may2 2019
free
VERNONIA’S
volume13 issue9
reflecting the spirit of our community
CC Rider Proposes Transit
District, Stable Funding
Managers at Columbia County
Rider (CC Rider) are taking a new ap-
proach to funding Columbia County’s
public transportation system.
The Vernonia City Council heard
a presentation from CC Rider Program
Administrator Todd Wood at their April
15, 2019 regular meeting, in which Wood
outlined plans to create a county-wide
Transportation Service District. Creat-
ing a Transportation District would allow
the County Board of Commissioners to
sponsor a Ballot Measure in November to
create a permanent property tax and pro-
vide stable funding to operate the system.
“We believe that public transpor-
tation is vital to the health and future of
Columbia County and its residents,” said
Wood. “Without a robust transit system,
many would be unable to reach vital life
services.”
CC Rider staff is recommending
a permanent property tax rate of $.18 per
$1,000 of assessed value. They estimate
this would raise approximately $1 mil-
lion annually, which would fill the fund-
ing gap and provide additional monies to
build required reserve accounts, main-
tain and repair facilities, improve the sys-
tem, and add amenities.
Wood has been visiting all the
City Councils in the County, asking them
to pass a Resolution to join a Transpor-
tation District, which is the first step in
the process. The Vernonia City Council
is scheduled to discuss a draft resolution
at their May 6 meeting.
“While we realize the challenge
of asking the taxpayers for money, we
believe the loss of transit to our region
would do far more harm,” said Wood in
asking the Council to support a Transpor-
tation Service District. “It is our belief
that being a part of a community means
providing for all members of the com-
munity. We are committed to serving the
Community of Vernonia and hope you
inside
9
easter egg hunt
10
ems
life saving awards
17
a dream for
dibblee point park
will join us.”
Wood told the Vernonia Coun-
cil that CC Rider has been operating at a
deficit for the last two years and has had
to take a $400,000 loan from the County
each year in order to continue operations.
Even with those loans, CC Rider had to
reduce service by over 40% last year.
Even with this reduction, the system will
likely require another County loan with
an ongoing deficit into the 2020 fiscal
year.
Wood said CC Rider is one of
only a handful of systems in the state that
receive no local tax revenue to fund their
system. “This would allow us to rebuild
our services back to a level before the
most recent cuts,” said Wood. He said a
permanent funding source would provide
the money needed for grant matches, ex-
pansion, as well as capital improvements
such as bus stops, shelters, and new buses
to replace CC Rider’s aging fleet. “The
formation of a service district allows CC
Rider to remain a county department un-
der the supervision of the Board of Com-
missioners, County Finance, and County
Legal while receiving a tax base dedicat-
ed to public transit,” said Wood.
Wood said a property tax is a
commonly used device to fund smaller
transit systems. It is currently in use for
funding many systems including: Sun-
set Empire Transit District, Tillamook
Transit District, Lincoln County Transit
District, and Salem Area Transit District.
He said a permanent funding stream will
provide a long-term stable source that
will grow steadily at a rate consistent
with inflation and community growth.
Since the County already collects prop-
erty tax, no additional resources or tax
collection mechanisms should be needed.
The reason for the ongoing defi-
cit is the lack of incoming revenue, ex-
plained Wood. Over the past six years,
continued on page 5
Meet Your Police:
Officers Hanson and Walter
The Vernonia Police Depart-
ment added two new officers in the
past year and we thought it would be
nice to officially introduce them to the
community.
field. “Law enforcement wasn’t in
my plans,” she says. “I didn’t know
anyone who was a police officer and I
didn’t have a family member who had
been in law enforcement.”
Vernonia Police Officer Abbie Hanson, who works as the Student Resource Officer
at Vernonia Schools, with some of the elementary students.
Officer Abbie Hanson is
working as a School Resource Officer
for the Vernonia School District and
also works for the City of Vernonia as
a Police Officer, sharing her time in a
unique joint program between the two
organizations.
Hanson grew up in St. Helens
and graduated from St. Helens High
School in 2012 where she was a three
sport athlete, playing volleyball, bas-
ketball, and softball. She earned a
scholarship to Centralia Community
College where she played both volley-
ball and softball (she tried to also play
basketball but found playing three
sports in college was just a bit too
much!). She transferred to Western
Oregon University where she contin-
ued her education - she is still work-
ing to earn a degree in criminal justice,
with a minor in phycology.
Growing up, Hanson says she
was always interested in the medical
She first gained interest in the
criminal justice field at Centralia CC
through classes she took and a very
good professor there. “He was just
wonderful,” says Hanson. “He was a
cop for a long time and now works as
a background investigator. He shared
a lot of stories about his experiences
and I liked the way he spoke about law
enforcement.”
Officer Hanson said she start-
ing going on ride-alongs with a neigh-
bor in St. Helens who worked for the
St. Helens PD. “I knew right away it
was what I wanted to do. The very
first night we had a call for an attempt-
ed murder - it was a guy with a knife
who was threatening his ex-girlfriend
and her new boyfriend. The fact that
the officers were arriving and stopping
it and helping the person who was in
turmoil - it was just so gratifying to
help someone when they needed it.”
continued on page 9
Racism in Oregon: An Egregious History
Part III: Oregon has made
progress on civil rights and
equality, but it still remains
an unfriendly place for
African Americans and other
minorities
By Scott Laird
In the summer of 2018 Oregon
State Representative Janelle Bynum
was canvassing in her district, going
door-to-door to meet and talk with her
constituents. Bynum was a first term
legislator who represents East Portland,
and Gresham (District 51) and was run-
ning for re-election. She lives in Happy
Valley with her husband and four chil-
dren and is a business owner who oper-
ates three restaurants. She also happens
to be African American.
After chatting with potential
voters about their concerns, Bynum
would stand outside the home and make
notes in her phone about who she had
spoken with and what they had to say.
She had been going door-to-door regu-
larly, she told Oregon Public Broad-
casting (OPB) in an interview, spend-
ing about 30-40 hours each week, for
the past six to eight weeks, fulfilling a
promise she had made when elected to
get out and talk to the people in her dis-
trict, when not in Salem.
On July 3 she had just finished
making some notes when a Clackamas
County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled up.
Someone had called the police, suspi-
cious that Bynum was spending an un-
usual amount of time on her cell phone
and was possibly “casing” the neigh-
borhood for a robbery.
“If people would just come out
and talk, instead of assuming the worst
in people, it would be a lot better,” said
Bynum in the OPB interview following
the incident. “That can be really unsafe,
for people to just call the police on oth-
er people.”
**
On December 24, 2018 Jer-
maine Massey was visiting Portland to
attend a music concert and was staying
at the Double Tree Hotel on Portland’s
east side. After returning from the con-
cert, Massey received a phone call from
his mother, and sat down in the lobby to
talk. While he was on the call, Massey
was approached by two hotel security
guards who asked him to leave, even
though he showed them his room key.
The security guards called the police,
who came, asked him to get his things
from his room, and escorted him off
the property. Massey, who recorded
the incident on his cell phone, left and
checked into another hotel.
Management of the Double
Tree, which is managed by Hilton,
called the incident “a misunderstanding”
continued on page 7