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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1994)
Mam m ogram van will be in Vernonia April is Cancer Awareness Month and the Vernonia Unit of the American Cancer Soci ety has, once again, arranged to have the Tuality Health C are m am m ogram van in Vernonia. It will be at the Vernonia Health Center on W ednes day, April 20. An appointment is necessary and may be made by calling the Health Center, 429-9191. Industries selected for Regional Strategies funding The N o rth w e st O regon Economic Alliance (NOEA) has targeted three industries as the basis for Oregon Lot tery funding through the Re gional Strategies program of the state Economic Develop ment Department. Forest products, tourism and the rapidly growing field of environmental services are the in d u strie s se le cte d by NOEA, which is composed of officials, community and busi ness leaders in C olum bia, Clatsop and Tillamook Coun ties. NOEA staff is dra fting a plan for the development of those industries in the region. The board will meet April 15 to review the draft. Funding available for the project, over a two-year period, is approxi mately $600,000. In a related event, Portland General Electric (PGE) offi cials announced that Concor dia College of Portland plans to use buildings and wetlands at the closed Trojan nuclear plant fo r a b a ch e lo r’s pro gram in environmental resto ration and remediation. If the c u rric u lu m is a p proved and accredited, the program will start in 1995. It would be the first such bach elor’s program in the nation. Clatsop Community College is developing a two-year pro gram in environmental clean up, and Mount Hood Commu nity College has a two-year program in hazardous waste management. (INSIDE: Brown Derby changes hands_____ Page 4 Cookin’ with Gladys.........Page 7 School news.............. ................Pages 8-11 New firefighter recruits___ Page 12 Jamboree theme picked--------Page 15 BULK RATE U.S. Postage Paid Perrrtit No. 37 VBmonia. OR 97064 À ''-TÍ Vol. 9, No. 7 A Voice o f the Upper Nehalem River Valley* Visitors... April 13,1994 Spring Spirit will fly with help of friends A S pring S pirit Day has been announced by Vernonia Pride, for Saturday, April 30. The day w ill start with a com m unity-w ide spruce up effort that will be carried on from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a hot dog lunch for all volun teers who are working on the project. Then there will be an All You Can Eat Spaghetti Din ne r and Pie S o cial in the W ashington G rade School c a fe te ria from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets for the dinner will be $5 for adults, $3 for chil dren 12 years and under; free under age two. An all-day tour of Columbia County brought Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber to Vernonia on March 31 to talk with local residents. He is shown here with Vernonia Mayor Tony Hyde, left, and County Commissioner Mike Sykes. Kitzhaber stresses community John Kitzhaber, candidate fo r go vern or, b ro u g h t his cam paign to Vernonia, ex pressing concern about rural economic development and the need to “ re-cre a te the feeling of community” in Ore gon. State government needs to recognize that what affects one part of Oregon, also af fects other parts, though not necessarily in the same way, Kitzhaber told the small group gathered in the Fire Depart ment meeting room. Responding to a question on adequate funding for edu cation, Kitzhaber said he is meeting with legislators from both parties, asking them to go through the budget with him. Pointing to the last leg islative session as leaderless FREE partisanship, he said, “Educa tion is more important than partisanship,” and a biparti san consensus is necessary to help solve the problem. On the question of salmon survival/electric power gener- a t io n / f is h in g / lo g g in g , Kitzhaber said the need for balance on the Public Power Planning Council is “critical” if Northwest governments are going to get ahead on the is sue. He added that federal funding is needed to help with the restoration and rehabilita tion of salmon habitat. “The issue is not placing fault,” he said, ‘but finding so lutions.” As a former state legislator and senate president, K itz haber was known for building con sen sus am ong diverse legislators in order to achieve goals. He is also a physician and the “father” of the Oregon Health Plan. Levy asked for law officers A three-year operating levy fo r expanded law e n force ment services through the C olum bia C ounty S h e riff’s D epartm ent w ill be on the ballot for the May 17 election. The $1.1 m illion levy in cludes a split rate proposal of 3 ce n ts p e r $ 1 ,00 0 of a s sessed value on property in side city limits, and 77 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on properties in unincorporat- Please see page 20 Following the Pie Social, there will be a silent auction, a child ren’s auction and a standard auction to round out the evening. More workers are needed for all of the activities. Any one who can spend a few hours on Spring Spirit Day, or on advance preparation, is asked to call Genny Fisher at 429-1204, Debbie Sturdefant at 429-9004, or Sandy Welch at 429-9602. C a ro lyn K e ase y is in charge of the dinner, Colin Tierney is working on the chil dren’ auction, Jeff Parker is seeking auction items and Bill Yeo will do the live auction eering. For donations to the Pie Social or one of the auctions, also call the phone numbers given above. Look for more details in the April 23rd issue of The INDE PENDENT. ike helmet law here soon Oregon's new law requir ing all children under age 16 to wear helmets when they're on bicycles goes into effect on July 1. Violators or their parents will be fined $25. The fine will be waived fo r first tim e o f fenders if they either buy a helm et or show pro o f that they own one. Subsequent vi olations carry a $25 fine. If a child is under age 12, the parent or guardian will be cited. Either parent or child can be cited in the 12 to 15 age group. The law covers children riding any bicycle, or riding as passengers on bicycles, in any public place, including streets, roads, sidewalks and parks. It does not include tri cycles for young children. Approved helmets need to meet current ANSI or Snell certification and must be so labeled. Helmets must also be available to rent at places that rent or lease bicycles. “We didn't pass this law to punish people. We passed it to get them to wear helmets,” s a id S tate S e n a to r Ron Cease. “Lots of people have been injured because they didn't wear helmets. We want to keep people healthy so they can get back on the ir bikes and ride another day.” Cease co-sponsored the bill with State Senator Wes Coo ley, who says protecting chil dren from injuries with a bicy cle helmet law is good public policy. “The problem is that the brain usually can't be fixed, so the death rate doesn’t tell the whole story,*' said Joanne Fairchild, trauma coordinator at Em anuel H ospital, “And I've seen what helmets can Please see page 20
