April 1, 2021
free
VERNONIA’S
Volume 15 Issue 7
reflecting the spirit of our community
Giving it Their Best Shot
experiences or the stress involved – difficulty
scheduling an appointment, the long drive into
the metro area where they were available, trou-
ble finding parking, or waiting in line for hours.
But amidst all the chaos and challeng-
By Scott Laird
ing bureaucracy the Mist-Birkenfeld Rural
As the COVID vaccinations first be-
Fire Protection District (RFPD) has stepped
came available earlier this year there was a
forward to develop an innovative program to
lot of confusion about who was eligible for
make sure residents in
their rural community
have convenient access
to the pandemic slowing,
and potentially life sav-
ing, vaccine.
Word
is
quickly
spreading about the vac-
cine delivery service
Mist-Birkenfeld
RFPD
employees Larry Box-
man and Hailey Palmore
have successfully imple-
mented, and this week,
they added regular access
to vaccines in Vernonia
to eligible residents. “Es-
pecially in communities
we live in out here, like
Vernonia or Mist or Jew-
ell, people hear from their
neighbors how something
goes and that can be a
catalyst for them to get
it themselves,” says Pal-
more.
“We initially didn’t
The Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD is holding COVID vaccination clinics at their think this was a big deal,”
station, and the Vernonia fire station. Left to right: Mist-Birkendfeld
says Boxman. “We were
staff paramedic Larry Boxman, Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD Director of
just trying to take care of
Public Health Services Hailey Palmore, and Fire Chief Joe Kaczenski.
our district. But apparent-
ly we’re pretty unique, being a fire district that
the shots, and what the process was to receive
is able to provide the service of vaccinating our
them. Information seemed to be changing
own residents. We’ve always seen ourselves as
daily, new manufacturers were quickly test-
more than just a fire district – we see ourselves
ing new versions and getting them approved,
as an extension of public health. We gave flu
supplies were unreliable, and locations and ap-
shots to members of our district this past fall,
pointments were elusive.
and we just thought giving COVID vaccines
As the vaccine rollout gathered mo-
was the right thing to do.”
mentum people may have been hesitant to
Boxman says the Mist-Birkenfeld
search out the vaccine after hearing about bad
Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD
takes the lead on regional
COVID-19 vaccinations
WOEC Names
Kohler Interim GM
New Board member appointed at March meeting
By Scott Laird
The West Or-
egon Electric Coopera-
tive (WOEC) Board of
Directors has appointed
Billi Kohler as the in-
terim General Manager
to replace Bob Perry
who is retiring, effective
April 2, 2021.
Kohler
cur-
rently works as the Ad-
ministrative
Services
Manager. She is a 2010
graduate of Vernonia
High School, who start-
ed her career at WOEC
working in the office
through a school-to-
work program while
still a high school stu-
dent. Following gradu-
ation she joined WOEC
as a part-time employee
as a management assistant. After leaving the co-op she returned
in 2016 as a Member Service Representative, working at the front
desk, taking payments, handling collections, and other accounts
receivable work, along with customer service. Two years ago
she was promoted to Administrative Services Manager, managing
Board of Director relations, supervising the front desk employees,
and assisting the General Manager. She is currently completing a
Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting at Phoenix University.
Kohler is married with three sons and lives in Vernonia.
“I am excited,” said Kohler about her new interim posi-
tion. “I’ll be honest, it did take me by surprise. This has been my
goal all along and I knew eventually this was where I wanted to
end up. This is a kind of accelerated version of it. I’m stepping
into this role to help the co-op right now.”
Kohler and the Board agreed to a six month trial period
for her appointment as interim.
“I’m excited to have Billi take this position,” said Board
Chair Brett Costley. “Billi is young and doesn’t have the manage-
rial experience someone like Mr. Perry had. But she is extreme-
ly smart and very hard working, and Bob had been looking to
continued on page 3
inside
continued on page 9
Vernonia SK8 Project Receives Needed Funding
Community fundraising to continue
in order to add more park features
By Scott Laird
4
Narcan Available
in Vernonia
6
Trade-offs
in Construction
7
VHS Sports Report
The City of Vernonia has announced the
Vernonia SK8 project has received the funding
they need to move forward and break ground for
a new skate park facility at Spencer Park.
Local resident and businessman Randy
Holce quietly donated $100,000 to the project in
December 2020, and after the City’s community
grant application to Oregon State Parks was not
awarded for the third year in a row, Mr. Holce
stepped forward again last month and donated the
remaining $140,000 the project needed to move
forward with construction.
Because of increasing construction costs,
the project’s community organizers are now mak-
ing one final push to raise additional funds so they can build
the best park possible for local kids.
“This has always been about the kids,” says resident
Wendy Sears who has helped head up the community effort
to raise the funds and get the skate park built after decades
of stops and starts, and failed promises to the community’s
youth. Sears, along with other members of Vernonia
SK8, have been persistent over several years, continually
searching out funding sources, applying for grants,
encouraging support from the City Council, and holding
continued on page 4