P»fl«2 Th» INDEPENDENT, November 28,1990
<>. INDEPENDEHT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published
monthly on the last Wednesday of each month, by
Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 1206 State Avenue,
Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper. AH material
protected under U.S. Copyright laws. Editors and
Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen, (503) 429-9410
It makes cents to
spend $$$ at home
Since the beginning of The INDEPENDENT,
nearly five years ago, we have urged readers to
support our advertisers because they make this
community newspaper possible.
There are other reasons to support local business
people, too. One of the most important reasons is
because a healthy, all-around community needs a
commercial base as well as a residential base. To
gether they add up to a balanced tax base that
helps everyone.
So what does that have to do with you, the read
er? It's really quite simple.
It's Christmas shopping time, so where are you
going to do your shopping? Where are you going to
buy your wrapping paper, cards, candles, tree orna
ments and all the other specialty items you'll use at
this time of year?
Did you say you’re going to drive out to some
mall where you can get a good price? Well don't
forget to add the price of your gasoline, plus the
wear and tear on your car. By the time you've done
that, you haven't saved any money, all you've done
is put your money in the pocket of a business that
doesn't support Vernonia, or even Columbia County.
Studies have shown that money turns over seven
times in the community where it's spent. When you
get your pay check and buy groceries, some of your
pay goes to employees in the store. Then they
make a purchase in another store and it continues
that way.
Whether you buy groceries or a shovel, rent a
video, make a bank deposit, buy gas, pay a baby
sitter Or gardener, order flowers, buy insurance,
have your car serviced, or whatever, you are help
ing the economy of the area where you spend your
money. It's just plain good sense to spend it in your
own community.
It's true that Vernonia's commercial base is so
small we must go out of town for some items. So
take a look at the variety of businesses in St. He
lens that can fill the gap. Why St. Helens? Be
cause it's part of our county-wide economy. The
same holds true for Clatskanie, Rainier and Scap
poose.
If you haven't been shopping in the other towns in
the county, you have a treat coming. The mer
chants are friendly and courteous. They treat you
the way you like to be treated because they rely on
repeat business, not on a huge volume that caters
to strangers.
There's very little we can't find in our own back
yard. And there's another bonus you can't beat...it
really is nice to do business with people who know
your name even before they see your credit card.
So why should you shop elsewhere? It makes no
sense to support Washington or Multnomah County
when you can support your own community.
By Nancy Burch
Vernonia City Librarian
each copy w ill be charged to pay for
associated supplies.
Speaking of the past, the following items
of interest are taken from 1958 issues of
the Vernonia Eagle. "January 11 m arks
80th anniversary of post office service in
area;" "The last load of lum ber left the
V e rn o n ia In te rn a tio n a l P a pe r co m p a n y
mill April 18, to end another phase of its
operation here."
1958 was also the year
the Shay engine was m oved to its p e r
manent display location at First and Bridge
Streets; the 2nd annual Friendship Jam bo
ree was held, with Mrs. Frank S erafin
playing the organ and children in red and
blue singing "O nward Christian Soldiers"
on the Christian Church's non-com m ercial
float winner; and a C ross-out gam e was
featured as an attraction at V ernonia's
Safeway store (which was located at the
site of the present City Hall and Library).
The newest reading m aterials for adults,
In the lib ra ry th is m onth, are all in
paperback form .
These include W h e n
R abbit Howls by Truddi Chase, D a w n by
V.C. Andrews, The Captive by Victoria Holt,
C o ld H a rb o u r by Jack Higgins, M a z e b y
Larry Collins, The G reat an d Secret Show
by Clive Barker, and The Memoirs o f N ancy
Reagan by Nancy Reagan. Hopefully one of
these authors or titles w ill be ju s t what
you've been wanting to read.
With Christmas fast approaching, I would
encourage you to come and look over our
se le ctio n of h o lid a y idea bo o ks and
m agazines. We have several very nice
bo o ks c o n ta in in g C h ris tm a s s to rie s ,
recipes, craft ideas and decorations, as
w e ll as the h o lid a y issu e s o f such
magazines as Crafts, G ood Housekeeping,
McCalls, Redbook and B etter Hom es an d
Speaking of the library, the library board
Gardens.
will again be hosting a holiday Open House.
Thanks to the grant m oney from the
We will be serving refreshm ents from 2
M eyer M em orial Trust, our library now
until 4 P.M. on Decem ber 19, and hope
c o n ta in s the new M in o lta m ic ro film
you'll take time to come by and visit; let us
re a d e r/p rin te r which is being used to
show our appreciation for your support of
begin ou r p ro je c t o f id e n tify in g and
the library.
p rin tin g ne w sp a p e r item s re le v a n t to
Vernonia's logging and m illw orking h is Library Hours: Monday and Friday 1-5 p.m„
tory. You're welcome to use this machine
Wednesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, 10
a.m.-2p.m.
to personally look at Vernonia's past via
Preschool Story Time Is every Wednesday
the m icrofilm of the form er newspapers,
from 1030-11 a.m.
dating from 1922. A fee of 10 cents for
Why recycle?
To the Editor:
Why do people recycle?
Some because the y care
about the environment. Some
because it is less garbage
they have to pay for.
Most recently, more people
are re cyclin g because our
dum ps have c lo s e d and
garbage has become a front
door problem. It doesn't mat
ter why people recycle, we all
benefit from the result.
For a year and a half, four
volunteers from Vernonia Re
cycles have kept the local
plastic recycling program in
operation. We started collect
ing from 5 people and now
see m ore than 40 each
month.
The am ount c o lle c te d
monthly has gone from half a
pickup truck load to as many
as 3 pickup truck loads. Dur
ing this year and a half, a sim
ple routine has become very
complex.
Most recently, the company
that was accepting our plas
tic s w ent out of bu sin e ss.
There are other places that
will take the material, but their
accessibility or guidelines are
not easily met.
The plastic industry is very
unstable at this time.lt will get
better and easier to predict,
but right now, patience and
understanding are needed.
Two things need to be un
derstood locally. Vernonia
Season greetings
and'Best ‘Wishes to attofour j
customers and friends fo r a
Siappy Motiday Season...
Sind our sincere thanks fo r
your friendship, ioyaity and J
goodivitt throughout the year.
THrf^etr 9^oni Andersen
Thl
INDEPENDENT
R e c y c le s ’ v o lu n te e rs ga in
nothing financially from the re
cycling. Actually, because of
long distance phone calls and
transportation of the plastic, it
has cost us money to keep
the program running.
Secondly, we have no con
trol over what types of plastics
we accept, or the condition
they1 have to be in. The mar
ket dictates what is being ac
cepted.' We have to meet
their guidelines, otherwise we
are only collecting garbage.
The good news is that we
are collecting so much plastic.
The bad news is that so many
truck loads are costing the en
vironment as much in burnt
fuel for transportation, as is
being saved by the recycling.
We now need to work with
one large truck instead of sev
eral small ones. That costs
money. We also need a bailer
to condense the plastic to a
more transferable state.
Vernonia Recycles will be
applying for a grant to help
cover costs. In the meantime,
we need to p o o l ou r re
sources, either by donations
or helping with transportation.
The next two months will
tell the future of the plastics
recycling program. It is the
responsibility of all of us who
take advantage of it to keep it
operating, not just a few.
We are a com m unity rich
with caring people, so, if you
care about the health of our
planet and that of future gen
erations, please show your
support. Let’s not let this vital
p ro gra m fa ll th ro u g h the
cracks.
Debbie Taylor,
Coordinator
Vernonia Recycles