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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2019)
june6 2019 VERNONIA’S volume13 issue11 free reflecting the spirit of our community Local Election Results: Help Make Voters Renew Columbia Fireworks a Success 9-1-1 Operating Fund Columbia County vot- ers approved the Columbia 9-1-1 Communications District renewal of operating funds for five more years by a 73.83% to 26.17% margin in the May 21, 2019 election. In other local election results, Greg Kintz and Steve Whiteman were both elected to the Vernonia School District Board of Directors. Position 6 - a two year unexpired term which had no candidate filed, received 234 write-in votes. Position 7, which also had no candidate filed, received 90 write-in votes. According to Vernonia School District Executive Assistant Barb Carr, the County Elec- tions Supervisor will convene a board to count the write-ins for the two positions. Around June 10 they will send the District the final Election Abstract. The School Board will need to ac- cept the Abstract at their June 13 meeting. Once the Board accepts the abstract the County will send out Acceptance of Of- fice forms to the persons identi- fied as top vote getters. Joel Glass, Jesse Har- bour, and Tim Buchanan were all re-elected to the Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors after running unopposed. For the Mist-Birken- feld Rural Fire Protection Dis- trict, Dave Crawford defeated D. Scott Carpenter by 60 to 44 votes. Joan Jones was re-elected after running unopposed. Dave Crawford was re- elected as Columbia 9-1-1 Com- munications District Director for Zone 4 after running unopposed. The Vernonia Fireworks Show for this year is running a few dollars short of the $5,000 goal. So far the Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District (VRFPD) has collected just over $4,000, including $1,000 from the Vernonia Volunteer Ambulance Association, $1,000 from the Ver- nonia Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, $1,989.15 donated directly by various Vernonia community members, as well as through collec- tion jars at R&S Market last year. Jars from the market this year have added another $150.28 in the last few months. “We are close, but need some help to push us to our goal for this year and start the fund for next year,” says VRFPD Lt. Loren Loomis, who organizes the fireworks display each year. “The collection jars will be back out until July 4 th , so please donate what you can to continue this show.” If you would like to donate directly, please send your donation to the Vernonia RFPD, 555 E. Bridge Street, in care of “2019 Fireworks Show.” “A big thanks goes out to those who have donated and to those that will help us reach our goal,” added Loomis. Best of Luck VHS Class of 2 019 Four-page graduation tribute on pages 11-14 Beavers are Eager to Help Us Restore Our Watersheds There’s a growing movement across Oregon to encourage beavers to return to our streams and rivers By Scott Laird The state of Oregon has a unique relationship with a local rodent. Beavers were here when the first white men moved across the wild and untamed territory in the early 1800s. They’re Or- egon’s state animal, the mascot of our largest university, and hold a prominent place in the center of our state flag. We even call ourselves the Beaver State! After almost being completely eliminated from North American riv- ers and streams during the 1800s, today inside 9 teddy bears help children 15 my fair lady court 16 vhs spring sports report wildlife biologists are recogniz- ing the numerous benefits bea- vers provide in the areas they colonize. Oregonians have also begun to appreciate their beavers more in the last several years, es- pecially the way beavers can help the Northwest’s struggling salm- on populations. But it’s a love/hate rela- tionship, especially in some parts of the state, because beavers, while known for their industri- ous nature, have a tendency to cause trouble when they get to work. As we all know, beavers build dams, and dams control and con- strain water. Done in the right location, beaver dams can produce great benefits – improving water quality, expanding fish habitat, providing water storage for agriculture, and saturating and recharg- ing natural water tables. But, construct a dam in the wrong place, and a beaver can be more than just a nuisance – they chew down valuable trees to build their dams, create wetlands where they didn’t exist before, of- ten cause flooding that dam- age farmland and residential property, and block culverts causing damage to roads. So, how do we as Or- egonians, living in the Bea- ver State, find ways to coex- ist with these neighbors, and encourage their proliferation so we can reap the many ben- efits they can provide? That’s a question many Oregonians, including those working in the Nehalem River water- shed, are trying to answer. A Beaver Dam Analogue (BDA) constructed in the Tillamook State Forest, part of a pilot project being managed by Upper Nehalem Watershed Council. Creating Beaver Dams The rest area on the Sunset Highway, west of Timber Junction, was a con- venient meeting spot. It was the middle of April, 2019, so the weather was cold, damp, and overcast, with an ever-present threat of rain showers, and most of us wore several layers of warm clothing. Our trip was organized by Up- per Nehalem Watershed Coun- cil (UNWC) Executive Direc- tor Maggie Peyton and included staff members from Oregon De- partment of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), several other directors of regional watershed councils, and a few interested citizens. The April weather didn’t seem to bother Steve Trask, our leader for the day, who wore just a down vest over a t-shirt, jeans, and rubber boots (he later gave in and added a flannel jacket). Trask would guide us into the Tillamook State Forest to inspect Beaver Dam Analogue (BDA) structures he installed the previ- ous summer on several small streams lo- cated on Oregon Department of Forestry controlled lands. Trask, who lives in Alsea, Or- egon, operates Trask Consulting, Inc, a company that works with local partners to develop and install stream restoration projects in the Coast Range and the Wil- lamette Valley. He is lean and rugged looking, and well spoken. You can tell he’s smart and capable, and he sports un- usually tanned arms and face for April in Oregon – you can tell this guy spends a lot of time in the outdoors. BDAs are man-made dams de- signed and constructed to replicate natu- rally built beaver dams, with the inten- tion of encouraging beavers to repopu- late a specific area. This new restoration technique is starting to be used across the country, often with very successful results. continued on page 7
