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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2022)
January 20, 2022 V E R N O N I A’ S Volume 16 Issue 2 free reflecting the spirit of our community School District Returns to Distance Learning The Vernonia School District announced on Janu- ary 13 that they are returning to Distance Learning for two weeks in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Most students were scheduled to begin attending classes remotely on Tuesday, January 18, with a return to in- person learning scheduled for January 31. Several classes had already transitioned to Distance Learning at the time of the announcement due to COVID exposure and quaran- tine rules. Superintendent Aaron Miller told families that 13 staff members and 85 students had tested positive or were in quarantine when the decision was made to close school. Food service is avail- able during Distance Learning and is available for pick-up Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm at the back of the building near the kitchen. School athletics will continue, following masking and safety protocols, although attendance will be restricted to family members of players and no concessions will be sold. According to Superin- tendent Miller, the Mist Grade School was scheduled to re- turn to in-person learning Jan- uary 18 following the repair of Highway 47 near the school, which was partially washed out on January 6 due to high water. Vernonia SK8 to Begin Construction After years of waiting and many hours of work by City staff and volunteers, the Ver- nonia SK8 park is going to become a reality this spring. Vernonia SK8 has contracted with Evergreen Skate Park to design and build the 9,000 square foot project. Construction will begin on February 7 and will take approximate- ly eight weeks. Watch here for more details as the project moves forward. Red Cross Declares First-ever Blood Crisis Amid Omicron Surge Dire blood shortage forces doctors to delay critical blood transfusions for people in need; you can help at local blood drive The American Red Cross an- nounced on January 11 it is facing a national blood crisis – its worst blood shortage in over a decade, posing a con- cerning risk to patient care. Amid this crisis, doctors have been forced to make difficult decisions about who receives blood transfusions and who will need to wait until more products become avail- able. Blood and platelet donations are critically needed to help prevent further inside delays in vital medical treatments. A Blood Drive has been sched- uled in Vernonia at Grace Family Fel- lowship on Thursday, January 27 from 12:00 to 5:00 pm. You can schedule an appointment by going to www.redcross- blood.org or by calling 1-800-RED- CROSS. “While some types of medical care can wait, others can’t,” said Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer of the Red Cross. “Hospitals are still see- ing accident victims, cancer patients, those with blood disorders like sickle cell disease, and individuals who are seriously ill who all need blood trans- fusions to live even as Omicron cases surge across the country. We’re doing everything we can to increase blood donations to ensure every patient can receive medical treatments without delay, but we cannot do it without more donors. We need the help of the American people.” The Red Cross has experienced a 10% decline in the number of people donating blood since the beginning of the pandemic and continues to confront relentless issues due to the pandemic, including ongoing blood drive cancella- tions and staffing limitations. Adding to the concern is the surge of COVID-19 cases. The Red Cross has experienced low donor turnout ever since the delta variant began spreading in August, and that trend continues as the Omicron variant takes over. All types are needed now, espe- cially types O positive and O negative, as well as platelet donations, to help re- verse this national blood crisis. Supplying 40% of the nation’s blood, the Red Cross has had to limit blood distributions to hospitals in recent weeks. In fact, on certain days, some hospitals may not receive as much as one-quarter of the blood products re- quested. Blood cannot be manufactured or stockpiled and can only be made available through the kindness of volun- teer donors. All of this comes as January marks National Blood Donor Month, a time to raise awareness about the need for blood donations when regular sea- sonal illnesses like colds and the flu, as well as winter weather often leads to a decline in donations. “Every community in America needs blood on a daily basis,” said Dr. Young. “At a time when many busi- nesses and organizations across the country are experiencing pandemic challenges – the Red Cross is no differ- ent. And while we are all learning how to live in this new environment, how we spend our time, where we work, how we give back, how we make a difference in the lives of others – donating blood must continue to be part of it.” The Red Cross appreciates the continued on page 3 What We Can Learn From the 2020 Census 9 Senior Center Opens for Meals 10 Keep It Local Smashes Record 11 The Gripwheel By Scott Laird With all the interest and dra- ma surrounding the November 2020 election, along with all of the COVID distractions, the results of the 2020 Census seem to have been lost in the shuffle. The results of the 2020 Cen- sus, the once a decade data collection that helps us understand who we are and how we’ve changed as a coun- try, as a state, and as a community, have not been completely tabulated and released, but some information is available. That data includes the state apportionment figures used in the pro- cess to calculate and divide the 435 member seats in the House of Repre- sentatives. Recently a local reader (thanks Steve Calhoun!) asked if we could find and publish any Census data. Here’s what we found on the 2020 Census webpage at https://www.census.gov: According to the 2020 Cen- sus the population of Vernonia stands at 2,295, which is the highest it’s ever been in its history and is up from 2,151 in 2010. That 2020 figure is slightly higher than the 2000 Census which re- corded Vernonia’s population at 2,228. The 3.5% drop in population from 2000 to 2010 was probably influenced by the December 3, 2007 flood and its impact on the community. Columbia County’s popula- tion also increased from 2010 to 2020, from 49,351 to 52,876; 22,950 of those living in Columbia County lived in unincorporated areas while approxi- mately 30,000 people lived within city limits. The state of Oregon’s popula- tion also increased between 2010 and 2020, from 3.831 million to 4.241 mil- lion. The Census has released sig- nificant data about the United States population as a whole and by state, although more localized data is not yet available. Categories the Census collects data on include: Populations and People, Income and Poverty, Edu- cation, Employment, Housing, Health, Business and Economy, Families and continued on page 3
