June 17, 2021
V E R N O N I A’ S
Volume 15 Issue 12
free
reflecting the spirit of our community
OSSA Names
Aaron Miller
Administrator
of the Year
The Ore-
gon Small Schools
Association
(OSSA) is proud to
announce Vernonia
School District Su-
perintendent Aaron
Miller has been
named its 2021 Ad-
ministrator of the
Year.
OSSA rec-
ognizes one school
administrator each
year who excels in
his/her leadership
position. Criteria include integrity, leadership, com-
mitment to community, scholarship, and student
achievement.
“The OSSA Board of Directors is very
happy to honor Mr. Aaron Miller this year. He is an
exemplary leader who I have worked with for over
20 years, and his work has improved the success of
students in Oregon’s small school districts,” said
Michael Carter, OSSA Executive Director.
continued on page 13
CC Rider to
Reduce Service
Witt Removed From
Committees by Speaker
New plan will cut three bus routes,
including Vernonia
House Conduct
Committee finds Witt
created a hostile work
environment with texts
to co-legislator
The Columbia County Board of
Commissioners will likely cut three bus routes
from the Columbia County Rider (CC Rider)
service schedule, based on recommendations
from transit director John Dreeszen.
CC Rider is the public transit service
operated by Columbia County, and currently
runs four bus routes: Line 1 between St. Helens
and Portland, Line 3 between Scappoose, St.
Helens, and Columbia City, Line 5 between
Rainier and Longview, and Line 6, between
Vernonia, Banks, and Hillsboro. CC Rider
also provides Dial-a-Ride, a door-to-door
service mostly utilized by elderly customers
or those with mobility issues.
The new plan would completely
eliminate Lines 3, 5, and 6, and focus funding
on expanding Line 1 and Dial-a-Ride services.
It would also increase the cost for Dial-a-Ride.
Currrently a Dial-a-Ride trip costs
$2.20 within city limits, or $4 between
Scappoose and St. Helens. Under the new
rates a ride would cost a base rate of $3 but
would include a $0.75 per mile after the first
8 miles. Dial-a-Ride would continue to be
available where discontinued routes were
operating.
Oregon Democratic
State Representative Brad Witt
has been removed from three
committees and reassigned to
two new committees by House
Speaker Tina Kotek following
a decision by the House Con-
duct Committee.
Witt was accused in
April of sending suggestive
texts to Representative Vicki
Breese Iverson, which she in-
terpreted as asking for a date or
sexual favors in exchange for
Witt’s vote on a bill.
An independent in-
vestigation released on May
19 found that both Breese
Iverson’s interpretation of the
text as sexual harassment, and
Witt’s explanation that he was
only attempting to find a way to
improve their working relation-
ship, were both credible.
On Tuesday, June 1
the House Conduct Commit-
tee found that Witt had violated
workplace rules against sexual
harassment and creating a hos-
tile work environment. The
Conduct Committee agreed
Witt should undergo “coaching
and training appropriate for his
conduct violation,” and sug-
gested Kotek take additional
action.
Kotek removed Witt
from his position as Chair of
the House Agriculture and
Natural Resources Committee,
and also removed him from the
House Committee on Water,
and the House Committee on
Business and Labor; Witt and
Breese Iverson served jointly
on all three of those commit-
tees.
Witt has been appoint-
ed to the Economic Recovery
and Prosperity Committee, and
the General Government Com-
mittee.
More Murals Coming to Vernonia
Collaboration with Portland
Street Art Alliance will bring
renowned artists and more
artwork to downtown walls
By Scott Laird
If you’ve driven through
downtown Vernonia in the last month
of so, it’s likely you’ve seen the new
mural at the corner of Bridge Street
and Jefferson Avenue. The beautiful
mural, celebrating the Day of the Dead
in Mexican culture, was created by Na-
inside
8
VHS Class of 2021
cho Arte and really brightens up the
downtown.
Now it looks like more art-
work in the form of several murals
will be added this summer.
The City of Vernonia re-
cently was awarded a downtown
beautification grant through Travel
Oregon which will fund new garbage
receptacles, hanging flower baskets,
pocket park improvements, paver re-
setting, and mural artwork.
Rachael Organ, who heads
up the Vernonia Improvement
Project which has helped land-
scape the new Senior Center/Ver-
nonia Cares property among other
projects, helped the City prepare
the Travel Oregon grant applica-
tion. With the funding awarded,
Organ is now working to secure
artists to paint the murals this sum-
mer, with the work culminating in
a “street art” festival on Saturday,
September 4. Details are still being
finalized, but Organ is excited that
the project is now coming together.
“I’ve been going through some
portfolios of different artists from
the Portland Street Art Alliance
(PSAA) and we’ve met with some
building owners to talk about art
themes,” explains Organ.
PSAA provides access to re-
sources, networking, and profes-
sional development opportunities
for Pacific Northwest street art-
ists. PSAA has facilitated com-
missioned work resulting in over
$350,000 paid to working artists.
Examples of work by artists that may be contributors to murals in Vernonia,
including world famous graffiti artist GATS (below).
PSAA is actively transforming the
public art landscape by develop-
ing place-based programs aimed
at increasing access to art for ev-
eryone. They managed over 150
private and publicly-funded street
art projects, collaborating with
hundreds of artists in the region,
while also facilitating educational
programming, tours, and commu-
nity events.
Organ says the owners of
Black Iron Grill and R&S Market
both look to be on-board to have
the walls of their buildings painted
on the parking lot side. The Rock
Creek Building at the entrance
to Hawkins Park and the side of
Muffy’s building might also be
continued on page 12