
the amount of money left over at the end
of a business year once all the operating
expenses of the co-op have been paid.
The remaining money is allocated to the
member-owners of the cooperative and
are paid out, or retired, to members when
the Board decides they can afford to do
so. WOEC has only retired accumulated
Patronage Capital Credits up to 1969.
According to Finance Director
Dan Huggett, the funds collected towards
retiring Capital Credits will be placed in
a separate money market account and
then paid out when enough money is
available. “We’ll set aside those funds
and then every year we’ll look and see
how much money is there and if there
is enough to fund retiring a year or two
of Capital Credits we’ll do that,” said
Huggett following the Board vote. “It
may take several years for us to acquire
enough funds, but at least this is a start.
What paying off Capital Credits does is
it moves the equity in the co-op from the
people in the past, from the sixties and
seventies, to our current members. Basi-
cally we borrowed that money from those
past members as part of their rates in or-
der to operate the co-op. Now we’re pay-
ing them back.”
Huggett noted that WOEC does
pay out discounted Capital Credits to the
estates of deceased members.
Huggett reminded past members
of the co-op from the seventies to please
update WOEC with your current address
so they can easily find you and send the
Capital Credits payments when they are
retired.
Farewell Whistlin’ Pete
Long
time
Vernonia mail carrier
Peter O’Leary has re-
tired from the United
States Postal Service.
Peter,
also
known as “Postal
Pete” or “Whistling
Pete” (he had a com-
plex and extensive
repertoire of tunes),
began his career with
the Post Office in
1988 and has been
the local mail car-
rier in Vernonia since
2000. He organized
the National Associa-
tion of Letter Carri-
er’s Food Drive each
year, which benefitted
Vernonia Cares Food
Bank.
A former volunteer with the
Vernonia Fire District, who also served
on their Board of Directors, Pete also
enjoys hiking, pickleball, and badmin-
ton, having won the Senior Doubles
competition at the Oregon State Games
two years in a row. He was also an early
contributor to Vernonia’s Voice, author-
ing the “Voices in my Head” column for
several years.
Peter and wife Leslie have pur-
chased a home and moved to Eugene.
Vernonia’s Voice would like to
wish Peter and Leslie much future hap-
piness.
Columbia County to Replace Culvert on Apiary Road
Apiary Road to be closed for
one month in late summer
A metal culvert at milepost 16.1
on Apiary Road will be replaced this
summer under a contract between the
Columbia County Road Department and
Kinsi Construction of Clatskanie. Fund-
ed by the Oregon Watershed Enhance-
ment Board (OWEB), the Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW),
and the Upper Nehalem Watershed
Council, the culvert will be replaced
with a bottomless concrete structure, al-
lowing for a more natural stream flow
for salmon and other aquatic organisms.
inside
5
columbia humane
society pawsitive
5
what’s happening
at the library
6
vernonia
ultramarathoner
Construction be-
Funded by the Oregon
gins August 27, but the
Watershed Enhancement
County began alerting
Board in conjunction with
businesses and residents
the Scappoose Bay Water-
early to allow for planning.
shed Council, the project
Project closure dates have
includes replacing the cul-
been placed at the site,
vert with a bottomless steel
and during closure reader
structure to improve fish
boards will be placed on
and wildlife habitat.
Highway 30 in Rainier,
The precast piece,
Apiary Road at Meissner
which resembles an arch
Road, and at Highway 47.
with footings. The design
Detour routes will travel
allows for more natural
along Scappoose-Vernonia
stream flow for salmon
Highway and Canaan-
and other aquatic species.
Meissner Road.
It also avoids debris block-
The 36-foot wide,
age, which can cause ero-
125-foot long structure
sion of streambanks and
resembles an open arch.
roads.
It is one of two such
The project location is
This culvert on Oak Ranch Creek, currently a barrier to fish passage,
structures along Oak
one-tenth
of a mile north
will be replaced with an open bottom arch, as shown in yellow.
Ranch Creek, which
of Pittsburg Road. Prepa-
Columbia County Road Direc-
flows into the Nehalem
ration work began in late
River. The County replaced a similar tor Michael Russell said the County has June with equipment placement and util-
worked with OWEB and ODFW to re- ity relocation.
structure at MP 17.4 in 2015.
“Oak Ranch Creek is considered place more than 80 culverts to improve
A detour will direct traffic onto
essential salmon habitat,” said As- stream flows and fish and wildlife habi- Hankey Road then to Pittsburgh Road.
sistant County Road Director Tristan tat in the last 12 years.
For more information, contact
Wood
expects
construction
to
be
Wood. “Removing the metal culvert
Tristan Wood at (503) 397-5090 or email
not only improves fish and wildlife completed by September 27. He added him at tristan.wood@co.columbia.or.us.
habitat, it helps to avoid stream bank that the start date of the project was cho-
sen deliberately to occur after the Hood The Columbia County Road Depart-
and ultimate roadway erosion.”
According to the Upper Ne- to Coast relay, which travels along Api- ment manages 550 miles of paved and
halem Watershed Council, a 50 per- ary and other County roads.
gravel roads as well as 93 bridges. Its
Columbia County also an- territory ranges from nearly sea level
cent increase in salmon species in the
Nehalem basin is expected as a direct nounced that beginning July 9, Robi- to 2,000 feet. In addition to road build-
result of this and other stream improve- nette Road will be closed for improve- ing, the department’s 21 employees also
ment work. The Nehalem basin area is ments. The County’s Road Department oversee signs, road striping, roadside
home to Chinook, coho, and steelhead is managing a contract with TFT Con- vegetation, pothole repair, building
salmon, as well as cutthroat trout and struction of Scappoose to replace a metal and equipment repair, and regulation
culvert over Dart Creek. Construction is and permitting.
lamprey.
expected to last through September 3.