june20 2019
free
VERNONIA’S
volume13 issue12
reflecting the spirit of our community
Vernonia Garden Tour
Showcases Local Landscapes
Get Ready for
Vernonia’s City-
Wide Bash!
Parade, music, games, and
fireworks highlight 4 th of July event
The Vernonia community will gather to
celebrate the 4 th of July this year with the City-
Wide Bash, hosted by the Intercultural Society of
Vernonia.
The event starts at 5:00 pm with a parade
down Bridge Street with free entry, starting at the
Vernonia Library and ending at Spencer Park.
Spencer Park will be the location of the
rest of the event’s activities, with a free entry con-
cert featuring local artists from 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
- no tickets needed to enter!

One of the best fireworks displays in the
region will be put on by Vernonia Rural Fire Pro-
tection District, starting at approximately 10:00
pm, entry for the fireworks is also free.
Get ready for tons of fun for the whole
family at the Bash celebration following the pa-
rade! The Kid’s Corner will have a $5 bracelet
with unlimited play for kids (cost covers fee for
the inflatable obstacle courses). There will be
face-painting, arts and crafts, sand castle play,
and more. There will also be a FREE-FOR-ALL
splash play area with sprinklers and water toys for
kids to soak in, so parents - make sure you bring
your kids’ swim suits and towels!
At 7:00 pm the Adult Field games will
begin! There will be 4-person relay races, tug-
of-war, water balloon toss, and more! Have your
4-person team ready to register at the event entry.
There will also be vendors selling food,
along with other goodies, and there will be a large
number of raffle items, so get ready to buy your
tickets to put in your favorite raffle box!
Finally, warm up to the 4 th by grabbing a
CITY PASS at a local participating business, or
clip out in this issue of Vernonia’s Voice (page 14).
Visit local businesses and fill it out in the days
prior to the 4 th , and bring it to the Bash entry table
at Spencer Park BEFORE 7:00 pm to receive a
free raffle ticket entry for some great prizes!
We hope to see all of you on the 4 th of
July for this year’s City-Wide Bash!
inside
9
new log at
dewey pool
The Vernonia Improvement Project will host
a garden tour featuring local gardens and properties
around Vernonia.
10 local gardens will be on display from 9:00 am
to 4:00 pm on June 29, 2019. The tour begins at Spencer
Park in Vernonia where you can register and pick up a
map to the participating locations. Tickets are $20 and
are available at True Value Hardware or at Spencer Park
on the day of the event. Proceeds from this first Vernonia
Garden Tour will benefit the Vernonia City Parks.
A variety of gardens were selected, each with
unique and interesting features, including: urban chick-
ens, raised beds, edibles, perennials, hardscaping, water
features, deer tolerant, drought tolerant, potting sheds,
she sheds, out buildings, cottage style, modern style,
small farm, historic properties, shade, full sun, eco-
lawns, and more!
Educators will be on site to answer your ques-
tions about the gardening techniques on display. Free
classes will be provided throughout the day on pruning,
pollinators, eco-lawns, and more! Several small nurser-
ies with display gardens will be included on the tour map
as well as the local farmers market and garden shops.
If you have questions or need more information
send an email to VernoniaGardenTour@gmail.com.
School District Reduces Plans
for Bond Classroom Addition
Increase in costs causes
funding shortfall; other bond
projects will be completed as
planned
By Scott Laird
11
bear paw florist
16
volunteer
ambulance
association
Vernonia School District Su-
perintendent Aaron Miller told the
School Board and audience at the June
13, 2019 School Board meeting that he
expects to reduce the size of the pro-
posed four classroom addition that was
to be paid for from funds raised with
the second school bond voters passed
in 2017.
Miller said the two bids from
contractors the District received for the
two-story expansion were $700,000
and $1.2 million over the $1.8 million
the District had budgeted for the proj-
ect.
After meeting with the School
Board in a workshop on May 30 to
discuss adjusting plans, Miller is now
suggesting the District construct a
one-story art classroom that will be de-
signed with the ability to add on to it at
a future time. Miller said architects are
currently designing the new addition.
Plans for the expenditure
of the grant funds have not gone as
planned, according to Miller who cited
a competitive construction market that
increased costs over those estimated
about three years ago.
After receiving voter approval
for the $6.8 million bond in Novem-
ber of 2017, the District used approxi-
mately $4.5 million of that to pay off
debt from the original construction of
the new campus, eliminating annual
payments of $450,000 the District was
making from their general fund bud-
get. The remaining $2.3 million in
bond funding was matched by the State
of Oregon Department of Education
through a special grant program, giv-
ing the District $4.6 million for project
upgrades.
With those funds the District
has already completed the construc-
tion of a new track and field/football
facility, made much needed repairs to
the Mist Elementary School, and con-
tracted for construction this summer of
a new metal/welding shop.
Miller says the Board has pri-
oritized the use of any remaining funds
continued on page 14