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The INDEPENDENT, June 27, 1990
«. INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley Published
monthly on the las, Wednesday ol each month, by
Public Opinion Laboratory L td , 1206 State Avenue.
Vernonia. OR 97064. as a tree newspaper All material
protected under U S Copyright laws Editors and
Publishers, Dirk & Nom Andersen. (503) 429 9410
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O p in io n
Park development
is start of new era
With the installation of a pedestrian bridge over
Highway 47, development of the Banks Vernonia Lin
ear Park is demonstrably underway
Actually, there has been work on the trail for nearly
a year, but surveying, brushing and checking the con
dition of bridges and culverts just doesn't have the
visual impact that a 90 foot long overpass has.
The many volunteers who worked hard to get
approval of the first new state park in 20 years have
every reason to start getting excited about it.
The linear park has already brought some changes
to the area - it's certainly a factor in the increased
property sales the community has been enjoying
There will be more changes, too One of them will be
an improved Hwy 47 because more people will be
using it and the state will make improvements to
accommodate the increased traffic
Another spin-off is the funding that's been made
available for improvements at Vernonia Lake The
Oregon Tourism Alliance wouldn't authorize those
expenditures previously, but once the state park
became a reality, the improvements made a lot of
sense
We are aware that some people are still trying to
block the park The latest ploy has been to spread a
rumor that there was a shooting and double murder
on the trail. Well , it just isn't so. folks. That was just
another attempt to create opposition to the park, and
it was a pretty feeble attempt Anybody who wants to
check a rumor of that sort has only to call the appro
priate law enforcement authonties.
The park has all of the official approvals it needs
and it will be developed The official opening is pro
jected to be in September and we're quite certain the
Parks Department will meet that time line
At this point objections are futile Park opponents
who dealt objectively with the state are satisfied with
the land swaps they negotiated, and some of them
even sold portions of their property to the state to
improve the alignment of the park
Working together, we can make this a really posi
tive experience We will be the host community for
Oregon's first new state park in twenty years It's
time to "accent the positive and eliminate the nega
tive"... besides, that’s a lot more fun than spreading
silly rumors
15
By Nancy B u rch
V e rn o n ia C ity L ib ra ria n
In c o n ju n c tio n w ith V e rn o n ia 's
Centennial celebration next year, bu, as
an ongoing project, the library is creating
a special interest section devoted to the
history of our local logging and timber
industry.
In addition to acquiring any
available books on the subject, we will be
com piling pictures, newspaper articles,
reminiscences of people who would be
willing to share their recollections, and
any other m aterials or inform ation that
we can gather on the subject. We are now
in the beginning stages of this project and
are a skin g
fo r h elp w ith
fu rth e r
suggestions, m aterials, memories or in
form ation that you would be willing to
contribute.
One specific item we are
seeking is a video tape of "The Ring of
Fire." Please contact the library if you
can help in any way. This is a project for
and about our com munity and we hope
there is much interest and involvement m
its compilation and future use.
Another new undertaking in the library
is the acquisition we have recently made of
the audio tapes of four books. We have
"California Gold" by John Jakes, "I Wan,
to Grow Hair, I Wan, to Grow Old. I Wan,
to Go to Boise" by Erma Bombeck, "Silent
Partner" by Jonathan Kellerman," and "I,
Was On Fire When I Lay Down On I," by
Robert Fulgham. They are now available
for your use and comments.
Remember that young people can earn
Summer Reading certificates for each ten
books read and a special prize will be
given to the child reading the most books
before September 15. A special thank you
to Sarah Lynch for giving the library a
nice assortment of childrens' books in
time for summer reading.
Library Hours: Monday and Friday 1-5 p m ,
Wednesday, 9 a m -5 p m . and Saturday, 10
a m -2 p m
Preschool Story Time is every Wednesday
from 10 30-11 a m
L e tte rs to th e E d ito r
Wonderful people
To the Editor:
Janelle and I want to thank
the people of Vernonia and
the Nehalem Valley for their
outpouring of love The sup
port encouragement and un
dersta n d in g we have re
ceived the las, few months
has made coping with the
problem s asso cia te d with
ALS much easier (Your daily
prayers thoughts cards and
calls have gone a long way in
soothing our frustration and
fears ). We feel extremely
blessed to be a part of this
community
Your generosity through
contributions has helped to
alleviate our most urgent fi
nancial needs
We don',
wan, to single ou, individuals
because there are jus, too
many, bu, we do wan, ,o
thank several groups The
Christian community and their
churches for the on going
prayers and fund raisers, our
fellow loggers and their fami
lies for their unselfish sacri
fice of tim e energy and
sweat and the youth of Ver
nonia who through various
endeavors contributed $500
to our cause
Your efforts have provided
us w ith a 1990 Ford van
equipped with a wheelchair
lift a stairway lift, a wheel
chair ramp many household
items that make physically
dem anding chores easier,
and the courage to go when
we wan, to give up
What is most important to
us7 The fact that you all care
and wan, to help, the realiza
tion tha, this situation has
bonded the com munity to
gether the fac, tha, we can
say we are a part, and always
will be, of such a loving group
of people
David & Janelle Serafln
Great volunteers
To the Editor:
With a busy summer com
ing and all the time spent on
everyday events, it is nice to
have such great people as
the volunteers tha, give the
extra time to help make Ver
nonia such a wonderful place
The Vernonia Volunteer
Fire Department and the Ver
noma Ambulance Association
give hours and hours every
month ,o help save lives and
property and deserve a very
big thank you from all of the
people they serve
The Vernonia Police De
partment has several very
good reserves tha, help fill in
the spaces when needed and
are a very valuable asset to
an understaffed force
Volunteer groups like the
Ridge Riders and the Vernon
ia Youth Summer Baseball
Association work very hard
every year to improve Ander
son and Spencer Parks and
give youth some summer ac
tivities
Thank you to Cavenham
Forest Industries for providing
the pole for the swimming
pool and Rick Gwin and the
Sera,in Sale Loggers for ge,
ting i, ou, o, the brush Gene
Weller hauled the 80 foo, pole
down to the swimming hole
and did an amazing |Ob o,
getting it through our tight li,
tie streets, thanks a bunch
Gene
I wish I could thank all o,
the individuals who give parts
o, their lives to help make
Vernonia such a fantastic
place to live
The new
decade is going to be filled
with lots of exciting events
and growth and the communi
,y will need the ideas and
dreams o, all of you I, is a
privilege to be involved with
all o, you as your mayor
Thank you
Scott Sword. Mayor
City of Vernonia
Help is appreciated
To the Editor:
The Nehalem Valley Tim
ber Coalition would like to
thank the following for their
assistance with the formation
o, the coalition and tor help m
making our activities a suc
cess
More letters on page 18